Christmas 2015 - Gift buying suggestions

Hey all,

With Christmas soon coming up, I thought it would be an idea to make a topic where we could suggest games to people looking to buy their loved ones (family, friends, or themselves) a gaming gift.

So I am thinking we could look at specific platforms or games we enjoy just in general and give reasons to people to get them as presents, that way they hopefully can bring some smiles to faces when they get an awesome game this Christmas!

So to get the ball rolling:

My picks for Xbox One Games I suggest (in no ranked order):

A): Rare Replay - This collection has games from previous hardware cycles (so Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Xbox Original, and Xbox 360). It has something for everybody in it, be it the FPS fan looking to play some Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie for the platform fan, or just a selection of games in general. I would say this is for somebody who says "I used to enjoy games back in the day" as some of the games do not live up to modern standards and some of them may be a bit adult for children to play (such as Conkers Bad Fur Day).

B): Sunset Overdrive - An open world game that can probably be found for quite cheap now. It has some interesting ideas regarding how you move around the world (grinding along rails to move faster, wall running, parkour of that nature essentially). There are a variety of power ups for your character and weapons with crazy abilities. This is a game overlooked by many and may be good pick up for somebody who is enjoying playing the likes of Just Cause and wants something equally crazy to play.

C): Halo 5 - This game I would say is fun for those who enjoy multiplayer shooting games. This is also good for those who are in a group of friends who want to play similar games. You can set your own private lobby and allow your friends to enjoy games with crazy mutators (game changing aspects, such as turning off gravity, making everybody invisible, changing the movement speed of your character, and so forth). I have not got far with the story personally so can not vouch for that aspect, but the multiplayer is very much more Halo combined with some elements of Call of Duty.

D): Forza Motorsport/Forza Horizion - Great for the car person in your family or friendship group. If your loved one enjoys track based racing events, I would say go for Forza Motorsport 5 or 6 (6 being the latest version and more likely to have more people racing online, 5 being the full package now and going for cheaper at retail I would expect). This is a series for people who enjoy racing wheel to wheel around some of their favourite locations in the world such as Spa, Long Beach, and more. Forza Horizon 2 is more for the open world racer, somebody who enjoys the Fast and Furious films with the party music going or a fan of Test Drive who likes to drive around open roads in exotic cars.

Honorable mentions: Destiny (big online world shooter game, for online/mmo fans), FIFA (for the soccer/football fan), top up card (so many excellent downloadable games and DLC that your gift receiver may want to get for games they already own).

Other platform mentions:

Mario Maker (Wii U) - This game just looks amazing from the video content on this site. Fun for the whole family, making levels together or playing each others creations and sharing them with the online world for others to see. Maybe you too may want to play some of the Giantbomb made levels? (I do not have this game so can not fully comment on the quality, but if I had a Wii U, I would have this game for sure).

Anyway, thanks, if people want to ask for ideas or just post their own (be it games from this year or others, this is not a Game of the Year thread but a gift guide of sorts) then please feel free to ask or list away. Please try to give reasons as to why you list the games that you do so people can make informed decisions.

Thanks.

Hey, I like your thread idea! Here are mine:

Games for the Wii U:

1) Super Mario 3D World - This game has many classic ideas that the Super Mario Bros. franchise is famous for: collecting items, finding secrets, and of course, some platforming goodness. Many players can play at the same time so that a family up to four can enjoy the game. The use of the '3D' is more in line with freedom of Mario and company moving around the courses, which increases the chances for all kinds of gameplay ideas: outside on fields, high up in the air, and inside different rooms. There are many reasons to come back and play the game after reaching the end for those who wish to try and collect every item. It's a well reviewed game by both critics and non-critics, too.

2) Mario Kart 8 - In addition to platforming, Mario and friends jump into their karts and race each other on different tracks. The game uses the drifting model of racing that requires some timing and familiarity with the courses in order to excel at higher speeds. The game offers DLC for those who wish to buy some more courses and racers. The game is one of many that is compatible with several amiibo that are available for additional purchase.

Since you already mentioned Super Mario Maker, my ideas are these. I know that Splatoon is a fan favorite, but I haven't gotten a chance to play the game yet, so I'll leave that to others.

I am going to make a bold move and put Just Cause 3 on the recommendations. I did not expect it to be as cool as I have found it to be so far. This seems like the sort of game somebody who is into open world action games will enjoy. Some fans of Grand Theft Auto or the like will probably enjoy being gifted (or buying for themselves). The story so far seems to exist which is cool (as in there is actual story it seems from what I have played so far) and the side quests/missions remind me a fair amount of what Saints Row 3 did (I have had a Helicopter mission of just straight up "Do as much damage as possible, the higher you rank the more research points you get to unlock cool grenade boosts/mods).