By KATRINA EDLEFSEN
If you have yet to spend the EB Games gift card you received as a gift or have some Christmas money still burning a hole in your pocket and are looking for a way to escape from winter, then you may want to consider going on a five-star gaming getaway.
The video game industry always makes a large profit during the holiday season and this year was no different with so many new titles and systems hitting shelves. If you are looking for some new games post-Christmas, you are in luck since you can now go take a look at the reviews given to the season’s big sellers.
According to Harshbir Sandhu, who works part-time at EB Games while studying at Conestoga as a second-year marketing student, 2013 was a great year for games.
“Call of Duty Ghosts, which is cross-platform, and Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag were both big sellers that came out this season,” he said. “And the Nintendo 3DS had a big game release as well, with Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds and the newest Pokemon which came out back in October.”
Knowing what is popular is half the battle in choosing a game and reading reviews is a great way to decide whether or not the game is for you. It is easy to find reviews online but Sandhu advises being careful when looking at company- or magazine-based reviews.
“I think it’s important to read player reviews rather than Games
pot and IGN reviews because they’re more real and aren’t paid for by the producers,” Sandhu said. “It gives a real sense of what normal gamers think of the game rather than what people who get paid to play think.”
However, if you do plan on buying a game that you already know about, then reading reviews is often unnecessary according to Jae Dyer, a third-year computer programmer and analyst student and member of the Conestoga Gamers Club.
“Reviews are good for games that you have never heard about or are new,” Dyer said. “But I usually don’t read reviews because I buy games I already know about.”
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