Halo: Reach
You finally unpacked your dorm room, you could: A) go see your friends that you haven’t seen all summer, B) go try and find that girl (or guy) that you never quite sealed the deal with last semester or C) stay in your room and finish that game you were working on before you packed everything up to go back to school. If you picked “C” there’s a very good possibility that you won’t be doing much socializing this fall, and instead, you’ll be putting in some time with this season’s hottest games. To help you out, here are our picks for games that might be detrimental to your free time for the next few months.
Metroid: Other M
Release Date: 8/31/10 Platform: Wii
If you’ve been playing “Metroid” games for as long as you can remember, then you know “Other M” is not to be missed. It’s a whole new take on Samus’ back story, brought to you by Team Ninja, the folks that have spent the last few years working on “D.O.A.” and “Ninja Gaiden.” Don’t worry, the game is pretty short, so you should be able to squeeze it in somewhere between classes and your next trip to the cafe.
Dead Rising 2
Release Date: 9/28/10 Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Every college kid wishes they could head to Vegas for the weekend, and “Dead Rising 2″ can take you there, but it might just make you regret wishing you could go. The strip has become infested with zombies and it’s up to Chuck Greene to escape alive. Fight hordes of zombies with anything and everything you can find in the environment; duct tape will become your best friend as you strap a chainsaw to an oar and mow down some undead. Spend some time crafting weapons in the game and prove the theory that college kids can turn just about any inanimate object into something useful.
Wii Party
Release Date: 10/3/10 Platform: Wii
Nintendo’s back with a fun game for you and all your friends; “Wii Party” might come off as another title in the “Mario Party” series, but it’s far from it. Squeeze a few of your friends into your dorm room, and play a couple rounds of “hide the remote” or one of the other 80 minigames that are included in the collection. There’s nothing more satisfying than proving you’re better than your friends at something that really doesn’t matter, plus, no one says you can’t layer your own meta games on top of who wins each round.
Halo: Reach
Release Date: 9/14/10 Platform: Xbox 360
“Halo” is about to come to an end with its final chapter, “Halo: Reach,” which is actually its first chapter. Learn about the origins of the war against the Covenant, and what went down as one of the humans last colonies, Reach, comes under attack. Even though the game is set in 2552, think of it as your own version of history class.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Release Date: 9/12/10 Platform: DS
Is your brain still in a funk from summer break? If you’re having trouble getting your intellectual juices flowing “Professor Layton and the Future” is sure to help you get right back into the swing of things. Much like the other “Layton” games, “Unwound Future” is sure to be packed to the brim with brain bending puzzles that all come together to tell a great story in the end. It’s kind of like your statistics class, just, you know, fun.
Rock Band 3
Release Date: 10/26/10 Platform: Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation, DS
If you think you don’t need another rhythm game in your room, think again, because “Rock Band 3″ comes packing a new instrument, the keyboard. Rock out with a whole new soundtrack of over 80 songs, some of them being classics, tailor made for you to finally put those piano lessons to use. As an added bonus, if you want to pony up a few extra bucks, you can take “Rock Band” into pro mode and finally learn to play a real guitar using instruments with actual strings.
NBA Jam
Release Date: 10/5/10 Platform: Wii
While you may be too young to remember, many an epic battle was waged during the 1990s over games of “NBA Jam”; Pippin versus Miller, Kemp against Ewing, Bill and Hilary Clinton against the Beastie Boys. Like I said, epic. This year’s “NBA Jam” is looking to take that standard and kick it up a notch. Go head-to-head against your roommates and see who’s got the best ball skills on the hallowed courts of “Jam.”
Fallout: New Vegas
Release Date: 10/19/10 Platform: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation3
Did you pour 80 hours into “Fallout 3″? Well, maybe you should wait until winter break to dive into “New Vegas.” It’s got everything you loved about the last game plus a whole new world to explore… and it’s Vegas themed. Pack up your virtual money it’s time to hit the post-apocalyptic strip.
Sports Champions
Release Date: 9/17/10 Platform: Playstation 3
If you’re an early adopter for Playstation’s Move technology then your best bet to show off your shiny new peripherals to all of your friends is “Sports Champions.” Sure, it’s a sports game compilation with a couple of games that you’ve played before, but that doesn’t mean that “Champions” can’t make a better version of those games, because it does. On top of that, it’s got a few new tricks up it’s sleeve, like bocce, and really, when was the last time you played a good game of virtual bocce?
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
Release Date: 10/5/10 Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
If you’ve been vampire hunting all your life with the Belmonts, then “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” may be more important to you this semester than that C you need to pass your philosophy class. More of a reboot than a sequel, “Lords of Shadow” has Gabriel Belmont adventuring through a gorgeous 3D castle, looking to put an end to the supernatural creatures that murdered his wife.
