Gamertell

We all have that aunt or uncle (or, in same cases, parent) who just doesn’t quite get it.

They know you have a Wii and they know it requires games but they never stick to your wish list (and they never check Gamertell for sound advice).

And so, you end up with Scene It: Twilight because “...that’s popular with you kids now, right?”

Well, let’s turn lemons into lemonades, as your aunt and uncle would say, and put those exchanges (or gift cards) to good use on great games you may have missed this year.

Dead Space Extraction

This one goes without saying, as it was easily one of the best games of the year. Perhaps you missed it because you were waiting for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, or maybe you just don’t trust third-party games. It’s also possible you never even heard of it.

Dead Space Extraction, a rail shooter (light gun) game, is the prequel to last year’s Dead Space for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. That game saw a comic book and an animated movie—Dead Space Downfall—tie-in to promote it. EA must’ve thought that was enough momentum to help sell Dead Space Extraction but I knew nothing of any of these (and I still don’t care to).

Dead Space Extraction is not just another mindless variation of shooting carnival zombies ducks in a row. Presented in the first-person, camera movement is designed to make you feel like you’re actually there. You don’t just stare straight ahead, you react. You may be shooting at oncoming aliens but, if you hear something behind you, you’ll turn to look.

The game is not played for comic value, it’s meant to scare. Whether it’s successful is up to you, I suppose, but the developers certainly didn’t fail with the store and the characters who drive it. They felt real. I liked them. I wanted to see them get out alive; even some of the secondary characters (a couple of which you actually control for a level). They take turns showing moments of strength and weakness and develop a logical relationship with one another as moments of fear and relief take over.

It’s that damn good. Good story, great acting, solid action and fantastic visual effects. If you’re looking for hard core action on the Wii, it’s time to give Dead Space Extraction a shot.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

Muramasa: The Demon Blade is a hack-and-slash adventure set against authentic Japanese period music and graphics inspired by Japanese watercolors. The original Japanese voice acting is included, which may put off those who don’t like reading subtitles, but you shouldn’t let that deter you.

From Jenni Lada’s review:

I was delighted by all of the control scheme options, and at how easy it was to unleash awesome attacks against opponents. Once you’re accustomed to the game’s nuances, it is a simple feat to unleash epic combos of 50+ hits against opponents, all the while keeping your character from harm.

From its artistic and fluid presentation, to its effortless controls, Muramasa: The Demon Blade is an extraordinary adventure. The two storylines offer additional replay value, along with the two different play modes. It can be a tad challenging, but a little challenge never hurt anyone.

Truth be known, I passed this one up, too. Although it was certainly on my radar, there were other games coming out near Muramasa‘s release that I put my money towards. That appears to have been a mistake. It’s a mistake I’m going to be correcting soon, and you should, too.

Deadly Creatures

I’m going all the way back to the beginning of 2009 for this one, which is a good thing; you can likely find it used on the cheap at your local game trading store. Deadly Creatures is a third-person action adventure game that not only allows you to see life from the point of view of a scorpion and a tarantula, it also lets you sting Dennis Hopper’s junk. Although I can’t say for sure, I’m fairly positive that’s a video game first.

Deadly Creatures is all about the creepiness factor. If you hate bugs, snakes, spiders and such, you should know that that’s pretty much all you see here. You’ll combat all sorts of desert insects and animals, although the main point of the game is how to use the environment to get from here to there. Exploration is well over half the game, and that’s fine because it’s such a unique world to explore.

The graphics in Deadly Creatures are great, the combat is decent (although a few gesture-based maneuvers are hard to pull off), and the length is acceptable. The ending is horrible and the lack of decent boss battles is odd, but these faults are easily overlooked if you’re getting it for free (or nearly free).

Site [Gamertell 2009 Holiday Gift Guide]