Ever since I was a kid, playing my original NES, I can recall how popular video games were at the holidays. My brother and I received our NES from Santa, in 1987 or 1988. Since then, I have received video games nearly every year. In the beginning, we received them for our NES, then my Nintendo Gameboy. We moved on to the SNES, the Nintendo 64, the Sega (well I had to play that at my cousin’s house), the Gameboy Advance, the Gamecube, PS2, Nintendo DS, PS3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii. As game systems have evolved, so have I. I’ve owned all the Nintendo systems and am catching up with the PS3 and Xbox 360.
With the 2008 holiday season in full swing, the excitement of what to buy your loved ones may lead you to video game websites. I’m not joking when I say 2008 had some great video game releases. So, here’s my list of the top 25 Video Games you have to buy this holiday, and I’ve made sure to list them in order from great to totally awesome (MUST BUY). Truth be told, all of these games are well worth the purchase, so make sure to consider this list when doing your shopping for your favorite video game enthusiast.
25. Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon - I’ve been a fan of Natsume and the Harvest Moon games for years. While Rune Factory 2 isn’t truly a Harvest Moon title, it’s close enough in its farm oriented play that it will keep Harvest Moon lovers more than satisfied!
In Rune Factory 2, you actually have the chance to play as two different generations in one family. This is unique to this game and allows for additional, extended game play. Unlike the other Harvest Moon titles, and similar to the original Rune Factory, this game has a much darker overtone. Still, it’s the farming that makes this game and really, who doesn’t like to farm?!
24. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - The first time I heard about this was around the time of E3 2008. The excitement about this title sort of fizzled off again until its release last month and now it’s made this Top 25 list. While the game doesn’t really follow along with either of the game series’, fans of Mortal Kombat or DC Universe (or both) can really get into this one.
As you might have guessed, in this game, the two worlds have merged. The merger has caused a shift in powers and abilities for many of your favorite characters making gameplay much more interesting and unpredictable.
With the two worlds blaming one another for the merging, they must battle in Mortal Kombat until one world is defeated. This is exactly what you’d expect of a title called Mortal Kombat vs. D.C. Universe.
Mortal Kombat vs. D.C. Universe is available for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, You can pick this title up in a Collector’s Edition at Amazon for $64.99.
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick is a twentysomething guy, who has been gaming since the days of Atari. Enthralled by his first NES before he even turned 10, he’s long been a gamer and a Nintendo enthusiast. Dominick is in a wheelchair, so he writes from the unique perspective of gaming with limited mobility. He loves playing his PS3, his Xbox 360 and even his Nintendo Wii and DS. His favorite games are action/adventure FP & MP shooter, and racing games. Amongst his favorite game series are Brother in Arms, Fallout, Armored Core, anything Mario and Legend of Zelda. When not gaming, Dominick is a human rights activist, sports enthusiast, political guru, aspiring filmmaker and homeschooling father. You can find him on twitter nearly every day so feel free to add: dominickevans.
Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2008 premiere on Sunday, December 14 (9:00- 11:00 PM, ET/ tape delay west coast), broadcasting LIVE from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, CA. The nominees for the first 12 categories are listed below.
Best Wii Game
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Publisher: Nintendo Studio: Nintendo
No More Heroes Publisher: Ubisoft Studio: Grasshopper Manufacture
Wii Fit Publisher: Nintendo Studio: Nintendo
Boom Blox Publisher: Electronic Arts Studio: EA Casual Studios
Best Xbox 360 Game
Fallout 3 Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Studio: Bethesda Game Studios
Grand Theft Auto IV Publisher: Rockstar Games Studio: Rockstar North
Gears of War 2 Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Studio: Epic Games
Fable II Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Studio: Lionhead
Best Soundtrack
Guitar Hero World Tour Publisher: RedOctane / Activision Publishing Studio: Neversoft Entertainment
Rock Band 2 Publisher: MTV Games Studio: Harmonix
Grand Theft Auto IV Publisher: Rockstar Games Studio: Rockstar North
LittleBigPlanet Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Studio: Media Molecule
Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2008 premiere on Sunday, December 14 (9:00- 11:00 PM, ET/ tape delay west coast), broadcasting LIVE from Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, CA. The nominees for the first 12 categories are listed below.
Best Independent Game Fueled By Dew World of Goo Publisher: 2D Boy Studio: 2D Boy
PixelJunk Eden Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Studio: Q-Games
Braid Publisher: Number None, Inc. Studio: Number None, Inc.
