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Today, 5th January 2009, is officially the
twelfth day of Christmas. Most of you are probably back into your
usual daytime routine by now, and are looking for something to
entertain
 you
during those long winter nights. The Twelve Games of Christmas
is a feature series that has been run on each of the twelve days
of Christmas here at Electronic Theatre, looking at the
disc-based European releases of 2008, and selecting the best
performers of each month. Today is the final instalment, and so it’s
time to look at December.
Surprisingly quiet for such a busy retail period, most
of the year’s big hitters landed on shop shelves in October/November
this year. Perhaps publishers are getting wise to the fourth quarter
onslaught, and are beginning to widen their schedule to make the
most of it? Whatever the reason, it left the road pretty clear for
Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia to steal the show, with only
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City being the
only title to trouble the remodelled prince.
Honourable Mention:
Colour Cross (NintendoDS)
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (NintendoDS)
Shaun White Snowboarding (Xbox360, PLAYSTATION3,
PlayStation2, PC)
Runners-Up:
Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City (Wii)
By now, you may well be getting tired of this
tried-and-tested formula. A renovation of the GameCube release
(which was in itself a renovation of the Japan-only Nintendo64
release) launched for the NintendoDS under the guise of Animal
Crossing: Wild World in 2006. In 2008, a renovation of that
NintendoDS title has arrived on Wii. Yes, you’d be forgiven for
thinking about giving this one a miss…
Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City, however, renovates
that tried-and-tested formula just enough to encourage those who do
decide to jump-in to keep coming back. The social aspect of
Animal Crossing is enhanced no-end with Wii’s online
capabilities, and although it may seem disappointing to many on
paper, once you begin playing it’s hard to think what else Nintendo
could have done whilst keeping the system inviting enough for
everyone to enjoy.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (NintendoDS)
Snuck out in Europe under the consumer radar – and, it seems, the
retailers’ also – Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is yet another
fantastically addictive entrant in the series. Fire Emblem
has always felt more comfortable on a handheld, and Fire Emblem:
Shadow Dragon proves exactly why.
The game is, of course, online-enabled, and features Voice Chat and
access to a special Armoury, where players can sell weapons and buy
special items that allow them to gain a new class of character.
Games being released that have been developed for Hardcore Gamers
may be
becoming lesser for Nintendo systems as time goes by, but fewer on
the NintendoDS were ever equipped better than Fire Emblem: Shadow
Dragon.
Grand Theft Auto IV (PC)
After some initially troubling issues, Grand Theft
Auto IV on PC has found itself being welcomed by the PC gaming
community. Perhaps it was the speed and willingness of Rockstar
Games to fix the problems that probably shouldn’t have been there in
the first place that has seen the game perform particularly well, or
perhaps it’s the crispness of the PC rendition of Liberty City.
Whatever it is that has made Grand Theft Auto IV a success
all-over again, it’s something that many PC and Current-Generation
developers should be taking note of.
Best of December 2008
Prince of Persia (Xbox360, PLAYSTATION3, PC)
A “definite-maybe” on most people’s lists right up until
release, Prince of Persia was an unseeded horse in the
Christmas 2008 race. It may not have made it into the UK’s Top Ten,
but it has undeniably been a success at retail; the question is
whether or not that success matches Ubisoft’s pre-launch
expectations.
Falling closer to the Platform action of Prince of
Persia: The Sands
 of
Time than Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones more
combat-orientated approach, Prince of Persia’s first outing
on the Current-Generation harvests an array of videogame conventions
and splatters them throughout with irrefutable glee. Critically
acclaimed and considered by many as one of the best releases of the
year, Prince of Persia is unquestionably the answer to
exactly what can be achieved with the technology developed for
Assassin’s Creed, and has only helped to raise the bar for the
sequel. |
