Chris' picks for the top three games this year:
LittleBigPlanet (PlayStation 3)
Average price: $60
Rating: E (ages 6 and up)
Description: Like a Super Mario-style action game, but lets users create their own levels and upload them for all players to enjoy. One of our top games of the year -- it lets players design all kinds of creative machines and environments with a very easy to use interface.
Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)
Average price: $50
Rating: E
Description: You move in to a virtual village filled with animals. You can do whatever you like -- fish, talk with the other people in your village, design shirts to wear around, and fill your house with all kinds of virtual goodies. The Wii version lets you go online and visit your friends' houses, and four people can meet up and use the included microphone to chat with each other while they play.
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
Average price: $60
Rating: M (ages 17 and up)
Description: A role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic America. The bombs have fallen, the earth is populated with a few survivors scrabbling to restore humanity in the radioactive wasteland. Also, giant mutated cockroaches, etc.
Check out Chris Kohler's work on Wired's Game\Life blog here.
The Web site whattheyplay.com has great in-depth reviews written just for parents to tell them in greater detail what's in the games
ESRB rating symbols:
An independent organization called the Entertainment Software Ratings Board assesses the contents of games and gives a rating to each one based on the graphics, themes, storyline, etc. The ratings are fully explained here: You can also find helpful tips and resources here.
