The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Holiday Season Video Games 2009

Every year, around the same time, video game companies offer an insane amount of seemingly high quality line-up's. This usually begins in October and doesn't stop until mid-January. But what's worth looking out for? What to avoid? It's hard to say, since all you can go by is buzz in magazines, TV shows, and short clips on the internet. Many times a game seems too good to be true....and it is. Other times, a game could look horrible and be the sleeper hit of the season, if not the year. Without further a do, this is my prediction for this holiday season of games: The good, the bad, and the ugly.

THE GOOD: Brutal Legend (PS3/XBOX 360--October 13th) This game has a lot going for it, regardless if you're the core selling point or just a casual gamer. First-off, it's made by revolutionary game maker Tim Schaffer, genius behind such games as Full Throttle, The Monkey Island Series, and Psychonauts. If that wasn't enough (and it was for me), Jack Black stars in a comedic hack-n-slash that turns the genre on it's ear, incorporating more than just fighting with role-playing, open world, RTS (real-time strategy), and even a music system similar to Guitar Hero. The game plays out like a R-Rated CGI movie, pitting a witless rocker against a world full of evil he has never known. The game design is solid, and there's sure to be tons of cameos from long-time metal Gods like Ozzy Osbourne (and hopefully David Mustaine). At the end of the day, Brutal Legend looks like a promising, and utterly hilarious, game that will crash onto the scene with some buzz.

THE GOOD: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3--October 13th) It's no secret that Uncharted is undoubtedly one of the best games the PS3 has to it's library at the current time, so obviously it's sequel is highly anticipated. The original played something similar to an action movie, only Indiana Jones style with thieves, pirates, treasures, and booby traps. Drake, the game's hero, is witty and fun, adding just enough snappy lines to keep the player interested in the character. His story was solid and full of twists and turns, and personally, I feel this one will be no different (although, of course it will raise the bar for the series). If you're into multiplayer, the solid gunplay has spawned itself a added game mode for hours upon hours of gameplay on top of the story. Overall, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves will be THE definitive exclusive for the PS3 this holiday season.

THE GOOD: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3/XBOX 360--November 10th) Ok, it's Call Of Duty, and it's the sequel to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare.....is there anything more that I need to say? The online will most likely be great, as per usual (and I've always felt if it ain't broke, don't fix it), and I'm sure the campaign will add a whole new feel to the series. Without a doubt, it's the biggest game of the year.....so it's a must-have on principle. Just buy it.

THE CONFUSED: Borderlands (PS3/XBOX 360--October 20th) Borderlands confuses me. No matter how many articles I read, or how many times I hear an explanation of exactly what the gameplay will be, it confuses me. It sounds like 3/4's Fallout 3 and 1/4 something similar to the rehash of Shadowrun. Now, this could go either way. They say it's got co-op and solo campaigns, but I get the feeling it's going to be muddled. But....like I said, this could go either way. Regardless, I'm interested enough to give it a chance....but I'm not quite sure how "great" it'll be. If not anything more, it might just be the holiday season's equivalent to Shadowrun....this, of course, being under the worst conditions. The best wishes can only hope it's something original and fun....but I wouldn't put money on it until I get the facts straight.

THE CONFUSED: Assassin's Creed II (PS3/XBOX 360--November 17th) I've always been pretty vocal in my distaste for the first Assassin's Creed, but upon looking back, I didn't really give it a chance or see what it had to offer. The gameplay was solid and fun....of course it had it's faults, but overall, it was a mystery game that players bought on the basis that it had great press and promised a lot of good things. The reception, obviously, was highly mixed. Those who loved it, can't wait for the sequel....those who didn't like it....well.....we know it's a good series, but we're really hoping to like it. I think through everything I read, it could do fairly well as far as the game itself goes, but I somehow doubt it will move a lot of copies (especially after the juggernaut Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 coming out just a week beforehand). Still, the press on the game looks like it's been highly improved upon. They took what was good, and refined the rest....and this is truly all I could ask for out of the game. It looks fun, but I'm going to have to give this one a mixed reception as well. Fans of the series will love it, but the rest of us can be a long shot.

THE CONFUSED: New Super Mario Bros Wii (Wii--November, 15th) I very much dislike the Wii. In fact, upon it's launch, I sold the system back within a month. It's just.....not what I wanted from Nintendo. As time went on, I "will" say the system has some off-beat, fun games....but still, it's iffy by me. Any Mario game that's been released on the Wii has always seemed a bit off to me as well.....it just seems like they jumped ship in order to give third-party developers a chance to make complete shit for a system they worked way too hard to make. That being said, New Super Mario Bros Wii (long-ass title), gives us simple, flat-out, old-fashioned Mario.....only it's....multiplayer? This alone makes me nervous. It could wind up a muddled mess and a rehash of a game that....yeah, sure, it's tried-and-true....but it's been done so many billion times already (and as far as I'm concerned, none have ever beaten the originals). I guess it'll just be up to pure speculation as to exactly what the fuck Nintendo thinks they're doing.....although it seems like little more than slapping Mario back onto a system to sell more games.

THE UGLY: Tony Hawk's RIDE (PS3/XBOX 360/Wii--November 17th) What the fuck, Tony Hawk? You haven't screwed your series up enough? Now you're going to make us buy a fucking skateboard controller for $120? No....fuck that. It's getting insane. The first three games you made....hell, I'll even give you the fourth.....we excellent, and they improved a bit like building blocks to each one. But after that? You fucked it up, man....big time. Tony Hawk's games just don't have the novelty or fun that they used to, it's been done to death, and this is truly a half-assed attempt at bringing people back into the game. It needs to end, and the game looks horrible just based on the fact that you need a SKATEBOARD CONTROLLER. No, no way.

THE UGLY: Lego Rock Band (PS3/XBOX 360/Wii--November 10th) .....I'm not even going to dignify this with an article.