TeddyPig’s Holiday Video Game Guide

I have a confession to make. I am a video game nerd when I am not reading eBooks. Jason and I have an old Sony High Definition TV, which was one of the last of the huge heavy glass CRT screens that has lasted us 5 years now and a whole museum of video game platforms. We have the Nintendo Game Cube, the 64, the Super Nintendo, an old Sega Dreamcast and at least two of the old beat up and worn out PlayStation2s and now we have a Nintendo Wii and a PlayStation3 60gig model.

You might wonder why I specify the PlayStation3 by it’s capacity. Well, first Teddypig rule of laying down hard earned cash on any new video game equipment, and I don’t care who makes it… It had better play all the older platforms games which is why I will not discuss the XBox or the fact my friend had to return his three times to get a halfway working one. So if you ever see a PlayStation3 40gig for sale. WALK ON BY! Do not buy the PlayStation3 40Gig! no matter how cheap or how desperate the salesperson is and no matter where you find it. The 40gig PlayStation3 does not play the PlayStation2 Titles. Used video games my friends are the key to having fun and saving money. Oh, and do not worry about the Nintendo Wii. I have heard they all play the old Game Cube titles.

I am a picky picky player of video games. When they are great they are almost as memorable as a great book or a great movie. What is even better is a great video game has gobs of replay-ability and that can last for days and even weeks at a time depending how complex the game is and how much you want to savor the game. Even better you can go down to any local small town used video game store and pick them up used for way below the original retail price and still enjoy it as much as the kid who bought it brand new. A little known fact I have learned since I have so many old systems is not to shop at Walmart or Target or Best Buy but make a good local connection in any of the used video game stores to get deep deep discounts on the latest titles or even equipment.

PS3
So now the low down on the PlayStation3 side of life… DO NOT BUY THE 40gig! Oh, and the dang thing is the best bang for the buck if you want to play Blue Ray movies because you can also play video games. Why own a dedicated Blue Ray DVD player and take up more shelf space? So multipurpose and consistent online firmware/software updates is the PlayStation3’s key selling point.

As far as games go… If you get a new system that has added games you can get bundled with it then the only new PS3 game I can see spending the money on right this minute is Little Big Planet. There are more things in the works including something by the team that did Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus but Sony is slow to bring new titles out.

Little Big Planet is an all ages platformer that seems to be the only PS3 game right now that I think really uses all the great features a PS3 has to offer. The artwork in the game is stunning. The music is funky and fun. You can pick it up and you can put it down and you can go do something else very easily so it does not command that you spend every second learning how to play it. It does everything a great all around solid platformer on the same level as a Super Mario should do. So if you get a good deal when laying the big bucks down on a brand new PS3 system this year grab this title with it.

Now, how to save money after buying a PlayStation3? Why run down to your local video game store and pickup used any of the first three PS2 Ratchet & Clank titles of course.

Ratchet & Clank is the meat and potatoes of any good PS2 video game library. They are platformers for all ages. They have funny and witty story lines. Decent comic book style artwork. Laugh Out Loud funny weapons to collect. Even though there is a new PS3 version out there, that is worth picking up USED if you happen to find it, it is still no where near as long or as enjoyable as these first three titles in the series. If you see any Ratchet & Clank used and on the cheap grab them because you will most likely enjoy them.

Now, what about the really great great PS2 games you may have not heard about the first time around?

If I was ever gonna call a video game a masterpiece, a magnificent moment of pure art that everyone should experience it would have to be either the gentle child like game Ico or the moment I saw the first monster I had to kill regrettably in Shadow Of The Colossus. In fact I would not even admit to being so into video games without having played through these, both by the way made by the same team of artists. I swear I experienced whole hours of feeling I was visiting another world. Child like is not childish. I can’t even imagine not owning both these games because they are that gorgeous and that worth playing. But, I can see where they might bore the hell out of people who would rather blow something or someone up. That is so sad, I honestly believe you have not experienced the rich promise of this media format if you have not played these two games.

Katamari Damacy on the other hand is pure WHACK! It’s insane, it’s highly addictive, it’s just not right. Go play the first few levels in the game and tell me you are not hooked for life rolling things up in that little ball trying to beat the timer. Go ahead, I dare you! Uh huh! Again, these old PS2 titles can be so cheap used and so worth grabbing for a few dollars for the days and days of craziness they can provide.

Wii
Now let’s talk on the Nintendo Wii side of the aisle. Well! There is a bit more of a selection here of games made specifically for the Wii and it’s controller with some as good if not better than what is available currently for the PS3.

What? Were you expecting anything less for a single justification to buy a Nintendo Wii. Mario is the granddaddy of all platformers and still the most fun to play. I hate driving games and yet get me into Mario Kart with one of those little wheel controller attachments that you should get with the game when you buy it and I am so on.

Now is there any standout artsy, outside the box, memorable games yet besides the typical Mario and Zelda Nintendo authorized games for the new Wii? Even if they are a little less likely to be deeply discounted…

Both Okami and No More Heroes use the special Wiimote nunchuck controller to it’s full potential. Both have amazing artwork and memorable moments. Okami is by far the gentler youth oriented game with it’s pretty wolf and it’s Japanese mythological themes. In Okami your Wiimote becomes a Fude with which you learn to write Kanji to solve the puzzles. The cut scenes alone are works of wonder.

No More Heroes is a full on hardcore Anime game that screams mature audience only but it is so smart in what it does. I think of it as a Japanese version of Kill Bill meets Grand Theft Auto for people who think gangs and vandalism are well, BORING! Don’t get me wrong, it is cartoony and violent and it is also slyly self depreciating, in a dark Anime style. Since you are an 11th ranked assassin out to make number 1, you my friend are about as dark as it gets, and out to kill people, lots and lots of people. The brilliance of the game is that it makes fun of you for the whole best killer ever deal all the time and it never lets you feel victorious about winning a battle. No More Heroes also lets you feed and pet your very own kitty and collect T-shirts and watch wrestling videos in between all the bloodshed. I am replaying this one for the fifth time right now.

Anyway, good luck and get out there and try to save some bucks this season and even if you do not splurge on any of the latest video game equipment at least try out some of these cheap used games. I mean you have to be a total gadget freak like me to have both a Wii and a PS3 but to any video game player with even a trusty old PS2 it don’t matter if the game is used, what matters is if it is fun to play.