Of bombers, battles and bunnies: The new console games

By Christoph Lippok Nov 6, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Frankfurt - Are you more of a Battlefield kind of person or a Call of Duty type? Where do you stand on Uncharted vs Skyrim?

It's time to get those questions straight, because the period leading up to Christmas is the most important time of year for the video gaming industry. That explains the horde of sequels, such as Uncharted 3, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Sonic Generations.

But gamers also like fighting, which also means a new crop heavy on shooting and war games. When it comes to soldiers, wars and the military, video gamers like things to be realistic. Several new games are vying for this segment of the market, with releases due in the coming weeks.

Flight simulators have a somewhat musty image to brush off. With easy play and a contemporary story, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon from Namco Bandai hopes to breathe some new life into the genre.

The story is based on one by military novelist Jim DeFelice, who also contributed to books such as Dreamland and Deep Black. Several East African nations have appealed to the United Nations for help in fighting pirates and rebels terrorizing the coast. But things take a dramatic turn for the peacekeepers when they realize the rebels are using a never-before-seen super-weapon.

Players have a choice of multiple characters before setting off on one of the game's 17 missions, all of which head to a far-flung corner of the world. Players can choose between 31 aircraft, including bombers, fighters and helicopters.

A special segment is the dogfight mode, which depicts close-up encounters that look like they're taken from a movie. There are single-player and multi-player modes, like conquering, supremacy and deathmatch. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is being released for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360. Both versions cost about 50 euros (71 dollars).

Battlefield 3 from Electronic Arts focuses on realistic fighting. For the first time, the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 game is coming out with a new gaming engine called Frostbite 2. It promises opulent graphics and surroundings that can be destroyed during combat.

Among the locations that can be destroyed during play are Paris, Tehran and New York. Because of the intense fighting, the game is not for sale to minors.

Whether playing in single-player or multi-player mode, you're not restricted to travelling by foot in this game. There are tanks and airplanes to help get you around. Battlefield 3 sells for about 60 euros. There is also a PC version available.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is Battlefield's top competitor. From Activision, Call of Duty has players controlling a group of elite soldiers searching for Russian terrorists. The mission sends them to places like Berlin and London, with fights fought from a variety of perspectives, switching around like scenes in an action film.

On top of that, there's the game's multi-player mode, well known from previous iterations, but this time with new weapons, levels and skills from which to choose. Just like previous versions, this one is also not intended for minors. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 comes out on November 8 for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360 (about 60 euros each), the Wii (about 55 euros) and PCs.

Lord of the Rings: War in the North, from Warner Interactive, is also about battles. Of course, here, realism is not key. Unlike earlier games in the series, players are taken to settings not featured in the movies. Among the more well-known locations are the Shire. Characters like Frodo and Gandalf also make appearances. The game has three players taking on the role of an elf, a dwarf and a human heading together into battle. The computer takes on the role of the other two characters when only one person is playing.

Characters' actions can be combined, leading to continuous new actions. Just like in any other role-playing game, characters and weapons get better with practice. Lord of the Rings: War in the North is available for the XBox 360 and Playstation 3, costing 60 euros.

Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking is the standard bearer for family-friendly games this season. The party game from Ubisoft is only for Microsoft's XBox 360 and is operated with its Kinect motion sensor system.

Players are faced with a series of minigames that require a lot of dancing and wiggling. It might feel silly to play this one by yourself, which is why the game allows up to four to participate at once. Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking is set for a November 30 release and is priced at about 50 euros.