Welcome to the 2009 edition of the GamingShogun Holiday Gift Guide. Here we tackle the long-pondered question of what to buy for your friends, family, and ‘special friends’ (you know who you are) this holiday season… We will cover gifts of various types, categories, and price points so look sharp! You never know when you might just see that winning gift idea.
VIDEO GAMES by Platform
– PlayStation 3: UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES. This title just won game of the year at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards and for good reason – it’s blend of cinematic action and adventure captivated gamers as they took protagonist Nathan Drake on the treasure hunt of a lifetime.
Price: $59.99
Product Link
See the rest of our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide, After the Break!
– Xbox 360: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. With a much larger scope, the story of the sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare comes out of the gate swinging and doesn’t let up until its riveting conclusion. Many characters from the original return… and some won’t be back for the third Modern Warfare game, so be prepared for some serious ‘yelling at your monitor’ moments!
Price: $59.99
Product Link
– Windows PC: Dragon Age: Origins. My personal love-fest with this epic RPG from BioWare and Electronic Arts continues as it is my official pick for the PC category in our gift guide. The sweeping story, interpersonal relationships between party members, and amazing voice acting will leave you speechless. It’s also an incredible-blend of old-school and contemporary RPG gameplay styles.
Price: $49.99
Product Link
– Wii: MadWorld. A very mature title for such a kid-friendly platform, MadWorld is a great playthrough featuring some amazing art direction and ultra-violence. Impale your foes and a whole lot more in a sick and twisted game setup my a mysterious terrorist organization. It’s a bit on the short side, but for twenty bucks it’s a mad deal (doh)!
Price: $19.99
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– PSP: LittleBigPlanet. LBP made a huge splash on the PS3 when it originally was released, but the PSP version is bringing some new life into an ‘aging’ handheld platform (I include the PSPGo in that remark – give us something new, Sony!). In fact, I would wager it is one of the best PSP titles ever made. The platformer-action and sack-boy antics translate over to the PSP very well and it is easily our top PSP game recommendation for 2009.
Price: $39.99
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– DS: Scribblenauts. Making a largely-positive impression in everyone who attended this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, Scribblenauts allows players to utilize almost any noun they can write on the DS touch-pad to complete various objectives – or, even just to mess around! Want to see who would win in a fight between a ninja and a pirate? Just write those nouns on the touch-pad and watch the two appear, setting off a deadly brawl. It’s not a violent game by design, mind you – that’s just one of countless scenarios that can play out for the imaginative gamer. It’s a great edutainment/puzzler game for youngsters and old-timers alike.
Price: $29.99
Product Link
PERSONAL ELECTRONICS by Category
– Personal Media Players: Microsoft Zune HD. The Zune seems to be following Microsoft’s standard pattern of market penetration – release a solid product in an area dominated by others and let it sink in slowly to the public consciousness. Similar to the Xbox 360, the latest incarnation of their media player, called the ‘Zune HD’, is a step above the rest. It features something that no other PMP on the market, including the various iPhone and iPod models, has right now – an HD radio tuner! Finally, you can walk the streets listening to those ‘secret’ radio stations everyone has been hyping up over the last few years. Not to mention the fact that you can play HD videos on its incredibly crisp screen and you can also get the Zune Pass subscription system where, for a set price every month, you can download just about any album you want! It is available in 16GB and 32GB flavors.
Price: $219 16GB / $289 32GB
Product Link
– Netbooks: HP Mini 311. This small, 11.6-inch netbook is a veritable powerhouse with its Intel 1.6GHz Atom processor and Nvidia ION GPU. It is also equipped with 2GB of RAM as well as 160GB HDD. Purchase it with Windows 7 for a very smooth experience in the world of Microsoft’s new OS as you power through your next World of Warcraft raid – that’s right, the HP Mini 311 is capable of some PC gaming! It is also very reasonably-priced for a netbook providing all of the aforementioned features. Don’t like the specs? HP allows you to customize the Mini 311 to feature even an 80GB SSD for the best gaming performance possible on such a small computer.
Price: $399 Base HP Build / $559 Recommended HP Build
Product Link
– e-Readers: Kindle DX. As far as e-Readers go, the market is getting pretty packed out there with many units featuring dual-screens and other gimmicks. While models like the new ‘Nook’ may offer a lot of flash, I always go with three features when shopping for an e-Reader: screen size, cellular access, and a huge bookstore. Only one of the units out there at the moment fits this bill – the Amazon Kindle DX. With a 9.7-inch screen the Amazon Kindle 2 actually fits within the screen dimensions of the DX – it offers that much real estate. The e-Ink display is a step up from the first Kindle model and cellular access is quick. The DX also features a rotating display and the ability to read books too you in a fairly life-like voice! All of this coupled with the fact that the Amazon library is insanely gigantic and you have a winner. Numerous newspapers and magazines offer subscription models for the Kindle family and there is nothing like hitting the coffee shop before work and finding your morning edition of the San Francisco Chronicle has already been downloaded and is ready for your perusal.
Price: $489
Product Link
– Gaming Mice: Razer Imperator. Razer’s high-priced ‘Mamba’ gaming mouse feature wireless capability and a 5,200 dpi 3.5G laser sensor but, for most folks, that’s just too darn expensive. Razer recently-released the ‘Imperator’ gaming mouse which, while wired, features an ergonomic (and right-handed) shape as well as the Mamba’s laser sensor. It also features a braided chord and adjustable side-buttons to accommodate various hand-sizes.
Price: $79.99
Product Link
– Gaming Headset: Plantronics Gamecom 777. This is another device category where everyone and their brother claims to have one on the market. Some are very good – others are clearly just labeled for use in gaming and do not perform up to snuff. The Gamecom 777 from Plantronics features a very robust construction and crisp audio response for even the most keen ears. A retractable, noise-canceling microphone boom will allow you to keep communications clear with your teammates as you fight the enemy hordes in your favorite game. This headset features virtual 5.1-channel surround sound in its USB flavor that is very believable thanks to an included Dolby dongle. The analog version does not include the dongle or USB interface but will still provide you with solid audio and enjoyment over long hours of play.
Price: $59.95 Analog / $109.95 USB
Product Link
GEEK TOYS by Price Range
– Small Budget: Black Mesa Coffee Mug. Nothing says ‘start off the day right’ more than drinking some of the bitter black urine men call coffee from a Black Mesa mug. Is the alternate dimension known as ‘Xen’ sweetening your cup o’ joe or is it just the Splenda?
Price: $12.99
Product Link
– Medium Budget: The Skooba Netbook Messenger Bag. Netbooks are such a hot item these days, it’s a wonder more of these kinds of bags don’t exist. How common is it to see someone dragging around a netbook in a bag built for a full-sized laptop? Darn common! Skooba’s Netbook Messenger bag features a ton of internal storage areas and special pocket designed to accommodate up to a 10.1-inch netbook.
Price: $49.99
Product Link
– Large Budget: Tauntaun Sleeping Bag. Have you ever wanted to be a half-dead Luke Skywalker, clinging to life inside the smelly innards of a Tauntaun while awaiting rescue with your good buddy Han on the ice planet of Hoth? Me too! And now we can with the Tauntaun sleeping back!
Price: $99.99
Product Link
Well I hope you found this year’s Holiday Gift Guide to be useful in your shopping aims. If you have any suggestions for holiday gifts, post them in the comments below or in the forums!
