AMN roundtables are a special feature where a handful of the AMN editors get together to discuss a selected topic.
Subject: What are you playing this holiday season?
Lucas DeWoody, AMN Wii
During the summer months, we can see long dry spells in big releases that give us plenty of spare time to play old favorites. Right now is not one of those times. I’ve been swamped with AAA games since Gears of War came out. I was initially looking forward to the multiplayer, but now that it’s out, I found the multiplayer a tad underwhelming. The single player on the other hand is one of the most compelling gaming experiences I’ve ever had, and when you get into co-op with a friend, its unbelievable. Its such an amazing game. I juggle my games, so when the Wii was released, I vanished into my childhood homeland of Hyrule as Zelda consumed my free time entirely, but like Gears of War before it, that only lasted for a short time before I started shifting between equal amounts of time with the long overdue Yoshi’s Island DS, the arcade racing extravaganza ExciteTruck, the oil painting in sprite form Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, and the glitchy but still enjoyable Sonic the Hedgehog (360). Now the new Oblivion expansion has come out, and ever-so-willingly dragged me back into the world of Tamriel, as well as serving a reminder to me of just how amazing this game in. If my wireless router wasn’t out, I would probably be drowning myself in Virtual Console games as well.
This year we’re going to probably see Gears of War, Twilight Princess, and Oblivion go at each others throats for game of the year. Its going to be a battle for the record books this time around. With all the AAA-quality software around on so many systems, this is probably the best holiday gaming experience I’ve had in a long time.
Ken Cauley, AMN President
Twilight Princess and Gears of War
Matt Furtado, AMN PSP
This holiday is all about next-gen games. With Microsoft releasing Gears of War, Nintendo releasing the Wii and Zelda finally, and then Sony with the PS3 and Resistance: Fall of Man. Currently the main games I’ve been playing this fall is Gears of War, Twilight Princess, Castlevania Portrait of Ruin, and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops. Gears of War is simply mind-blowing and a blast to play online with friends. I’ll play Gears a few hrs a night and the time will just fly by. When I’m not playing a quick round of Gears I’ll be there going through the land of Hyrule trying to stop evil once again. Sadly, I haven’t been able to get as far into Zelda as I thought I’d be but I’ll beat the game before New Years. Zelda is a great game and has the exact feel of Ocarina of Time from the N64 days.
Since I’m always on the move I always have a handheld ready. Castlevania has always been a winner especially in the handheld market and the latest DS game is no different. With a nice change to the series with the buddy system Portrait of Ruin is a real blast to play on the go. When I’m not playing Castlevania on the DS I’ll go back and pick up Final Fantasy III to satisfy my RPG thirst.
But then there’s the PSP which had an unbelievably solid Fall line-up this year with titles like SOCOM II, Lumines II, GTA: Vice City Stories, and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops. After taking in those Metal Gear Ac!d titles for the first years of the PSP’s life it is a great feeling to finally play a real MGS title on the system. Taking the greatness of MGS on the road is simply great and shouldn’t be missed by any fan of the series.
Gears of War
Jamil Matheny, AMNtv & AMN Wii
Thankfully, throughout this holiday season, I’ve been enjoying the finer points of Wii, especially recently. I’ve played a lot of Legends of Zelda: Twilight Princess, no doubt. But let’s step away from that because I’ve recently just picked up my black DS Lite. Now I’m playing Elite Beat Agents and some old school Madden NFL, you know the crappy version, including quite a few GBA titles here and there. Actually, I just got to try out Eragon – is quite good. I’m really thinking about importing Jump Superstars as well. Mostly, this holiday will be about next… er… this gen for me.
Other than that, how’s my holiday been flowing? Well, I’ve been busy with AMN, no doubt. It makes no sense not to be able to play games this season or more importantly any given day. Do you think I’d ever stop gaming? No. But there is a slight chance that I may be able to have time to play more. We’ll see how that goes.
Until then, cheers and plenty of games!
Tim Dever, AMN 360
Surprisingly, the ‘Knights of the Nine’ update renewed my interest in Oblivion. Since spending the entirety of my November finishing Gears of War twice and completing every song in Guitar Hero 2 on expert, my Oblivion disc hasn’t come out of my 360 once. I’m slowly working my way towards some PvP rewards in World of Warcraft, as well.
