Christmas Gift Buyer’s Guide 2011

There’s only a few shopping days left before the last posting date before Christmas, so if you haven’t got your presents ready you might need to get your skates on. We’ve picked out some of the best software, hardware and accessories available to buy this year, as well as throwing a few of our favourite gaming-related items into the mix. Merry Christmas!

Insert Coin Tees

Insert Coin Tees offers up a variety of tasteful gaming tees that revolve around the products and brands of your favourite video game universes, and are just tasteful enough to make them wearable in public without you looking like a walking stereotype. We’re particularly fond of the Eggman Industries and Pillar of Autumn tees.

In a particularly festive gesture, Insert Coin Tees has also offered VideoGamer.com readers the chance to get a £2.50 discount on any purchase until January 1 2012. Use the code VGXMAS11 at the checkout.

Alternatives: You can also get some respectable apparel from Level Up, though their prints can be a bit hit-or-miss.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

This mammoth fantasy adventure has won the hearts and minds of millions of gamers in 2011, offering up hundreds of hours of content and one of the most stunningly realised fantasy worlds ever seen. It’s a sure-fire contender for Game of the Year. Bethesda’s latest opus “offers players a world so vast they could easily become lost in it, and so beautiful they may never wish to return from it” wrote Nick in our 9/10 Skyrim review.

Alternatives: If you’re after something a little more claustrophobic, and a lot more terrifying, you might want to give Namco Bandai’s gruelling Dark Souls a try. PC gamers will also want to look into CD Projekt RED’s 18-rated The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for their RPG thrills.

Astro A40 Headset

Widely regarded as the best gaming headset money can buy – and the official headset of MLG – the Astro A40 provides amazing sound quality mixed with a comfortable over-the-ear design that remains comfortable even after hours of play. The price might be a little steep – around £220 with the MixAmp required for console usage – but many A40 owners of would never even consider anything less.

Alternatives: The Tritton AX 720 can produce some good sounds for its comparatively meagre £115 price tag. You might also consider the Turtle Beach Ear Force X41, which works great for gaming but doesn’t fare so well when used for anything else – such as movies or TV. Bonafide audiophiles would probably be happier sticking with a pair of high-end headphones instead of an integrated headset solution, however.

Nintendo 3DS

2011 has been a difficult first year for the Nintendo 3DS – and many are still yet to be completely won over by the device – but it’s hard to fault the machine’s current price (it’s dipped as low as £115 a couple of times) and Christmas line-up: Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

Alternatives: Apple’s iPhone, iPod and iPad are crammed with hugely popular games, though you’re looking at a very different type of experience than the 3DS. If you’re looking to play Nintendo games in your living room then the Wii is probably still your best option. Sony’s next handheld, the powerful PlayStation Vita, launches February 2012.

Pac-Man Moleskine

Released last year to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary, this limited edition range of Moleskine notebooks is still available for about £12 at various online vendors – and they definitely make a delightful little stocking filler. The quality of the iconic Moleskine notebooks is undeniable, and the Pac-Man embellishments immediately grab your attention.

Portal 2

The only thing stopping Skyrim from snatching Game of the Year with most publications is this: Valve’s utterly magnificent Portal 2. It’s the complete antithesis of Bethesda’s RPG epic, throwing players into a completely scripted and painstakingly meticulous world that has been more intelligently scripted than almost every other piece of entertainment media released this year. “In all aspects of its design, Portal 2 is genius,” wrote Jamin in his 10/10 Portal 2 review.

Alternatives: The only thing like Portal 2 is the original Portal, which can be picked up as a nice stocking filler as part of the decadent The Orange Box compilation, which also comes with Half-Life 2 and its two expansions.

Razer Onza

Historically, third-party peripherals have had an awful track record – they’ve often been lazy, cheaper options to their official counterparts with a terrible feel and a life expectancy of about five minutes. Things are changing now, however, with high-priced peripherals like the Razer Onza. This is an expensive controller, but a meticulously designed one – its pricier Tournament Edition version even lets you adjust the resistance on the analogue sticks and has backlit buttons.

Be warned, though – the Razer Onza has been banned by MLG, so it’s probably best not to purchase the ‘tournament edition’ if you’re skilled enough to actually enter any tournaments.

Alternatives: You can’t really go wrong with the official Xbox 360 controller, and upgrading to one of the Silver ones with an adjustable d-pad is a good investment for frequent players. PS3 owners can stick with the official DualShock 3 controller, though some PS3 owners prefer adding some third-party attachments to the analogue sticks.

Sharp LC40LE831E

How long have you been using your current television? If you’re still playing on something that came out years ago, now might be a great time to consider upgrading to a flashier model. The Sharp LC40LE831E is a 40 inch LED screen that offers 1080p and 3D for a reasonable price.

Alternatives: Samsung’s screens have been popular for years now and are usually a safe bet, and if you’ve got money to burn then you can always pick up a Sony Bravia. If you’re a student or have limited space, a good monitor with HDMI inputs can be found for a couple of hundred pounds and makes a great desk setup.

Ice Invaders

Another quirky choice from IWOOT for £9.99, this novelty tray produces 24 ice cubes in the shapes of those iconic Space Invaders – though just different enough for the company to avoid having to pay Namco Bandai any licensing fees. The ice cubes are a little bit on the small side, but there’s a definite appeal to throwing a few Ice Invaders into your numerous drinks this holiday season.

Mario Kart 7

With so many homogeneous shooters and action games on the market, sometimes it can be easy to become disillusioned with gaming – but that’s when Nintendo usually shows up to cleanse your gaming palate with one of its flagship titles. While there’s nothing really innovative with Nintendo’s latest entry in its prestigious kart racing series, the beauty is in its undeniably competent execution. Mario Kart’s “winning formula has been prodded and poked and buffed until it gleams, leaving us with a game that is, at the very least, the finest Mario Kart since the original,” wrote Chris in his 9/10 Mario Kart 7 review.

Alternatives: If you’re after more Mario on your 3DS then Super Mario 3D Land is well worth a look. More Nintendo magic can also be found in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on the Wii. If you’re after something family-friendly on a different platform, it’s also worth having a look at either Dance Central 2 or Just Dance 3.

Sony PlayStation Bluetooth Headset/Microsoft Bluetooth Headset

Both Microsoft and Sony have released new Bluetooth headsets for their respective consoles this year. Unlike the last model, the latest Microsoft headset can sync with both Xbox 360s and mobile devices. If you’re a regular online gamer, picking up one of these for your console of choice certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.