10 Absolutely Best Video Games to Buy Teens This Christmas 2007

Realistic aren't they.

Uh.... Where is Mario Galaxy...

... Crysis? Much better than Timeshift.

Please don't be shy. ;-)

you must be kidding me ... the best game EVER is called ... CRYSIS !!! (and should be ranked #1 in your top rank, way ahead of COD4)

Call of duty is way better than crysis just b/c of great online support. Btw its the British SAS, not SOS....SOS is the signal generally used by the elite French army. Also MOA airborne is just about the worst game i've ever seen...erase and replace w/ the orange box...

 Thank you for all the comments.

It was my mistake, it is the S.A.S. British Special Forces. That is my mistake, and the typo will be fixed. Thank you for pointing that out!

Crysis is one of those games that is launched on one platform: PC.  While I do have some console exclusives in the list, there are particular reasons why PC exclusives are not mainstream, and therefore not suggested by me in this article. Crysis is a gorgeous game with good to great gameplay, and the plain matter of the fact is that it won't be nearly playing up to its potential if you play on a computer that cost less than $2000. That's quite some hardware. I like to keep my games lists limited to the availability of the AVERAGE person, not the hardcore gamer that owns a $7,000 Alienware with two dual-core processors and DX10 capabilities.

 About the Mario Galaxy question, I didn't include in my list for one simple reason: replayability. The game has not online (the only system it's available hardly has online capabilities),  and therefore has little to no value to the average gamer. Many, many, many gamers want to see the big Christmas hits, while being able to play with their friends both in their homes and online. Most of these games have huge online aspects, including CoD4 (regarded as one of the best First Person Shooters ever). Even the #10 game on my list has better graphics, playablity, and online capabilities than Mario Galaxy; and the consoles it is on have more than half a dozen games available for it.

Matt Wood
mattsbomb40@yahoo.com
InventorSpot.com Writing Team

only games by nintendo are good, these all suck!!!!

"huh?

only games by nintendo are good, these all suck!!!!"

That's what gamers call "fanboys." Somebody who is blind to anything other than their favorite console of choice, and at free will bashes all other consoles and games. The fact of the matter is that Nintendo has never made a game on the same level of quality as any of the ten games in this list. They have, however, made very successful, simple games, like Super Mario Bros., and yes, Mario Galaxy.

As for Crysis, the game has amazing graphics, but isn't worth playing on anything less than a $2,000 computer with dual core processors, big Nvidia cards, and DX10. Let's face the facts: the mainstream population doesn't have that kind of hardware. That's why consoles sell so well, as do the games for them. 

Matt Wood
mattsbomb40@yahoo.com
InventorSpot.com Writing Team

lol @ "playstation 360"...never heard of that console...must have come out special for TimeShift :P

crysis> any of those games just because you dont have an ok computer dont mean its worthless now plz stfu anyone that thinks otherwise is lying to themselfves.

Manhunt, Bioshock...and the rest...all of them has lots of violence and disturbing scenes. And as someone allready mentioned where's Mario Galaxy? And Portal, the one and only true innovative game-title of this year....are you sponsered by XBOX? or haven't tried anything else. Crappy list....better next year

I can't believe that The Witcher was left out. It is by far one of the very BEST RPGs I've ever played, and I've been playing since the 80s. The graphics, the storyline, the new combat system (which some people didn't love, but I did), the adult themes that were not dumbed down to appease the delicate sensibilities of 10 year old gamers, choices that matter and really effect the storyline (even chapters later!)... it is by far one of the best. The replayability is amazing, too. Its worth actually spending money on. Coming from me, that's a major complement. hehe

Yeah, wonderful job only mentioning Xbox games. Sell-out.

Why even bother mentioning Kane and Lynch? Eidos is the company that made it 100% clear that game mags are 100% influenced by money. Look up the whole Gamespot scandal. Kane and Lynch is a piece of crap, so it's no wonder Eidos pressed so hard to get it marketed as a "good" game...if you value freedom of speech, boycott it!

Uh just because Mario Galaxy isnt online doesnt mean it has limited replayability. Lets see how quickly you can find all 120 (121 with Luigi) stars without using a guide.

Did you even play half of these games? Manhunt was awful and Kane was fun for about 10 minutes.

You need to realize that a game doesnt have to be the prettiest game on the market to be fun. Nintendo makes the best games on the market. Period. Games shouldnt be about how shiny they are, or how realistic they are. They should be fun. Nintendo games are fun. And to be stupid enough to say "The fact of the matter is that Nintendo has never made a game on the same level of quality as any of the ten games in this list." shows that you know nothing about what you are writing about. The quality of Mario Galaxy is there. The controls are flawless, the ideas in the game are amazing and the sound track is beautiful. So what if it isnt photo-realistic in terms of graphics? Its a fun game.

Call of Duty was a great game (soooo much better than Halo 3 what a f'n disappointment). But Mario Galaxys should be right there with it.

Thanks for all the comments.

As people continue to comment about the absence of Mario Galaxy, I will admit that the game could EASILY have been on this list of games. Is the game better than Mass Effect, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, and Assassin's Creed? In my opinion, no. You are free to disagree, if you wish.

Various other comments about the quality of Kane and Lynch could be considered valid (given the Gamespot fiasco). Personally, I enjoyed the game, especially the coop campaign. It seems that many games these days don't cater to the two people hanging out that want to play games, and Kane and Lynch was able to do do this, while many others (including Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Mario Galaxy, etc.) did not. While this isn't the sole reason Kane and Lynch was on the list, the coop portion of the game is a big reason it was fun, and therefore deserved a purchase.

As for comments about being Xbox sponsored, I just don't really understand. I enjoy playing games on all three next gen consoles. There is no doubt, however, that the lineup of games on the Xbox 360 this past winter was one of the greatest lineups of all time, and it is reflected here. Games in this list include games on ever console, including PC. The lack of Wii games is evident, as their only real hit for Christmas was Mario Galaxy, and I have already discussed this.

As for the comments about "kids" games, I listed the ESRB rating for every game here. And "teen," which is definitely in the title, does include the 17+ rating for rated M games. The title doesn't say "children," it says "teens."

Anyways, thanks for reading this article and leaving your comments. 

Matt Wood
mattsbomb40@yahoo.com
InventorSpot.com Writing Team

nintendo is lame and for little kids