The PixlBit staff has put together the go-to game guide for all holiday shoppers, gamers or not.
2010 has seen a wide variety of great titles released all throughout the year. There's no doubt that any shopper, familiar with games or not, could get confused by the selection alone. That's why we here at PixlBit have done our best to make it easy for you. We've picked out the best from 2010 (and just a couple from 2009) to help you figure out how to stuff a gamer's stockings.
But first, a note: This year, we've denoted a few accolades to make things even simpler.
Table of Contents
Page 1 - RPG & Strategy
RPG stands for "Role-Playing Game." These games place their players deeply in the role of a fantasy-rooted environment, though there's two main divisions, western RPGs and Japanese RPGs. Western RPGs have a focus on making choices and developing an individual character, and often include wildly varying battle systems and character progression models. Japanese RPGs are more rooted in tradition, and usually have more linear stories and character progressions. Both types are text-heavy games that take place in virtually any imaginable setting. Like RPGs, Strategy titles place players in control of the actions of others. In these titles, players often control large groups, or even complete armies, managing resources and even planning moves in advance, not unlike a game of chess.
Page 2 - Music & Rhythm
Music games have a focus on rhythm and dexterity, and the genre currently inherits its traits from current and former hit songs. Most music games require extra peripherals, be it a microphone, a plastic guitar, or a basic electronic drum set.
Page 3 - Action
Action-oriented titles have an emphasis on timing, game physics, and reflexes. A specific genre includes fighters, like the popular Super Smash Bros. series or the arcade classic, Street Fighter 2. Super Mario Bros. and its many sequels represent platformers, games based on jumping from platform to platform to ultimately reach a destination, often on the right side of the screen. For simplicity's sake, we're including first-person shooters, like Halo, in our Action games section, since they, too are based on timing and reflexes.
Page 4 - Sports & Racing
Sports and Racing covers all different types of sports in the world, as well as all styles of racing including simulation, arcade, and kart. Realistic sports such as Madden NFL and Tiger Woods Golf are the obvious ones, and it also includes sports titles that take their own liberties on the rules, such as the various Mario sports titles.
Page 5 - Exploration & Adventure
Exploration titles contain a focus on open worlds and loose goals. Often, these games have no conclusive ending, though they may have light plot, instead allowing players to continue exploring landscapes, environments, and ecosystems. Likewise, Adventure games have a focus on exploration. Still, these games tend to have a more involved story, though typically an adventure-based title will allow the player to choose how he or she proceeds in exploring the title's story and setting.
