With the winter holidays quickly approaching, it’s likely you gamers are looking to catch up on what you haven’t had time for. Some of you may be content to frag it out over the long break while others may
have different gaming needs but you’re just not sure what to get. So what exactly has been, or will be, coming out and which of those is worth devoting precious free time? Do not fret! Blazek is here with five
ways to enjoy your break while gaming!

5. Lineage 2

You’ve probably heard of it or even played it in the past. Lineage 2 was one of the defining games of the Player versus Player (PvP) genre providing a completely open PvP system that included castle sieges, guild battles, alliances, and a karma system to keep some balance. The game was also seen as one of the most grind intensive leveling systems, and an itemization structure that would make most World of Warcraft (WoW) players squeal. With the recent Goddess of Destruction expansion, this is no longer the case. The game has been completely reworked for the first 40 levels to provide a natural quest progression, armor and weapons are now much easier to obtain and best of all it is now Free to Play with no content blocked for not wanting to use the new item shop. While the age of the game has started to reveal itself with some of the old mechanics, it is still a very good MMO game and one every PvP fan should experience. The community has had a very positive response, and producer NCsoft had to open some new servers to handle the massive load on all current servers.

4. DotA 2

The title successor to the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) that started it all, DotA 2 is shaping up to reclaim its title with a rough release date of Q4 2011. The pushed up release was in part due to the massive response from the community to get the game out and provide continual updates with new champions. The Beta is already in full swing and the response has been overwhelmingly positive thus far. While no actual payment model has been officially announced, it is speculated to be similar to League of Legends with the ability to buy champions with an in-game currency or with real money. This is the wisest choice, as we have already seen how poorly Heroes of Newerth did until it switched to Free to Play (F2P).

3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

It’s that time of year when Nintendo finally throws us a bone and gives us a solid title to validate dusting off our Wii. This time around it is another Zelda game, and this is one that may even rank higher than the infamous Ocarina of Time. Skyward Sword greatly improves on the Wii Motion Plus interface, and gives much better control than Twilight Princess… which had managed to make swinging feel like button mashing. Skyward Sword does a pretty good job with the story and brings elements from both the dark and serious Zelda iterations as well as the overly colorful and childish games. Somehow, Nintendo managed to mash together what was great about the Zelda games of the past and made it work. If you have ever been a fan of the Zelda series, then Skyward Sword is one you will definitely want to pick up for this holiday season.

2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last six months, you have probably heard about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. In fact, we discussed it in last week’s article here on Geek to Me! Now you may not have had the time, or possibly you didn’t think it was your cup of tea, but Skyrim is just one of those games that any gamer can really enjoy. This is in part due to how easily the game lets you get into the story, how well it allows you the freedom to play how you want, and of course the way it lets you do whatever you want in game! For fans of the RPG genre the game has a well-designed plot that deeply immerses you into the game. Action and FPS gamers can also enjoy the game as the First person mode is extremely smooth and gives you a so much variety for ways to dispatch people, be it a fireball to the face or an arrow from the shadows. With the exception of a few hilarious bugs, the game is a masterpiece and should be given a chance by gamers of every type.

1. Star Wars: The Old Republic

While most Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games in the past generation were over-hyped and released too early, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) may actually break the mold and provide a solid experience right from launch to keep us entertained beyond the first month. Currently the most pre-ordered MMO game in history (more than 900,000 retail pre-orders and growing!), SWTOR is likely to be the best MMO release in many, many years. Bioware, the team behind Role-Playing masterpieces like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age: Origins, is taking a shot at the MMO genre and bringing their RPG experience with them, allowing players the same decision making qualities that Bioware games are known for. While early naysayers believed the game would be a pay-to-play version of Knights of the Old Republic 3, several beta weekends have dispelled such presumptions. The end game content on release is slated to include 2 raids, several instances, PvP battlegrounds, and even worlds dedicated to open PvP. The game will also reward players for working in groups through a social leveling system, and in a MMO first that will have alt-aholics drooling, the game will feature a unique “Legacy” leveling system allowing your alternate characters to take on the last name of your main character and gain experience towards your own lineage. Star Wars: The Old Republic easily makes it to number one on the list of games to try this holiday season.

Whether you’re looking to game with friends, partake in great storytelling, play the latest entry in a gaming legacy, compete against other gamers, or all of the above there’s no shortage of titles this winter to keep you entertained. In fact, your biggest problem may very well be trying to fit it all in. Now if only holidays and family didn’t get in the way of all that gaming!

Article written for Geek To Me and reproduced with permission of the author and vVv Gaming.

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