I know. I’ve been there. I’ve done that. Not only are you surrounded by a chorus of groans because it’s time to hit the books again; you’re feeling a little lonely because you’re heading off to college on your own and you don’t know anyone there. Guess what? There is one fantastic way to make some new friends.
Yes, part of going back to school has to do with learning, but you need to make friends and have some fun too. Video games can fit that bill to a tee, collecting people of similar interests together in some friendly competition.
Xbox 360 – Halo: Reach Finishes the Fight For the LAST Time
What’s that? You thought you finished the fight with Halo 3? And then you finished the fight again with ODST? Well, now you get to the finish the fight all over again, except you’re going into prequel mode with Halo: Reach.
As you can probably expect, Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter that largely plays like other games in the series, but you’re not playing as Master Chief. Instead, you’re a member of an elite squad of Spartans known as Noble Team on the human colony of Reach, just weeks before the events of the first Halo game.
The multi-player modes in Halo: Reach are great for fragging a few new friends in modes like Headhunter, as well as cooperating with them in the Firefight mode that you might remember seeing in Halo 3: ODST. And to make sure that new female friends can get into and related to the game more easily, there’s a female Spartan for the first time too.
With a distinct level up in difficulty in this final “Hoo-Rah” to the epic Halo franchise, you’ll definitely need to keep your friends close. It’s available right now at your favourite online retailers.
Nintendo Wii – Wii Party Offers Fun for Everyone
Whereas the Xbox 360 can enjoy the exclusive rights to hardcore console gaming titles like Halo: Reach, the fans of the Nintendo Wii have some slightly lighter fare to play. This can help to attract a more varied group of friends, since there are quite a few people who are intimidated by games like Halo or being called a n00b by more seasoned vets.
Continuing with the minigame tradition on the Wii is the suitably named Wii Party, which we saw at E3 earlier this year. Part of the game is similar to the Mario Party franchise (it’s called Globe Trot), but you get to play with your Mii characters. There are a total of 13 different game modes and an incredible assortment of 80 different mini-games. There’s even a hide and seek-inspired game where one player hides the Wii Remote and other players have to retrieve them before the time runs out.
Wii party is available October 3rd, 2010 and can probably be pre-ordered at many online retailers or at your local big box store.
PlayStation 3 – SingStar: Dance Shakes Your Booty
The rhythm game genre has really skyrocketed to the top in recent years, but what if your new friends don’t want to pick up a plastic guitar? A good alternative to the dorm room music party is a game like SingStar: Dance, exclusively available on the PlayStation 3.
You can play this like how you’ve played the many other SingStar games in the past. Simply sing your favorite songs in a karaoke-like environment in front of total strangers who should become your friends by the end of the night. SingStar: Dance also gives you a unique experience with the new PS Move peripheral, allowing you (and your new friends) to dance to the music too.
Singstar: Dance for the Playstation 3 is available November 2, 2010 and should be available at all sorts of online or big box retailers when it launches. Or you can have Amazon drop it off when it comes out a little later this semester.
PC – StarCraft 2 Challenges Your Strategy Skills
Just because you want to make some new friends with your video game interests doesn’t mean that you need one of the three major home consoles. The PC is a great environment for that too and it really doesn’t get all that much better than the recently released StarCraft 2.
Yes, you can choose to make some new acquaintances in places like Second Life and World of Warcraft, but StarCraft 2 is what all the cool kids are playing now. Pit your real-time strategy skills against some of your fellow students around the world. Play as the Zerg, Protoss or the Terrans in the hottest PC game of 2010. Not to mention, due to the highly optimized game engine, Starcraft 2 plays nicely on even hardware that is a couple years old so even your notebooks friends should be able to join in on the fun at reasonable settings. Yes, Mac’s can play with PCs as well in this sequel.
Starcraft 2 can be found pretty much anywhere as well as a massive number of online retailers. You can even buy it directly from Blizzard right through Battle.NET.
Multiple Platforms – NHL 11 Hits the Ice
Maybe you don’t like shooters. Maybe you don’t like mini-games. Maybe you don’t want to RTS it out on the PC. Maybe you’re a Canuck and you’d rather play some hockey instead of going golfing. Well, Electronic Arts has done it again with quite possibly the best game ever in the NHL series.
Available on both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, NHL 11 is positively amazing. They have an all-new physics engine for explosive body checks. They’ve added a new faceoff dynamic and the possibility of broken sticks, making the gameplay that much more realistic on your platform of choice.
Gathering around the same TV with dorm-mates to play a game of hockey is fun. Joining an online league together goes even further. And then there’s the new Hockey Ultimate Team mode where you get packs of cards to build your own teams… and then play other people online with your new team. If you have a Wii you can try NHL Slapshot instead, also from EA Sports.
Both NHL Slapshot and NHL 11 are available now.
Multiple Platforms – Rock Band 3 Pushes the Rhythmic Limit
Are you ready to rock out all over again? If you’re looking to make a few new friends, you can’t go wrong by being the first guy with Rock Band 3. Not only is the track list as huge as ever; you can now rock out with a keyboard (keytar), as well as “pro mode” versions of the drums and guitar. The three-point harmony vocals from The Beatles: Rock Band are in here too.
Of course, let’s not forget about the massive existing library of DLC tracks. From Snoop Dogg to Muse, it’s pretty incredible how much music you have access too and how easy it will be to please any friend that wants to play.
Rock Band 3 is available October 26th, 2010 and can probably be pre-ordered from various online retailers including your favourite big box store.
Plenty of New Friends for Dorm Room Gaming
Yes, you could try to make some new friends with a study group. Yes, you might be able to meet a few interesting people if you decide to participate in some intramural sports. Then again, who are you fooling? You’re a gamer and you want to hang out with other gamers.
From Rock Band to Halo, Wii Party to StarCraft, you’re bound to find some common ground with other gamers on campus. And then you can school them with your crazy skills, because that’s just how you roll… right?
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