2010 Holiday Shopping List

It’s getting to look a lot like the most wonderful time of the year once again, and you know what that means: holiday shopping!

Astute gamers would know that these last couple months see releases that can completely overshadow games released earlier in the year, and the same can be said about 2010’s holiday line-up. This year brings a lot of exciting new titles to the table, and hopefully there will be something for every gamer in this list.

First up is the highly anticipated, hotly debated Kinect by Microsoft. Its scheduled release date was announced way back in January, at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, so people have had plenty of time to talk about this new accessory. It promises a paradigm shift in the way games will be played, much like the way the Nintendo Wii was promoted, but on a larger scale; instead of remotes, Kinect utilizes a camera facing the player, which then captures and inputs his or her full-body actions into supported games. Although heavily marketed for the Xbox 360, it is supposed to be compatible with PCs as well. Kinect isn’t a game itself, but Fable III, coming out on October 26 for the PC and Xbox 360, has been announced to utilize Kinect in some way, and Microsoft has promised 15 accompanying launch titles for the peripheral.

While we’re on that topic, there are plenty of reasons to add Fable III to your shopping list even if Natal doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, thanks to a few significant extra features that should appeal to all its fans. Good and evil actions now have tangible effects; one major way this manifests itself is through the changing appearance and properties of your weapon depending on the character’s moral compass. Some tweaks to combat have been made, particularly in the magic system. All spells can now be cast at maximum power right from the start, and up to two spell gauntlets can now be equipped, resulting in unique spell combinations. Both these changes heighten the level of action and possibilities in the game. Multiplayer has also been overhauled in Fable III, which now allows another player to drop into your game using his or her own hero character, complete with equipment, inventory, and pet. The second player also no longer is restricted to stay within the host player’s viewing range and can freely explore the kingdom and world the host built. No longer relegated to henchman status, the two players’ characters can even marry each other, regardless of gender, and bear or adopt their own children.

On the Sony side of things, Gran Turismo 5 is being marketed as the season star, even potentially dwarfing the releases by Microsoft and Nintendo, but many have their eyes on Little Big Planet 2. Both games are to be released by mid-November, both are PS3 exclusives, and both games are on this list because of just how huge they are. The Gran Turismo games are beloved classics among racing fans, and - if you don’t count the Prologue version - GT5 will be the first version of the series to end up on the console. It boasts a long list of new features, including online multiplayer with up to 16 other people, optional stereoscopic-3D, and both mechanical and visible, physical damage to the car exteriors. Of course, the game also expands on its staple ingredients, offering 70 tracks, 20 locations, and an astounding 1000 cars. As if all this wasn’t enough, recently announced additions include “Course Maker,” - a simple yet powerful track editor, which means a potentially infinite number of tracks - and believe it or not, kart racing.

Little Big Planet 2 also promises a substantial expansion to the tools available in its first iteration, the most anticipated of which is the Direct Control feature. Using a tool called the Controlinator, buttons on the PS3 controller can be mapped to any object in the game level! This effectively allows level makers to create not just new levels, but entirely new ways to play the game; for example, instead of controlling Sackboy at all, a level could give the player command over a vehicle, turning LBP2 into a racing game. The toolset also includes customizable characters in the form of Sackbots, cinematic tools to film your own LBP2 machinima, custom voice-acting to narrate your own levels, and enhanced control over logic and AI. For LBP1 owners, worry not; all previous content - levels, costumes, and other DLC - can be used in the sequel, as it is fully backwards-compatible.

Let’s not forget about Nintendo, which has a couple of big names coming soon as well. Epic Mickey is Disney’s refresh of their entire franchise, bringing us back to the golden age of the studio with its classic - yet forgotten - characters. It shows us the more mischievous side of Mickey, and a darker, more twisted version of the cartoons of old. One way to describe it is as a Kingdom Hearts without the SquareEnix, with an improved version of Okami’s Celestial Brush mechanics. Preliminary trailers and videos exhibit Epic Mickey as a game with plenty of potential, and at the very least, Disney deserves some props for going back to its roots and veering away from the teenybopper, high school live action series they spam every year.

Last but not least on the list is Kirby’s Epic Yarn, which is the first time Nintendo’s adorable, portable black hole has visited a console since Kirby Air Ride for the Gamecube in 2003. Its pre-release won Best Graphics awards from several websites, despite titles such as Crysis 2, Gears of War 3, and Killzone 3 contending for the distinction. As the name suggests, the entire world and cast of this game will be illustrated in yarn, offering a unique visual experience reminiscent of Yoshi’s Story. Old and new fans alike will instantly fall in love with Nintendo’s pink protagonist once the game is released in October 17.

There are a number of additional titles which are bound to come out before the end of the year, so it behooves a prudent gift-buyer to shop around. It’s a shame that some big titles won’t be available until next year, such as Dragon Age 2 and, thanks to the mystery of Valve time, the recently delayed Portal 2. However, those are games to usher in a brand new year. For now, we can look forward to these six awesome releases in letting 2010 go with a bang!