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Santa's Welcome Bounty: Christmas Morning Games

I know everyone who reads 61 FPS was a model child who was very thankful for the gifts they received at Christmas. Nobody went home loaded down with socks and underwear, tears stinging the backs of their eyes. Nobody played wistfully with the Manger scene, replacing their unfulfilled toy soldiers and enemy aliens with Joseph and the Shepherds. No, we were always good and unselfish.

Okay, but the Christmases that left us with mountains of toys effin' rocked, right? We still spared a thought for the poor kids who woke up to nothing but a can of pumpkin mix, but kind of forgot about them as we attacked our loot.

We were lucky, but at the same time, Christmas was often the only time of year we could hope to score games. Maybe that's why the holiday makes me so nostalgic; I was sometimes gifted with items I hadn't even dared to ask for.

Would You Play a Final Fantasy VII Remake? Hmmm?

The Internet has been rumbling about a mysterious sign that's been popping up in Best Buys around the US of A. It looks like a simple "Coming Soon" release list, but look closer and you'll see the mystery: it lists Final Fantasy VII as an August Playstation 3 release.

Needless to say, this is an error, unless Square's been purposefully silent about a Final Fantasy VII re-release. It would be the merciful route; Sephiroth fangirls would gnaw on themselves and each other while writhing in anticipation of another crack at the silver-haired bishounen. Corporations aren't known for mercy towards their fans, however, and any planned Final Fantasy VII remakes would surely be announced with french horns and dancing poodles.

But would you play a Final Fantasy VII remake? No game is as beloved and reviled as Final Fantasy VII. It was the game that brought the slow and "nerdy" RPG genre to the attention of the mainstream gamer. It's also a very clumsy and awkward game; you'll be hard-pressed to find another big-name title that aged so badly. But a huge chunk of the Internet remembers it as their first RPG and you never do forget your first.

*Cough.*

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.