The Christmas Card
Since the web became a commercial
platform in the mid-1990s, scores of online holiday games have graced
its pages. These titles started as virtual Christmas cards and were
typically created by web agencies to tout their wares. One of the earliest
was agency IconNicholson's now-classic Snowfight a simple Shockwave snowball fight. Elf
Bowling got its start on the web before being picked
up on the Nintendo DS several years later, as did the popular software
toy Line Rider.
Since the web has become a ubiquitous
distribution platform, the number and variety of these titles have expanded
greatly. Holiday-themed advergames are popular on brand sites and portals
large and small, but other curiosities also abound. Among the weirdest
is a Doom II elf-killing
mod -- note the bow on the rifle.
Holiday Editions
Surprisingly, there are relatively
few titles developed specifically for the holiday season. Some are forgettable
budget titles like Telegames' Santa Claus Saves The Earth for
Game Boy Advance, a simple, forgettable platformer. Others are licensed
from popular holiday media. Most of the time the license comes from
a film, like The Nightmare Before Christmas
or The Santa Clause, but other media also lend their names to
holiday games.
This year's most prominent license might be the equally
forgettable Nintendo DS title Dr. Seuss: How The Grinch Stole Christmas,
which sadly offers less intrigue and cleverness than than the book,
television show, and even the film.
One of the more unusual promotional
holiday editions was a special version of the acclaimed Sega Saturn
title NiGHTS into Dreams. Christmas NiGHTS was a two-level expansion
pack for the game released for the holiday season in 1996. In some cases
it was bundled as a promotional giveaway in magazines, in others it
was given away with other Sega game purchases.
Sega's Christmas NiGHTS offered much more than the traditional demo.
Christmas NiGHTS
had a unique way of integrating with the original title. When run, the
expansion made subtle changes to the original game based on the
console's internal clock, including altering in-game objects like boxes
to Christmas gifts and adding holiday music during the month of December.
More than adding a level, the edition Christmasified the game.
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An example of one of these holiday events is in the game that I perfer to play: NC Soft's City of Heroes (and City of Villains) durring the annual winter event there are a multitude of christmas activities available to the player.
A ski chalete opens up and is esentialy a new holiday only zone. you can ski down the mountain (by means of sliding) and by skiing through gates you can gain badges for making a ski run under a certain amount of time. There are also missions you can do to save "Baby New Year" so that father time can become young again. Christmas presents are littered in every zone and upon opening them you can recieve all manor of goodies if you are good or if you are bad you get a spawn of snow monsters.
With holiday temporary powers such as snow balls and badges and costume pieces, games like City of Heroes are very holiday minded and contribute greatly to the holiday spirit of game players.
There are two Christmas themed versions of Outlaw Golf on the Xbox: 9 Holes Of X-Mas and 9 More Holes Of X-Mas.
I just finished playing through The Polar Express game for the Gamecube and I'm convinced that the game cannot be fully completed. If anyone knows where the last three pieces of the Teddy Bear are on the sorting room level are, I'll keep your secret shame...if you share it with me.