The 10 Best Games for the Summer

It's that time of the year, when releases dribble out and you wonder what you should be doing with your life. We're here to help.

Look outside. Summer is here - in theory - and that means a lot of time doing as little as possible. To help you make the most of your freer time, Kikizo has put together a list of 10 distractions to keep you having fun until the drudgery of autumn is upon us again. Follow our advice and you'll be grinning for weeks on end.

Hitman: Blood Money
Agent 47 is vexed when he discovers that his colleagues are being offed in mysterious fashion. Cue the bald-headed assassin and one of the best action games of the summer, thanks largely to the freedom you're given in gameplay and the awesome soundtrack.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Your everyday life will fade away if you allow yourself to get lost in this massive world. Be who you want to be and go where you want to go. And there's an overarching story to keep you going when you can't think of things to kill and skills to earn. There's also horse armour.

New Super Mario Bros
It's hard to believe we've waited more than 10 years for Mario to be in another 2D platforming game. That wait will turn to nothingness once you savour the plumber's new adventure, which melds old-school sensibilities with new-school charm.

LocoRoco
If there's a happier looking and sounding game than LocoRoco, we'd like to see it. In this infectiously cute and highly playable PSP game you guide wobbly blobs through meandering realms. And if you don't like the levels, you can even buckle down and make your own.

Prey
Tommy was just a lowly mechanic when aliens invaded his world and stole his loved ones. When he escapes from the aliens' clutches inside their living ship, he must shoot his way through the topsy-turvy levels where gravity is in the eye of the beholder. Download the Xbox 360 demo now if you want a taste.

World of Warcraft
Buzz is building in the world of Azeroth as Blizzard readies the first official expansion pack for World Of Warcraft. But while you're waiting for The Burning Crusade to hit, you can join the other 5,999,999 residents of the most popular massive multiplayer online game around.

Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II
Many people think that real-time strategy games shouldn't be anywhere but on PCs. EA has other ideas. For the Xbox 360 version of the latest Lord Of The Rings game, the developers have done the same game with a completely new control system that will change the way you think of RTSs forever.

Pro Evolution Soccer 5
The World Cup runs its course this weekend, but for many English fans the tournament ended earlier in the week already. Of course, there's more to football than just that silly trophy. There are a lot of football games you can play this summer, but Pro Evo is the one that gives you fun and depth.

Xbox Live Arcade
Digital distribution is not the future; it's the present. Microsoft's online service lets you download (free to try, more to buy) seemingly simple games such as Geometry Wars Retro Evolved or Uno and somehow manage to spend whole nights playing without a break. You can even make things interesting by getting your significant other involved.

The Great Outdoors
Be honest, autumn and winter aren't exactly the cheeriest times of the year in the UK. While we heartily recommend that you get stuck into the games you didn't have to chance to play yet and snap up the few good ones that arrive during the summer, remember to go out to get some sun and fresh air. It's only when those are gone that you'll realize how much you miss them.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games