EX Holiday Staff Picks

Game Picks

Charles: EVANGELION (Sega Saturn, Import). A necessity for Eva fans. Put Shinji through his paces as he struggles with amnesia after a near-fatal battle. Mostly interactive video with some combat. Or celebrate the holidays, a time of peace on earth and good will towards men, with the purchase of a fighting game. My personal favorite is X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM (Sega Saturn). Use your mutant powers to make the world a safer place by beating up people.

Keith: GUNDAM SIDE STORY (Sega Saturn, import). A 3-part series, GUNDAM SIDE STORY puts you in command of 3 GMs gathering combat data during the One Year War. Compared to the lackluster GUNDAM game for Playstation, the Side Story series offers sharper visuals and much better gameplay. The first two installments are available as imports, and as an added bonus, the second installment even supports the dual analog joystick for VIRTUAL ON. Finally, a playable -- and enjoyable -- 3D GUNDAM simulation.

Peter: MASTER OF ORION II! (PC) All copy editors dream of running the show, but crushing the galaxy beneath an ironed fist is as close as the editors will let us get...

Eugene: PITBALL (Playstation). This is the one game that I would love to receive for Christmas. It's a game which can take advantage of the Multi-Tap and supports up to 4 players for great 2-on-2 'basketball-cyberpunk' style game-play, complete with super-power slams. Get this game!

Ken: VIRTUAL ON (Sega Saturn). The U.S. release of this arcade mecha hit is out, and almost a half month ahead of its Japanese counterpart! Much of the arcade version is retained in this 32 bit port and all that's missing is the dual analog joystick, due out on the 29th of November when the Japanese version of VIRTUAL ON is released.

Eri: Have an old Super Nintendo (SNES) system? One of this year's U.S. SNES game releases was LUFIA II. Since the Super Nintendo market appears to be drying up, this may be one of your last chances to play an anime-style SNES game! Lufia II, though not as "epic" as, say, Final Fantasy, is still a fun, solid role-playing adventure.

Mark: PUYO PUYO 2 (Import Saturn, Playstation) The Playstation version finally joins the year old Saturn version of this amazingly addictive falling objects game.

Maria: TOMB RAIDER (Sony Playstation) Although it isn't Halloween anymore, this 3D, Resident Evil-type game will have you reeling with its stunning graphics and detail. Available now.

Chris: STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 2 (Playstation) Capcom's classic formula for fighting games mixed with great anime-style characters make this new sequel better than most fighting games out there. You've got to love the new characters, although I could do without Zangief.

Tom: SOUL EDGE (Playstation) Although I'm not very impressed with TEKKEN (or it's successor), I was very impressed with the dynamic nature of SOUL EDGE. Seung Mina rules!

Eugene Moon: VIRTUAL ON (Sega Saturn). I know what're you're thinking. "Another guy who picked VIRTUAL ON?!?" Well, it's that good of a game. Yes, the controls aren't arcade perfect, and the graphics are also a step down from the quality achieved in VIRTUA FIGHTER 2 for the Saturn. But pick up those pads, play for a while, and you'll be hooked, too.

Next: Miscellaneous Picks