Big guns laying low, but gamers will still be pleased

By Victor Godinez
Dallas Morning News

Evil aliens may be in short supply this holiday season, and carjackings, muggings and murders-for-hire may be way down from last year. But gamers looking for something nice under the tree this year will find more than a dirty lump of coal.

The holiday shopping season is traditionally the strongest sales period for video and computer games, as publishers hustle out their "A" titles to accommodate frantic parents and gleeful gamers.

This year, several high-profile games have been postponed until early 2004, and others simply were never targeted for a Christmas release.

Among the titles that couldn't get finished in time for the holidays: Halo 2 for Microsoft's Xbox, and Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 for the PC.

Other big titles that aren't expected until 2004: Gran Turismo 4 for the PlayStation 2, Fable for the Xbox and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for the GameCube.

Rockstar Games dominated last year's holiday season with its Grand Theft Auto: Vice City title for the PS2. There are no new games in that line coming out this year, except for Xbox versions of the Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City.

But enough top-of-the-line games are being released in the coming weeks that most gamers will find something to play.

And most experts are predicting another solid Santa season, despite the no-shows.

For example, Nintendo cut the price on its GameCube console to $99 a couple of weeks ago and has seen sales quadruple.

Also, research firm NPD Group said last week that the number of video game copies sold was up 14 percent for consoles and 5.7 percent for handheld consoles from January to August, compared with the same time last year.

In the same period, total video game dollar sales were down 3.4 percent, thanks to price cuts and a hardware market that's approaching the saturation point.

So here's a look at some of the games that will pop up on wish lists this holiday season.

Viewtiful Joe

• Release date: Came out Oct. 7.
• Platform: GameCube.
• Publisher: Capcom.
• Price: $39.
• Why you should care: Viewtiful Joe is a throwback to the two-dimensional, side-scrolling platform games of consoles past, where your character runs from one side of the screen to the other. But the game also boasts some fantastical, cel-shaded graphics and interesting game ideas. You play as Joe, who has been magically transported into a movie to defeat the bad guys and save his girlfriend. You use special effects to beat up enemies and solve puzzles.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

• Release date: Tuesday.
• Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PC and Game Boy Advance.
• Publisher: Electronic Arts.
• Price: $49.
• Why you should care: Last year's Two Towers game from EA was a great action-adventure title, and Return of the King looks even better. The game is based on the movies, not the books, which is good and bad. It's good because all the actors from the films lend their voices to the game, and the nonstop action looks like it will be a blast. Unfortunately, most of the nuance in the books is lost, and the missions are straightforward slash-and-stab extravaganzas. But after Vivendi recently canceled its competing Rings title, The Treason of Isengard, EA's offering is the only game in town.

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun

• Release date: Nov. 11.
• Platform: PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.
• Publisher: Electronic Arts.
• Price: $49.
• Why you should care: The original Medal of Honor was a World War II shooting game that let you fight your way across Europe. This time, the Pacific theater is your playground. Just as the original title kicked off with a stunning, real-time landing at Normandy, Rising Sun starts with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. You scramble from your bunk to the main deck and fight off waves of bombers. Then you battle through jungles and beaches on your way to Japan. PS2 owners can compete against other gamers online.

Mario Kart: Double Dash

• Release date: Nov. 17.
• Platform: GameCube.
• Publisher: Nintendo.
• Price: $49.
• Why you should care: The Mario Kart racing games have made up one of the best franchises for the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64. This update brings back the hectic go-cart action, featuring some of the most famous Nintendo characters such as Mario and Donkey Kong. The previous Mario Kart games were intricate enough for accomplished video game fans but simple enough for rookies to have fun. Double Dash continues this trend.

Half-life 2

• Release date: Holiday season.
• Platform: PC, with an Xbox version in the works.
• Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games.
• Price: To be determined.
• Why you should care: It's the sequel to one of the best games ever made. Once again, you play as scientist Gordon Freeman, who says little but carries a big crowbar (and machine gun, rocket launcher, grenades and tractor beam). The game uses an amazing physics engine so that objects, people and alien goons move the way they would in real life. But the game has already been delayed from its original Sept. 30 release date; now it's set for a "holiday release."