by David Piner on Nov 24, 2015
Welcome to Ten Ton Hammer's Massively Multiplayer Online Mega Gift Guide + Extreme Edition Zine Alpha Complex Catalog of Awesome Things (TTHMMOMGG+EEZACCoAT). In it you're going to find everything from Fallout 4 to probably back to Fallout 4 as suggestions of things to buy for you, your loved ones, or people that love video games and you have no clue. Throughout our gift guide we're going to be giving advice based on these core principles:
You likely are buying a gift for someone else, and therefore are looking for cool gamer gifts - if this is the case, we provide suggestions on things gamers might already have and it's appropriate to ask about, or things they're likely not to have. You're buying gifts for yourself, so we're going to aim to provide suggestions that you might have heard before, and cool things to make your gaming experience better. Everything offered is something that we personally believe would enrich your life in some capacity and isn't just filler or paid promotion. Anything that isn't an improvement should be worth a laugh, at least to us anyway. Nothing in the catalog is a promotional item we were told to put into it and we maintain pure creative control of what we put into this thing. It should be entertaining.Following these core principles, we've outlined a lot of cool, interesting, and neat things. Cool, interesting, and neat contains two out of three words your English teacher would probably send you to the principle for, but not here in the land of freedom and gifts. Enjoy the following list of cool purchases. We'll bold anything to take note of and provide any warnings on the assumption that giving specific gifts, like Fallout 4, can be tricky as the person you're likely to give it to would likely already have a copy (as an example).
Things to pay attention to when buying something for a gamer is if they're PC or console, and if they're console which console do they own. It's generally not rude to ask questions like, "what console do you have" and "what kind of games do you play?" When buying a game, make sure they have the console, and if it's for an MMO gamer, make sure they don't have it already. Often times the best gifts are ones that are really cool - which is where the focus of this guide is. It's a bit humerous, but it's to spark your imagination and make this holiday amazing with some really cool gifts.
So you're a gift giving casual and don't have a single clue what to give that special someone this year without giving them something they have, something that's useless to their interests, or worse. Following the easy guide below, you should be able to give them the perfect treat of the year:
PC Gamers: Steam Wallet Cash Xbox Gamers: Xbox Live / Xbox Live Cash Playstation Gamers: PS Plus Subscriptions / Playstation Store Cash Everyone Else: Amazon GiftcardsThe above are all available at retailers like Target and Wal-Mart, along with most big name pharmacies and grocery stores. Steam gift cards enable PC gamers to purchase nearly any PC game on the market. Xbox / Playstation cash will work in the stores for DLC (downloadable extensions of games they already own) and to purchase new games. Amazon is probably going to be the most preferred gift, as it allows almost anything gaming related to be purchased on Amazon. If you know that someone doesn't have Amazon Prime, it's also a solid gift to give, because it'll provide free shipping for a year and isn't gaming exclusive. Most everything in this gift guide likely can be purchased on Amazon. Here are some easy pictures to identify the gift cards when you're in the store (and they all can be purchased online).
Often white, contains Amazon's golden logo on it.
Either all black or has a graphic similar to this on it, with the Steam logo.
Generally white with Xbox on it. Xbox Live is the subscription service, whereas cash is used for buying games.
Generally black with Playstation Store on it. PSPlus cards, the subscription service, has the golden PS+ logo on it.
This year I'm giving the ultimate MMO gift to... Guild Wars 2!
I searched for balloons to celebrate and found this amazing photo. It should represent your absolute glee at receiving GW2: HoT
Guild Wars 2 is free-to-play and is a great suggestion for anyone to get interested in. The expansion, Heart of Thorns, is only $49.99 and available directly from ArenaNet. Any MMO gamer would probably love a chance to check out the content - tho like any MMO gift, ask to make sure you're not buying a duplicate. It also comes at a few price points with some cool benefits along the way:
These are MMOs that you can buy. There is a plethora of great MMOs and these aren't the absolute best (its subjective), but these should bring a smile to anyone's face. You can play lots of MMOs free these days! Sometimes, the best gift is just the gift of playing together.
Below are some free games that you could gift through word of mouth (or, if they're already a fan, help them with a subscription or some expansions)!
WildStar: Now free-to-play, explore Nexus in this modern sci-fi MMO featuring some of the coolest active combat out there. Star Wars: The Old Republic: Star Wars mania can't be higher right now! Join in the fun with your friends in this Star Wars themed adventure full of BioWare's unique charm. Warframe: Ninja robot type things fighting for freedom with wallrunning? Yes please. SMITE: While not an MMO, it play smuch like WoW's arenas! Path of Exile: Very similar to Diablo 2, but much more modern and lots of fun to play with friends. Neverwinter: A super fun MMO where you can make your own levels. Planetside 2: Persistant world shooter... of fun! World of... Tanks/Warplanes/Warships: Tank/Air/Sea combat with amazingly realistic controls.I'll let the spooky skeletons do the drumroll.
