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2003 Videogame Holiday Gift Guide
Tim Grube writes "Gaming Horizon is currently
hosting a feature that informs gamers on what to buy this holiday season. The
2003 Holiday Gift
Guide presents twenty-five titles per console including the Microsoft Xbox,
Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo GameCube, PC, and HandHelds."
Best PC/Xbox RPG this year, easily. Awesome story (better than most of the movies), fun play and lightsaber battle action! Yeah!
Gamespy's Final Fantasy X-2 review
Tony Hawk Underground review
Or search yourself: PS2 Review list on gamespy
Metacritic
Gaming Horizon is currently hosting a feature that informs gamers on what to buy this holiday season. The 2003 Holiday Gift Guide presents twenty-five titles per console including the Microsoft Xbox, Sony Playstation 2, Nintendo GameCube, PC, and HandHelds.
When anger rises, think of the consequences.
Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)
I don't know about X-2, but if you like MMORPGs, FFXI is a great one. The gameplay is pretty standard MMORPG fare (with some nice enhancements like subjobs, a great auction house, plenty of quests and missions, and more), but the best part about it is the atmosphere. The enemies are detailed and move realistically (down to rarabs (rabbits) wiggling their noses), the areas are gorgeous and the music in them is incredible. Everything has a very FF feel to it.
This is the first MMORPG that I haven't gotten sick of after a couple weeks because there's just SO much to do. Gardening, fishing, playing the AH/Shops to make money, levelling other jobs, exploring all the gorgeous areas, and a bunch more.
Erm... "Final Fantasy 13" doesn't exist (they've announced 12 and released 11). "Super Smash Brothers" is a relatively old N64 game - sure you don't mean Smash Bros. Melee, the 'Cube incarnation? And Project Gotham Racing is only up to installment number 2, not 4. If you do work for an electronics distributor, you *really* need to get your act together.
--- Bwah?
The google cache didn't index the 2nd page, so here's the first 12 of 25 for all the systems:
XBox:
Soul Calibur II
Freedom Fighters
Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3
Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder
Burnout 2: Point of Impact
Counter-Strike
Dino Crisis 3
Enter the Matrix
Midnight Club II
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
PS2:
Final Fantasy X-2
SOCOM 2: US Navy Seals
Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando
Silent Hill 3
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
Soul Calibur II
Madden NFL 2004
Jak II
Manhunt
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Everquest Online Adventures: Frontiers
Primal
PC:
Halo: Combat Evolved
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004
Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of World War II
Homeworld 2
Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Counter Strike: Condition Zero
Call of Duty
Midnight Club II
Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Gamecube:
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Viewtiful Joe
Soul Calibur II
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
NBA Live 2004
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
I-Ninja
F-Zero GX
Need For Speed Underground
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Freedom Fighters
Handhelds:
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator
Boktai
Banjo-Kaozzie: Grunty's Revenge
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
Madden NFL 2004
Monster Truck Madness
Stuntman
Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue
Mega Man Battle Network 3 White
The Simpson's Road Rage
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
All I have to ask is, where is Worms 3D on this list? True, so far it has only been released in Europe and Australia, but it has for more playability value, and overall "fun" factor than some of the other games on this list.
And so we go, on with our lives
We know the truth, but prefer lies
Lies are simple, simple is bliss
Games I've played over the past few weeks...working 40+ hours a week for this comment ;)
STAR WARS GALAXIES (PC)
The big MMORPG is promising and I have invested 200+ hours in it. However it's full of as much frustration as promise--vaporware gone horribly. Would NOT recommend to anyone even without the $15/mo fee.
MADDEN 2004 (GAMECUBE)
This cash cow for EA Sports is better than last year's. I've seen so many bad sequels (coughMatrix) that I'm impressed. I like the well-done execution as well as the fact that it's a party game that people can get into fairly quickly. In addition, there is added depth in the mini-camp and owner modes. Is it worth $50? Maybe, maybe not. But it IS unequivocally a better game than last year's, which is more than I can say for...
