Gamecore's 2008 Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday shopping should not be difficult. Yet every year we get asked by friends and readers, what titles are worth picking up. Despite these tough economic times, there are still many quality games out on the market.

GameCore has done your homework and suggests these titles as great picks this holiday season. If you have any gamer picks, feel free to add them to our list in the comment section. So without further adue or any delay, Gamecore presents our top picks for this holiday season Be safe, take care and have a Happy Holiday Season!

Sony PlayStation Portable:

• Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 is a great sequel to get your golf on, on the go! With more customizations, courses and mini-games, it's an easy pick whether you like sports games or not.
  


• Star Ocean: First Departure was a pleasant surprise for me as I enjoyed the earlier games in the series in years past. Combining real time action with an immersive story, interesting puzzles and great animated cut scenes make this another great buy for your PSP
  


• Need for Speed Undercover. To go with that new PSP 3000 you just bought your loved one, why not get them one of the most popular racing series around. Combined with all of the cop chases and high speed cars, NFS Undercover is definitely a must have for the PSP. Highway Battle is one of the best modes on this game.

Nintendo DS:

• Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood is a game that a really wanted to enjoy being a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan (and having been disappointed within the last few years.) Fortunately, my wishes were granted and it is a fun role playing game that plays better than I thought it would!
• The World Ends with You is one of the most innovative games to have been released in 2008 period. An intriguing storyline along with simultaneous combat on both screens and a great soundtrack make this one an instant purchase, if you can find it.

Nintendo Wii:

• Samba de Amigo is an "oldie but goodie" for me! A remake of the SEGA Dreamcast classic game, it is an excellent addition to the booming music game genre with the plus of not needing extra accessories. Excellent!


• Okami is another beautiful remake which was amazing on the PlayStation 2, but begged for a more intuitive control mechanic when "painting" your combat attacks. You should start to see why it is a natural fit on the Wii.

Microsoft Xbox 360:

• Naruto: Broken Bond is a must if you have a gamer that is into animation on my and your list. A solid combat mechanic combined with a good mission based storyline makes this one easy to recommend.


• Soul Calibur IV is this year's refinement of the classic series. If fighting games are your gamers' bread and butter and they don't' have this game yet, you will be greatly appreciated for giving them this gem.


• Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. Game reviewing isn't purely subjective but there are certain things that make a game good or playable. This game is finally able to merge the much enjoyable web swinging parts from Spider-man 2 with combat that is as enjoyable to watch as it is to pull off wit the proper combinations and timing sequences. My only gripe is that the mission structure gets repetitive very quickly.


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  Mirror's Edge: Brought to you by EA Digital Illusions CE AB(DICE: developers of the Battlefield franchise), Mirror's Edge is a great entry into the world of first-person action/adventure meets vertigo on steriods with a splash of the adrenaline intensive parkour sport. Aside from a few drawbacks, this is a must have game for 2008. And though this game is available for all next-gen platforms, IMHO, XBOX takes the cake on this one by a hair.

Sony PlayStation 3:

• SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation.Recent patch work has made the game much more enjoyable. Initially gamers experienced lag and connectivity issues, most have be remedied and SOCOM Confrontation is much more stable. Seven online maps are available, and you can go head to head in 32 player matches. Although it lacks a single player campaign, Confrontation has a strong online community. At a discounted price of $39.99, SOCOM Confrontation is the right choice this holiday season.


• Naruto: Ultimate Storm is the closest I've seen a game come to looking like the animation that it is based on. It is so fluid it is breathtaking. The roster of fighters available in the fighting portion and amount of missions make this one a must have.


• Tom Clancy's EndWar. EndWar is a very unique RTS game with a voice command mechanism which puts you in the role of a battlefield commander. The controller is almost not needed at all. You have to manage all of your assets, ranging from soldiers, tanks and air assets, on the battlefield correctly in order to win the battle. You do this all issuing commands using your headset such as "Unit one, attack hostile three" or "Deploy tanks". The voice control adds to the fun factor of the game.


• Metal Gear Solid 4. Excellent storytelling, graphics and intense gameplay make this one of the best PS3 games to date. The graphical presentation is done extremely well, it's easy to control, and interesting problem solving along the way. Once you are done with the single player campaign, jump online to play 16-player multiplayer deathmatch mode. No PS3 game owner should be without this next generation Metal gear game.


• Little Big Planet. Although Little Big Planet could be described as a platforming game, its dedication to creativity in every area takes it far beyond the confines of the genre, which makes it enjoyable.