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GamesFirst! Holiday Wishlist! '04: Part 3
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posted by: Chris Martin
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date posted: 12:00 AM Wed Dec 22nd, 2004
last revision: 12:00 AM Wed Dec 22nd, 2004



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First Annual GamesFirst! Holiday Wishlist! 2004: Part 3


Welcome to part 3 of the GamesFirst! holiday wish list.  With Christmas nearly upon us all, and thoughts of, what's that gigantic present under the tree?? jumping around in our heads like Frogger, we at GF! just want to say thanks for reading the First Annual GamesFirst! Holiday Wishlist 2004.  It has, no doubt, been an exciting year - and an important one for videogames - but right now we're all a little worn out by the zaniness.  We're ready for next year.  Well, it'll be here soon.  But first: Part 3. 

In Part I and Part 2 of our wish list we had fans of children's games, the Nintendo DS, and other noteworthy games.  We had a shout out to Metroid Prime II: Echoes, as well as the upcoming Forza Motorsport, and then Jason got a little sentimental over developer's rights - we all feel your pain, Jason.  In part 3 of our wish list, it comes down to the one game, peripheral, idea, etcetera, that we want over everything else.

 


Dear Readers,

Giving is great and all, but let us face facts: there's nothing better than tearing open a present and finding just what you wanted on Christmas day.  And it doesn't just have to be on the day itself; late Christmas presents are always welcomed too.  Presents, in general, just rock.  Combine the concept of presents - boxes with things in them - with the concept of games - the things we all hope to find in the boxes - and you have a general recipe for a happy GF crew.  Unfortunately, being adults, we here at GF! don't always get every game we want; sometimes we have to put our favorites aside in favor of some less worthy title we've been given for review, or we have families, or we're building hot tubs, or doing something else that eats away our time.  But, being kids at heart, especially around Christmas, that doesn't keep us from wishing for them, or fulfilling childhood rituals like writing their names on paper, putting them in stamped envelopes, and sending them off to Santa, who, for us at GF, also sometimes goes by the name of Editor-in-Chief.  If we've been good little boys and girls, we get those games for review, and we respond by bringing Santa tidings of cookies and eggnog.  Such is the Christmas way. 

This year, we thought it would be fun to compile a GamesFirst! wish list, a little compilation of the top game related items that has our inner children jumping up and down screaming, I want!  I want! I want!?  For the most part, all the items - mostly games, systems, and peripherals - come out around the Christmas season.  In a few cases, we refused to be bound by anything resembling either reality or income.  What fun would that be? 

So here is the rather extensively titled GamesFirst! Holiday Wishlist! 2004: Part I (or II or III - sheesh!).  In good old-fashioned tradition, we'll start the wish list with the last item on each contributor's list, item #3, and work our way towards #1 as we get closer to Christmas itself.  We hope that this list will not only be a window into our souls, but might also help you to sort through all of the great presents that are available this Christmas season.  Enjoy our wish list, and here's to hoping that you get at least one of the items on your own wish lists, and that, presents or no presents, you have a fabulous Christmas season. 

From all of us here at GF!, have a merry Christmas.

Sincerely Yours,


Chris Martin, Staff Writer
Aaron Stanton, Editor



 

Chris Martin
chrism@gamesfirst.com
Xbox Communicator
Release date: November 9, 2004

It's funny that the smallest, most insignificant things are oftentimes the most yearned after.  Just look at the One Ring as proof of that. Cheesy movie references aside, I simply cannot get my game on in any Xbox online game without my Xbox Communicator.  And, well, mine broke.  I've glued it together six or seven times, but it keeps breaking after little wear.   I'm really aching for that Halo 2 communicator that just clips to your ear and voila! Instant communication!  It's fifty-some-odd bucks, and that's pricey for such a small, trite object, but that's why it's my number 1 choice, because I sure as hell am not going to shelve over 50 bucks for a communicator; someone is just going to have to do it for me.


Aaron Stanton
aaron@gamesfirst.com
Chun Li
Earns Santa the keys to my car.

The Nintendo DS should go here.  I can't see how anyone would put something else.  The system is packed full of Nintendo special ingredients, like charm, fun, and franchises.  But I'm going to break the mold a bit and say that what I want to see under the Christmas tree this year is Chun Li from the Super NES version of Street Fighter II.  I was too young in sixth grade for anyone to take me serious when she made it onto my wish list then, but I'm older now so I'm going to try it again.  Sure, she's a little pixilated, and probably a little old for me now (she's been around a few years), and sure she had thighs that could easily crush a man, but gosh was she cool.  She had this cute little laugh, and she could do this Lightning Kick thing with her leg.  Wow.  I mean, wow.  For a guy like me that finds it a challenge to hit two buttons at the same time, let alone a series of them, the Lightning Leg Kick combo was great -- one button, really fast.  For my money, none of those Dead or Alive girls even hold a candle to her.  Barring that? well?  I guess a Nintendo DS will do.


Steffan Del Piano
steffan@gamesfirst.com
A Metal DDR dance pad
Release date: It's out in Japan, that's for sure.

