Holiday gift guide: PlayStation games

	GALLERY
'Tomb Raider: Chronicles'

In this story: 'Tomb Raider: Chronicles' 'Final Fantasy IX' 'Blade' 'Alien Resurrection' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Dennis Michael
CNN Showbiz Today Correspondent

(CNN) -- Sony's PlayStation 2 may be the hardest thing to come by this holiday season. But the original PlayStation is still a popular system, and software developers continue to design top quality titles for it.

Cyber-heroine Lara Croft is in a new title from Eidos for the PlayStation. "Tomb Raider: Chronicles" is Lara's latest adventure. The femme fatale embarks on journeys to Roman ruins, into a German U-Boat and across the rooftops of a high-tech cityscape in search of ancient artifacts. These adventures are told from a historical point of view in light of Croft's disappearance in her last digital adventure. The trailer for the upcoming "Tomb Raider" movie can be downloaded from www.tombraider.com.

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Also coming soon to movie theaters will be the movie version of "Final Fantasy." Until then, gamers can immerse themselves in "Final Fantasy IX" for the PlayStation. Once again Squaresoft has created an expansive world for players to explore with graphics that push the console's abilities to the limit.

The multi-disc game thrusts players into an all-new adventure. Unlike some game series, the "Final Fantasy" franchise is constantly evolving and changing both its characters and story lines. In this game, an evil queen with magical weapons at her disposal is trying to achieve world domination while a group of bandits is trying to thwart her plans. Squaresoft has announced this is the last "FF" title for the PlayStation. Undoubtedly there could soon be a "Final Fantasy" for the PlayStation 2.

Activision has brought another popular film to the video game world. "Blade" casts players in the role of the Wesley Snipes' character from the film of the same name. Players stalk the night as Blade the Vampire Hunter, tracking down evil vampires in the big city. This game is rated "M" for Mature gamers over the age of 17 by the Electronics Software Ratings Board. Seems natural since you hunt down and destroy bloodthirsty vampires.

And for even more movie theme gaming, Fox Interactive unleashes the alien xenomorphs onto the PlayStation with "Alien Resurrection." Players find themselves at the mercy of the acid-for-blood aliens trying to survive in an all-out science fiction nightmare.

The Aliens of the game are just as intelligent as their movie counterparts. They collect human hosts for egg laying "face hugger" aliens to impregnate with the next generation of Alien spawn. Players can play as Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley character or other characters from the film. The 3-D graphics and environmental audio have led some reviews of this game to call it the "scariest game for PlayStation." This game is also rated "M" for a mature audience. Fans of the "Alien" films will likely find it fully engrossing.

Review: Final Fantasy IX
November 16, 2000
Lara Croft returns in The Last Revelation
November 2, 1999
Review: Jarrett & Labonte Stock Car Racing
November 29, 2000
Review: Destruction Derby Raw
October 19, 2000
Sony's PS One powers up
September 21, 2000

Tomb Raider Chronicles
Final Fantasy 9 HQ
Blade
Alien Resurrection

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