Adam Beck, AMN 360
With the Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii being released just recently, it’s strange that I’m only interested in two games right now. At the moment I’m still playing Gears of War multiplayer and a co-operative from time to time along with Tony Hawk’s Project 8. Other than the Xbox 360, I’ve gone back and started playing F.E.A.R. and Condemned for PC once again. I haven’t been able to get a lot of gaming in as I recently got a new job, but I try to get enough each day. This Holiday is exciting for some; for me spring looks to be more promising.
Ryan Olsen, AMN PS3
This holiday is a three way battle for my attention. In one corner, I have Gears of War on the 360 which is a stellar game. Gears is hands down my pick for game of the year. I can’t get enough of the multiplayer and how much fun it is! Then in the other corner, Twilight Princess is a classic Nintendo game, pure and simple. While I do feel that Twilight Princess isn’t a totally new experience, it is still solid and I love playing through it. Then in the last corner (pretend I have a triangle ring), there is Resistance: Fall of Man. By far one of the smartest AI systems I have ever encountered. Fire fights are intense as Chimera try and rush your position while they have back-up to pin me down. If I had to pick one game, I would have to give it to Gears of War as it defines a future classic.
Mike Kelly, AMN Editorials
Of course, the Wii. I’m savoring every moment of Zelda to its fullest, and I’m absolutely loving all the Virtual Console downloads.
I’m also finishing up Final Fantasy XII, probably one of the finest games of the departing generation. Best Final Fantasy since VI, and quite possibly the best one of them all.
Surprisingly, I’m getting engrossed in the latest Chessmaster from Ubisoft. The addition of the academy and real chess grandmasters to talk you through strategy has really drawn my interest.
And, of course, always, always World of Warcraft. It’s not an addiction, I can quit any time.
*twitch*
Casey Ayers, AMN Editorials
My plan to save up enough funds to finally procure a 360 was thwarted by the Wii’s launch, so while my bank account picks up enough strength to finally go Liveâ„¢ in January, I’m just beginning to scratch the surface on the Wii. Thus far, I have only had time to play through the first dungeon in Zelda, a few hours of Wii Sports and a couple games of Madden. As Christmas draws near, I’ll be diving headfirst into Hyrule, enjoying Madden’s great control scheme and finally endeavouring into the land of Red Steel. Of course, that’s assuming that no Virtual Console favorites come along to eat my time away.
I almost feel sorry for 360 owners this holiday season. With games like Gears of War, Rainbow Six, Project 8 and more, they simply won’t have time to take it all in! Even so, I’ll be taking the plunge soon myself…but not until I catch at least a fourteen pound Hyrule Bass.
Twilight Princess
Jeff Rivera, AMN DS
Holiday gaming is always a bit of a weird thing for me. There are so many titles coming it that it’s a hard thing to keep up with them all (despite my best efforts to do so). It’s tough keeping up with the sheer amount of games that there is to review, but I still manage to get some personal time in with the games that most interest me.
Right now I’m getting deep into Twilight Princess, stomping through Gears of War, killing Nazis in Call of Duty 3, exploring Dracula’s castle in Portrait of Ruin, and tapping my toes and DS screen in time with Elite Beat Agents. Of course there are still other titles demanding my time, but these are the main distractions I have from getting my holiday shopping finished.
The holidays are the time when you bury yourself under a massive backlog of games that eventually come back around to bail you out when the post holiday and summer droughts are in full effect; so don’t be afraid to load up that wishlist with anything you think looks interesting.
Tanner Smith, AMN News
In lieu of the upcoming Christmas season, I’m working on finishing up a few of the current generation games. My GameCube (bless thee) is still used quite often with Resident Evil 4. I’ve already beaten most of my Xbox games. I’ve still got to get to Call of Duty 3 and Splinter Cell Pandora. Without a doubt, I’ve got more PS2 games to beat than I know what to do with. The final 2 Jak and Ratchet games, Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest 8, and Kingdom Hearts still occupy my time.
Argenis Rosal, AMNtv
Everybody is playing with their next-gen consoles this season. But since the Wii is hard to find right now, it goes up to 500 dollars on eBay and retailers sell it for more than 800 dollars in my country, I’ll just play with my N64 replaying my favorite games. The Hori Pad Mini 64 I bought some time ago gives new life to the console because its stick has a quality similar to that of the GameCube’s controller.
I’m playing Perfect Dark on Perfect Agent, and having only beaten it on the normal difficulty, I realize now that it’s not nearly as hard as I remembered it was. My Wii-less situation gives me time to beat the games I haven’t had the time or even motivation to finish, like Kirby 64 or Pilotwings 64, both of which I find entertaining, but not as much as other games I own.
