Costco Connection - October 2007

video
games

A look at the

hot video games for the holidays

The gift of game

By Steven L. Kent

IF YOU’RE WONDERING whether video games make an appropriate Christmas present, the answer is “They do!”

Video games are hot, and no longer just for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crowd. Games such as Halo and Madden NFL have become staples in college dorms, while Hannah Montana and other titles attract girls and younger players.

Here’s a list of great games for the holidays, available in Costco warehouses and at costco.com.

Family fun

Question: What’s hot in games?

Answer: Just about anything from Nintendo.

The Nintendo Wii is the bestselling console system on the market today, and Nintendo’s handheld DS is the most popular game system. That means a new emphasis on family-friendly games.

This Christmas, sports fans will have a lot to crow about. Video gaming’s greatest legends are going for gold in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for DS and Wii. Players can compete in track and field, archery, table tennis and more as Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog and other iconic game characters.

Along with entering the Olympics, Nintendo’s ambitious plumber is exploring space in Super Mario Galaxy for Wii. It’s Mario’s biggest adventure ever as he flies from planet to planet, solving puzzles, rescuing friends, col-

The Costco Connection Along with video games, Costco features the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 (see story on page 43) in the warehouses and at costco.com. Quantities are limited. The Sony PSP handheld will be available in some warehouses.

lecting coins and vanquishing villains.

Players can also travel to a faraway galaxy in Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. If you are looking for a big game that will distract the kids for months, give this one a try—it reenacts the exciting storylines from all six Star Wars movies.

Other notable games include Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Hannah Montana: Music Jam and High School Musical: Sing It!

COUR TES Y OF SEGA

Young players can have a fun Olympic experience in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.

Totally teen titles

The Entertainment Software Rating Board says games appropriate for teens can have a little crude humor or minimal use of blood. That may satisfy parents, but what teens want above all else is for their games to be cool, awesome and wicked.

One game fitting the bill is Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii. The wildest fighting game of them all, this brawl pits some of the most famous monsters, soldiers, legendary heroes and princesses in gaming in a no-holds-barred, no-blood-shown battle royal.

For a visually stunning game that’s fast-paced to boot, check out Lair, a new combat

COURTESY OF ELECTRONIC ARTS

Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart embark on a video game adventure in The Simpsons Game. Whatever!

adventure. When a fantasy nation comes under attack, players take to the skies on dragons to defend their home against the invaders.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is a comic adventure of galactic proportions in which a futuristic mercenary and his robot sidekick tour the universe in an evil emperor’s stolen warship. If you like weird weapons of crass destruction, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Others worth playing are BlackSite: Area 51, Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, The Simpsons Game and Project Gotham Racing 4.

Amusing for adults

Serious gamers are looking forward to several highly anticipated mature-rated games. Most of this year’s top M-rated games are first-person-perspective shooters in which players battle aliens or terrorists.

The big game this year is Halo 3, exclusively for Xbox 360. This Microsoft-made masterwork follows the adventures of the genetically engineered Master Chief as he fights to save mankind from the evil aliens of the Covenant.