For the final installment of Lungfishopolis’s Holiday Bargain Shoppers’ Guide, we move on to the current generation of gaming consoles: XBox 360 and Playstation 3. Here at Lungfishopolis, we’ve passed a city ordinance prohibiting our citizens from calling these consoles “Next-Gen”, since at this point, the next generation would be the Playstation 4 and XBox 720, or whatever they call it.
In the meantime, if you’ve missed any of the other sections in this guide, here are links:
Part 1: PC Games and Nintendo Wii
Part 2: Nintendo DS and Sony PSP
Part 3: Playstation 2 and original XBox
Playstation 3
Out of all the games I’ve looked at, Playstation 3 seems to be the hardest console for which to find sub-$20 games. This is at partially because it’s been around for a year less than the XBox 360, and partially because there aren’t as many good games for the Playstation 3 as there are for the XBox 360. Still, there are bargains to be found, and there are good downloadable games. I shall lead you to them.
The Last Guy
This downloadable PSN game uses actual satellite photos of cities from around the world. The city is under siege by Mothra or aliens or CHUDs, and you’ve got to lead a set number of citizens to safe zones in each level. $9.99 on the Playstation Network.
The Darkness
This being another gangster story, even the demonic powers didn’t entice me to play. That’s just not my thing. But the game got fairly good reviews, and it can be found for a very reasonable price. As I see it right now, there’s an EBay auction about to end, and the price is currently at $8.
Burnout Paradise
Racing games are a genre I don’t normally like. But for fans of racing games, this one’s supposed to be pretty good. You can find it on EBay for around $20.
Super Stardust HD
Although I’ve only played the demo, my take is that Super Stardust is the Playstation 3’s answer to Geometry Wars. You’re a little ship with omnidirectional shooting, and there’s crap flying at you from every direction. Different types of ammo for different foes/obstacles adds to the complexity. It’s downloadable for $9.99 from the Playstation Network.
Echochrome
This puzzle game went largely overlooked, but I think it’s fantastic, innovative, and a lot of fun. The game is black and white only, consisting of simple lines and stick figures, but the simple-seeming goal can become quite challenging. You must get the walking stick figure, whom you cannot control directly, from point A to point B to point C and back only by rotating the environment. When an obstacle isn’t visible from your point of view, it does not exist. And when two planes appear to line up, the stick figure can walk from one to another even if they’re actually far apart. It’s half Lemmings and half M.C. Escher. Echochrome is available for download on the Playstation Network for $9.99.
Assassins Creed
Although the game didn’t totally live up to the hype, it was still fun. I’m not sure if it’s technically a stealth game when the stealth involves less hiding and more blending into a crowd, but the building climbing was well-done even if the stealth wasn’t. Battles annoyed me, and the game quickly grew monotonous. Thus, I never finished. But it’s definitely an interesting game, well-worth $15 on EBay for a used copy.
Resistance: Fall of Man
Although I’ve never played Resistance, the premise seems very Half-Life 2 to me. Alien Invasion. Fight the aliens. The sequel just came out, and while you won’t find Resistance 2 anywhere for under $20, you can get caught up on the story by grabbing the original on EBay for $16.50 used.
Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
I played the PC version months ago, but just finally now, the first Penny Arcade game has come to the Playstation Network. It’s fun. And it’s very crude. Not for kids. But it’s the most fun I’ve had with an episodic game other than the Half-Life 2 episodes. If you like Penny Arcade’s style of humor, I recommend it. You can download it for $14.99 from the Playstation Network.
Oblivion
Oblivion was one of the earliest games to come out for the Playstation 3. I played the heck out of the PC version, myself. It’s a fantastic RPG, and now that it’s a couple years old, you can find a copy on EBay for around $20.
Pixeljunk Monsters
For the past few months, since I sold my copies of Assassins’ Creed and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune on EBay, I’ve had no game discs for the Playstation 3. What have I been playing? Pixeljunk Monsters. This is hands-down my favorite Playstation 3 game. You can go back and read the three part guide I wrote up for it if you’re interested. Pixeljunk Monsters is a $9.99 download from the Playstation Network.
XBox 360
First of all, I completely agree with Greg about Penny Arcade, The Darkness, Burnout Paradise, Oblivion and Assassin’s Creed. All of these are also available for the 360. I’ll also add some more.
The Orange Box
I saw The Orange Box at Target for 20 bucks this weekend and was tempted to buy it all over again. Getting Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 for 20 bucks is an absolute steal. Any of those games would be worth 20 bucks, but all of them for 20? That’s downright unreal.
Mass Effect
Mass Effect can be had for about 19 bucks on Ebay, presumably less if you look hard enough. This game was a great deal at 60, so for 20 it’s well worth it. A gripping story, memorable characters, a fantastic dialog system and plenty of hard hitting sci-fi action makes it one of the most memorable RPG’s of late and one of BioWare’s best. Get it for the RPG enthusiast or sci-fi junkie on your list.
Gears of War
The second one just came out, and it’s good and all, but for sheer balls to the wall intensity, nothing beats the original. Gears of War is chock full of crappy writing and substandard story telling, but it also has some of the most intense moments in gaming I’ve ever experienced. Grab a friend, jump into the story co-op style and have a blast. You should be able to find it on Ebay for no more than 15.
1600 Microsoft Points Card
Unlike the PSN, the Xbox Live Marketplace uses Microsoft Points as a unit of currency. Most stores sell 1600 points for 20 bucks, which is the ratio we’ll use when discussing the price of Xbox Live Arcade games. Sometimes you can find 1600 point cards on sale for 15 bucks, but 20 is the usual rate. Give one to a Live subscriber on your list and let them pick the quality game of their choice.
Braid
One of the best Live Arcade games ever released and one of the most inventive platformers to come out in some time. In an effort to rescue a princess who may or may not want to be rescued you’ll use your ability to rewind time to navigate some seriously clever puzzles. Braid has a lot of things going for it, including lush graphics, great music, a poignant story and some great platforming mechanics. A must buy. Cost is 1200 points or 15 bucks.
Puzzle Quest
We’ve talked about Puzzle Quest before, and the same glorious blend of addictive puzzle game play and RPG stylings is available on the 360 for 800 points, or 10 bucks. For an extra 700 points you can give the Plague Lord expansion pack too. What a bargain!
Bionic Commando Rearmed
I haven’t played it, but fans of the original Bionic Commando love this game to death. For 800 points (10 bucks) you can give the gift of old school, cybernetic platforming.
