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If you've got a PC
gamer on your holiday shopping list, there are several titles bound
to show up. Some of the hottest PC games this year are also topping
the console charts, while others are exclusive to those who demand
gaming from their computers. The must-haves this season are varied
and offer something for every type of PC gamer, making it simple for
you to find something that will make it easy for you to scratch
another line off your must-buy sheet. Without further ado, let's get
to it...
Top 10 PC Games of the Holidays for
2009
Author: Jeff
Saporito
Editor's Note:
The prices
listed below are the lowest price found on Amazon for new games, not
used.
Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly
Academy
Rating: E
Lowest Price: $19.47
This Nancy Drew
title is one of the top selling childrens' games this holiday season.
Students up for valedictorian honors at Waverly Academy are being
threatened by notes and accidents. Nobody is sure why someone has it
out for these students, what to believe, or what's going on. Nancy
Drew has to figure it out. The game requires logical thinking and
problem solving to get to the bottom of the mystery and uncover the
truth. It's a clever adventure game with an engaging story sure to
entertain younger players.
Tropico 3
Rating: T
Lowest Price: $35.99
Tropico is back
with its third installment, pitting you as the all-powerful leader of
an island under dictatorship during the Cold War. With a Castro
mustache and the ability to be good or evil, you complete missions
your way and decide whether to turn your island into a paradise or a
prison. There's even a catchy Latin soundtrack! There's a lot of
real-world issues packed into this game with a sense of humor, making
it suitable real-time strategy fun for most ages. It's one of the
most successful titles when it comes to reviews on Test Freaks, and
is turning into a super seller this season.
Dragon Age: Origins
Rating: M
Lowest Price: $35.99
A massive hit this
holiday season on PCs and consoles alike, Dragon Age: Origins is
Bioware's newest epic RPG that takes players on a massive journey to
a new world. You can play the game as many different races with
endless options on how to get through the story depending on the
choices you make, turning it into a game with insane amounts of
replay value. There's a ton to do and it'll take dozens (if not
hundreds) of hours to get through the game enough times to experience
it all. Any die-hard PC gamer or RPG fan will not be able to get
enough of Dragon Age. You may just keep them busy until next holiday
season with this one.
Risen
Rating: M
Lowest Price: $36.99
Another brilliant
single-player RPG, Risen is a huge journey on the craziest tropical
island imaginable. Essentially the fourth entry in the Gothic
series, Risen is a huge step forward from what gamers hated about
Gothic 3. Like Dragon Age, Risen can be different each time you
play, giving what is around a 30-hour story reason for replay.
What's more fun than being stuck in a mad world full of rebellion and
tyranny? Very little, particularly if you're a PC gamer looking for
a long game to sink yourself into this winter.
Street Fighter IV
Rating: T
Lowest Price: $27.99
Street Fighter is
an old series. When gamers think of fighting games that helped shape
the genre back in the day, the early Street Fighter titles are ones
that come to mind. The newest installment returns the series back to
its roots, combining old-school fighting gameplay techniques and
combining them with modern-day technology to produce a unique
experience. With such a platform, it appeals not only to older
gamers who remember this fighting style and played the old games, but
to gamers new to the Street Fighter series. With returning old
classic characters and a new cast of contenders, it's a beloved game
concept in a brand new package that's solid gold for any fighting
fan.
Hearts of Iron III
Rating: E
Lowest Price: $29.92
Don't
let the “Everyone” rating fool you – Hearts of Iron III is not
for everyone. It's a brutally hard WWII strategy simulation where
you can play as any nation (more than 150 available) between 1936 and
1948. It's the most detailed WWII sim ever created, is very
historically accurate and puts you at the helm of some of the most
intense conflicts of the war. It's a monster game for hardcore
strategy folks. The interface and options are initially
overwhelming. RTS fans will keep their hands full with this one, so
if that describes someone you're shopping for, try this out.
Plants Vs. Zombies
Rating: E
Lowest Price: $19.99
For the budget
gamer, this inexpensive title from Pop Cap was a surprise late-summer
smash. A single-player action strategy game where a mob of zombies
seeks to invade a house protected only by dozens of undead-defeating
perennials. It's so silly that it's perfect – featuring 49 plants,
26 types of zombies, five game modes and a pet snail. Plants Vs.
Zombies capitalizes on perfect execution of simplistic fun. This is
gaming entertainment at its purest form. Whether you are eight years
old or a father of eight, its addictive nature and humorous
presentation will keep you playing. For a game that costs under $20,
that's an awesome thing, and a great holiday stocking stuffer.
Borderlands
Rating: M
Lowest Price: $52.99
Borderlands is
another artsy multi-platform game making a storm this holiday season
– and fortunately for you, it's also available on PC. First-person
shooter RPGs have been real popular this year following the
brilliance that was Fallout 3, and Borderlands is the freshest take
on the genre, and is completely unique. An intuitive co-op
experience, you choose characters with specific skill sets, upgrade
them as you see fit, and embark through a fast-paced game tailoring
it as you see fit. If someone on your shopping list is a fan of
games with weapons, Borderlands has hundreds of thousands of them.
The game's content generation system allows for nearly endless
variety and should keep people gaming for quite some time.
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Rating: M
Lowest Price: $29.99
One of the
top-rated titles this year, the latest Call of Juarez is a gristly,
intense wild west story about two brothers named McCall out on a
journey of lawlessness. You can play as either brother, partner up
and don a range of frontier weaponry. It's a nice change of scenery
from the ever-too-common FPS games centered around WWII or aliens,
and quite fun to boot. Covered wagons are a double plus. Lots of
online multiplayer modes will add value to this title.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Rating: T
Lowest Price: $44.99
The talk of this
fall was Batman: Arkham Asylum. It's a nearly perfect game. If
people on your holiday shopping list don't yet own this title, they
really ought to. It's one of the darkest, meanest, most compelling
Batman adventures ever created. Focusing on The Joker but containing
a massive amount of classic Batman enemies including Harley Quinn,
Poison Ivy, Bane, Zsasz and Killer Croc, it's a perfectly-tuned
free-roaming battle that takes place on the whole of Arkham Island.
From impeccable fighting controls to stealth tactics, brain puzzles
and riddles to solve, and those famous Wayne gadgets, this game
covers them all. A must-have for any action fan, and a piece of
heaven for Batman/DC Comics junkies.
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