Watch CBS News

Gamespot's Holiday Gift Guide 2012

Need help gift-buying for gamers this holiday season? Here are some items to look out for.

$0 - $10

Spelunky Minis

Buy from Attract Mode for $5.00
Buy from fangamer for $5.00

Much like the characters in Spelunky that they're based on, these diminutive figurines are best kept away from fire, explosions, mammoths, and bottomless pits. If none of these potential hazards are prevalent in your home, Spelunky Minis will thrive there and, assuming you're not looking to them for companionship, they make great pets. That's assuming your blind box doesn't contain the snake.

$25 - $75

Operation R2-D2

Buy from Amazon for $22.69
Buy from ThinkGeek for $24.99

Operating on a guy with a red lightbulb for a nose apparently doesn't cut it anymore. Perhaps because his most obvious abnormality was the one thing you couldn't attack with a pair of tweezers? Regardless, nowadays you can perform surgical procedures on all sorts of licensed characters and, of course, no conversation about licensed products would be complete without Star Wars.

$25 - $75

Halo Risk

Buy from Amazon for $39.38
Buy from B&N for $39.95

Like Monopoly, Risk is a game that's available in a myriad of different licensed flavors at this point. Unlike Monopoly, the different licenses have a significant impact on how Risk plays. This Halo Legendary Edition comes with a couple of two-player maps in addition to its oversized Halo ring map, for example. Other gaming editions of Risk include Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.

$75 - $150

RC Mario

Buy from Amazon for $84.99
Buy from Toys R Us for $99.99

Efforts to recreate Mario Kart in the real world have, to date, been hampered by a shortage of red shells, blue shells, bloopers, and mega mushrooms. This 1/8th scale (huh?) RC Mario does absolutely nothing to rectify this unfortunate situation, but throw down some banana skins, pick up an RC Yoshi as well, and you can enjoy Nintendo-brand racing anywhere with a lot of floor space.

$150+

Nintendo Wii U

Buy from GameStop for $349.99
Buy from Best Buy for $349.99

In case you missed it, Nintendo launched a new console this holiday season. It looks like a regular Wii, and you can use the same Wii remote controllers with it, but it's a whole new thing. Buying the black rather than the white system is the way to go; not only does it look better, but for just $50 more it comes with a game and significantly more internal memory for downloadable games and such.

For more items, visit Gamespot.com
Prices correct at time of writing
 
(Copyright 2012 by Gamespot.com/CBS San Francisco. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.