Top 10 Holiday PS2 Games

Giving a PS2 game as a gift is a surefire winner. Let me help you pick the right PlayStation game to give this holiday with my top ten picks for holiday giving. All of the PS2 games on this list have come out in November or December, so they are newer titles. Hopefully this will mean the PS2 gamer in your life won't have them yet. If you are giving them to anyone under 18, please pay attention to the ratings.This game is the highest rated PS2 game of the year, and for good reason. The Metal Gear series has always been a fan favorite, but this year, even the critics agree, this is one of the best PS2 games ever. The attention to detail, incredible visuals, and depth of gameplay will win over any gamer who likes stealth / action / combat games. zSB(3,3)This is the third, and possibly, final Grand Theft Auto Game for the PS2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the largest, most detailed games ever put out on any system. It is also one of the more violent, which is a plus or minus, depending on who you are giving it to. In GTA: San Andreas you drive, fight, steal, fly and do pretty much everything else imaginable. This is a game that has dozens of hours of gameplay. Gamers love first person shooters, and Killzone is one of the better ones to come out for a while. Despite it being set in the 'near future' Killzone has a classic WWII inspired look and feel to it. The visuals are amazing, and fighting alongside intelligent teammates is a treat. However, this game is almost 'too-good' for the PS2 and it visually slows down at times. That aside, it is the best recent shooter, and has excellent online play modes. What an amazing year for platform games. Both Jak 3 and Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal are sure to please any PS2 gamer who enjoys jumping, shooting, exploring, and solving puzzles. Jak 3 edges out Ratchet and Clank sheerly based on what turned out to be a compelling story placed on top of this action packed third person game. Tony Hawk's Underground 2 continues the Bird Man's winning streak as the best action sports videogames. Even if you've never set foot on a skateboard, THUG 2 will get your heart racing in no time at all. The deep, yet accessible system of tricks is something that must be experienced. However the MTV 'Jack-Ass' style humor may not be for everyone. Last year we were all stunned as Prince of Persia won our hearts and dollars with its amazing action gameplay, engaging puzzles, and beautiful gameplay. This years version is darker, edgier, and features more combat. While it is an amazing game, and looks even better than the original, the Prince himself is a little more generic this time around. Despite the new focus on combat, there is still plenty of time-shifting puzzle solving to be had. If your PS2 gamer like the Final Fantasy games or The Lord of the Rings franchise he will love The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age. It is EA's attempt at a story driven console role playing game, and while I was a skeptic, it is a thing of beauty. It plays very similar to Final Fantasy X, but with more character customization and, of course, material from the Lord of the Rings movies. This is the LOTR role playing game we've all been waiting for, and it doesn't disappoint. Need For Speed Underground 2 will let you live out those Fast and the Furious car tuner dreams you still can't shake. This year the game allows you to wonder a huge city and complete tasks and races in any order. The racing and the graphics are smoother and prettier than ever. The only downside of Need for Speed Underground 2 is that customizing your car is so much fun, that you may forget about racing it. zSB(1,2)OK, I would actually put any of the EyeToy games on this list, but AntiGrav is the latest. The EyeToy is small camera, with built in motion sensors, that controls games by how the gamer moves his body. In AntiGrav players compete in futuristic 'boarding races, controlling the cyber-surfer on the screen by bobbing around and waving their arms. It is as much fun to watch somebody else play as it is to play yourself. All of the EyeToy games are instant hits at parties and make great gifts. The Bard's Tale is a very funny game. If your gift recipient likes videogames at all, the self deprecating humor of the Bard will have him in stitches. The odd thing is, it is also a very fun role playing game. Monsters, spells, quests, and a sarcastic narrator, it's PS2 gaming done right. if(zSbL

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Top Ten PlayStation 3 Gifts Guide: Holiday 2010 Edition

The PS3 is well known for providing HD gaming at resolutions up to 1080p, as well as offering HD movie support via downloaded movies and Blu-ray movies, but it also fully supports both 3D movies and games. In fact, it's one of the easier, and cheaper and higher quality ways to get into stereoscopic 3D at home.

With a 3D HDTV, such as the Sony Bravia 3D TVs, your PS3 can make (certain) games and movies pop out at you, delivering a gaming experience that rivals having things jump out at your in the theater.

From "Gran Turismo 5" and "LittleBigPlanet 2" to "Crysis 2" and "Wipeout HD" playing games in 3D is something that must be experienced to believe. While in some games it does feel like a gimmick, in others you'll wonder how you ever played in 2D.

Sony is offering kits that include a 3D compatible Bravia TV, electronic active 3D glasses (unlike theaters, home stereoscopic 3D glasses shutter rapidly to let only one eye see the screen at a time, but it's so fast it's unnoticeable) and the necessary goods to hook it all up.

With the latest update, the PS3 is more than capable at running 3D games and movies. If you have an early adopter in your house, this will keep him or her ginning for years to come.

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Top Ten PlayStation 3 Gifts Guide: Holiday 2010 Edition

The PlayStation Network gift card is an excellent gift for any PS3 owner. It comes in multiple denominations (and unlike the Wii or Xbox 360, PSN uses dollars instead of confusing "points"), and can be used to buy downloadable games, such as "Fat Princess," "Sonic the Hedgehog: 4," "DeathSpank," "Battlefield 1943," "Braid," "Peggle," "Diner Dash," "Pixel Junk Shooter," and PSOne classics like "Final Fantasy VII." It can also be used to buy or rent movies, digital comics, and a variety of other digital media sold via the PlayStation store.

Downloadable games are a fun a popular option because you not only never have to worry about the game not being in stock at your local game retailer, and you never have to fret over ruining or losing the disc, but you also get a lot of great content for relatively little money. Whereas a retail game will usually cost around $59 for a new PS3 title, downloadable games vary in price with $4.99, $9.99, and $14.99 being common price tags.

Whether you want to see the gamer on your list get the most bang for your buck, or you want to give a gift that comes in lower than the retail cost of a game, PlayStation Network gift cards are always appreciated and are easy to put to good use.

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Holiday Gift Guide 2010

In October of this year ATI launched the first of their Radeon HD 6000 series cards, and while they don't dramatically outperform the previous generation, they do improve on power consumption and the chips are smaller, which makes them cheaper to produce. The difference in framerates between a HD 6850 and an HD 5850 or 5830 is barely noticeable most games, but the 6850 hit the market at under $200, making it a clear winner. This card from Sapphire is very close to the reference board design, with 1 GB of GDDR5, a 256-bit memory bus, and a core clock speed of 775 MHz. The hardest part could be finding a retailer that has them in stock.

Compare Prices for the Sapphire Radeon HD 6850
More Video Cards

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Holiday Gift Guide 2009

ATI's Radeon 5800 chipsets represent one of the largest leaps in video card performance in a long time. The HD 5870 has quite easily taken the top spot for single-GPU performance, and also holds its own against many of the dual-GPU cards on the market. The HD 5870 has 1 GB of GDDR5 onboard and a core clock speed of 850MHz, as well as full support for DirectX 11. It is a little big and occupies two slots in your system. While there are less costly cards available that will probably get the job done, we've rarely seen a high-end offering like this launch at such an attractive price point.

Compare Prices for the Radeon HD 5870 Video Cards

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