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All I Want For Christmas

All I Want For Christmas

A rundown of the PS3's must have titles this holiday season

By PaddyBass

On the twelfth day of Christmas

Its that time of year again. Christmas. Hanukkah. Kwanzaa. Whatever you celebrate, you will undoubtedly be receiving all manner of wonderful gifts this holiday season, and we here at Ps3trophys would like to remind you of all the fantastic games on offer between now and December 31^st. We'll start with:

The Nightmare Before Christmas

No not the movie. They already tried a game of that, and it wasn't very good. Im talking of course about the wave of scarifying games heading your way between now and new-year. Starting with:

Dead Space (Electronic Arts)

EA have something very special for you to put in your christmas stocking. Dead Space is a brand new take on survival horror, set in the vast, cold recesses of space. You take the role of C.E.C Engineer, Isaac Clarke whose team is called upon to investigate a distress call from the USG Ishimura, a “Planet Cracker” class ship. Assuming it to be a simple repair job, Isaac and 2 other C.E.C members head off to investigate the situation.

Of course in typical survival horror fashion, it is not a simple repair job, it is a necromorph infestation. The necromorphs are an Alien race dependant on necrotic flesh to survive. Using only your engineering tools, you must find and rescue your team-mates, destroy the necromorph menace and uncover the dark secrets of the Ishimura.

Considering EA's recent track record of quality titles (Rock Band, Army Of Two, Skate), this is definitely one to watch. Throw in “strategic dismemberment” and more nasty looking beasties than you can shake a pointy stick at, and you've got a game to keep you up all christmas night.

BioShock (2k Games)

For a year now BioShock has been horrifying and delighting PC and Xbox gamers worldwide. Now it's PS3's turn. Not only that, but our version includes new, unseen challenge rooms, extra downloadable content and an option to turn those annoying vita-chambers off. Sounds like we could be getting the most complete version of the game yet.

In BioShock, you take on the role of... well... you only see his name once, Jack. The game begins with the plane you are travelling in, mysteriously crashing and thrusting you into the briny deep. Its not long before you find dry land, but upon investigation, you end up travelling deep below the oceans surface, to the underwater metropolis of Rapture.

What follows is an excellent example of first person horror done right. Not only that but BioShock offers up one of the most involving and well-thought out stories in years. If your lucky enough to get BioShock this year, your holidays will be well spent getting scared stiff, 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Twas The Gunfight Before Xmas

As we all know the holiday season is for reflecting on all the good things we have,and reaching out to the ones we love to show them we care at least once in 365 days. It's also a time to blow hundreds of people away in some of the years most highly anticipated shooters.

Tis the season to be trigger happy, after all.

Resistance 2 (Insomniac)

Nothing screams holidays like struggling to defeat a legion of evil aliens, known as the chimera, who have attacked your homeland and aim to enslave the entire human race, unless you Nathan Hale can stop them. That... and egg nog, mistletoe and Santa Claus. Resistance 2 continues right where the epic finale of the first game, left off.

Nathan Hale is taken to Iceland where he meets a group of people, who, similar to him, share a resistance to the chimeran virus. He joins their elite squad, “The Sentinels” and heads back stateside. Unfortunately the Chimera have already decided to invade the United States and Hale ends up once again embroiled in a struggle to save mankind.

Resistance 2 promises to have plenty to keep you entertained, long after the christmas season has ended, with 60 player online deathmatch modes and 8 player online co-operative play.

Join the fight this christmas, and do your part for the human race.

Farcry 2 (Ubisoft)

Farcry 2 from UbiSoft seems to be one of the most ambitious FPS' in a long, long while. Offering you up a huge open-ended african environment, choice that goes to the level of even being able to kill the contacts who give you missions, thus adapting the game around your decisions and the ability to take missions in any number of different ways.

Stealth, Gung-ho and tactical plan of attack are all at your disposal when deciding how to take on a misssion. In Farcry 2, you can select from 9 pre-set main characters, and the game contains a level editor and a wealth of online modes. Definitely one to add to your christmas list.

A Star Is Born

Now its time to discuss the essential PS3 purchase, of this year. A game that has been talked about as if it were the second coming of jesus itself. You know what it is:

LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)

Every year there is some toy, gadget or game that is an absolute must have by everyone. In past years it has been, tamagatchis, pokemon, furbys and recently, the wii. This year, the only thing you need is LittleBigPlanet. Having spent extended time on the beta, I can feel safe in saying that this game is the reason to own a PS3. I dont think there is anyone in the world, who upon playing the game just once could claim to not like LBP or it's hilarious mascot, Sackboy.

In LBP, you have the freedom to create anything you so desire, and if connected to the internet, you can upload and share your creation with people all over the world. Never has a game given the player so much freedom to play and experiment, but speaking about LBP doesn't do the game any justice. This is a game that must be experienced, to understand why it is so amazing.

LBP is a game that should be a hit with kids and big kids of all ages. It has an instantly likeable character, fantastic visuals, a well moderated online community, more creation tools than a blu-ray disc can hold and the promise of constant updates for up to two years, at least. If you own a PS3, you are doing your console, and yourself, an injustice by not getting this game at some point. I know where my christmas day will be spent, in the warm comfort of my family home, surrounded by friends and family as I force them all to experience the brightest, most original game in years.

Santa, All I want for christmas is LittleBigPlanet.

Well we've reached the end, but before I go, i'll leave you with a list of some of the other great titles coming out before the end of the year. Thank's for reading and I hope you all get whatever you want this holiday season.

Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)

Mirrors Edge (DICE)

Saints Row 2 (Monolith)

Valkyria Chronicles (Sega)

Eternal Sonata (Namco Bandai)

Lego Batman (Travellers Tales)

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

and

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Article By PaddyBass

Published on 2008-10-15 13:09:09