On our office Christmas tree we have tags for kids who live in an orphanage. Each tag has things the kid has asked for for Christmas. I saw one for an 11 year old boy who wants a PS3 controller and "video games". Naturally, I picked this one.

The controller leads me to believe the video games would need to be PS3 games (clearly, this child has some class) - a list which I would readily be able to put together quickly based on what I like, however, these would probably not be appropriate for an 11-year-old (while I let my 10 year old play Dark Souls when he wants, I would feel odd about giving some kid I don't know Dark Souls unless I was sure the kid was either older than 18 or had ready access to a counselor or psychologist).

ANYWAY - I'm thinking of grabbing about 3 games + a controller for him. Easy picks are the Lego games (especially Star Wars, given the time of year) - but I'm wondering if there are other more obscure picks that I could still find, but that this kid would be unlikely to already have.

Any suggestions?

Burnout Paradise

FIFA/NHL/Madden from 2-3 years ago

Rayman is a good one.

I'm trying to remember some other ones.

Little big planet

• Ratchet and Clank
• Jak and Daxter
• Sonic (Not saying they're good but he may like them)/Sonic Racers
• Crash Bandicoot
• Skylanders
• Plants vs. Zombies
• Toy Story 3
• Minecraft

I feel like this is a solid list assuming the kid is a boy. Some of it skew a bit older but I think an 11 year old will go for that.

• Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time
• Saint's Row: The Third
• Batman: Arkham City
• Darksiders
• inFamous
• Assassin's Creed 2

Skyrim, Batman Arkham City, any of the Uncharted games, Okami, Ni No Kuni

Any of the Lego Games. Should be some for the PS3

Ni No Kuni

Jak and daxter collection would be a great get. Ratchet and clank games are pretty good too.

Forget Dark Souls. Get him Demon's.

All kidding aside, I'd say Arkham Asylum/City or Black Flag. Superheros and Pirates sound perfect for an 11 y/o boy.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX

3D Dot Game Heroes. It’s basically an NES Zelda style game with a cool 3D pixel art style.

@liquiddragon: Nice list except for SR3. Definitely not that for an 11 y/o.

Skate 3

The Orange Box (and/or portal 2)

Burnout Paradise

Assassins Creed 2

Rayman: Legends

The BIGS 2 (Its an excellent arcade baseball game that I loved at the time)

Lego: Anything

Little Big Planet 2

Skyrim

Joe Danger (Not sure if this had a disc release)

Plants vs Zombies

Fall Out: New Vegas

(I didn't play this so I don't know the age appropriate-ness. I played 4 and that would be ok I think.)

• Skate 3
• LittleBigPlanet / LittleBigPlanet 2
• Modnation Racers / LittleBigPlanet Karting / Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (I remember Vinny's son liked this game)
• Burnout Paradise
• Ratchet & Clank (series)
• Sly Cooper (series)
• Jak & Daxter (series)
• Ni No Kuni
• Minecraft (disc version)
• Sonic Generations
• Rayman Origins / Rayman Legends
• Puppeteer
• Batman (Arkham series)
• Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Collection
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (1 & 2)
• Portal 2
• De Blob 2
• Mass Effect (Trilogy pack)
• Cartoon Network Punchtime Explosion XL
• Katamari Forever

Of those my top 3 picks would be:

1. Burnout Paradise
2. Skate 3
3. Ratchet & Clank HD Collection

Lego Batman 3

It's surprisingly funny! :D