A few months ago, no list of the fall’s most anticipated video games would have been complete without Grand Theft Auto IV, but that was before the game was delayed until next year. So what’s left for gamers? Plenty. These new games look promising enough to deserve spots on your holiday wish list. Prices are courtesy of amazon.com.
Mass Effect
XB360 / out now / $59.99
If this ends up being as good as it looks in previews, expect it to land near the top of many year-end “best of” lists. Mass Effect puts players into the shoes of a human who must accomplish a familiar goal: Stop the extinction of all intelligent life in the galaxy.
Rock Band
XB360, PS3, PS2 / out Friday / $160 and up
Sure, the Guitar Hero series has the pedigree, but Rock Band has the buzz. The Rock Band bundle will include the game, a guitar, a drum set and a microphone, for a whopping $170 — and that’s not including a second guitar, which the game also supports.
Assassin’s Creed
XB360, PS3, PCs / out now / $59.99
Plenty of games have emphasized stealth, but none has starred a blade-wielding assassin in 12th Century Jerusalem. As Altair in Assassin’s Creed, you can scale the sides of buildings and scamper along rooftops. The catch? You must do so without drawing too much attention to yourself, lest you face the wrath of guards or passersby.
Super Mario Galaxy
Wii / out now / $49.99
Mario takes center stage for Nintendo once again in a game likely to be one of the holiday season’s best-sellers. His job is to traverse a 3-D world full of obstacles and enemies to save Princess Peach, who apparently has yet to figure out how to keep from being kidnapped by the evil Bowser. This time, Mario’s actions are managed by the motion-sensing Wii controller. And the worlds he must explore are unlike others in previous games.
The Simpsons Game
XB360, PS3, PS2, Wii / out now / $39.99 and up
The game stays true to the series’ humor while combining a variety of game-play styles. Marge, for instance, in an effort to boycott the violent game-within-a-game Grand Theft Scratchy, has the power to use her megaphone to recruit townspeople for her angry mob — which she can then command to destroy anything that gets in her way. Ah, irony.
Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
XB360, PS3, PCs / out now / $49.99 and up
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The fourth iteration in the excellent Call of Duty series does not take place during WWII, unlike its predecessors. What this means is updated weaponry and missions in locales not confined to Europe, Russia or North Africa. Here you’re stalking terrorists, not Nazis.