Contributed to by N-Europe's Staff.

In the words of Coca Cola, the holidays are coming... or rather they are upon us. 2007 has been a fantastic year to be a Nintendo fan. Nintendo are back on top in both the home console and portable markets, and to celebrate they have graced gamers with a year of joyous gaming treats. As this article goes up, it is Christmas Eve. Do you need to buy any last-minute presents? Or are you feeling the need to splash your new Christmas cash? N-Europe is here to help - with our 120th staff roundtable devoted to a plethora of alternative gaming recommendations for you - including many titles you may not have considered...

Jordan "The Jar" Khoviteri-Zadeh:

I nominate Endless Ocean for the Wii. This is probably one of those great games that no one buys. Endless Ocean is a fantastic mix of graphical style, cheap price tag and open ended gameplay.

The game has no objectives as such, you can simply go and dive for hours without actually having to do a single objective, but you can progress via challenges, exploration and photography. The game however isn't particularly endless, you can go from one side of the ocean to the other if you know the route in around 15 minutes or so and it has an ear bleedingly bad theme song, thank god for the MP3 support. It has some rough edges such as really, really bad jaggies and such but over all, with such a tiny price tag of �20 and a unique experience how can you possibly miss this?

Nathan "Tellyn" Whincup:

Picross DS. We now live in a world where a good game won't sell if it isn't labelled Brain Training or Need For Speed, which is seriously unfair on games like Picross which are clearly a hell of a lot better than the previously mentioned.

The game's objectives are simple: make crosses and lines in a Sudoku-esque grid in order to make a blocky picture out of the grid. There are several different modes which include local wireless and download play, as well as an expansive Wi-Fi mode. Going online allows you to exchange puzzles with your friends, download classic Mario Picross packs and Nintendo occasionally release promotional packs from European and Japanese competitions. In terms of objectives, it's no Zelda, but Picross is so addicting and rewarding that it deserves your money this Christmas. It's also a budget title.

Joao "Hellfire" Lopes:

My Christmas reccomendation is Freshly Picked Tingle's Magical Rupeeland. It seems fitting in a season that's becoming predominantly commercial that I would recommend a game that revolves around money.

Everything odd about Tingle that made some people love the guy and others hate him is multiplied by 100 in this game, so if you fall in the latter category, avoid the game. Turn every stone to find money, complete maps, cook, hire bodyguards and haggle, haggle, haggle: everything you do has the sole purpose of getting lots of rupees to gain access to some sort of enchanted kingdom where everything is great.

It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's a charming and addictive game that beneath all its quirkiness brings up some very interesting themes.

Iun Hockley:

Unquestionably Thrillville: Off The Rails. I'm a Rollercoaster Tycoon nut and this game really is a breath of fresh air.

Okay, so it may not have the depth of micro-management, or require too much intelligence from the player in terms of park design. But what it has is a unique mix of humour, strategy and skill that are rarely demanded from players of this particular genre.

Literally every stall, game and ride can be played in some form or other, with minigames used in every aspect of mission success. Some of these games are awful, but others really bear repeated play. All add to the enjoyment and lifespan of a game that really shouldn't be as much fun as it is, come Christmas morning, you'll be having a blast.

Adam "Flameboy" Ducker:

My nomination goes to a game that was criminally ignored across the world; Lunar Knights on DS. If you've completed Phantom Hourglass already or just can't for the next dose of Castlevania, then Lunar Knights should slot into your DS quite nicely. A semi-sequel to the Boktai franchise this game is an isometric action RPG at heart, but there is so much more to it.

The game is built around the premise of a mysterious young emo vampire hunter (think Blade for the DS generation) who is out to kill all of his own kind. Where the gameplay gets clever and offers something different is in the wealth of options and gaming mechanics that affect exactly how you approach the adventure set before you. Firstly there is the innovative two character system which allows you to swap at will between our already mentioned hero and a young human who is a trainee vampire hunter (in a clan largely made up of talking dogs, oddly). The difference in the two characters is the weapons they come equipped with, one has a gun the other a sword. This alters how you approach the game in terms of different routes through the levels, as well as how you engage in combat.

That however is not where the fun ends, there is an interesting night and day element that alters the levels. It also affects the characters with our emo vampire being more powerful at night and able to recharge his energy and vice versa for our gun tooting young friend. There is also a further Pokémon element that adds even more depth. Each weapon can be further powered by using spirits (which you free and unlock throughout the game) who take the variety of forms including a bat and plant. Certain enemies and puzzles can only be beaten by using the correct form and this gives the gameplay another twist with innovative and different uses throughout that help keep the formula as fresh as the diverse levels you will find yourself playing through.

