Operation Sports:

Editors’ Holiday Picks

 
By Shawn Drotar

The holidays are fast approaching, and you may have a gamer or two on your gift list. But with hundreds of titles to choose from, how would you know which games would be the best to give to your favorite Xbox player this winter? Well, that’s where I come in—because after all, I’m here to help! Here’s my quick list of some of the best Xbox titles available today, at least one of which is sure to please your favorite gamer.

Top Spin™
Sporting lush graphics along with simple controls that anyone in the family can play, Top Spin is an ideal choice for gamers of any age. Up to four people can play at the same time, and the deep career mode will ensure hours upon hours of challenging fun for a single player, as well.

If your Xbox gamer has the outstanding Xbox Live®service, he or she can also play games over the Internet with full voice capabilities and online tournaments through XSN Sports. Despite its deceptively simple control scheme, Top Spin plays a whip-smart game of tennis—one that fans of the sport will be proud of.

Top Spin™

ESPN College Hoops
ESPN College Hoops takes the exuberance, enthusiasm, and excitement of NCAA college basketball and crams it all on to a single DVD. With 310 real schools and ESPN commentators and presentation, it’s as close as you can get to the real thing. Online play with Xbox Live is available, and the sweeping Legacy mode lets armchair coaches build their program and take them to the Big Dance! When their star players graduate, they’re not really gone either, because draft classes can be taken from the game and exported into Sega’s other outstanding hoops game, ESPN NBA Basketball. It’s great for hoop fans of all ages.

Links® 2004
Perfect for the duffer waiting for the snow to melt, Links 2004 looks and plays so realistically that you might just stay inside next spring and appreciate the break from those steep green fees! Four players can enjoy a round of golf together, and a brilliant career mode allows the player to take on the role of a professional golfer as a solo game. Xbox Live and XSN Sports will allow online play and tournaments—so you can hit the Internet and prove who’s the best of the best. Tee it up!

Links® 2004

Lord of the Rings™: The Return of the King
Perhaps you’ve heard of The Lord of the Rings …

The highly popular books became wildly successful films and have now been distilled by EA Games into a remarkably entertaining Xbox title. Players take on the roles of their favorite characters from the movies and lead them into adventures where they’ll face Orcs, spiders, and other assorted nasties on their mission to destroy the Ring and save the world. Richly detailed environments and outstanding voice work by the film’s stars highlight this stunning title, and co-operative play is the proverbial icing on the cake.

Crimson Skies™: High Road to Revenge™
An homage to the swashbuckling serials of the 1930s, Crimson Skies takes place in a world all its own. As the player, you become Nathan Zachary, a rogue “pirate of the skies” with a heart of gold. An imaginative and entertaining story, told with tongue firmly in cheek, is at the heart of Crimson Skies. The graphics are top-notch, and the “fun factor” is through the roof. Multiplayer dogfights can be had over Xbox Live, as well. Crimson Skies is one of the most beautiful, entertaining, and innovative titles of the year. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Crimson Skies™: High Road to Revenge™

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® 3
Based on the Tom Clancy thriller of the same name, Rainbow Six 3 takes you into a gritty world of counter-terrorism, espionage, and shadow warfare. As leader of a four-man squad of military experts, the player must think tactically to succeed and survive. Realistic graphics and effective surround sound will have you jumping at every creak of a door. Fortunately, easy-to-use controls make playing this complicated game a snap, and your own voice can even be used to command your team. Moreover, 16 players can all play over Xbox Live, and both adversarial and co-operative games are available. The taut realism, intensity, and violence of the game gets Rainbow Six 3 a deserved M rating—it’s not a kid’s game. However, the situations are handled sensibly and are not for shock value. If you know an armchair general looking for a challenge, look no further than Rainbow Six 3.

There you have it. Six of the newest, best, and sure to be most popular Xbox games of the holiday season What are you waiting for? Enjoy your holidays and happy gaming!

Shawn Drotar is the managing editor of OperationSports.com and is proud to provide exclusive coverage for Xbox.com. Shawn’s e-mail address is shawn@operationsports.com.