gaming gift guide for your guy.

There are some major things happening on the video game front and if you are shopping for that perfect gift for your boyfriend, I suggest you pay attention.

The holiday season for video games is much like the holiday season for blockbuster movies, except the best games have both the drama and story lines of Oscar winners and the action, visual destruction and mayhem of a good Micheal Bay, Eli Roth, or Gore Verbinski (who, btw, will be directing the new BIOSHOCK movie) .

Speaking of Bioshock, this game is one of the all time best. I suggest that if your man does not have it already, he should. You can find out by asking him blithely, do you rescue or harvest Little Sisters? If he answers with a long explanation of why he does one or the other, or why it is a combination of the two, he has played the game. A lot. If he says, huh? you should go order the game for him, and since it is over a year old, I suggest ebay to find a good deal, plus it is available for PS3 now, too.

But back to what we were initially discussing, the new releases that happen this time of year. These are the ones that everyone who plays games (xbox360, mostly) are really looking forward to:


Fallout 3
This is getting great reviews - I still haven't played it (cause it was just released) but it is on my must get list.

Gears of War 2
So this comes out in a few days. I am currently replaying Gears 1 at insane, partially because I've been meaning to give it another chance, and partially because of this article in the New Yorker.
The guy writing the article REALLY loves GOW and seems to have a little bro-crush on the creator of the game. I have to admit, I don't think it is as great as he makes it sound, it is kind of short, and while they are some great little gimmicks, or innovations, I really don't think it reaches the level of a game like Bioshock or Half Life 2. That said, I am still excited about the new game, and will definitely be playing it soo.
(BTW - if your man does not have Half Life 2- The Orange Box is a great gift for a guy, 5 games in one!)

Fable 2
This is the gift for the boyfriend who used to play D&D or Magic, or both. It's getting some mixed reviews, but I think these fantasy RPG* games are for a unique bunch, but this one has some FPS* aspects to it, so I am looking forward to checking it out - the art looks amazing.

Terminology (good for when you go to the gamer store and are swamped by geeky employees who are so excited to see a real live girl in there domain)
RPG: Role Playing Game (i.e. you create a character and interact with the game, and the world via the internet, as that character).
FPS: First Person Shooter
'nuff said

Dead Space
Super Bloody Sci-Fi Horror game, set in space.

Have I mentioned that NONE of these games are appropriate for children? We keep my old Nintendo 64 in the house for when kiddies visit and want to play games, Mario is great for kids. NONE these games are. Just wanted to make that clear ;-)

Other things to look for - If your boyfriend has a xbox360 these are some accessories that he might appreciate ( you might wanna check with his buddies if you are not sure what is right form his system).

Wireless Network Adapter

Of your boyfriend is the kind of guy who is constantly yelling through his headset at some other 10 year old ( ;-p) to flank left, and is jerking around with his head set connected to his controller, surprise him with a wireless headset! He will be thrilled and stop looking like a marionette with a degenerative neuromuscular disease.