Games For Christmas

21 Dec 2009 at 17:46:57 by

This year we thought we'd give you the ultimate guide to the Christmas games you should be playing.  So if you've not played these titles, or you've played them but on your own, this might be the time of year to let loose a little and try involving other people in your gaming world...

Boom Blox Bash Party

Most of you won't be surprised to see this title at the top of my list. It's a game which I've been totally hooked by and Bash Party, the sequel to the first game, really does just make the game bigger, better and a lot more fun.

If you've not heard about or read anything on Boom Blox, then I suggest you look at our coverage of the title and its conception. The idea is simple, and simply amazing. Grab your Wiimote and knock down as many gem blocks as you can. But with Boom Blox Bash Party it's no longer just gem blocks you have to knock down. As well as the slingshot and multiple balls to throw at towers of blocks, Boom Blox Bash Party gives you more tools in all of its game modes; such as a Jenga-like hand and canons in the single player mode, Crazy Golf levels in both the competitive and co-operative modes, as well as a host of new shapes and sizes of blocks that vary from cylinders to pyramids and detailed physics to go with it. Add to this more ball types (virus balls, super bomb balls and many more) and you have a game which will keep you and your family entertained for hours.

The beauty of Boom Blox Bash Party is that it can be played by anyone, and if you've played the first game and didn't think it could get any better then you are in for a brilliant surprise.

Oh, and if you do manage to finish all the levels with gold or you really can't be bothered to make your own level (in a much more comprehensive level builder it has to be said), then you can download more levels from other Boom Blox players and the EA team from the EA servers online. For free.

SingStar/Lips

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas if there weren't some cretin family member blasting out a tune like an ill man on a toilet. Actually, that sound would probably be better than the singing, but I digress...

I've amalgamated these two because I think it's fair to say that they both have their strengths and weaknesses, but more to the point, they're exclusive to their console format. I was going to include We Sing, the Wii version, but it's not in the same league and I'd rather go out and actually buy a karaoke machine than use We Sing on the Wii.

Lips, the 360 version, has some cool features like shaking and dancing along to your song, as well as being able to use your own avatar to sing.

SingStar, the PS3 version, has a larger song base and is the more established game. It's note charts aren't as good as Lips, but it's still got some pretty cool features too, like sharing your attempt at a track with a community online.

So if you're up for some Karaoke, then avoid We Sing...

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

We all know who Mario is and it's about bloody time he made an appearance on the Wii in his traditional way, and not in a 3D, space-hopping, galaxy spanning way. So enter New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a platformer which can be played by up to four people at a time. Yes four people. Now this might sound like fun, but it's better than fun.

Not only have you got the traditional game mechanics of Mario, but the environments are great and really well done, the accessories such as the mushroom and flower varieties are great, and you have some new items which soon become favourites, such as the "gay, jump suit" (or flying suit as it's better known) and the penguin suit which affords you better movement in water. It's a real shame, however, that things like the racoon suit and aren't included, but to be honest, the variety of items is enough.

So why so fun? Well, simple really. You can play this sensibly if you wish, where all players communicate in order to pass through worlds, or you can be a little more evil by really stitching up your teammates by racing ahead or even picking them up and throwing them into endless chasms or pits of fire. Fear not, however, for you have unlimited continues and will always be able to join the action at some point or another.

If you want a more competitive challenge then there is an option to play a game mode called Coin Battles where you try to collect as many coins as you can. This is direct competition and you can really ruin things for the other players.

The one criticism of this game is that there aren't enough co-op or multiplayer focus game modes. I wouldn't have thought adding a few more mini-games, or different multiplayer modes would have been too difficult to do. Having said that, this game is great fun and because it's Mario, will probably appeal to everyone.

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