Doesn't time fly - especially when you're playing the likes of Unchartered 2 and Call of Duty?
Before you know it, it's Christmas. And the countdown officially begins tomorrow.
Credit crunch or not if you're in the know, there are ways around spending a fortune on pressies.
And the home of bargains is the internet.
While I do my best to shop locally and support local businesses, there comes a time when my budget outweighs my conscience.
I've been buying odd bits and pieces online for a number of years now and I have to say, I've never been let down.
Like anything you hear horror stories about some woman who ordered a tin of dog food and it ended up being sent to China giftwrapped, but I have to say I've been pretty lucky.
Nothing has ever gone missing, and the items have been as they were described.
So my main ports of call are:
For CDs, DVDs, Blu Ray, and Games: www.play.com or www.cdwow.com.
Both sites offer free delivery and most items are up to half price compared to high street stores.
They also have a wide variety of stock and usually despatch items within a couple of days.
Amazon's website (www.amazon.co.uk) has a huge array of, well... everything it seems. From hair driers to books, headphones to wireless headsets, it has it all. Postage and packaging can mount up but it wins hand down on pricing.
If you're looking for a specfic item it's also worth visiting www.kelkoo.co.uk which, in essence, is a price comparison site.
You type in the exact title of the item and it searches automatically for the cheapest. Once it's found the cheapest of gives you the option of visiting the store direct to buy it.
You can use the website for most things.
Ebay is also a valuable tool when it comes to Christmas shopping. One man's junk... another man's treasure. You can pick up some real deals for pennies. Just remember to look at their rating first for peace of mind.
If the thought of spending money on someone else is too much right now, at the very least visit the websites to firm up your Christmas wishlist.
Here's a few ideas:
Title: New Super Mario Bros Wii
Platform: Wii
Genre: Platform
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5
Just when you think that Nintendo can’t come up with anything to trump the Mario achievements of recent times, another classic console gaming experience is thrown into the mix.
Seriously, you could own only Mario titles for Wii and still be completely satisfied with your console purchase.
Here we hark back to the good old days of side-scrolling platforming – the world that 3D forgot. But what a world this is.
Transformed technologically from the amazing 2D Mario adventures of 20 years ago, NSMB Wii is everything you could ever wish for in a title from the franchise: personality, innovation, excitement – and an inimitable feeling of pure love that’s been poured into the production of this game from start to finish.
The co-operative experience is up there on a par with any other co-op title in any genre, and it’s just not worth picking at faults when a game is this good.
Nostalgia realised in glorious 21st-century technology, NSMB Wii is a title that gamers of every age and experience level must add to their collection.
Title: NBA 2K10
Platform: PSP
Genre: Basketball
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 5/5
The NBA 2K series has been an enduring one, and this year’s releases on the big consoles certainly slam-dunked the competition and re-established its reputation as king of the ballers.
The translation to PSP doesn’t always run so smoothly, however, and this port of an earlier PS2 version onto the small screen results in mixed success.
Graphically, the players animate extremely well, but the overall feeling is that an extra bit of polish could have been applied before release to bring it bang up to date with what this handheld system can offer nowadays.
What plays like a dream on PS3 actually turns into something of an average arcade outing on PSP, as the turbo feature allows you to speed up and down the court for the whole game without tiring any of your players out, negating the majority of tactical elements to the game.
Overall, it’s a fair first outing for the series on PSP, but gamers will rightly expect much more from the franchise when NBA 2K11 comes around.
Title: The Sims 3: World Adventures
Platform: PC/Mac
Genre: People simulation
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 4/5
Who wouldn’t get bored without the opportunity to explore far-flung countries, being stuck in a suburban environment for all their days?
Take that a stage further for your virtual population, and the tedium must surely be setting in for players and characters alike. But not anymore! Now you can take your Sims on exciting journeys to famous real-world inspired destinations all around the globe.
Checking out the landmarks is fun, but it’s the additional skills you can develop that really add another dimension to the whole Sims experience here, from mastering martial arts in Shang Simla, China, to exploring the depths of ancient tombs in Al Simhara, Egypt.
Exploring the three core new cities is a real treat, with countless challenges, rewards and relics to amuse you, and bringing some of these items back to your original Sims 3 home is a really nice touch – proper souvenirs!
All in all, this is a real breath of fresh air for the series, and certainly the way forward for extending the franchise’s life in years to come. Just don’t forget your passport!
Title: Assassin’s Creed 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action Adventure
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 5/5
Altair’s amazing adventure in the first Assassin’s Creed gave gamers a rare journey where they were completely sucked in for a rollercoaster ride combining history, brutality, high-technology and a sprinkling of supernatural activity.
A fine recipe for a game, and one that has been tinkered with to great effect in the sequel. As new hero Ezio, you’re invited to explore a vast open-world environment on a quest for vengeance against the rival ruling families of Italy.
The sheer class and style of the original oozes from every pore second time around, while the character development, greater variety of missions and weaponry ensure that fans of the first game will see a real progression.
With graphics as jaw-dropping as ever and the kind of twisting tale more akin to the movie screen, Assassin’s Creed 2 is a sure-fire winner.
Title: LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 3/5
When you pick up a LEGO title, you know what you’re going to get. And in this case, that’s a good thing.
The blocky characters have managed to carve themselves a tidy little niche, nestling somewhere between platforming adventures, movie tie-ins and kids titles, yet still delivering a unique brand of tongue-in-cheek humour that ensures the appeal isn’t strictly limited to the youngsters. And Indy’s second LEGO-inspired adventure is no different.
As a standalone single-player game, it’s got the same thrills, spills and puzzle solving you’d expect. But the addition of a level creation mode, where you can build your own environments brick by brick, really adds another dimension to the experience.
Of course, turning the movie turkey that was the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull into something worthwhile is a challenge in itself, but here the LEGO franchise has belatedly saved Indy’s bacon.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2. Assassin’s Creed 2
3. New Super Mario Bros Wii
4. Wii Sports Resort
5. Wii Fit Plus
6. FIFA 10
7. Left 4 Dead 2
8. Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games
9. Forza Motorsport 3
10. LEGO Batman: The Videogame
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd.
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