Mirror’s Edge
For PC, Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360
Rating: Teen. MSRP: PC, $49.99; PS3 and Xbox 360, $59.99
It’s about time somebody made a good free running game. Actually, we
should say parkour instead of free running, because “free
running” implies you’re doing it for fun and not because you’re being
shot at. Mirror’s Edge is a near-future sprint across the tops
of skyscrapers while fleeing from deadly police forces. Everything
might be a road, from crane booms to wires to the glass slopes of
buildings. If running isn’t enough, you also get to disarm the
occasional fascist enforcer and maybe even shoot him with his own gun.
But this isn’t a shooting game — for the most part, fighting back
doesn’t work. Fleeing is usually best. The visuals are really great in
this game, with a stark-white-and-glass city that’s downright sinister
in its cleanliness. (EA)
Guitar Hero: World Tour
For Sony PS2, Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox
360
Rating: Teen. MSRP: Game only, $49.99-$59.99; with guitar, $99.99;
with all instruments, $299.79
Not to be outdone by Rock Band, the Guitar Hero
franchise has entered the multi-instrument genre with Guitar Hero:
World Tour. This is really good news, because the controllers for
Guitar Hero have always been better than those for Rock
Band. Up to two would-be guitarists, a drummer and a singer can
join together with the band and rock out. This time, all the songs in
the game are actual master tracks of the real bands instead of covers.
The songs include tunes by Coldplay, Oasis, Steely Dan, R.E.M.,
Smashing Pumpkins, and Metallica. With this game you can create your
own rockers, your own guitars, and, much more amazing, your own songs.
Online capability lets you share songs with others. (Activision)
Fallout 3
For PC, Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360
Rating: Mature. MSRP: PC, $49.99; PS3 and Xbox 360, $59.99
At the other end of the cleanliness spectrum is Fallout 3, a
game featuring a post-apocalyptic Washington, DC that’s horrifying in
its ruination. The Washington Monument on the verge of collapse is
quite tragic. As a nuclear war survivor, you emerge from the oppressive
Vault 101 and begin a long and dangerous search for your father. This
may be our pick for game of the year — nearly everything here is
incredible. First, Fallout 3 is amazingly flexible in playing
the way you want it to. You can run around and kill things as if it
were a first-person shooter, meet and talk to countless characters and
take on missions for them as in a traditional role-playing game, or
find a happy medium. This even extends to the combat — you can
fight in first-person mode like Doom, third-person mode like
Resident Evil, or even a menu-driven mode in which you enter
your attacks with button presses like Final Fantasy. Secondly,
the art direction and dialogue are astounding. Third, in this game, you
can be a hero or a jerk. Help people, or instead help other people who
want to kill the first people for no good reason. It’s up to you.
(Bethesda Softworks)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
For Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360
Rating: Teen. MSRP: $59.99
Mortal Kombat is dumb. Really dumb. We know this. But it’s
like The Three Stooges: really dumb and still really fun. The newest
game in the series is a quantum leap beyond the others, mostly because
it contains Batman. Oh, Superman, Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, the
Joker, and others are here, too. But come on. Batman. Beating up
Sub-Zero and Scorpion with Batman is amazing. There are some new tricks
here, including fighting in mid-air for a while when you knock someone
off of a stage, but for the most part, this game is really about the DC
Comics characters being present. By the way, you may wonder, how can
some dumb ninja fight Superman? Magic. That’s how. (Midway)
Animal Crossing: City Folk
For Nintendo Wii
Rating: Everyone. MSRP: Game only, $49.99; bundled with Wii Speak
microphone, $69.99
Animal Crossing is the perfect game for people who hate video
games. This game is about living in a village filled with
anthropomorphic animals. How do you win? You can’t win. There’s no
object! You just do whatever you want. You can do favors for the
animals, look for buried fossils, go fishing, clean up the town, buy
and sell furniture and clothes, redecorate your house, help a museum
find rare bugs, and on and on. If you have a friend playing the game on
another Wii, and you’re both online, you can visit your friend’s town
and talk via Wii Speak. Write each other letters and give each other
stuff that you found! It’s the most benevolent video game you can
imagine. (Nintendo)
Downloadables
For Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360
Rating: Various. MSRP: As low as $5
Downloadable content is just about the hottest thing going right
now. If your newest-generation console is connected to the Internet,
there are countless awesome games that you can get, and for much
cheaper than the games in the store. The best offerings are every bit
as fun, or even more fun, than your big-budget games that are only
available conventionally. Mega Man 9 is a brand-new 8-bit game,
if you can believe it, which looks just like it came off the old
Nintendo Entertainment System and is available for all three major
consoles. Castle Crashers is amazing four-player mayhem for the
Xbox 360. “Braid,” another Xbox 360 game, is a deservedly lauded 2-D
platform game that features time travel. Terrific vintage titles also
are available. Now, you might ask yourself, how in the world do I buy a
downloadable game for someone else’s console? The answer is gift cards.
All three systems feature prepaid point cards that can be purchased
where you buy video games. The console owner can then redeem the card
online and download a favorite title. (Various publishers)
