Video Games Today

Still having trouble picking the right game, console, or equipment? Look no further, VGToday's Holiday Shopping Guide is here! Below we have our personal favorite titles for each console, along with what we feel the best console(s) and equipment are. Of course, these are personal opinions so you may have a different opinion than us, but we tried to make a wide variety for every kind of gamer (or non-gamer). Note, all links in the names on the game denotes there is a review or impression of the game on our site. Click on it to be directed to it.

Shooter Fans

• Gears of War 2; A great third person cover shooter brought to you by EPIC Games and Microsoft Game Studios. Gears 2 is an Xbox 360 exclusive and is one of the best, and most anticipated, games of the year for the platform. We gave this game an "A" because it's single player is great and the mutliplayer gives it great longevity. If you are a mature aged shooter fan, this is a must buy.
• Call of Duty: World At War; A first person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activison. The is the other blockbuster shooter of the year, but it takes a different path than Gears does. CoD, as normal, is a run and gun fast-paced shooter, compared to Gear's cover based shooter. So decided between these two is based on your preference. If you have the money for both and you like shooters, pick them both up.

Roleplaying Fans

• Fallout 3; This is our favorite RPG of the year, and quite possibly the Game of the Year. You are set in the post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. as a survivor from one of the mysterious Vaults. You can approach this game from a number of different ways, and you can also choose to play this game in first/third person and as a first person shooter/RPG game. The main quests will take you around 20 hours of gametime, but I personally am 24 hours in and have barely touched the main quest...with still loads of side quests to do. I highly recommend this game if you like RPGs, shooters, or just good games.
• Fable II; This is the more "casual" choice for a RPG this holiday season. Although it has the "M for Mature" tag on it, it is much more suitable to play around younger children. This game takes elements from the first game and improves them. If you are more of a "casual" gamer, than pick this up over Fallout 3, and vise-versa.

Racing Fans

• GRID; Possibly the best "straight up" racing game out right now. If you just want to race without the bells and whistles like the open world scenarios of some competitors, get this.
• Burnout: Paradise; The blockbuster racing game hit of 2008. You are placed in an open world where you can team up, or go against friends in one of the best racing online environments on a console to date.

Zombie Lovers (Horror Game Fans)

• Left 4 Dead; Valve's hit of 2008, following it's previous blockbuster "The Orange Box", is a survival horror game where you are in a group of four survivors who must...well, survive. This game features the "Director AI" that changes the game completely each playthrough. This makes it so you have high replayability and you must work as a team to survive the hordes!
• Dead Space; One of the "sleeper" hits from 2008. You are Isaac, an engineer, who is sent to repair a mining ship that has been radio dead. When you arrive the crew has been killed and hordes of zombies have infected the ship, or so it seems.

Kid Friendly

• Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise; A great and fun game that puts you in charge of your own pinata garden. You must attract pinatas and have them join your garden, meanwhile growing crops and building houses for them.
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts; The latest in the Banjo-Kazooie franchise. You are back and now you can build vehicles to solve every situation for Banjo.
• Banjo-Kazooie XBLA; This is a must buy for me, mainly because of nostalgia. This is the original Banjo-Kazooie that was on the Nintendo 74 in 1998. It is being released tomorrow on the Xbox Live Arcade for only 1200 Microsoft Points (15$).

We hope this brief Holiday Shopping Guide helped you choose what game(s) are right for you, or the person you are buying for this year. If you would like to hear about a game not on the list, feel free to leave a comment and we'll get back to you!

Enjoy!
The VGToday Crew