The other night while I was sitting by the fire, sipping warm milk and stroking my pet gerbil, a rather interesting idea came to mind. My plan was to write a videogame article based around Christmas. Christmas is a time of celebration, where family and friends come together to talk, share presents, pretend they like each other and all that other festive stuff. This all sounds good to the average Joe, but what does all this mean for the gamer? More inside.
Well, they too can be involved in all of the previously mentioned activities, but on many occasions they won’t be because they will, of course, be too busy gaming. So this year I thought I would ask gamers to stop. Yes, that’s right gamers stop gaming and read this. Okay, now that I’ve got everybody’s attention, I will explain the premise of my merry Christmas article. Actually, my article isn’t really an ‘article’, but rather a list of games that feature a little or a lot of Christmas. So sit back, relax and prepare to be informed about the best games to play at Christmas time. The Santa hat from Nintendogs (Nintendo DS) Ah yes, the Santa hat from Nintendogs. Such an inappropriate item all year round, yet when Christmas rolls around players start to realise just how trendy these Santa hats are on their favourite little puppies. The Santa hats that feature within Nintendogs remain true to the traditional Santa hat and are guaranteed to make any well-groomed puppy lose in a fashion contest. I’m running low on material here, so I’ll finish the Nintendogs section by saying the Chihuahua puppies look cute when they have the big Santa hats on them. The Christmas level in Elite Beat Agents (Nintendo DS) Elite Beat Agents are at your service, and it seems they are even available at Christmas time. In the level A Christmas Gift, the agents help to reunite a mother and her child with their deceased husband/father. The storyline and song in this level are both well done, but the highlight is the memorable ball-rolling segment where players must trace the outline of a star. Just like many other Christmas themed levels, this EBA level is best played at Christmas time. The Christmas Songs from Wii Music (Nintendo Wii) Whilst on the topic of Christmas songs, I may as well mention the recently released Wii Music. The soundtrack in this title has received a lot of criticism from reviewers and the public alike. In my list, however, I will praise Wii Music because it actually features the Christmas songs Jingle Bell Rock and O Christmas Tree, meaning it is yet another game that can be played around Christmas time. The snow tracks in Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo 64) I still question why I’ve included Diddy Kong Racing in this list, but for some reason it has always seemed Christmassy to me. Probably due to all those pine trees, coloured lights, and cheery songs that feature heavily in the snow-themed levels. So don’t shove this game aside this Christmas, instead pull it out, dust it off and play it, because no doubt you’ll find all those Christmas aspects in Diddy Kong Racing that I’ve just mentioned. The Super Mario 64 snow levels (Nintendo 64) Okay, like Diddy Kong Racing some people might consider Super Mario 64 a lousy inclusion to my list, but this game’s snow levels always seemed Christmas themed for some reason. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to blame it solely on the Christmassy music for now. Play some of the snow levels in Super Mario 64 and I think you’ll understand what I mean. Perhaps you even might get all Christmassy inside as well. Animal Crossing (Nintendo Gamecube) Although there have been three Animal Crossing games released, I’m going to disregard the DS and Wii versions and instead just talk about the original game’s take on Christmas time. The Santa Claus-like reindeer, Jingle, is a charming character in the original version of Animal Crossing who gives out presents from December 24th 8:00pm to 1:00am the next day. On top of Jingle’s present giving, players are also able to roll balls of snow and turn them into snowmen. Snowman making is a challenging task in Animal Crossing, but is ultimately a rewarding experience. To our fellow readers I hope you enjoyed reading our Christmas list and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.