Winter break is a time to relax from all the school finals until January. So to decide what to do with all that time, here are my top 5 video games that you can play during break.

1. Call of Duty multiplayer:

Both Call of Duty is well known for some of the best first-person shooter multiplayer today. This can go with any games within the series that has multiplayer player support, online or offline. Personally I like Call of Duty multiplayer. It has a great killstreak system and the maps are not too big. Also I’ve played the series for a while now and it’s kind of grown on me.  So if you want to have friends over or play against random people around the world, play this game over break.

2. Kingdom Hearts 1:

This game is my all time favorite games ever. I’ve been a major fan ever since I got my PS2 with both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 when I was 12. If you don’t know what this game is, it’s a hack-n-slash RPG game that follows the story of a boy named Sora. His lives on an island with his friends Riku and Kairi. One day when they were setting out to see other worlds, they’re island is swallowed by the darkness and this sends Sora, Riku, and Kairi to different worlds. When Sora wakes up in an unfamiliar place, he goes on the search to find his friends. Welding the Keyblade he battles entities named heartless to reunite with his friends. The best part about this game is the fact that each world is themed from a famous Disney movie such as Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. I always love going to Halloween Town and defeat Oogie Boogie.The main story can get a little confusing, but the fast gameplay makes this really fun to play through. To find this game is really easy because they released Kingdom Hearts 1.5 which is a HD remake of KH1 and Re: Chain of Memories. I’ve put many hours into this series. So if you’re a fan of RPGs or want to interact with some of your favorite Disney characters, I recommend getting this game for the winter break.

3. Super Smash Brothers Brawl:

This game, to me, is one of the greatest fighting games ever. I haven’t played any Street Fighter games to really enjoy it, but the Super Smash Bros. series I always go back to. Brawl is the 3rd instalment in the series since 2008. The game is a free-for-all fighter with famous characters from the Nintendo company including Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong. The game also includes some new characters like Sonic and Solid Snake from the Sonic series and the Metal Gear series. The game play is a little bit different than traditional fighter games. Instead of fighting your opponent till their health drops, you have a damage counter that increases with every hit you take. Also as the counter increases you or your opponent will be flung into the air higher. To get points you have to hit the opponent off the screen until a beam of light pops up showing the person had lost. This game is a lot of fun to play with friends and see how every character can fight. I’ve been a big fan when I got Melee for my GameCube. There is a new Super Smash Bros. coming out soon in 2014 for 3ds and WiiU. Definitely get this game if you love Nintendo characters or just like doing something with your friends.

4. Super Mario Sunshine:

This is one game I love to go back to. The story is about Mario, Princess Peach, and Peach’s assistant Toadsworth going on vacation to a tropical island called Isle Delfino. Upon arriving on the airstrip, a large amount of graffiti blocks the runway. Looking for help, Mario finds a water shooting device code named F.L.U.D.D. and cleans up the graffiti releasing a Shine Sprite, the islands main source of light. Soon after grabbing it, the island police takes Mario to court which he’s accused of polluting the island with graffiti and creating a dark haze over the island. So the judge sentences Mario to clean up the island and recover all 120 shine sprites. I like the way the story has a different approach to collecting the 120 stars (shine sprites). Also including the mechanics of F.L.U.D.D. makes the game unique. All these changes make this game more unique than all the other mario games and I would definitely play this game for a good time over break.

5. Pokemon:

I know many people in high school say Pokemon is a game for little kids, but when given the chance, it can be really enjoyable. Pokemon is an RPG game that uses creates named Pokemon to battle trainers and make it to the Pokemon league. But to get to the Pokemon league you have to face eight gym leaders and defeat them to get eight badges. Also along the way a evil gang will stand in your way and you have to use your Pokemon to stop them. For any of the games in the series this is the basic story line. It might sound repetitive; however, each game brings in new Pokemon, gameplay, strategy and more. These changes are why Pokemon is so well known to many people. There are competitions that you can people across the world and the wifi connection makes it easier to battle. Pokemon means a lot to me because I was bullied a lot in school and I would always turn to Pokemon to cheer me up. Being able to train and bond with these creatures makes the game more memorable to me. I hope you can give Pokemon a chance and see how much fun it holds.