MARIO KART: DOUBLE DASH (GAMECUBE)
Welcome to Mario Kart, rehashed. I've seen companies get fried for "tinkering with the original formula" and Nintendo took this one to heart by producing...well...the same game. You'll see "clever" re-releases of each track (read: the same thing, rehashed a little and with new names to boot) along with the somewhat-gimmicky two-person-in-one-kart feature. THERE IS NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT THIS IS A GOOD GAME--just like its predecessor--but I feel like I'm playing the exact same game as before. Having said that, it's still a great party game and the learning curve is low, low, low. That makes this game still a "safe" buy for anyone who has a GameCube.
CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER 2003/2004 (PC UK)
Good luck finding this one in the US. The best selling game in the UK last year, CM4, was a good game with horrible execution. Bugs, crashes, everything. This feels like the finished product of Championship Manager. However this game is relatively time-intensive and some people just don't like the idea of not controlling Ronaldo running down the field. Having said that, this game has rabid fans (including me) and the execution is relatively flawless. I'd rate this a strong buy towards folks into management games--the soccer knowledge can come later.
CIVILIZATION 3: CONQUESTS (PC)
Welcome to Crack, redone. I played the original Civ, Civ2, Col, CTP2, SMAC, SMACX and limited doses of Civ3, so I'm a Civ fanatic at heart. Having said that, I realize this game is not for everyone. It's an expansion pack for CIV3 so prior purchase may be necessary (but inexpensive). Yet while a safe gift for Civ3 enthusiasts, how much value this game adds is questionable. Perhaps I'm spoiled from Half-Life and its endless string of free MODS. This pack honestly feels like a MOD--decent-looking campaigns added on that DO drag on for me (I'm talking about 20+ hours). I wouldn't buy this game for myself if I were worried about money. Yet as much as it doesn't do much good, it does no bad.
SIMCITY 4: RUSH HOUR
Disclaimer: I love public transportation. I couldn't wait for this expansion pack to SC4. I bought it from EBGames the first day it came out. Last week, I saw it FAR (free after rebate) on Black Friday. Perhaps free is too low of a valuation (SC4 required, but you can buy the deluxe version at Costco which includes both) but the added value is questionable after a few hours/days of play. One-way streets are cool, and I love watching the variation of traffic patterns, but I fear that it's too nerdy for the rest of you. Plus, the U-Drive-It feature is kind of lame IMHO. If you really want to drive around a city, go check out GTA3 for a much more fun implementation. This is a risky bet IMHO.
Amazon has a list of Mac games, not sure about the newest and greatest for most but they do have ratings. Halo says it will be out on Dec 11... until then perhaps you can content yourself with such exciting titles as Burning Monkey Majjong
ESPN = Sega's NFL series?
Yup!
I loved NFL 2k2. Awesome game. Enter NFL 2k3 stage left. Horrible disapointment, I hated the gameplay mechanics. Haven't had a chance to check out the newest installment.
NFL 2k3 wasn't that bad, but they did redo NFL2k4 quite a bit. I have converted every Madden fan I have come across because of the gameplay.
You have to bite your tongue and bare the learning curve (if you're unfamiliar with the 2k series), but it is really worth it. It is much more realistic in the game, not the mechanics.
The mechanics are realistic, but less compared to Madden, but the overall end result if more realistic. I.E. L. Tomlinson will run for 2.1 yards per carry and then break off a 45 yarder. This is quite in tune with the way he plays, as opposed to him getting 4.0 a carry, and that matching him.
If he doesn't break off his long runs, he's an average back. NFL2k4 does a better job of this than Madden which assumes that since he is a good back, he will play like a good back, and not as much like himself.
One thing I like about Madden is the Mini-Camp mode. Awesome stuff, it basically teaches you how to play. I feel 100% more educated about football and I have more of an appreciation for skills like pocket presence on TV. Seems more...realistic.
And that's true. Madden's Mini-Camp rules. No doubt.
I loved playing it, and the Madden cards add a great aspect to the game.
But NFL2k4 is a much better game to play. It feels much more like a real game than Madden. Madden doesn't seem very fluid.
Try a screen pass in Madden, and you'll see what I mean.
Running is also not as fluid. That doesn't mean it's easier in NFL2k4, but it definately is much more realistic, fluid, and fun.
The utter best part about ESPN football is the ability to tweak every single part of the Computer AI. If I feel as those the corners are converging on the reciever realisticly, but the cover skills are not as realistic, I can tweak them.
I love that.
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