So the first thing I would suggest if you have not already read it, is go and take a look at part 1 of this 3 part blog post. In this weeks entry we will be focusing on the games themselves, whats hot right now and what you can expect in the lead up to the holiday period.

So first out of the blocks has to be the XBox 360, given that when it comes to the latest generation of consoles it has been available for the longest period of time. I remember picking up the console on day1 with the likes of Call of Duty2, and Project Gotham Racing 3 and being simply blown away by the graphics and gameplay on offer. In fact even right now those games are still worth picking up on the cheap, even if it’s just to expand your gamer score. Since then we have seen many more triple A titles with the likes of the Ghost Recon series, Saints Row, and Pro Evolution getting plenty of gametime on many consoles. A couple of games which any self respecting XBox360 console owner needs to have include Oblivion, which although single player has such an expansive and interactive world that it quite often feels as though you are playing it online. For the First Person Shooter fan then Gears of War is another must. This game, for some, stands head and shoulders above all others in the graphics department and gets pretty close to the top in the gameplay department. And finally, but by no means least, I couldn’t give a run-down of the must have games for the Xbox 360 without mentioning Halo3. For some the graphics were not up to the likes of Gears of War but what this game perhaps lacks in graphics punch it more than makes up in the single player story (for me the end of a 5 year journey with Master Chief) as well as the multi-player campaign. The success of Halo3 in my opinion is based around the community and this is where, through the multiplayer, Halo3 will continue to get more gametime that most in the coming months.

So next up is the Nintendo Wii which as discussed in part 1 of this blog post never professed to be taking on the big two in terms of raw power and graphics. Probably one of the most widely played games is Wii Sports which came free with the console. In it you can take on the role of a golfer, tennis or baseball player, boxer or ten-pin bowler. To control your players various actions you use a series of swings, punches, chips and bowls through the Wii controller. This game especially comes into its own when you have a bunch of friends around as it can get quite competitive, especially when you get the boys vs girls challenge going. For the more serious gamer then the latest Zelda game, Twilight Princess is a must. Even seasoned Zelda campaigners will get a number of pleasant surprises along the way. In fact one of the mini games involving fishing can take up a lot of your time as you use both parts of the Wii controller to cast your line and look for a bite. Speaking of fishing if you do fancy yourself as a bit of an angler then you may want to consider Big Catch: Bass Fishing, which again allows you to fish from the comfort of your own home. One thing I would say about the Wii is that given that the majority of games involve you getting up from the sofa and flailing your arms around to control the action you may want to consider closing the front curtains to avoid your neighbours calling up the funny farm police.

Finally we have the Playstation 3 which has been the newest addition in the UKs latest generation of console offerings. Two games stood out for this console at launch. Motostorm which drops you into the non-stop action of an off road ATV, Big Rig or Motorcycle driver and then takes you online to pit your skills against up to 16 other players. Motostorm differs from the normal off-road racer by bringing an element of kill or be killed - that’s right to win you need to think about survival. In the FPS genre Resistance Fall Of Man was hailed as the Halo3 beater. Well perhaps not but it still delivers plenty of action along the way with both a single and multiplayer online mode. Other games you may think about picking up for the Playstation 3 include Forumal One, WarHawk or Heavenly Sword.

So this has been a brief introduction into some of the top rated games currently available for all 3 consoles. The 3rd and final part of this blog post will focus on the future of the consoles and how the big three in Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft hope to keep us, the gamers, coming back for more - so stay tuned.

Posted on November 13th, 2007 by nigel