Playing Around

Welcome to 2009. We have seen the future of gaming, and it looks a lot like its for your mother, grandfather and ADD-afflicted pals. Cheerfully, there's still hope for hardcore PC and console enthusiasts. It just doesn’t come in a shiny, shrink-wrapped retail box.

For sentimental types—or just those needing a break from the corporate treadmill—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Diwali are reason enough to cheer. But for gamers overwhelmed by the year-end tsunami of new titles, we’re declaring a new national holiday: December. Even 31 days isn’t enough to work your way through all the new releases. So to make the most of your month (or however much time you can get free) we recommend starting with these five games that blend the high tech with high adrenaline.

Shots ring out. Sirens split the air. Sunlight streaming on the city's rooftops, you race towards freedom, breath exploding in your lungs, footsteps pounding on the concrete. Suddenly, you've nowhere left to run. Without thinking, you leap. And for the first time ever, in 3D adventure Mirror's Edge (PC/PS3/Xbox 360), you'll discover how the gymnastic maneuver pans out directly through its heroine's eyes.

Like most savvy sci-fi gaming fans, I spent the past weekend channeling my inner Mad Max with a new copy of Fallout, clearing its stunning post-apocalyptic wastelands of ravenous mutant and bloodthirsty raider alike. I’m not talking about the newly released third series installment for computers and next-gen consoles. Rather, thanks to new online distribution service Good Old Games, I’ve been revisiting the original desktop legend instead.

I am hunter, warrior, slayer of Jedi. I am Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which hits shelves for the first time today. ($60, PS3/Xbox 360).

Thanks to Euphoria artificial intelligence, which simulates every quaking adversary’s nervous and muscular systems (they convincingly dive and cower when the explosive crates and invisible energy waves start flying), the galaxy trembles before my wrath. Molecular Matter software emulates realistic material breakage, causing metal to warp and wood to splinter along the grain according to the point of impact. Unlike rival games’ predictable battles, each neon-tinted firefight and lightsaber duel promises singular mayhem every time you hoist the controller.

Certain moments, a man never forgets: graduations, weddings, the birth of his first slavering Scuzzraptor. Electronic Arts' Spore, a 3D Petri dish that allows evolution of custom-made creatures from unicellular microbe to space-faring conqueror, does for Darwinism what Super Mario Bros. did for magic mushrooms. When connected online, the game silently uploads and catalogues personalized beasts, buildings, and vehicles in a central database. It then grants creators virtual immortality by using the creations to populate fellow players' worlds.

The hearts of PlayStation 3 fans are beating a little faster right now, with the release of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots exclusively for Sony’s system. This is more than the final chapter in a fan-favorite series, though; It’s probably the last blockbuster title—other than Sony’s own creations—we’ll see released by a third-party publisher exclusively for PS3.

Used to be, a guy could sit comfortably on the couch and, by mashing a few buttons, make onscreen characters do all the hard work. Nintendo changed all that with the Wii. Suddenly, if you wanted to bowl or play tennis or help Mario save the galaxy, you had to stand up (gasp!) and move major muscle groups in a coordinated manner (heresy!). All those years of disciplined training to develop Thumbs of Steel (and Buns of Marshmallow), and Nintendo changes the game.

Just because game developers have the technological cojones to create a perfectly accurate simulation of the real world doesn't mean it's a good idea. The more a simulated racing-game car handles like the real thing, the more likely I am to destroy it on the first turn. If The Sims were an accurate simulation, you'd uninstall the program after the first insufferable meeting at work or interminable family argument over original recipe versus extra-crispy.

Sometimes, though, the accuracy of the simulation is precisely where the fun lies.

We're happy to bring you the first installment of our newest regular blog column, "Playing Around" with Steve Morgenstern. Since his days as founding editor of Atari Age, one of the first videogame magazines (covering the hallowed Atari 2600), Steve has served as reviewer, industry pundit and even a game developer. In his new column he'll focus on the latest developments in the art and science of electronic amusement, ranging from game design innovations to intriguing new technologies to lifestyle and culture in the interactive age. Without further ado, here's Steve. [Eds.]

It's illegal to wager on online games, right? Don't bet on it! Our nation's lawmakers, ever vigilant against sins they're not personally committing, passed the Safe Port Act in 2006. The bill combines maritime-security enhancements, the creation of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and, in a spectacular nonsequitur, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, effectively banning games of chance by making it illegal to transfer money to an Internet casino. Games of skill, though, weren't affected.