Sure you may be preoccupied connecting up smartphones through the new SmartGlass feature, but we wouldn't want you to be caught out for Christmas and be lost among the hundreds of new titles, unsure of what to purchase.
So perhaps take inspiration from some of these, sent to Vulture Central over the last few months, either on disc or as downloadable content. Here are the ten that tickled my fancy most when opting for the fatter control pad of Microsoft's machine. As usual, we've had to omit a fair few, such as Fable: The Journey, which simply failed to cut the dijon, or Angry Birds Trilogy for Xbox – in my view, it didn't really fly.
1-Dance Central 3
While it's a game I only ever play when my other half brings a crowd of her friends over, honest, it's hard to be too critical when Dance Central provides so much entertainment. These dance games are like the new-kid's karaoke and as long as we've had enough grog to overcome our inhibitions, even the most stringent of hetereosexuals will get their groove on.
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Harmonix's annual Kinect boogiefest certainly has the edge for me over Ubi's Just Dance 4. For starters, there's an awesome story mode that spans several decades incorporating relevant hits from yesteryear.Do the Hustle! There's also a crew battle mode, where two teams of up to four players can challenge each other. For those group gatherings, though, it's all about Party Time, which packs several competitive games and encourages freestyle dance offs. Just as well, because I'm terrible at following instructions.
2-Forza Horizon
Microsoft's premium racer steers away from its traditional model of a simulated driving experience here and turns a corner into open-world adventure with a fitting narrative. Players drive around, competing in events to gather XP, that unlock new vehicles and races. It feels more arcade-like than its Forza 4 brethren, but that makes it more up my street all the more. Lest we forget, it still has the realistic Forza DNA running throughout.
The showcase events – where you'll race planes and air balloons – are immense as are the various high-end vehicles you can pick up rusting away in secluded parts of the map. There are vast areas to explore, plenty to discover, and tons of content to get your money's worth.
Online modes are where it's at, though, with most of my game time spent on a neat hide and seek feature. Overall, it's definitely one of the better racing games I've played recently. Handling is more forgiving, speeds are exhilarating and graphically, the game is a stunner.
3-Need for Speed Most Wanted
With Forza shifting its gears into the open world racer market, NFS had even more reason to ramp up the nitro and with Criterion – developer of 2010's Hot Pursuit – behind the steering wheel, it does a pretty good job of doing so.
As with Criterion's previous outing, Most Wanted feels like a mixup of NFS and Burnout, with emphasis on drifts and takedowns and rewards for driving like a lunatic. Before long, you'll have the feds on your tail in true Wanted fashion, throwing increasingly more at you the hotter your notoriety becomes.
While the cars aren't quite as impressive and feel more arcade-like than Microsoft's detailed replicas festured in Forza, each NFSMW game offers plenty of entertainment and you undoubtedly get plenty of bang for the buck. The soundtrack is thumping too, just what you want in a racing game.
4-NHL 13
Here in Blighty we're less accustomed to ice hockey than our colonial cousins across the pond, so perhaps I can be excused for struggling to get to grips with NHL 13. After touching up my knowledge of the sport's rules and avidly studying with the game's controls, I'm still constantly thrashed by the CPU, without fail. Either that, or a friend and I slip about the ice like Bambi until our head-to-head ends scoreless.
Personal lack-of-skill aside, NHL 13 proved to be quite an impressive title with plenty to keep fans entertained. EA Sports games all feature similar structural foundations and appear to push for the utmost realism. NHL 13 is no different, with fresh emphasis on positioning and a new control method that forces better accuracy. In one respect it's essentially Fifa 13 on ice with awesome in-your-face fist fights.
Alas, times have changed from my days of four-player N64 action on Wayne Gretzky's Hockey and for those who appreciate the depth of realism, NHL 13 sets the bar. If you can master the technicality of it all, that is.
5-Pro Evolution 2013
While these days I still prefer EA's Fifa franchise, Konami's footie epic has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, transforming far more in many ways than its popular rival has. Evolution, indeed.
That said, it still clearly lacks the same attention to detail and continues to play catchup in terms of graphics, commentary and, of course, licensing, all of which may have contributed to a decline in popularity. Last year, Fifa outsold the franchise by 25:1 in the UK. PES 2013 deserves much more credit than that.
Defenders stick to their positions better, which is just as well, as attacks are fluent and full of clever runs. In fact, aside from the less-realistic way players carry themselves, movement across the pitch just about has the edge to take the accuracy trophy for me. Unfortunately, with Fifa's superior online modes and broader betterments, PES doesn't have the same panache. It's still a hugely commendable alternative, though and offers refreshing gameplay, particularly when six hours a night on Fifa starts to become stale.
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