Best New Games: Week Of 8/4/08

Got something worth doing this week? Maybe some yard work? Visiting aged relatives? Helping out at a local charity? Perhaps it's time to pick up a new hobby, or try out that new sport you've been considering? There's just no way around it -- this isn't a great week to be a gamer. Consider saving up your pennies for next week's Madden 09 release instead, or check out one of this week's great new downloadable games instead.

Top Three:

Braid

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Death will not become you in this unique platformer. Winner of at least one major independent game design award (and definitely deserving of others), Braid comes to the Xbox 360 in the form of an Xbox Live! Arcade release. Toy with time to correct your mistakes as you attempt to rescue your lady love. Miss a jump? Hit rewind! It's a gem of a game -- and at only 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), it's a steal, too.

Oval Office

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Power to the people! Presidential hopefuls could learn a thing or two from this robust political strategy game. Balance the budget, appease the citizens, manage your advisors and make nice with world leaders in your bid for re-election. Want to go green? Fancy Socialism? Prefer a good old fashioned dictatorship? It's your call, Mr. Big Shot.

Hidden Mysteries: Civil War

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Are you bored with the same old, same old world of hidden-object games? Give Civil War a try; it mixes familiar point-and-click, object-hunting gameplay with an accurate Civil War theme. Drop a Ken Burns documentary in the DVD player, put on your favorite period uniform, and hunt through 20 levels that will take you from the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861 to the surrender at Appomattox four years later.

Best of the Rest

• GRID DS:
  After racing its way to success on the Xbox 360 and PS3, the great GRID cruises over to Nintendo's handheld.
• King of Clubs:
  Mini-golf meets Super Money Ball in this quirky Wii release.
• Summer Athletics:
  Almost certain to be the best athletics game released this summer on the Wii that isn't Beijing Olympics.
• Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour:
  Spotlight World Tour: Disney's popular heroine takes on the world.