$39.99
The epic finale of StarCraft II. There is little reason not to get this in my opinion. I feel like I'm kind of wasting time writing why here, when it's pretty much every gamers duty almost (IMO) to finish the series.
$19.99
Paladins is an early beta FPS brawler by Hi-Rez, the guys behind SMITE. It's not only really fun, but still early enough that you could make an impact on its development process.
Here is a list of some games to look into, that Xerin thinks would make great stocking stuffers. Prices are MSRP, but most are on sale during the holidays for 30% off or more, so there isn't a better time to grab them.:
Tabletop Simulator ($19.99): Simulate every kind of table top game you could ever think of. Talos Principle ($39.99): Puzzle game in the style of Myst, where you go around and manipulate the world, avoiding dangers, to move the story along. Life is Strange ($19.99): Staff favorite adventure game. A special edition is coming out early next year (boo), but you can pick up this epic tale right now. Black and White Bushido ($9.99): Lewis's pick for a cool co-op game to play together with friends. Cities Skylines ($29.99): A really fun city simulation game. Farm Simulator ($9.99): A super fun farming simulatior. You wouldn't think it wouldn't be fun, but hey! Valhalla Hills ($29.99): Still early access, but I think it's a really fun game to look at and would probably surprise any simulation fan. Grand Theft Auto 5 ($59.99): If someone doesn't have it yet or hasn't played, they need to. This open world game continues evolving the franchise further and further. ARK: Survival Evolved ($29.99): This survival game has everyone screaming with joy as they fight off dinosaurs and attempt to survive. Rocket League ($19.99): If you haven't heard of Rocket League yet then you haven't had the fun of playing. Buy a copy for you and someone you know and blast it out! H1Z1 ($19.99): Zombie survival in the style of DayZ, constantly updated. Dying Light ($59.99): Single player zombie survival, super fun and I absolutely loved it. Has some cool DLC out and runs events, even though it's mostly single player (you can play co-op!). Metal Gear Solid: Phantom Pain ($59.99): Solid snake, well reviewed, well loved. This stealth game might be last on the list, but it's super fun and fans of the series will smile if they haven't played yet.Anyone who suggests a single game currency or DLC pack is nothing more than someone who is suggesting that you get very deep and personal into someone's life. There isn't any currency or DLC pack cards that you should buy without first asking the person if they want in on some currency or DLC, because it's such a personal thing. My biggest suggestion if there is a temptation to buy anything like that is to just get a relevant gift card for the system that they use, which they could use to snag whatever currency or DLC. Amazon is actually partnered with lots of games to buy currency within their games off of the website (like Stronghold Kingdoms). Roblox, etc. are only relevant if you know they play the game.
Black Friday sales offer some limited time goodies, such as Blizzard's Black Friday sale for Heroes of the Storm, which brings back some old favorites and provides unique items like a year of Stimpack.
Though - if you know the game, there is some boss options, from subscriptions to helping them complete their SMITE Odyssey set for... anime Thor!
Just as a personal thing, I feel that including anything from Razer doesn't provide you with any interesting options. Everything made by Razer is solid, anything from Razer that you'd buy for someone else would probably make them happy. Their product range is intense now, absolutely insanely intense, so I'd be careful of just listing something you've probably already seen a million times. Yes the Blackwidow is an amazing mouse, the Naga is great for MMOs, and the keyboards are considered by most gamers to be the absolute best. For my tastes, specifically, I haven't used very many Razer products because the few I've used I've felt inferior to other products (like the UtechSmart mouse below, which hasn't broken on me, unlike the 5 Nagas I had to go through, 3 purchased, 2 warranty returns, within a 3 year span, although the mouse was fantastic beyond that).
In the world of mice there is so many options your head will probably get spin from the tons and tons of options available. Below is a sampling of good mice.
I've got three entries into the keyboard arena for you. The keyboard you should buy, a great altnerative, and the keyboard I personally use. Just to put my opinion out here, the keyboard I use is probably the best keyboard on the planet and I don't care at all what you have to say or anyone has to say, just, I don't know, come at me bro.
I'm not sure what to suggest here, the field is now so big and the competition is so fierce, plus monitors change so frequently and make such a poor gift when you think about it (someone would need to have their monitor replaced by something really awesome to make it worth your while). If you want a monitor though... I suggest the... Samsung U28D590D!
