Left 4 Dead 2 … will you be having a very zombie Christmas?
Fifa 10 / PES 2010
Ah, the great football game debate. I really couldn't choose between them and which ever one you decide on your footy-loving 360 owner should be happy. Having said that there are some differences. Fifa is slower, more methodical and more realistic. It also has all the right teams and players, even if the likenesses are still scarily off at times. PES has better player likenesses and animations but more importantly plays a faster more fluid game on the pitch. Fifa has more online options, PES has more exciting goalmouth scrambles. I'd still go with PES if I really had to choose but this one is too close to call.
Dragon Age: Origins
Again, this was on Keith's PS3 list but it's too good for 360 owners to miss out on. This is an epic role-playing game that will appeal to patient gamers who want to get their teeth into something a little meatier than the normal shoot n' sport titles. Patience is key though – Dragon Age takes an, er, age to get going. With a text overload and occasionally ugly visuals Dragon Age may not seem an instant winner on Christmas Day. But give it a chance to get going – around 5-10 hours (!) - and you're likely get hooked and still be playing on New Years Day and beyond.
Forza Motorsport 3
One for the dads and uncles this. Forza is a serious motor sim that lets you fiddle with engines and tweak just about everything a petrolhead would want. The action is almost RPG like at times, with upgrades aplenty and even if you don't want to paint or tune your car there is always a reward waiting just around the corner. It looks fabulous too, while there are a host of excellent online features. Probably one for the boys this, but for the motor sport lover there is no better game on the 360.
Modern Warfare 2
The best selling game of the year and a must if you play online. Be warned though, beginners should prepare for a frustrating learning curve as better equipped foes – usually teenagers with time, and you, to kill – constantly take you down. Luckily then the advancement path is so finely honed that it isn't long until you are gaining both ranks and respect. If this sounds like too much hard work then the single-player story is hugely entertaining – albeit relatively brief - on its own. Such a shame about the airport level though. And just when I thought gaming had got over its teenage growth pains too.
Xbox Live Subscription
Yes, it costs £40-odd pounds for a year and yes the PS3 and Wii are free to play online. But Live is streets ahead of them – although PS3 is catching up relatively quickly – and now offers Facebook, Twitter and live Sky TV content as well as a stack of downloadable games. But it is the online play elements which really make this worth the cash. Friends lists, cross-game chat, 1vs100 (see below). An offline 360 is only half a console.
Gyromancer
And if you do get online then this is one of the best new releases you can download. Like the excellent Puzzle Quest before it, Gyromancer mixes "match 3" gameplay – think Bejeweled – with a hefty slab of role-playing (RPG) depth. This gives both context – there's a typically hokum story – and strategy to the puzzling. As you'd expect of a game created by Popcap and Square Enix this a lovely polished game that will suck away those post-Christmas lunch hours.
Assassins Creed 2
The setting – renaissance Italy – makes this worth a look alone. Luckily the game lives up to the premise. It takes a while to get going though. The controls – especially the combat – are occasionally clunky. But give it an hour and you're be sucked in by the roof leaping action and glorious visuals. Again, probably not one for all the family but if you can wrest the TV free from kids/grans/Only Fools reruns then you'll be hooked.
Left for Dead 2
Not one for the kids but this is an hilariously over-the-top online zombie-fest. Again, like most 360 games, it really comes alive online as you team up with friends to chainsaw your undead – or living, depending on which side you take – assailants. This sequel adds new weapons and levels but is not a huge advance on the original. That aside any 360 owner will appreciate the surprisingly deep action and probably bore you senseless with their war stories after.
Borderlands
Again online online play is key here. Grab some friends, create your character – disappointingly restricted to 4 preset templates – and hit the borderlands. The action goes like this. Get quest, shoot stuff, get new gun, cash in quest and repeat. Tedious in singleplayer Borderlands comes alive with friends. A confusing interface and repetitive action let things down but in short bursts this is fantastic.
1 vs 100
It's a live quiz show on your Xbox that lets you compete against thousands of other players at the same time. What could go wrong? Nothing really. Ok, to actually win a prize involves luck, guesswork and worryingly quick reflexes. But 1vs100 cleverly lets you compete against your friends too, which gives you an incentive to play on even if the prizes are seemingly unobtainable. Again, you'll need a Xbox Live subscription but this is perfect for all the family on Christmas Day.
What do you think then? Any other recent 360 game that deserves a mention or need adding to the Christmas list?
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