With huge amount of games coming out these days there are always going to be some that you miss. Now, some of these are probably best missed but in the heap there are always a few gems.

First among these may be considered an odd choice as it’s more of an anthology of a series, but Metal Slug Anthology on Wii should not be missed by any action fans. Featuring 8 different games, the whole of the Metal Slug arcade and console series is here to play either by yourself, or the much more enjoyable way – with friends, as each game does feature a full co-op mode.

The basic premise of the game is simple, a two dimensional scrolling shoot em up featuring over the top weaponry and brilliant cartoon animation. You play one of four soldiers, who with the help of the occasional tank, the aptly named Metal Slugs of the game, fighting your way through different levels and locales taking on ridiculous amounts of enemy troops along the way.

The game has it’s tongue firmly in it’s cheek all the way through. Nothing is serious, with numerous comical set pieces throughout each level, and to keep the ride flowing smoothly there is of course the inevitable arrow telling you to move on to the next section, just like all good side scrollers.

If your a Xbox 360, one game you probably missed at the time was Just Cause. The game is set on a lush Caribbean island where you are special agent Luis Rodrigez, sent to stop the corrupt government. Now it doesn’t sound that great from that brief synopsis, but the game is so much more than that. The game follows the ideas behind Grand Theft Auto and runs with them. The island you call home is basically a huge sandbox of sun, sea and sand and the 360′s graphical power is used well to show it off. With an incredible draw distance and the ability to take a helicopter far into the sky, the game definitely looks impressive.

The game does have some significant flaws such as a repetitive mission structure and less than brilliant AI from your enemies, but the main reason to play this game is for the sheer fun of it. The first time you tak that helicopter up in the air and skydive from it’s highest points is one of the most satisfying game experiences you can have. That’s right, you can skydive. Anytime. Also you are automatically equipped with a grappling which can be used to latch of to other vehicles including planes and helicopters and this results in some of the most over the top stunts you can imagine.

A very fun game, if you ignore the main story for the most part.

The PS3 hasn’t got one of the most extensive libraries out there but that hasn’t stopped some games being lost in the pile. One game that you really should play, whether your a fan of the genre of not, is Skate. At first glance it looks like a Tony Hawk clone, but the game is so much more than that. The game features a unique control system for a skateboarding game: all main controls are mapped the the right analog stick. This mechanic makes sure that the game is a lot more realistic to real life skateboarding and in some of it’s challenges, nearly as tough.

In the game you create your own character and start off as a street punk trying to get themselves noticed and become a pro-skater. Through various challenges you’ll meet new people, earn respect and get yourself in magazines and videos, eventually leading to your invite to X Games: the skateboarding olympics.

A whole city is mapped out in glorious HD graphics and the attention to details i if you will s fantastic, with even the cracks in the road being visible. Also that unusual control scheme works wonders and really sets this game apart from the rest. If you haven’t played it, you should.

The Wii
, as you may have noticed is the absolute dream for families everywhere that want to play games together. Simple controllers and an easy set means that you can be switched on and playing a fun game in under a minute and the variety of family friendly games is staggering. With Nintendo’s ethos for the Wii firmly set to be suitable for all ages from 5 to 105, it’s not a surprise that the third party publishers have followed the same suit.

Some of the best best games to play are Nintendo’s own efforts such as Wii Sports, Wii Fit
and the recently released Wii Music. Each is fun, bright and easy to get the hang of right away, using simple motion controls for almost every action. The good thing about these games and many of the other’s to be mentioned is that they are as much fun for adults and grandparents to play, even without the kids!

On the third party side of things, one of the best games comes from a somewhat unusual source. Stephen Speilberg, ace Hollywood director, has put his hand into creating on of the best family games on the market – Boom Blox. With a basic concept similar to Jenga but so much more, Boom Blox is easy to pick and play but as with most good games, is hard to master.

Another, more left field option, this time from Canadian developers Ubisoft, is Rayman Raving Rabbids. A fast paced, mini-game filled, over the top type of game featuring mad rabbits setting Rayman various challenges. All of these games are fun and again easy to pick up and play. Still with Rayman, the sequel to Raving Rabbids, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, will make use of the Wii Balanced board bundled with Wii Fit and will be used in an ingenious way. Your butt. Yes, you control various mini-games with your butt in the same fast paced and fun environment. Obviously there is an option to just use the normal Wii remote controls, but I believe if you ask anyone, young or old if they’d like to control a game with their butt, the answer would be pretty unanimous.

