Best Video
Games for Adults
From Super Smash Bros. Brawl to Space Invaders
Extreme
by Dana J. Quigley
The overwhelming number of video games on the market leaves
many gamers wondering which games are worth the investment of time and
money. This list of ten console games will help alleviate some of that
confusion and will provide titles to delight even the most discriminating
players.
Super Smash Bros.
Brawl
Developer: Nintendo of America
Platform:
Wii
Category: Fighting
ESRB: Teen (cartoon violence, crude
humor)
Price: $49.99
The third installment in the Super
Smash Bros. series surpasses its predecessors. Packed with more than 35
playable characters (such as Mario, Sonic, Pikachu, Zelda, and Solid Snake),
players test their skills in the extensive single-player campaign or battle
it out with friends in the multiplayer mode. As always, the game provides
endless hours of button-mashing fun with plenty of unlockable content and
stages.
The World Ends with
You
Developer: Square Enix
Platform: DS
Category:
Role playing
ESRB: Teen (fantasy violence, mild language, mild
suggestive themes)
Price: $39.99
Set in the trendy Shibuya
district of Tokyo, protagonist Neku finds himself in a life-or-death game
with a group of menacing grim reapers. The fantastic j-pop musical score,
intuitive battle system, great storyline, and unique artistic style compel
players to help Neku gain back his life and save the world. The addictive
gameplay and fast-paced action leaves players itching to play more—and
they are in luck because the game boasts a high replay value.
Grand Theft Auto
IV
Developer: Rockstar Games
Platform: PS3, Xbox
360
Category: Action, Crime
ESRB: Mature (blood, intense violence,
partial nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of alcohol, use
of drugs)
Price: $59.99
Players enter the open world of
Liberty City as Niko Bellic, an Eastern European war veteran turned big time
gangster. This critically acclaimed game is huge, both literally and
figuratively. The game’s sandbox style allows players to openly
navigate through Liberty City while completing various thug-based missions
at their leisure. If players tire of the in-game missions, the online
content in the game is sure to provide an ever-changing
experience.
Mario Kart
Wii
Developer: Nintendo of America
Platform:
Wii
Category: Racing, Sports
ESRB: Everyone (comic
mischief)
Price: $49.99
Navigating a roster of Mario-series
characters through booby-trap-laden racetracks has never been more fun. With
the Wii remote’s motion-sensing capability, players have hands-on
control of their go-karts as they battle their way to the finish line.
Newcomers to the Mario Kart legacy will be pleased with the accessibility of
the game, while hardcore fans will rave about the online play—though
both sets of fans will likely be equally afraid of the souped-up
blue-shells.
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis
Core
Developer: Square Enix
Platform:
DS
Category: Role playing
ESRB: Teen (fantasy violence, mild
language, mild suggestive themes)
Price: $39.99
The game is
set seven years before PlayStation’s hit Final Fantasy VII. Players
control Zack Fair as he becomes a first-class member of SOLDIER, a group of
elite fighters, and unravels the organization’s dark history. Fan
favorites such as Cloud Strife and Sephiroth make appearances throughout the
game and add to the overall coherence of the prequel. With graphics that
take full advantage of PSP’s visual capabilities, players can enjoy
more than 300 action-packed missions in the familiar world of
Gaia.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of
the Patriots
Developer: Kojima Productions
Platform:
PS3
Category: Action, Adventure
ESRB: Mature (blood, crude humor,
strong language, suggestive themes, violence)
Price: $59.99
Heralded by critics and fans alike as a potential game of the year, MGS4
packs a powerful punch by displaying the graphic capacity of the PS3. The
new—and final—installment is set in a period of chaotic warfare
in which privately owned armies compete for global business. FOX operative
Solid Snake returns to active duty to save the world, yet again, from a
nuclear holocaust. The sprawling levels allow players to complete mission
objectives with a varied range of hiding-in-the-shadows stealth to
alarm-raising, gun-blazing action. Newcomers to the franchise need not fear:
the game offers enough backstory to educate everyone about Solid Snake's
past.
Patapon
Developer:
Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: PSP
Category: Action,
Platform
ESRB: Everyone (mild cartoon violence)
Price:
$19.99
This unique, eye-catching game charms players with its
addictive rhythm-based control system and quirky characters. Players control
silhouetted inkblot-like creatures called Patapons and must ensure their
safe journey to Earthend. Using specific sounds and beats that are produced
by war-drums via the control pad, players control the Patapons. Though the
controls appear simplistic at first, they evolve into an intricate system
that increases in difficulty as new combos and rhythms are
acquired.
LEGO Indiana Jones: The
Original Adventures
Developer: Traveller's
Tales
Platform: DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP
Category:
Action, Adventure
ESRB: Everyone (cartoon violence)
Price:
$29.99-$49.99
The makers of LEGO Star Wars have done it again. As
the title implies, LEGO Indiana Jones reimagines plots of the first three
Indiana Jones films in LEGO form. As the LEGO Professor Jones, players
traverse the various tombs, jungles, and other memorable landscapes in
pursuit of artifacts. The light-hearted re-imagination is packed with great
puzzles, humor, and 83 un-lockable characters.
Burnout:
Paradise
Developer: Criterion Studios
Platform: Xbox
360, PlayStation 3
Category: Racing, Sports
ESRB: Everyone
(language, violence)
Price: $39.99
The latest installment in
the Burnout series has proven to be its biggest and best yet. Paradise
allows players to initiate races throughout the city map, rather than having
to rely on different maps for individual races, and lets drivers plot out
their race routes before starting. Content aside, the graphics are amazing
and boast the most realistic car smashups seen in a racing game to date. The
game sports 75 playable cars and online gameplay.
Space Invaders
Extreme
Developer: Square Enix
Platform: DS,
PSP
Category: Shooter
ESRB: Everyone
Price: $19.99
Marking the 30th anniversary of the original Space Invaders,
this is a must-have for any PSP or DS owner. This new take on Space Invaders
is infused with great audio and stunning visuals, and moves at a brisk pace.
Upgrades, such as lasers, bombs, and shields, are vital in this
reincarnation, with the invaders proving deadlier and trickier than ever
before. DS players can compete with friends over the internet or a Wi-Fi
connection, but PSP players can only compete via ad-hoc mode. This updated
classic is perfect for players who have been looking for a game that
combines old-school charm with the new generation's desire for a
lightning-fast pace.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
