Portable games are hot right now. With the growing popularity of the Sony PSP and the more than 50 million Nintendo DS systems on the market so far, the odds are good that someone on your list is asking for games this holiday season.

Popular game producer Electronic Arts recently announced three new portable game titles that will hit shelves this season.

Orcs & Elves
The popular fantasy game franchise created by id Software (makers of the Doom and Quake classics) goes mobile this year with Orcs & Elves for the Nintendo DS. The portable version brings new levels, weapons and enemies to bear on your thumb-reflexes. You play a young half-elf and explore a Dwarven fortress packed with treasures, enemies and weapons, battling evil along the way. It’s a great looking role-playing game for players of all ages and a great way to introduce young players to the genre.

Release date: November 13
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: for Teen
Price: $29.99

Need for Speed ProStreet
One of the biggest racing games in history hits the DS this year. Need for Speed ProStreet lets you design and build your own car and race around the world in four playing variations: grip, drag, drift and speed challenge. It supports up to eight players and is the perfect way to match up against your friends. This is another one that’s perfect for all ages.

Release date: November 14
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: E for Everyone
Price: $29.99

Medal of Honor Heroes 2
You are Lt. John Berg, American OSS operative during World War II, and it’s your job to gather intel and conduct covert ops against the Nazi enemies. You were sent into Normandy just after D-Day to check in on some suspicious enemy activities — and the guy that they sent in before you disappeared. This WWII action thriller on the Sony PSP is sure to please. And if you have a teenage son, you probably bought him a Medal of Honor game last year and the year before, so this should sound familiar. It’s a long-running, ultra-popular game series.

Release date: November 13
Platform: PSP
Rating: T for Teen
Price: $39.99

There are dozens of other PSP and DS games coming out over the next few months, including Sony’s Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice on the PSP and Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the DS.

About The Author

John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine and the Blast Magazine Network. He can be reached at [email protected]. Tweet @johnguilfoil.

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