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9 Classic Video Games That Would Make For The Perfect Christmas Present

It's not the festive season if you're not racking up credit card debt on relatives you see twice a year, and if you've got games to buy, that means you'll be stopping by Best Buy and Gamestop and dropping full whack on $60 titles that don't warrant the asking price.

Vanquish

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Release: 2010

Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Shinji Mikami’s Vanquish is Japan’s answer to the Western shooter, but far from being a soulless copycat, it does a great many things better than the competition. Take Providence, its home planet, which bends on itself like an enormous roller-coaster ride and offers up scenes reminiscent of something out of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. 

Then there’s the action. Mikami dives into an all-you-can-eat buffet, picking and choosing his courses, then combining them like a master chef. There’s Max Payne bullet-time, Gears of War‘s cover mechanic and even a dash option that lets you slide in and out of oncoming gunfire. Firefights are a balletic dance as you twist, weave and evade a hail of bullets, your fingers mesmerized by the different options available to you on the battlefield.

It’s a short ride while it lasts, but every turn, spin and vertical loop is delivered with purpose. Six years on, Vanquish remains one of the most under-appreciated games I’ve ever played. More than any other entry on this list, you’re likely to have missed out on this one. This Christmas, right that wrong.