Gift Guide for Geeks

You’ll have seen all the guides already – gift suggestions for Mums, Dad’s, girls, boys and teenagers. But what in the sacred name of Azeroth do you get for the obsessive geek who keeps his hardware up to date and buys all the latest games the day they come out? They’re the toughest ones to buy for out of the whole lot, but never fear: here are some gift suggestions for even the most discerning hardcore gamers.

Pac-Man Wrapping Paper – RRP: £12.50 (from etsy)

£12.50 (minus shipping) for 6 feet of wrapping paper is a little on the pricey side, but it’s hard to complain about cost when you’re looking at rolls of handmade Pac-Man wrapping paper. This is probably the best place to start if you’re looking to make any geeky Christmas present stand out from underneath the Christmas tree.

Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit – RRP: £14.99

Despite the fact the Xbox 360 is over five years old, it still baffles us to see how many people aren’t packing Play & Charge kits to go alongside their wireless controllers. A solid NiMH battery replaces the standard battery pack of your controller, and a lengthy USB cable allows you to charge when your buttocks are firmly nestled into the sofa. While I’m sure everyone would prefer it if Microsoft included them as standard, at fifteen quid they make for excellent stocking fillers.

Sony Wireless Headset – RRP: £24.99

If you’re a fan of online gaming with your PS3 then you need a headset. Fact. So it’s always a shock to see just how many people strut around Uncharted and Killzone without the ability to communicate. Tactics are important, people! The official Sony Wireless Headset is sturdy, affordable and perfect for the job – and any discerning online PS3 gamer would do well to make sure they’ve got one hanging around before Killzone 3 turns up in 2011.

Call of Duty: Black Ops ProGaming AX720 Headset – RRP: £179.99

Call of Duty: Black Ops is undoubtedly the biggest game of the year, and MadCatz has the CoD fanatic in your life covered with this limited edition gaming headset. With an RRP of £179.99 they’re certainly not cheap, but these limited edition Tritton AX720’s offer some of the most excellent Dolby virtual 5.1 sound that money can buy. A hefty amp comes alongside the chunky headphones, and unlike many other sets on the market the kit requires very little setting up.

The heavy weight might be a little bit too much for some, but we found the set very comfortable when using it for a multi-hour Black Ops marathon. With support for Xbox 360 and PS3 out of the box – including seamless headset chatting – these are one of the best options for hardcore console gamers. And the Black Ops theme is a nice bonus, too.

Razer Lycosa – RRP: €79.99 (approx £60)

World of Warcraft is mind-bogglingly massive, and with the recent launch of Cataclysm it’s likely many people will be looking for a fancy new keyboard this year in their Christmas stockings. Most gaming keyboards are massive and chunky, so the Lycosa’s thin, streamlined edges already set it apart from the competition. The harsh black edges and blue glow might exclude it from general office use, but for solid bouts of gaming the smooth, responsive and slip-free keys ensures it’ll hold up to extended Team Fortress 2 and World of Warcraft sessions.

A touch panel on the top-right handles media controls, and there’s even a button to dim the lights or illuminate just the WASD keys. The keyboard also comes with an additional USB slot alongside headphone and microphone ports. It’s not as showy as some rival keyboards, but it succeeds in a crowded market thanks to its sturdy but sleek construction and pleasing design.

Razer Mamba – RRP: €129.99 (approx £110)

The Razer Mamba’s lofty price ensures this is a high-end mouse aimed firmly at hardcore gamers with a taste for luxury, and the impeccable construction combined with an industry-leading 5,600dpi capability is enough to get anyone who cares about these things to sit up and take notice.

The mouse reeks of pure technical decadence. It arrives in a sealed plastic vault that’s probably strong enough to survive a nuclear blast, for instance, and it’s proudly mounted on a solid plastic pedestal. The high price tag allows Razer to achieve some technically impressive feats, too – such as the super-fast polling rate over a wireless connection. Before the Mamba, a wireless gaming mouse was pretty much an anachronistic term. It might be expensive, but it sure is fancy.

