Santa Claus with checklist, portrait, close-up

It’s the most wonderful time of the year once again. With Thanksgiving happening this week in the US, and the Santa Parades popping up all over the place across the country, it’s time to turn our attention over to what we’re going to get our loved ones. Have a gamer in your life? Look no further. All week long we’re going to be posting our lists for the top gifts to make your life just a touch easier.

For the Xbox Gamer in your life.

Turtlebeach Stealth 700 – Having just received one of these units, I can already tell you that I’m a huge fan of this extremely reasonable priced headset. The Turtlebeach Stealth 700s feature a rechargeable battery good for up to 14 hours of gameplay on a single charge, blutooth connectivity so you never have to miss a call even when gaming and a snappy little phone app for programming your headset all for the low price of just $199 you can’t miss. For a slightly less expensive headset, check out the Turtle Beach Stealth 600s which is still a full featured wireless headset – the biggest differences are the lack of active noise cancellation and Blutooth.

Xbox One X Console – If money isn’t really an issue for you, making the jump to Microsoft’s beastly new console the Xbox One X is without a doubt going to make the greatest person on the planet for your gamer. The most powerful console ever made features full 4K support gaming and video playback support, backwards compatibility for both games and accessories, is considerably smaller than the original Xbox One console, and a touch less than the S. If the high cost of the One X is a bit of a concern for you, the Xbox One S is still an incredible value and with Black Friday on the horizon, you’re sure to be able to grab one up at an absolute steal.

External Hard Drive – With the uptick in games on demand, digital delivery and especially with the introduction of the Xbox One X console, some games with their 4K assets are clocking in at well over 100GB in size making high capacity hard drives are a necessity for any gamer. I recommend something with at least 3TB of space. Larger if you can afford it. My recommendation is the Seagate 2TB game drive, or the Seagate 8TB Game drive Hub which also features 2 extra USB ports.

New Controllers – I have 2 incredible options on this front. The first option is to go with the Elite controller. It’s a premium professional level controller that allows the user to change the configuration on the dpad, adjust the height of the thumb sticks or even add paddles to the back of the unit to give them a higher level of speed when playing online. The second option is to go on over to the Xbox Design Labs site and order a controller that’s customized to exactly what you want it to look like complete with the ability to etch something into the face of the controller. The options are nearly endless and you’re sure to waste a ton of time playing with the site. Designing a controller is so much fun to do and it’s unique. You can thank us for that later.

Games – Let’s not forget the games. Was a fantastic year for gamers. The high quality of many of this years releases schedule was outstanding. Below is a quick list for you to consider. I try to cover a little something for everyone in no particular order.

1. Assassin’s Creed Origins – Assassin’s Creed is back and it brings us to ancient Egypt where the brotherhood all began. A game for the more mature gamer that’s sure to keep them occupied
2. Super Lucky’s Tale – A great little title for the younger gamer in the family about a fox named Lucky who sets to fight back against the evil “Kitty Litter”.
3. Middle-earth: Shadow of War – Another game for the more mature gamer, Shadow of War is the sequel to the very popular Shadow of Mordor and is in the world of Lord of the Ring. It’s simply an outstanding game especially with the 4K Xbox One X enhancements.
4. South Park: The Fractured But Whole – It doesn’t get much more mature than this one but it’s filled with hours of hilarity and is an all around fantastic RPG. If your gamer likes RPGs and/or loves South Park – this is a winner.
5. Forza Motorsports 7 – The crown jewel of Microsoft’s lineup this year, Forza 7 is the latest and greatest entry in the long running racing franchise. The graphics are the standard by which all racing games must live up to. It especially looks incredible on the Xbox One X and a 4K television
6. Halo Wars 2 – The long awaited sequel to the original Halo Wars has finally come home and ready to kick some Covenant butt. This real time strategy game is sure to please the gamer who likes to plan out his/her attack.
7. The Evil Within 2 – If your gamer is into scary things, look no further than The Evil Within 2. It’s one of those games that’s just meant to scratch a very specific itch that us horror aficionados appreciate.. having the bejesus scared out of us. Make sure to pick up an couple extra pairs of underwears at the same time.
8. Wolfenstein 2 – The latest hit in the classic franchise from Bethesda has been tearing up the charts with it’s incredible single player campaign. This is a sure fire winner for the gamer who enjoys first person shooters and an engaging single player experience.
9. Call of Duty: WWII – All gamers who enjoy playing online know the Call of Duty series. This year they went back to the roots of the series World War 2. The graphics are outstanding and the inclusion of a few new online game modes is a must have for the online gamer.
10. Cuphead – Easily one of, if not, the best indie titles to come out this year. It’s a throwback to games and cartoons of days gone by. It’s difficult, beautiful and just a great amount of fun. Gamers wo love the retro gaming or who grew up in the 80s are guaranteed to love this one.
11. EA Access – For the low price of just $29.99 your can give your gamer the gift that just keeps on giving for 12 months. They’ll have access to over 50 games, access to early game trials and a 10% discount on all EA game purchases. The value is simply astounding.
12. Xbox Game Pass – Another subscription for the price of just $9.99 a month, Game Pass gives gamers access to over 100 spanning 3 generations of consoles(Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One). New games are continually added to the roster and is sure to be a welcome addition to any gamer.

Stay tuned to Pixel Cereal for the rest of the week as we have more gift guides coming from Reaper and Andrew as well as some more category specific posts from me to help you on your shopping adventures.

J