Wake Up: Time to Buy
Dec 06 '00
Christmas is almost here. For gamers (to mildly quote Agent Smith from The Matrix) "This is.. our time."
Here are a few of my suggestions of gifts for gamers because, well, I'm a gamer myself. Also, I actually own these things, so I'm not mouthing off about things I don't even have. What would be the use of that? Read on.
[ books ]
The First Quarter, by Steve Kent, 462 pages
Price: $16
I'm nearly finished with this book (supposedly "only available at Amazon.com"), and it's a nice piece that would complement any gamer's home. Starting off with a brief history of pinball, "The First Quarter" traces an amusement machine repairman's regular route that changes his career path when Pong starts to hit the streets. From there, Kent conducts numerous interviews with people from all facets of the industry and mixes them into one informative and entertaining book. Find out about Atari's pot smoking workplace culture and how Steve Jobs screwed Steve Wozniak over BEFORE starting Apple! I found quite a few typos and formatting errors in this first edition, but there aren't enough to detract from the reading as a whole. Get this for the true gaming enthusiast who wants to know about his or her roots.
[ soundtracks ]
Believe it or not, there are some pretty good soundtracks out there for games. Have you heard the piano instrumentals from The Sims?! You'd think it was Suzanne Ciani or some other very talented performer. Though some of these titles are dated, they are good examples of great music in games and play very well with a nice sound system (not just their computer speakers).
A plethora of other game soundtracks (mostly from Squaresoft and Sega titles) are available for purchase, online, at www.gamemusic.com
Personally, my current favorite is...
Riven: The Soundtrack
Price: $14
If they like new age music, this ambient disc will go well for them. I still listen to it while I'm studying or reading and it's never too pushy or loud. Composed by Robyn Miller (co designer of the Myst series of games), the disc's strength lies in its minimalism and brooding tones. I've seen the disc at a local Virgin Megastore, but it's also available online at Amazon.
[ games ]
Deus Ex (PC)
Price: $30-$40
S/he doesn't have this game yet? Then you must buy it for them. "No" is not an acceptable answer. Deus Ex takes first person shooters, mixes in gameplay for role-playing fans and makes the best conspiracy theory themed game this year. You can find this title online for roughly $30 plus shipping (I recently checked over at www.compuexpert.com). Just recently, developer Ion Storm has released a multi-player (and Direct3d) patch for this game to add better framerates and a little more play value. I'm hoping that online communities will take this even further, adding more to Deus Ex than just the original content (which is still very, very good and very, very lengthy).
For more info on this game, read my review at this URL:
http://www.epinions.com/./game-review-77A5-F2F6BCA-398E504C-prod1
You can also read Alkaiser's for more in depth analysis of the gameplay:
http://www.epinions.com/game-review-4523-69D55BA-395A5F98-prod1
Jagged Alliance 2 (PC)
Price: $10 - $20
This one's for the turn-based inclined. If you have a friend who loved X-COM (PC), Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX), Fallout (PC) or any other turn based game that was worthy of mention in the past, you can probably find this at your local software retailer for around $10-$15. Hire mercenaries to carry out turn-based missions in the Arulco territory. The graphics are still nice to look at and the game has 'addiction' written all over it.
[ gift cards ]
If you honestly can't decide what to get, then give your gamer the power to choose. Personally, I love them. A $50 dollar gift card from Best Buy or any other retailer of gaming goods would allow him/her (albeit impersonally) to choose whatever they really want, even if it means taking out their wallet to pay a small difference for it.
As I said before, these suggestions may be very specific, but gamers will love them. Enjoy Christmas and don't forget about the games...
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Epinions.com ID:
JamesWong
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Location: California
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 40 members
About Me:
Video/PC gamer, video editor.
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