~$350
It's one of the cheaper 4k monitors, well reviewed, and would be something different than anything else out there. Is it the best you could buy? Nah, but right now the variety of monitors out there would be an article into itself.
My current favorite headset out there that has a mic attached to it. Comes with two sets of different cups for LAN gaming, great sound, great bass, and very solid construction. Will last a long time considering just how durable the headset is. $129.99
Anything by Astros will probably be good. They're one of the most popular headset makers for gamers right now. Some editions come with a DAC while others are on sale for being a bit older. $150+
While not a "headset" this is one of the better mid-range headphones on the market right now. Comfortable, slick, and deep sound - there isn't much better you could spend $499.99 on. $499.99.
Very painful in my ears, unenjoyable to some, others find these to be the absolute best sound ever. You can get the official Apple ones for around $29.99 and then knockoffs as cheap as $1 at your local dollar store. Hey, I'm not biased! All the options here.
$1000+
Digital Storm makes some awesome gaming PCs and the Bolt 3 comes after the Bolt 2, one of the highest reviewed pre-built PCs in recent times.
$699+
The Alienware X51 R3 is a very, very inexpensive gaming machine that'll hold up to most games these days and is a very, very solid purchase.
$~300
This is seriously awesome. I'm NOT joking. The wheel and console work wonders in Farm Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator. I love it personally. The console also is really hype for other games or just to have a vast array of shortcut keys for almost any game that supports gamepads in some capacity. You'll have to like Farm Simulator to understand it more, but even beyond that, the wheel is solid and can be used outside of Farm Sim.
$99.99 (I got it for $40 on discount)
I spent much of my early 20s playing Guitar Hero 3 and Rockband. Guitar Hero Live brings the series back around and makes it feel new again. Not only do you get some more modern music choices, but while you can't replay DLC songs like before, you get such quantity in a wide range of genres that it's not such a huge issue (plus you get the songs on the disc). The new guitar makes you have to relearn how to play and even for someone who 5 star'd most of Expert, it's a pretty big deal. Well, MOST, I didn't do the last few songs. I'm not THAT cool.
There is a lot of "gaming" chairs out there, but when you're going to put some serious money on a chair it should probably be a Steelcase or something on that similar tier.
$1000+
This is probably the best chair you'll sit in your life, with the Gesture even better according to some. The sticker shock will surprise you, but your back will thank you. Not only that, but you can get these cheap on Craigslist and office supply stores.
$50~$250+
Walk into a big box store and find the most comfortable chair to sit in. That's a good chair. It'll last you a long time and by the time it's worn out, the warranty is either over and it's time to get something fresh or you're still covered by the warranty and can take it back. In-store warranties on these are rather good and usually around $5~$20 extra for a full replacement.
This thing is $500 and is a sixth-scale figure of Raynor. You know you want it.
One of the better choices out there in the Giant Vomit scene. Extra chunky and rather realistic.
Comes with a game, vehicle, two figures, a new portal of power, and the game itself. Youngin's will love the violent chaos of trying to run your enemies off the road while collecting and insurmountable amount of figures.
Amazon Fire itself is a solid choice, but the kids version is a great inexpensive gift at $85. Your kids will absolutly love it. Our own Lewis finds this to be one of his top picks this year.
People like North Coast Customs (not an endorsement - you'll need to research this one) make Mame cabinets that are basically plug and play. All you have to do is buy it for around $3500 (more or less, depending on what you want) or build one yourself. It's the ultimate gamer geek gift that'll bring everything back to the past. If you really, really want to impress, this is the way to go.
By now your loved one's VMU is probably dead, the battery long gone. Stop by almost any electronics retailers website and you should be able to snag a new one for around $10. "New", well, still working!
I'm sorry but if you're here for my advice on zines then you're beyond help :( There is a popular movement right now for artists to make limited run graphical zines like comics that are super cool, if you're cool enough to know about them, I mean.
Okay so get this feature set here: AM/FM/Aux-In. What more would you ever want? Can also play CDs. For around $30, it's a steal. You might think I'm joking, but nah I'm actually serious. There is a real use for boomboxes for background nosie for a gamer or just to keep sounds going to keep outside distractions gone.
Seriously.
A song that really reflects the kind of quality a vinyl record can produce. It's one of the better songs, in my opinion, to listen to on Vinyl, but we all know that when it comes to Vinyl records, personal opinion is king.
Ten Ton Hammer wishes you the best holiday season, and for next year to be even better than the best this year. I hope our gift guide made you smile and gave you some cool ideas for things to give, funny or not, for your gamer friends or even yourself. Until next year, this is Santa Xerin, signing out!
Oh and yeah, you can always just buy an Elf on the Shelf. Everyone loves those things.