With the holidays just around the corner – or passing for those who celebrate Chanukah – everyone is trying to find that perfect gift. However, if that perfect gift is a video game, it may be a little difficult to determine just which game from 2012 or 2011 to choose. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Assassin’s Creed III are great choices, but also rather expensive. Instead, here are some games in the $30 to $50 range that are definitely worth having.

Sleeping Dogs is a game that is available for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. In this gritty drama the player is Wei Shen, an undercover cop in Hong Kong, who is trying to take down a gang known as the Triads from the inside. However, in order to gain trust and climb his way up the Triad ranks, Wei Shen must take part in their criminal activities. Throughout the game the player is able to explore the city of Hong Kong both on foot and through driving vehicles. Sleeping Dogs got an average 9.2 rating out of 10 on Gamestop’s website.

Resident Evil 6 is the latest incarnation of the zombie-ridden video game series and can be purchased for PC, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Several things have been changed since the previous games. There are several new characters, four new ones in total, with two recurring characters: Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield. Additionally, the location and scale of the game has changed. Now, instead of being limited to one location the gameplay is global, taking the players to North America, Europe, and China.

Resident Evil 6 has great co-op opportunities – just as Resident Evil 5 did – so that two players can play together both online and offline. This feature is a definite benefit since the zombies are now more agile and able to use weapons, making them even more of a threat. Additionally, mutant creatures will be formed by the outbreak of the C-virus, creating more unpredictability. Ultimately, the game has gotten bad reviews but there are many new features and it is the next part of the franchise.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is also the most recent game in its franchise, but it has gotten excellent reviews ever since its release in 2011. This incarnation is set 200 years after Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and much has changed in the world of Tamriel, both in the story and in game play. Skyrim has a new combat system, new graphics, and a whole open world to explore. The player can also affect the direction of the story; if the player kills an important character that character’s family will try to hunt him or her down, giving the world a very realistic spin. Playing Skyrim is like having another life in a magical world. Skyrim can be purchased from Gamestop, pre-owned for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.

Another fantastic game that some players may have regrettably missed is Batman: Arkham City. This game is available on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 and has gotten incredible reviews. Similar to Skyrim, this latest Batman video game allows the player to explore an entire city while also fighting several different enemies such as the Joker, the Riddler, and Harley Quinn. The gaming world in Arkham city is five times the size of the previous gaming world in Batman: Arkham Asylum. With a 10 out of 10 from ‘Game Informer’ and a 9.4 out of 10 from GameStop customers, this game is a can’t miss for any gamer.

The last game that was particularly noteworthy for the 2011 to 2012 year is Rayman Origins. This game is a great platformer for kids and adults with incredible graphics and sound integrated into the game play. For example, for some of the levels the characters jump off of musical instruments, creating their own music as they jump their way through the world. The game is available for almost every system including Playstation 3, the PS Vita, PC, and Nintendo 3DS.

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Sony Computer Entertainment America have announced The Last of Us, a new franchise created exclusively for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Developed by Naughty Dog, the creators of the highly acclaimed and best-selling UNCHARTED series, The Last of Us was unveiled in a world premiere trailer at the Spike TV 2011 Video Game Award Show.

The Last of Us is a genre-defining experience that blends survival and action elements to tell a character driven story about a population decimated by a modern plague. Abandoned cities are being reclaimed by nature, and the remaining survivors are killing each other for food, weapons, and whatever they can get their hands on.

Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a brave young teenage girl who is wise beyond her years, must work together to survive their journey across what remains of the United States.

“We are excited to finally unveil The Last of Us, a project the team has been working hard on for some time,” said Evan Wells, co-president of Naughty Dog. “Naughty Dog’s mission is to change the way people experience videogames. We are confident The Last of Us will take a leap forward in cinematic gaming and storytelling, providing gamers with an experience unlike anything else in the industry.”

The Last of Us is developed by some of the industry’s most talented game designers including Bruce Straley, game director, and Neil Druckmann, creative director. Naughty Dog advanced to the forefront of the videogame industry in 1996 with the successful introduction of Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation system.

The developer extended the franchise with Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped and Crash Team Racing, selling 22 million copies worldwide and led to Naughty Dog being the most successful video game developer in the United States for that console generation.

The team then created the Jak and Daxter franchise including Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, Jak 3 and Jak X: Combat Racing.  All four titles are “Greatest Hits” for the PlayStation 2 system.

In 2007, the team released UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune and followed with UNCHARTED2: Among Thieves and the recent November launch of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception. Having currently sold over 13 million units worldwide, the UNCHARTED franchise represents some of the most impressive graphics and sound and processing capabilities found on the PS3 system.

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