Again this year, we offer the video-game shopper a cheat sheet identifying some of the top titles of the holiday season. Keep in mind that weird tastes abound and some are reflected on this list, which is culled from hundreds of games released in time for the holidays.
But before tearing this page out and heading to the store, make sure you know what console or hand-held platform you're buying for -- Sony's PlayStation 2 (PS2), Microsoft's Xbox (XB), Nintendo's GameCube (GC) and Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA) are the usuals. The new $149 hand-held Nintendo DS (DS), featuring dual LCD screens, touch- and voice-sensitive interfaces, and built-in wireless networking, plays enhanced DS games but can also play older GBA games. Titles that will play on personal computers are designated (PC).
Sony's EyeToy: AntiGrav lets players ride the hoverboard.
(SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC.)
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Video: The Washington Post's Don Oldenburg discusses his annual holiday video game review.
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Be sure to check out the content rating at the lower left corner of the game box before buying to avoid unpleasant surprises later. There are more teen and mature games than ever. The ratings break down this way: E is for Everyone, 6 and older; T is for Teen and may contain violence, strong language or suggestive themes; M is for Mature, 17 and older, and may include intense violence, strong language and sexual themes. The prices listed are rounded manufacturer's suggested retail.
Halo 2 -- Microsoft Game Studios (XB; rated M). The most anticipated release of the season (1.5 million pre-release orders) is nearly that good. In this first-person sci-fi shooter, the cybernetic super-soldier Master Chief must defeat the evil alien Covenant to spare humankind. A menagerie of mayhem, the sequel treads familiar chaos with stunning heat-of-battle visuals and grand-scale action that drives a rather simple story line -- until the plot thickens unexpectedly midway. Online multi-contestant melee puts 16 players together. $50.
EyeToy: AntiGrav -- SCEA (PS2; rated E). This full-feature challenge lets players guide their hoverboarding character through challenging environments, around obstacles and along fast-paced courses using only the movements of their bodies. Pretty cool, if not perfect. $50.
Jak 3 -- SCEA (PS2; rated T). Banished from Haven City, where armies of robots vie for dominion over Metalheads, Jak and his sidekick, Daxter, undertake a series of complex missions to save the city. An arduous, plot-driven action-adventure game, it is loaded with friendship, betrayal, humor and death. As the third of the trilogy, this is the end, supposedly, of Jak -- and it does wrap up with a twist. $40.
In Jak 3, Jak and his sidekick, Daxter, are out to save Haven City in the wrap-up of the action-adventure trilogy. (SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA INC.)
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FIFA Soccer 2005 -- EA Sports (PS2, XB, GC, GBA, PC; rated E). Best all-around pro soccer game adds more ball control and finesse, better off-the-ball action and a big upgrade in passing physics. Think-fast action and strategy make it the complete game, while on-field graphics and smooth animation sometimes make it look like a Monet painting. $50.
Fable -- Microsoft Game Studios (XB; rated M). In this brilliantly different action-adventure role-player, you are an archetypal fantasy hero forced to choose good or evil as your milieu. Your moral decisions, childhood demons and the choices you make affect your developing persona, events and how other characters respond to you. $50.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay -- Vivendi Universal Games (XB; rated M). Not just blow-away weaponry and gritty hand-to-hand combat, this impressive action-adventure shooter expands the genre's standards for depth, personality and survival strategy. Drawn from Hollywood's "Pitch Black," starring Vin Diesel, the story involves hardened criminal Richard Riddick's efforts to escape the galaxy's most brutal and dreaded prison. Lots of surprises. $50.
Madden NFL 2005 -- EA Sports (PS2, XB, GC, GBA, DS; rated E). The benchmark of virtual football ups the ante on defense to balance a past bias toward the offense. The new "hit stick" function makes tackling a blast with nastier licks on running backs, and the defense gets "hot routes" enabling last-second blitzes and other strategies. A new Tony Bruno sports radio show feature allows you to hear commentary on the team you're managing. There is even newspaper coverage that alerts you to player morale and gripes. $30.
