2007 Video Game Holiday Buyer's Guide - Page 4

The obvious first draw of Brawl is the character line-up. To this point, game director Masahiro Sakurai has unveiled 19 of the game’s unknown number of fighters. New combatants include such personalities as Ike from Fire Emblem, Diddy Kong from Donkey Kong Country, and Meta Knight from Kirby’s Adventure.

Also, for the first time in the series, characters not usually associated with Nintendo’s games will be thrown into the fray – the most notable of which is Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake.

The stages also play a vital role in keeping the Smash Bros. series fast and frantic. For Brawl, Nintendo is borrowing pieces of scenery from some of its most beloved games and turning them into battlefields fit for the cast of all-stars to tear apart.

Arenas such as The Bridge of Eldin from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Smashville from the Animal Crossing series are sure to draw cheers from the Nintendo faithful, while some stages, such as Skyworld (adapted from the classic NES game Kid Icarus), are sure to inspire some nostalgia.

Super Smash Bros. is a unique vision that blends natural reactions with colorful strategy at lightning speed. To this point, Brawl looks to be one of the very few “pick up and play” fighting games that is impossible to master.

For creating a game that’s accessible to both non-gamers and veteran gamers alike, Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl nabs second place on the list.

1: Rock Band
Release Date: November 20
Developer: Harmonix
Platform(s): Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii

There can be only be one must-have game of the holiday season, and Rock Band is definitely it. Why Rock Band over the other fantastic holiday releases? Because it’s the only game that ships with a drum set – that’s why.

Harmonix Music Systems, the development team responsible for the now ultra-popular Guitar Hero franchise, has gone on record as saying that with their previous music-based games (Karaoke Revolution, Guitar Hero, FreQuency, etc.), they were delivering only a fraction of the genre’s potential - with Rock Band, they intend to fulfill their dream of developing the ultimate music simulation experience.

Essentially, Rock Band is four games in one – Drum Hero, Bass Hero, Karaoke Hero, and Guitar Hero. To help players fill the shoes of these various musical “Heroes,” Harmonix has created the necessary hardware. Accompanying the game’s release this fall will be a microphone, a drum set, and a new (wireless) guitar model - all made especially for use with Rock Band.

Article Author: Ben Wood

Ben is a junior at the University of Oklahoma. He is majoring in Journalism with a minor in Film and Video Studies, but that's probably not what it's going to say on his degree certificate when he graduates.

Visit Ben Wood's author page — Ben Wood's Blog