PixlBit

This isn't your father's buyer's guide.

Are you tired of those gift guides that tell you to buy things for him or her? Who really wants to give someone monogrammed towels, anyway? How about a gift guide based on the emotions we all feel? The emotions native to every person out there. If you're looking for a buyer's guide you can really empathize with, look no further. Patrick's guide is here to lend a helping hand.

For the Interested and Curious Quagmire

While Curious George would be the obvious choice, buying a new game instead of classic literature would show your cultural savvy. That’s why you’re here, and Professor Layton and the Last Specter has the curious gamer detected. Professor Layton games are for only the most inquisitive person, interested in solving life’s complexities. Those quandaries and conundrums will come mainly in the form of puzzles here, over 170 puzzles. The curious have remained so for the past three games, which makes the Last Specter the fourth in the series! Luckily, the magical person in your life won’t have had to keep up with the storyline, since this is a prequel to the original trilogy. Sniff out an early story about the other dynamic duo of private investigators by solving this mixture of several varieties of puzzles, ranging from brain teasers to peg solitaire. Trying to imagine what peg solitaire is right now? Then this game’s probably for you.

Available on the DS

For the Angry Teammate

A lot of people are angry with their situation in life, politics, religion, or economics. For them, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will do the best job of releasing their rage upon civilization. While it does have a story, the players who care about it are few and far between. You can catch the majority of players in a seemingly endless battle online. This is for the gamer who needs to quench their bloodlust by other means than biting into the necks of unsuspecting victims with their fangs. For the feat of diverting real world violence with computer generated killing and explosions, Modern Warfare 3 succeeds, except if you’re on the other side of the glorifying violence issue. What the most angry teammates need is a chance to become a one-man army to their heart’s content. If the people you’re shopping for would rather battle in their own army than join a team (which is vital for victory in another FPS giant, Battlefield 3), this is the perfect game for them.

                                                                   

                              Available on DS, PC, PS3, Wii, and 360                                       Available on PC, PS3, and 360

For the Contemptuous Hero

For those with morals and a brutal sense of humor, Batman: Arkham City will surely be the game of the year. Even passing fans of Batman should play through the storyline, which has quite the theatrical ending. Not only does its plot comment subtly on the theater of war with the nuances of good and evil, but it also tells one of the most important stories about the world’s greatest detective and his most notorious enemies. The masterfully crafted climax even has the potential to alter the future of Gotham city. It would be a shame to miss out on a game so packed with objectives, to suppress various efforts by (almost?) all of the most recognizable villains. Why would the contemptuous hero allow these characters to run rampant in their own city? Some villains just like to watch the world burn.

Available on PC, PS3, and 360

For the Excited Toddler

Depending on your system of choice, the toddler in your life should be playing their first console exclusive with either Little Big Planet 2 or Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster. If the child you know has never played an exclusive game made especially for youngsters and enjoyable by all, these two games provide great opportunities to instill some brand loyalty. Each of these titles have been critically acclaimed and have a commendable storyline to boot. LBP2’s battles with the Negativitron will help every Sackboy conquer their negative thoughts, as well as learn to make their own levels in video games. What positive crafts your inner child can make with all of the user-created content! On the other hand, Once Upon a Monster teaches kids to solve monsters’ problems, which might make them nicer monsters. For a series of minigames that utilizes the Kinect controller, your options are fairly thin. Give these excited newborns a chance, and you’ll remain excited for months.

                                                                 

                                    Available on the Playstation 3                                                      Available on the Xbox 360

For the Guilty and Shameful

If there’s one thing both the guilty and shameful need more than anything, it's to be to laugh at themselves. Portal 2 tortures the player until they laugh into oblivion. Even though it’s another sequel on the list, most of the humor in here is fairly universal. Self-deprecating humor from robots? Check. Impotent digs at the player from artificial intelligence? Mind bending puzzles that laugh at their challenger? Check, check. Black humor about exploiting test subjects? Check. What more would a guilty or shameful person need to hear than a hilariously hyperbolic computer with the exact opposite sensibilities of themselves? It’ll make them feel better about who they are. It’ll make them aware of what great lives they have lived, persevering with a propulsion gun through Aperture science’s enslavement. It’ll make them glad to have you as a friend, because it’ll lighten their lives, and they’ll need you for the co-op missions.

Available on Mac, PC, PS3, and 360

For the Surprised Humanitarian

The few purists still passionate about the games of yore will have too much nostalgia built up to want anything other than The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on the franchise’s 25th anniversary. Such an altruistic game has been accompanied by one of the most astounding years of gaming for any franchise. Nintendo has pulled out almost all of the party favors for their celebration of The Legend of Zelda, and this game is the cake. With fresh gameplay that has evolved from the basic formula of alternating overworlds and dungeons and a control scheme faithfully mimicking swordplay at its finest, it is sure to surprise even the most noble of Links. Every game in this series has tried to match or surpass a sense of wonder in the basic plot of saving the princess from evil, and many people have gone so far as to say that this is the top entry in the series. An origin story for the Master Sword has never been told before Skyward Sword, a story that will flabbergast all but the most cynical fans of this franchise. If this story doesn’t shock your humanitarian’s likely thankfulness for months to come, its controls and nobility undoubtedly will.

 

 

Available on the Wii

For the Overzealous Leader

Some people need control, and some people cannot live without controlling every aspect of their lives (and those of other people, too). For those bosses, leaders and ego trippers, you’ve got to get them either Civilization 5 or Starcraft 2. Unfortunately, they might have already bought one or both of these titles, because Civ 5 and Starcraft 2 are two matches made in multiplayer mayhem. Civ 5 would be a great present for the more passive leader, who likes to win by more than simply combat. If the overzealous leader you know is down with researching science, culture and political relationship, Civ 5 is for them. For the military general, the gameplay may be rather shallow, unless you get them Starcraft 2. It’s got a professional circuit dedicated to the online war between three distinct races. All of the harvested minerals will go toward scouting the opponent and making the most effective units. Then clicking their way to victory will occupy their leadership role for years. Civ 5 has many positive qualities for budding city planners and art historians, in addition to bureaucrats. Starcraft 2 will satisfy the overzealous leader looking to go medieval on some enemies.

                                                                        

                                    Available on Mac and PC                             Available on Mac and PC, Game of the Year edition also available.

For the Undeniably Happy

A new Mario game is enough to make anyone giddy. Who doesn’t smile at Toad screaming and diverting Mario’s attention from gathering all of those coins? In search of the princess throughout portable castles, Mario may not have his longest adventure, but Super Mario 3D Land is one of his most potent. Even though PETA might not understand the wonders of the Tanooki suit, the new way Mario controls with it in 3D makes players undeniably happy. It has everything to do with becoming one with the most cheerful animals in the Mushroom Kingdom and saving the most beautiful woman in one plumber’s illustrious career. You really can’t go wrong with getting any person this game, as long as they have the correct system to play it (a 3DS). It would do players a disservice to talk about how delightful Super Mario 3D Land is, when you should be experiencing it some time this holiday season. Then again, you may not be the happy type. Get this for yourself right now!

Available on the 3DS