For a more traditional family gaming experience, look no further than the LEGO game series. Already in it’s third edition, you now have the choice of either LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, LEGO Indiana Jones or LEGO Batman. These games bring top class platform and exploration gameplay to fore, and whole movie scripts and scenes played out all in glorious LEGO brick. With three great franchises behind these games there’s a lot to love about them, from recreating the battle of Hoth in Star Wars to running away from “that” boulder in Indiana Jones. Be warned however, that as soon as you have put your kids to bed you’ll be up playing this yourself as the hundreds of unlockable characters and items will keep you coming back for more.

With that said, the Nintendo Wii is the platform of choice for families, and, if you are worried about a games content make sure to check the PEGI rating on the box, or ask one of those friendly game store clerks.

There are many games that people like to call, “must have”, but what I’d like to focus on now though, are those special games which plumb the depths of awfulness – those with a certain quality that sets them apart. Now, of course there have been thousands of terrible games over the past two decades of modern gaming, but let’s look at games for the current generation of consoles, and specifically those that were released with quite a bit of hype.

Playstation 3 (Sony) Game To Avoid: Haze

The PS3, even though it has only been out for just over a year now, has had it’s fair share of mediocre titles, and a good few which hit our hype laden criteria. The first of these was a very widely advertised and highly sought game at the time of release, but after the first set of reviews, it’s lacking nature was shown to the world.

The game in question is Haze. Haze, a game about a stereotypical conflict between large faceless corporation and small band of rebels fighting for freedom – think Star Wars with less scope and you have the idea. The “mechanic” for the game is the soldier enhancing drug Nectar. The corporation troops use this to turn themselves into super soldier killing machines, but, to keep things nice and balanced of course these troops can overdose and kill their friends – shock horror.

With the tawdry story out of the way the game was hyped as the next best first person shooter, with great AI, cool weapons and fantastic explosive action! It turned out that the game fell way short of it’s expectations and ended up being another generic post apocalyptic-type game. The levels were brown or a browny shade of grey, weapons were dull and the AI was lackluster. As with most of the games I’m mentioning here, don’t believe the hype!

Xbox 360 (Microsoft) Game To Avoid: Sonic the Hedgehog

As you may have seen from the advertisements, the Xbox 360 has over 1000 titles in it’s extensive library. What it doesn’t tell you is that some of these many titles should have never left the idea phase.
For the 360 though, let’s look at one of the greatest fallen angels of gaming, Sonic the Hedgehog, and particularly his awful HD graphics debut…

Now, anyone who has played games for a few years knows that at the very least, Sonic has seen better days, and this game shows him at his very worst. So in that light, not many people were taken in by the hype, but that didn’t stop SEGA throwing money at the problem with many advertisements on TV and a large number of “exclusive” articles both online and off line.

The final product, after all the money spent, was a game that pretty much lacked every aspect of what a game should be. The controls were the worst part. Games can be saved from bad graphics and a not very good plot, but poor controls will destroy a game quickly and without mercy. Sonic’s main problem was that the controls were so bad, and the game for some reason had to take place on a series of mid air platforms with no side rails. The smallest change of direction or nudge on the control stick would send our old friend careering randomly over the side of said mid air platform: instant death and extreme controller smashing frustration ensued. In other words, avoid Xbox 360′s Sonic the Hedgehog like the plague.

Wii (Nintendo) Games To Avoid

Nintendo’s Wii is the home of the largest collection of what is affectionatly known as “shovelware”. Cheap development costs of the Wii, coupled with the huge demand for the system, has resulted in many developers jumping in to make a quick buck. For the Wii, there is a simple way to avoid these types of games (3 quick rules):

1. Anything related to a movie – Avoid
2. Selections of mini games – Avoid
3. Things that just look cheap – Avoid

With these points in hand you can avoid most of the rubbish that has been shoved out the door from various companies. Some do still slip through the net, though. One of these such offenders was the total fail of a launch game, Red Steel
. Hyped for it’s first person controls using the Wii remote (sword fights, etc) it was hoped to usher in a new era for new control methods and the start of the dominance of the Wii.

Terrible graphics marred the game from the beginning. Then there was the awful, unoriginal plot and then of course, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, the controls were awful. Flimsy and unworkable, the sword fighting was a joke. Do yourself a favor and ignore Red Steel too.

Here’s a nicer, printable version of Video Games to Avoid for PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360