Shopping for Video Games?

With the holidays upon us, the rise in video game sales will keep going up. Not sure what video games are available these past few months? Want to give your friend or family member something awesome to play for their game console? Or maybe there’s something you have been dying to play and want to give yourself a little Christmas gift? To help decide what games to get, here is a weekly list of recently released video games in the past couple months. Each week we will post new ones to help you chose.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS): Released on November 22, the new addition to the Zelda franchise has scored high in the polls on game review sites such as Metacritic and Nintendojo. Set in the same game world as the SNES classic Zelda: A Link to the Past, the story unfolds as Link finds himself transported into a painting in order to reach the parallel dimension Hyrule.

Nintendojo, a site that has written game reviews since 1996, includes a positive review of the game written by Andy Hoover. Hoover states on the site, “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is an amazing accomplishment; it manages to root itself deep in the fertile nostalgia millions of gamers have for A Link to the Past while simultaneously morphing classic Zelda mechanics and introducing brand new ideas that fit in perfectly with the storied franchise.”

The game, of course, consists of the usual Zelda classic elements such as dungeon play, puzzles, traps, bow and arrow, a tossed boomerang, and the occasional bomb. Fans of any age that love a good Nintendo game, let alone a great 3DS one, will be sure to enjoy this latest installment.

Pokemon X&Y (3DS): With over 700 pokemon available in Nintendo’s latest installment to the Pokemon franchise, it is no wonder that the game’s popularity has skyrocketed since its release in October.

“Whether you’re a pokefreak or a trainer who hasn’t played since the days of Red and Blue, Pokemon X/Y is easily the most enticing entry in the franchise in years” (Randolph Ramsay, Gamestop X/Y Review).

As an additional bonus to the game, players can now put their own personal touch to their characters through the game’s options of clothing style (boutique stores) and hair style (hair salon). Not to mention the 3D game style is a nice plus to the pokemon battles. Fans of all ages will definitely enjoy the game.

Super Mario 3D World (Wii U): Ready to return to the land of Mario and Luigi? Here in the latest installment, players can have the choice to play as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach or Toad. The game was released in late November and scored a 94 in the Metacritic game poll. Super Mario 3D World provides its players the opportunity to interact and help friends throughout the game as they interact with the game’s exiting 3D elements.

“Work together with your friends or compete for the crown in the first multiplayer 3D Mario game for the Wii U console” (Metacritic).

Super Mario fans will be entertained for hours, along with their friends, with this game. A great addition to group play fun.

Battlefield 4 (PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3): Released last month, Battlefield 4 provides the player with a lot of action packed scenes of all types of combat. Players have the opportunity to go into Commander Mode to lead their troops and change the way the battle is won. Up to 64 players can participate at the same time online as they make their way to victory.

According to the IGN site, “Battlefield 4 is a greatest hits album of DICE’s multiplayer first-person shooter legacy. It retains the defining DNA of Battlefield 1942, re-adopts Battlefield 2’s brilliant Commander mode, and exaggerates the destruction of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, all while embracing the realism, class reorganization, and gorgeous graphics of Battlefield 3” (Mitch Dyer, “64 Styes of Danger,” IGN).

For further game listings check out sites such as IGN, Gamestop, and Metacritic and read the reviews of both critics and fans before making the choice.

Photos courtesy of Stephan Mosel, mattjerome_88, and Hikaru Kazushime via Flickr.