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NYT SYNDICATE
” PlayStation VR Sony, $399.99; playstation.com
Sony's headset is the simplest way to check out high-end virtual reality, especially if you own a PlayStation 4. Even so, it isn't as technically impressive as the pricier HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, nor is it as inexpensive as the mobile-phone headsets from Google, Samsung and others. For an extra $100, you can get a bundle that includes optional motion controllers, a required camera to detect the headset and a game.
” NES Classic Edition Nintendo, $59.99; nintendo.com
Nintendo's new console, the Switch, is scheduled for release in March. This miniature version of the 1980s system that introduced 'Super Mario Bros' to our living rooms can help you get through the winter. It contains 30 classic games, including 'The Legend of Zelda', 'Metroid', 'Punch-Out!', 'Tecmo Bowl' and three 'Super Mario' titles. (A second controller costs $9.99.)
” 'Inside,' Playdead, $19.99; playdead.com
If you crossed 'Super Mario Bros' with Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road' you would get something like this quiet, wordless, beautiful and disturbing game from the Danish studio Playdead.
” 'The Last Guardian', Sony, $59.99; playstation.com
Japanese designer Fumito Ueda directed two games, 'Ico' and 'Shadow of the Colossus', whose emotional power relies on interaction and play, rather than filmlike scenes and dialogue. He has been working on the third one for 11 years. (It will be available for PlayStation starting December 6.) Whether it's another masterpiece, a disaster or something in between, 'The Last Guardian', about the relationship between a boy and a mysterious creature, is sure to be one of the year's most interesting games.
” 'Firewatch,' Campo Santo, $19.99; firewatchgame.com
The year's most important game might be 'That Dragon, Cancer', an interactive memoir by a husband and wife about the death of their young son. If you want to expose someone to a less powerfully sad game that still demonstrates the medium's ability to tell grown-up stories without elves or space marines or gangsters, try 'Firewatch', an interactive drama about a lonely fire lookout in Wyoming.
” 'Uncharted 4: A Thief's End', Naughty Dog, $59.99; unchartedthegame.com
Nathan Drake, the charming rogue of the 'Uncharted' games, is often compared to Indiana Jones. But his video game mother is surely 'Tomb Raider's' Lara Croft, another globe-trotting, puzzle-solving treasure hunter with guns. A new creative team has taken over the fourth game in this highly cinematic series, and has kept the exhilarating action set pieces while adding quieter moments about aging, family and marriage.