I also have Famicom Mini: Hikari Shinwa: Parutena no Kagami on GBA, or as it is known outside Japan, Kid Icarus. I’ve beaten it with the second best ending but due to lack of time I haven’t been able to finish Kid Icarus in its best ending.
Weston Bass, AMN DS
This may be the most spirit crushing Christmas of my gaming life. Not only have I been neck deep in Twilight Princess and Final Fantasy XII (two games that require vast investments of time) but I’ve also started Portrait of Ruin and Final Fantasy III on the trusty ol’ DS. Oh to be young, unemployed and single again…
Combined with the usual familial obligations during this season and it’s simply unfair that this cornucopia of gaming delights happens to fall at the most inopportune time possible.
Stephen Smith, AMN DS
The holiday season never ceases to sneak up on me. Before I know it I am knee deep in game releases, and I have to start making lists or I will certainly miss out on some key titles.
This year for me so far has been one of the best. The Nintendo Wii launch has brought with it The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Excite Truck, Wii Sports, and Elebits among others that I will be playing for quite awhile. Combine that with the VC which on its own has provided hours and hours of enjoyment for me. Even though I own most of the games featured so far. It is wonderful to be able to play them on one console. Plus certain games like Bonk’s Adventure will actually save the state of the game when exited. So you can continue right from where you left off.
My Nintendo DS has also seen a lot of playtime with games like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Final Fantasy III, Elite Beat Agents, and last but certainly not least Yoshi’s Island II. Plus I get to catch up on releases I missed earlier this year such as Magical Starsign, and Super Princess Peach.
Not to leave out the Sony systems, I will be playing Metal Gear: Portable Ops, and Ultimate Ghosts ‘N Goblins on my PSP, and Guitar Hero II will certainly be taking over my PS2 for the rest of the holiday season.
Ray Almeda, AMN News & Anime
Stop bothering me. I have yet to really scratch the surface that is Twilight Princess. Tell my barber that I won’t be coming in for awhile.
Miguel Yanez, AMN DS
Since I’m still trying to get my hands on a Wii (okay, okay, enough with those jokes!), I’m keeping myself busy with portable gaming. Elite Beat Agents is a game I can’t stop playing, and Yoshi’s Island DS is just fantastic.
Other than that, I may start replaying Baten Kaitos Origins, simply because it’s amazing, and one of GameCube’s finest RPGs. Actually, scratch that. It’s one of the best RPGs of the year. Don’t believe me? Ask Shawn, he knows.
(Who are we kidding, he doesn’t)
Final Fantasy XII
Phillip Levin, AMN Wii & Games
Considering my job at AMN, I’ve been playing a hell-of-a-lot-of Wii software these last couple weeks. My favorite Wii game, of course, is The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and in truth, it’s my favorite game of this year. However, reviewing games comes at a cost. I had to run through Twilight in about five days, meaning before Wii was even available on store shelves to Joe Schmo, I had beaten Zelda. So, in other words, I haven’t been playing too much Zelda this holiday, other than popping it in to fish and look for extra heart pieces. After the holiday rush dies down, I am definitely going back and beating it again, though.
Right now, the game I’m playing for “fun†– which means I’m not playing it because I have to review it – is Final Fantasy XII. I didn’t get a chance to pick it up on launch date, so it’s been turned into the ideal holiday title for me to play during the rest of the year. I’m not too far into it yet – 5 hours or so – but I plan to beat it by year-end. I hope.
On Xbox 360, I’m playing a bit of both Gears of War and Rainbow Six Vegas. I can’t decide which multiplayer I like more. Probably Vegas. However, Gears’ single-player was pretty sweet, despite its lack of an ending. I’m going to rent Viva Pinata sometime soon, too.
I still need to check out a slew of DS software, including Yoshi’ Island, Final Fantasy III, Castlevania and Children of Mana. I’m bummed that Phantom Hourglass didn’t hit this year, but then again, I haven’t had time to touch anything DS, so far, so maybe that’s a blessing in disguise. I did try out Kirby Squeak Squad, but I didn’t really dig what I played of it.
Coming back to Wii, I’m still playing a couple games on it for “fun.†Those include Elebits, Rayman: Raving Rabbids, Super Monkey Ball and, best of all, Wii Sports. I love Wii, but I’m definitely looking forward to that next “hardcore gamer’s game.â€
Got thoughts? Have an idea for a future roundtable?
