After tuition, books and a meal plan, cash is scarce at the beginning of any semester -- and this semester is no different. But after balancing your checkbook and paying off your credit card, put aside a couple bucks for gaming in the months ahead.
Resident Evil 4 is the hottest game in these cold months, burning up the Gamecube charts since its release last month. Gorgeous graphics, intuitive controls and a cinematic presentation give this unanimously heralded action/horror game its distinctive feel.
Mercenaries, on the Xbox and PlayStation 2, exploded onto the scene, literally and figuratively, after its January launch. The testosterone- and combustible liquid-soaked detonation fest drops gamers into a North Korean war zone, and the resulting game plays like a more linear, exothermic Grand Theft Auto.
After Mercenaries, Playboy: The Mansion was January's other series premiere. A raunchy Sims knock-off, Playboy is currently titillating the loins -- and wallets -- of America's predominantly male gaming populace.
On the PS2, Suikoden IV and The Getaway:Black Monday are seeing lukewarm receptions. RPG gamers take issue with Suikoden's incessant, middling battle sequences and a storyline that doesn't live up to its potential. The Getaway is drawing criticism for its brevity and imprecise controls, though a compelling storyline and true-to-life re-creation of London's cityscape save the game from mediocrity.
After Black Monday, PS2 sales will be driven by the eagerly-anticipated, oft-delayed Gran Turismo 4, an obscenely exhaustive simulation racer shipping just in time for Spring Break. Forza MotorSports is the Xbox's answer to Gran Turismo, with similarly detailed tracks and a massive car roster.
Until Forza's May release, Xbox owners will stay busy with Brothers in Arms, a squad-based World War II first-person shooter. And gamers nonplussed by Gran Turismo can take solace in March's God of War, a Prince of Persia-style hack-n-slash, and Devil May Cry 3, a gothy action/adventure.
The Nintendo DS comes off an amazing holiday season with the addictive, ADHD-prone WarioWare: Touched! in February and the third turn-based strategy game in the fantastic Advance Wars series this March.
On the GameCube, StarFox Armada satisfies the flight sim fanboys in mid-February while bongo players beat their way through Donkey Konga: Jungle Beat, a hybrid music platformer out this March.
New Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell titles keep console action gamers busy this Spring as Xbox and PC-owners fight George Lucas' Clone Wars in Star Wars Republic Commando. Meanwhile, The Matrix Online caters to the Massively Multiplayer Online audience not smitten with World of Warcraft, a game so popular that Blizzard's initial server batch is sold out and the publisher has stopped selling copies of the fastest-selling PC game ever.
Casual PC gamers, on the other hand, are holding their breath for The Sims 2 University, the first expansion pack for Electronic Art's wildly popular life simulator.
But if you only have a couple hundred bones in the bank, save them for the PlayStation Portable, Sony's $249.99 foray into the handheld market. The PSP launches March 24 with 24 games, including new entries in the Wipeout, Tony Hawk's Underground and Metal Gear series. But the PSP plays more than games -- the multimedia handheld includes MP3 and video playback and can connect to other PSPs via built-in Wi-Fi support.
And with up to eight hours of playtime on a full charge, the PSP will last you through a full day of lectures.
Your GPA is in danger.
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