Audiosurf Publisher: Steam/Valve Studio: Dylan Fitterer
Studio Of The Year
Media Molecule
Rockstar North
Harmonix
Bethesda Game Studios
Game of the Year
Gears of War 2 Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Studio: Epic Games Grand Theft Auto IV Publisher: Rockstar Games Studio: Rockstar North
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc Studio: Kojima Productions
Fallout 3 Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Studio: Bethesda Game Studios
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Written by Janey the Admin - Visit Website
Janey serves as the admin for both gamerrazzi.com and li-kids.com. She loves helping run these interesting websites. Janey loves games. She can often be found playing all of the various Halo incarnations on her Xbox 360.
Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ topped the U.S. sales charts and combined to sell more than 1.29 million units in October. Nintendo sold 803,210 Wii consoles and 491,176 Nintendo DS systems in October, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. These figures bring the lifetime U.S. sales for Wii to more than 13.35 million and Nintendo DS to more than 23.02 million, extending their leads as the best-selling hardware of this generation.
Nintendo’s total hardware unit sales represent a 25.7 percent increase over October 2007. They also account for 59.3 percent of the industry’s total hardware unit sales.
Wii Fit™, the game that combines fun and fitness, sold nearly half a million copies in the United States in October, six months after it launched. The lifetime U.S. sales for Wii Fit now total more than 2.83 million.
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Written by Janey the Admin - Visit Website
Janey serves as the admin for both gamerrazzi.com and li-kids.com. She loves helping run these interesting websites. Janey loves games. She can often be found playing all of the various Halo incarnations on her Xbox 360.
Written by: Janey the Admin at 12:42 pm on November 10, 2008
Nintendo’s nationwide mall invasion continues in full force. Already thousands of people across the country have seen and experienced the wide variety of Wii™ games available for the holidays. And later this month, Nintendo will give weary mall shoppers a break with massages, a relaxing atmosphere and fun Nintendo DS™ games.
Since Oct. 31, malls nationwide have included a nine-screen Wii presence featuring game demos and interactive game play. The Wii area helps people get the scoop on all the cool Wii games for the holidays and beyond, including Wii Music™, Wii Sports™, Mario Kart™ Wii, Mario™ Super Sluggers, Wario Land™: Shake It! and Super Smash Bros.™ Brawl. The Wii experience will be available through Dec. 29 at the following malls:
Brea Mall in Brea, Calif.
Gurnee Mills in Gurnee, Ill.
Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne, Pa.
Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton, Calif.
Northshore Mall in Peabody, Mass.
Mall of Georgia in Buford, Ga.
The Galleria in Houston
Arrowhead Towne Center in Glendale, Ariz. (more…)
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Written by Janey the Admin - Visit Website
Janey serves as the admin for both gamerrazzi.com and li-kids.com. She loves helping run these interesting websites. Janey loves games. She can often be found playing all of the various Halo incarnations on her Xbox 360.
Players Protect Nature, Rescue People and Help Pokémon in Need
REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 10, 2008 – The new Pokémon™ Ranger: Shadows of Almia action-adventure game for Nintendo DS™ launches today and lets players capture Pokémon in a fun, new way: by circling them on the touch screen with a “Capture Styler.” Capturing a Pokémon allows players to use its abilities to overcome various obstacles and challenges they face along the way. As the game progresses the stylus-controlled Capture Styler is upgraded with new abilities.
“The first Pokémon games launched in the United States more than 10 years ago, and new fans are created every day,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “To date, the Pokémon franchise has sold more than 60 million games in the United States. Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia gives fans new challenges and new adventures.”
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Written by Janey the Admin - Visit Website
Janey serves as the admin for both gamerrazzi.com and li-kids.com. She loves helping run these interesting websites. Janey loves games. She can often be found playing all of the various Halo incarnations on her Xbox 360.
25. Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon - I’ve been a fan of Natsume and the Harvest Moon games for years. While Rune Factory 2 isn’t truly a Harvest Moon title, it’s close enough in its farm oriented play that it will keep Harvest Moon lovers more than satisfied!
24. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - The first time I heard about this was around the time of E3 2008. The excitement about this title sort of fizzled off again until its release last month and now it’s made this Top 25 list. While the game doesn’t really follow along with either of the game series’, fans of Mortal Kombat or DC Universe (or both) can really get into this one.
