Must-have, must-play games

Brian D. Crecente, Special to the Rocky

Published September 7, 2007 at midnight

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If the next-gen video-game wars has a Waterloo, it's this holiday season. The Xbox 360 has found its groove, the wow-factor for Nintendo's Wii has mostly run its course and Sony's PlayStation 3 is finally starting to hit its stride. The next three months, industry insiders believe, will set the pace for all three consoles and perhaps predict their futures.

And as fall approaches the video games are amassing on all three sides, with nearly 50 massively anticipated titles scheduled to hit stores.

"This is like the biggest holiday crush of games we've seen since 2004," said Tor Thorsen, senior editor for Gamespot.

The problem is that with so many titles hitting shelves at the same time, some of the best games of the year can get overlooked because gamers can't afford to buy it all. "It's like a huge corporate game of chicken," Thorsen said.

We've tried to weed out the simply amazing from the spectacular and give you a cheat sheet for some of the must-haves for this fall:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

• In stores: Nov. 5

• Console: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

• Why you want it: One of the top first-person shooter franchises of all time finally ditches World War II for a modern setting.

• What you need to know: Tight pacing, heart-pounding sound and visuals and a seemingly intimate knowledge of weapons and warfare make this shooter a must-have. It helps that the franchise is back in the deft hands of developer Infinity Wards, who have taken the concept of the modern first-person shooter and crafted it into a thing that at times looks almost too much like something seen on CNN to play.

Halo 3

• In stores: Sept. 25

• Console: Xbox 360

• Why you want it: Hello? It's the final title in the Halo trilogy. Did I mention it was a Halo game?

• What you need to know: It was Halo that helped put the Xbox on the map, and Microsoft hopes that Halo 3 solidifies the position of its Xbox 360. While the game's multiplayer function seems a bit derivative, it is a derivation of near-perfect game play, so that's OK. And really, unlike most games, Halo 3 is all about the single-player campaign - an epic bit of gaming that promises to wrap up the mother of cliffhangers that left gamers dangling since playing through Halo 2 nearly three years ago.

Heavenly Sword

• In stores: Wednesday

• Console: PS3

• Why you want it: A sword-wielding redhead who can snap necks with her legs as easily as she can cleave a clutch of bad guys with her mystic sword, over-the-top graphics and a fascinatingly bizarre story make this one of the PlayStation 3's great hopes.

• What you need to know: It's been called God of War with a woman. Even if that were true, the comparison is far from an insult. But Heavenly Sword offers much more than otherworldly graphics, a compelling story line and lots and lots of bloodletting. The easy controls mask a much more nuanced game than you'd expect, and the acting and character design give the game the heart it needs to set itself apart from the rest of the white noise.

Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass

• In stores: Oct. 1

• Console: Nintendo DS

• Why you want it: This latest in a very long line of Zelda titles breathes some unexpected originality into the much-beloved franchise.

• What you need to know: Over the years the adventures of Link as he searches for and saves Zelda have become increasingly complex. This game manages to both simplify the franchise to attract new players and add a new facet to the play to mollify stalwart fans of the title. The game leans heavily on the touch screen, getting gamers to tap enemies and draw lines to perform attacks and sketch pictures and trace routes to solve puzzles.

Mass Effect

• In stores: Nov. 20

• Console: Xbox 360

• Why you want it: Plot, graphics and game play are all in top form in this original sci-fi action role-playing game.

• What you need to know: Mass Effect's amazing graphics and complex, branching story lines will draw you into the game, and a riveting plot involving artificial intelligence and xenophobia will keep you hooked. Read the novel - a prequel to the plot of the game - and you'll be set on beating the game to find out what happens in the end.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

• In stores: Oct. 23

• Console: PS3

• Why you want it: The first next- gen game in this ber-popular franchise is the product of developer Insomniac Games, who created one of the PS3's current top titles, Resistance: Fall of Man.

• What you need to know: This game looks to deliver a much-needed sense of humor to the PlayStation 3 in a package that blends action with platforming. The game is visually stunning - not just because of the amazing detail shown in far-as-the-eye-can-see fiction, but because it bucks the current trend of brown games for a color scheme more fitting for a candy store. Weapons include a killer disco ball, remote control tornadoes and the baddy-crushing, in-game re-creation of real-life paralysis victim and R&C fan James Westerbrook.

Rock Band

• In stores: Nov. 20

• Console: PS2, PS3, Xbox 360

• Why you want it: Taking a successful formula like Guitar Hero and adding a second guitar, a drum kit and a microphone is sort of the gaming equivalent of turning things up to 11.

• What you need to know: Developed by the original creators of Guitar Hero, this game gives players a chance to gather friends in person or virtually and form a video game band. Like Guitar Hero, Rock Band is a beefed-up rhythm game that uses replica instruments to allow you to play along with popular music. While the lead and bass guitars are fun, and the microphone embarrassing, the drums are the real catch in this title. MTV's involvement also means that the game will feature a plethora of original masters.

Super Mario Galaxy

• In stores: Nov. 12

• Console: Wii

• Why you want it: The first Super Mario built for Nintendo's Wii from the ground up.

• What you need to know: The mustachioed plumber returns once more to cavort in a world of mushrooms, anthropomorphic bad guys and damsels in distress. This time around the Wii's motion-sensing controls add a unique element to the play that allows a friend to join in during play to help zap bad guys or point out things you may have missed. The game takes place on a number of small, gravity-defying planets that can wreak havoc on your up-down skills.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• In stores: Dec. 3

• Console: Wii

• Why you want it: The popular and simplistic fighting franchise returns in this latest installment with a new set of moves and new cast of characters, including a character from Konami's typically PlayStation-centric and totally unrelated franchise Metal Gear Solid.

• What you need to know: Smash Bros. games are a must for any new Nintendo franchise, and this latest is shaping up to be a doozy. This iteration makes use of motion controls, and Nintendo's designers are so proud they've been teasing their international following with snippets from the game since early this summer - on a daily basis.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

• In stores: Nov. 20

• Console: PS3

• Why you want it: Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft with modern pirates. How can that formula not work?

• What you need to know: This action game slips effortlessly between tactical third-person firefights and brain-twisting, platform- leaping puzzles all in the lush environs of a jungle. The controls feel tight, the pacing pleasant and the puzzle-solving satisfying. It's tempting to dismiss this game as a generic action title, but the graphics and tight controls quickly convince most PS3 gamers that this title is a must-buy.

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