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Xbox 360 Economical Gift-Giving Guide: Part 2 - 2008's Hits
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2008 was a massive year for the 360, making solid original titles like Dead Space
fall to the wayside. Photo credit to deadspace.ea.com
The year 2008 was jam-packed with great titles ranging from the triple-A like Grand Theft Auto IV to original games like Dead Space (pictured to the right). Because of the brevity of titles, it was unlikely to have picked up all of the 360's best of 2008, but for those who missed these titles, or was patient for a price drop, this holiday season you'll be rewarded to last year's titles with a nice discount and/or downloadable content (DLC) incentives.
Here are my suggestions for last year's greatest games that are great deals or have had significant price drops, making them economical choices for this holiday season.
Gears of War 2 campaign has both local and online co-op so you and a friend
can chainsaw an enemy together... literally. Photo credit to gearsofwar.com
Gears of War 2 -
Game of the Year Edition
Release Date:
November 7th, 2008
NewEgg price: $36.99 (contains ALL DLC content)
Creating a sequel to the 360's arguably best original intellectual property was a challenge met by Epic Games and game designer-turned-superstar Cliff Bleszinski, taking the "if it's not broken, don't fix it" formula to the well-done sequel to Gears of War. It's hard to imagine a game with a chainsaw-machine gun could become even more violent, but with story twists like improv cardiac surgery, the game manages to succeed Gears of War not only in quality but violence as well (parents be warned).
Epic Games convolutes Gears of War's story further with the introduction of Fenix's father, while searching for Dom's wife, and a new faction called the Lambent and also increased the do-or-die epic moments in the form of cinematically-charged scenes requiring quick thinking or easy, instant deaths follow suit. Several of these moments work, like being swallowed by the massive, city-destroying Riftworm, but most can be aggravating such as shooting at enemy Derricks, massive trucks, quick enough or failing and repeatedly falling off a bridge. Although a ranking system has been introduced and the launch lag issues cleared up, the game isn't as easy as Halo 3 or Call of Duty's multiplayer in introducing gamers into the fold. The GOTY edition adds all previous map packs and the DLC campaign mission "Dark Corners."
The GOTY edition of Fallout 3 has all DLC including Mothership Zeta which
explains the crashed UFO found in the wastelands. Photo credit to fallout..com
Fallout 3 -
Game of the Year Edition
Release Date
October 28th, 2009
NewEgg price: $56.99 (contains ALL DLC content)
Last year's wasteland wandering sequel to the cult PC franchise Fallout 3 was a sensational mix of first-person shooter, sandbox open-world and RPG elements. This year's "Game of the Year" edition is packed with all DLC content, five in total that equal 4000 MS points on XBOX Live or roughly $49.98. The DLC's content gives you 4 new areas outside of Washington D.C. with their own equipment and enemies, new perks (or skills), increases the level cap to 30 and expands an already easily 100+ hour-long game. Bethesda, publisher of the game, is notorious for putting bad DLC deals, such as paying anything for horse armor in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion so consider this an even more impressive deal due to their track record.
Meet new and interesting people in Liberty City... and then later whack them,
Photo credit to rockstargames.com/iv
Grand Theft Auto IV
Release Date:
April 29th, 2008
NewEgg price: $27.99
What's to say about a game that not only has movie-par presentation in graphics and voice acting, solid writing and tons of well-done gameplay variety? There are still issues with the game; missions can be frustrating; the issue finally gets addressed in the DLC pack "The Ballad of Gay Tony" with mid-mission checkpoints, technical issues and due to the length, the story drags between major plot points. This is another game with impressive longevity, depending on your enjoyment of the game. With all the side missions and activities, like bowling, darts, and pool, it becomes a game inside of a game while playing as European immigrant Niko Bellic playing his own game, as well as performing other nefarious deeds around Liberty City while attempting to capture the "American Dream." Although this doesn't have the DLC-advantages the other games on the list does, it still is half the original price it was released last year.
Star Wars Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition
Release Date:
September 16th, 2008
NewEgg Price: $36.99 (contains ALL DLC content)
The Force Unleashed is one of the best Star Wars games to be released in years, which isn't saying much considering LucasArts track record with Star Wars games. It has its flaws like incredibly frustrating platforming but it gives you the Jedi experience you'd want; tossing stormtroopers through star destroyer's windows or bashing Jawas in the face with your lightsaber. Like the other above suggestions, except GTA IV, the Ultimate Sith Edition contains all DLC content including extra skins to play as, a Jedi Temple excursion on Coruscant and an alternative timeline where Darth Vader is assassinated and replaced by the Starkiller and battles with several famous characters throughout the series including Boba Fett and Obi-Won.
Be sure to check out the previous parts of the guide:
Part 1: Family Hits