Okay, I admit it: I'm a dork.  I love DDR.  I love dancing.  I love the absolute cheese that DDR allows me to immerse myself in.  But, I hate my dance pad.  It slides out from under my feet.  It's sometimes inaccurate.  It sometimes triggers itself.  It's the most frustrating game-play experience to know you've got your steps down, but you still have to take cracks from that annoying announcer.  And, yes; I did have my breakfast today!

There are only two ways of getting around this situation.  I could have Santa bring me an arcade game, but I don't want Rudolph to strain his hind quarters, so the jolly ol' fat man can do the next best thing:  order a metal dance pad from Japan off of e-bay and have it shipped to my place.  That way I can dance my little heart out with the confidence that when the announcer insults me I've rightfully earned his barbs.


Laurie Taylor
laurie.and.cathlena@gamesfirst.com
Samus Aran's Cyborg Suit
Release date: Umm?

For a magical-if-Santa-really-is-real wish list item: Samus Aran's cyborg suit, so I can be like her, my hero. Or, a children's book on Samus so children deprived of her electronic elegance can read about the best female role model ever. Or, a movie about her where she doesn't speak or show her face so she can't be marred by the movie. Or maybe a campaign to elect her President (Lex Luthor won Metropolis in 2000, so why not a hostile overthrow by Samus in 2004 - her motto could be "I was the only one that could save the universe, you know I'm the one."). If none of my Samus-fangirl options are possibilities, then I could settle for Resident Evil 4.


Eric Bordrero
ericb@gamesfirst.com
Nintendo DS
Release Date: November 29, 2004

Surprise! I want a DS for Christmas. Who doesn't, right? My stomach was swarming with butterflies when this little ditty was unveiled at E3. It sure felt like Christmas. What better way to make that jolliest of holidays than to give me back the giddy nostalgia that was E3 in the form of a Nintendo DS. Right Santa? Riiiiiight?! Now, leave me alone. I must prepare for the final battle in Paper Mario by purchasing as many ultimate mushrooms as I can carry. I wonder if I'll ever be playing Paper Mario on the DS? Oh, by the way, go play Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Merry Christmas!!


Eric Qualls
eric@gamesfirst.com
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Release date: A Long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away - or December 6, 2004
 
KOTOR II is the sequel to my favorite Xbox game, so of course I'm gonna be rocking it this holiday season.


Tristan Mayshark
tristan@gamesfirst.com
Logitech Z-640 6 Speaker Surround Sound System
Release date: August 29, 2002

Because they're good 5-point speakers at a cheap price.


George Holomshek
george@gamesfirst.com
Resident Evil 4 (GCN)
Release date: January 11, 2004

Most of the anti-Resident Evil people I know hold their grudge against the series for three simple reasons; goofy camera angles, bad camera angles, and useless camera angles.  Resident Evil 4 is not only going to shine up these messy areas, but it also looks to shimmer with a radiance all its own.  This is the RE game we have all been waiting for.  Great graphics? Check.  New camera style?  Got it.  A whole new chapter of the story?  Absolutely.  I know this game doesn't come out until January 11, but if I find a gift card under the tree, Santa gets an entire box of cookes.


Matt James
mattj@gamesfirst.com
Nintendo DS
Release date: November 29, 2004

It's cool and I don't have one. Man, I feel like such a Nintendo whore.


Cathlena Martin
laurie.and.cathlena@gamesfirst.com
Nintendo DS
Release date: November 29, 2004

I don't have a GBA yet and the DS plays GBA games. And really, I need this for research purposes.


Jason Hickman
jason@gamesfirst.com
The Bard's Tale (PC)
Release date: March 15, 2005

Does anyone remember the original Bard's Tale?  Having to map on graph paper if you didn't want to get lost?  The combat all taking place in a text box?  Monster and maze animations so small they filled 1/10th of the screen?  Ah, the good old days.  Why good?  Because the depth of gameplay was there - the story, the challenge, the sense of mystery and adventure.  So I am hoping that the new PC remake of The Bard's Tale will be all of the above and more!  Now that, let me assure you, will make one happy boy under the Christmas tree (better than receiving a Red Rider BB gun with a compass in the stock).


Shawn Rider
shawnr@gamesfirst.com
Nintendo DS
Release date: November 29, 2004

I love getting handhelds for Xmas. And if somebody else gets one, then we can deathmatch Metroid and Pictochat right away with no other software. Of course, I'm going to use this space to pitch my desire for Super Mario 64 DS and Feel the Magic: XX/XY. I'm a sucker for weirdo games.




That's it! So concludes the First Annual GamesFirst! Holiday Wishlist! 2004. Thanks to all the GamesFirst! writers who contributed and all those out there who read it.  So on Christmas day, before you go dashing under the tree and ripping open your presents like a rabid dog, go hug your loved ones, because they're the reason we have holiday spirit, besides all the games.  And also, it's possible they spent a whole heck of a lot of money on you.

Happy holidays from everyone at GamesFirst!


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