USB Cup Warmer – RRP: £9.99 from iwantoneofthose

One of technology’s most pertinent challenges is how to take everyday things and stuff a USB port on the end. Fact. So it’s good news to see that it’s now possible to produce a USB Hot Plate which can keep drinks warm on your desk for up to an hour after brewing. It’s not big enough to handle that ginormous novelty mug you like to fill to the brim with steaming hot coffee, but your normal drinking receptacles should be able to comfortably maintain 40 degrees of heat. Which is the perfect temperature, we’re told.

Insert Coin Clothing – RRP: £20 for a t-shirt, £30 for a hoodie

There’s plenty of apparel for gamers, but few companies are doing as stylish a job as Insert Coin. The company prints subtle logos – recognisable by other gamers, but just trendy designs to the rest of the world – onto high-quality cottons. They’re a little bit on the expensive side, but the t-shirts feel thick and the prints can easily withstand day to day wear. The cut of the fabric (for both men and women’s sizes) is also exactly right, which is unbelievably rare when it comes to geeky t-shirts.

Their current collection includes 15 t-shirts and 4 hoodies in both men’s and women’s sizes, with iconography from Modern Warfare 2, Dead Space, Borderlands, Bioshock and Resident Evil amongst others. We’ve seen plenty of companies make gaming apparel, but Insert Coin is easily our favourite.

Sumo Omni Beanbag – RRP: £99

It is a truth universally acknowledged that beanbags are seriously comfortable to sit on. And Sumo produces some of the best beanbags on the market – with the Omni being our particular favourite. The nylon beanbag measures 4.5′ x 5.5′ and weighs 18lbs, and is so comfortable it feels like you’re falling into a big wad of squishy nothingness. Out of the 10 available colours we’re not entirely convinced by lime green, though, but we’re sure it’ll fit somebody’s living room.

Nabaztag – RRP: €69 (approx £58) from Violet.net

Okay, these things take some explaining. They’re essentially tiny plastic rabbits which connect to WiFi networks and do… stuff. They’ll tell you the weather, interface with your computer and read you the news. They sit on your desk looking pretty, and can be used to launch applications, connect to websites and update your social media networks. They’re both bizarre and awesome, and if you’re looking to buy somebody obsessed with technology a completely novel gift then you might want to give one a look.

I worry, though, that we’re one step away from making a tiny, multifunctional robot so clever it’ll hack into the government and launch the apocalypse. Still, we might as well enjoy the Nabaztag while we can.

eBoy London Poster – RRP: €20 (approx £17) from eBoy

If you’re anywhere near as old as us, you’re probably getting a bit too ancient to proudly display that dusty StarCraft II poster in your bedroom. Yank it down and put up something by eBoy instead. This poster of a pixelated, stylised London measures 118×84cm and looks absolutely ace. Rarely does geeky look so cool.

Cyber Clean – RRP: £6.99 from Firebox

You’ll probably lump this into the same kind of ‘practical’ category of Christmas gifts, like deodorant and new socks, but the Cyber Clean is the most essential tub of freaky neon goo you’ll ever use. Tear off a chunk of the goop and squish it in all the nooks and crannies of your hardware – such as keyboards, mobile phones and controllers – and recoil in horror at all the muck it yanks out.

The Cyber Clean goop is biodegradable, anti-bacterial and even changes colour when it’s sucked up enough grime. Seriously – just look at the grooves running down the side of your 360 controller. This is for that. So, yeah, it might be practical, but it’s a far cooler colour than those Christmas socks.

More Games

Okay, we lied at the start: there’s always time for some more games. One or two of 2010’s finest gaming moments are bound to have slipped through the net – seriously, how can anyone have had enough time to play Red Dead Redemption, Halo: Reach, God of War III, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Heavy Rain, Rock Band 3, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, StarCraft II, World of Warcraft Cataclysm, Gran Turismo 5 and Mario Galaxy 2? And that’s just a few of the year’s highlights. With so many of the major online and highstreet retailers offering some incredibly competitive prices on the latest games right now there’s no point in even waiting for the Boxing Day sales.

For more end of year content, head over to our Game of the Year 2010 hub. Amongst other things you’ll be able to watch videos in which we talk about each game in the Top 10.