Chuck in an excellent touch-centric shoot 'em up boss mini-game and some of the best production values of any DS game and it begins to be apparent what a great package this is. The fact that the game can be found brand new and sealed up, just waiting for it's gaming goodness to be freed for the bargain price of �14.99 (or 20 Euros) at many high street retailers adds to the greatness and makes for a must buy.

Dominic "Domstercool" Sheard:

Taiko no Tatsujin DS. This is a game you won't be finding on your shelves unless you live in Japan. Taiko no Tatsujin is a fairly popular franchise in the land of the rising sun. It's got countless sequels on the Playstation 2 and now has finally been given a DS incarnation.

To get one thing straight, Taiko on the Playstation 2 came with two drum sticks and a huge Taiko drum to beat. The drum allowed you to hit the centre area or the rim. These were basically the moves you would have to be doing along to the symbols on the TV screen. I wasn't too sure how the game would work on the DS when I first heard about it. The touch screen isn't exactly the best thing to hit with some plastic drum sticks. Once I got hold of the game though my worries were gone. The game comes with two plastic styli drum sticks that you use instead of your original stylus. Using these you will be tapping the drum on the touch screen without any problems.

The game isn't a perfect conversion of the Playstation 2 version, a couple of notes would require you to hit the drum sticks together, but since the DS can't really handle two inputs at once you can just tap it with any stick, but apart from those little niggles the game is fantastic fun and seriously worth importing. It might eventually see the light of day over here, well more chance in America since the Playstation 2 manage to get one version over there, but it will be filled with different songs, it's kind of like the Ouendan scenario.

Don't worry about the game being in Japanese, it's easy to understand what is going on. All you need to do is get to your importing boots on, grab some headphones and get drumming to the beat, you won't regret getting this great unique title. Go on, take a drum home this Christmas.

Sam C. Gittins:

Sonic Rush Adventure. Remember when Sonic games used to be among the very pinnacle of platformers? If not then you'd be forgiven as the blue blur hadn't starred in anything truly amazing since the fantastic Mega Drive outings.

Forget the 3D messes for the masses which are more flawed than fun, Sonic Rush Adventure is where the actions at. When the original came out early on in the life-cycle of the DS it not only made fantastic use of the dual screened perspective and utilised touch features only where needed but it completely revitalised the series.

This sea-bound sequel offers more of the same fantastically fast, frantic and above all fun levels which made the original such a success and adds to the experience by letting you pilot ships between the various areas. It may not at first glance seem like something suited to the series but once you play it you'll see how well it's integrated and even complements the action by playing out like addictive mid-mission mini-games which utilise the touch screen well as you swifty steer ships and bombard battle ships inbetween the main core experience which remains intact and as impressive as ever.

Featuring a zealous amount of zones incorporating that well loved 2D platforming that harks back to the golden age of gaming while adding in more of the brilliant boss battles as well as the two main returning playable characters; this really is as good as it gets for a new Sonic game and is a respectable entry in it's own right.

Stephen "ShadowV7" Thomson:

Trauma Centre: Second Opinion. Great simulator game on the Wii that deserves some attention. You'll find yourself repeating older operations just so you can get faster times and better ranks even though they do nothing for you.

Playing the role of Derick Styles, you get put in a world full of medical terrorism with people creating a man-made virus to wipe out the human race since the 'antagonist' so to speak has convinced himself that God made man to kill. The story itself progresses over several chapters with each chapter including several missions. As a surgery simulator it does very well as you have a variety of surgery utensils such as the scalpel, defibrillator and the drainage hose that makes performing surgery that bit more life like.

As for the length of the game, you have 40+ surgeries to do and you also have the extra character Dr. Naomi Weaver for extra missions. The skills and difficulty you come across during the game is something to talk about in itself. You will find yourself performing surgery with a pen light and a flash camera to perform difficult operations in the dark, then you'll need to use your knowledge gained in previous missions to figure out what internal injuries should be healed first since your performing under pressure with a rather low time limit.

The game also has 4 difficulty modes (one you can't get until after you've completed the main game) so the better you are, the harder the mission. And if you're one of the people that can complete the game, you have an all new difficulty called 'extreme' to wipe out the guilt, and not everyone can do it.

With much to do including using your surgery utensils to defuse a bomb, several missions and immersive gameplay, this is one that people should pick up and play.

Tom "Tphi" Phillips:

I'd just like to draw everyone's attention to the Virtual Console - especially those people who can now (hopefully, if Nintendo's site is behaving itself amidst the massive demand) exchange Stars for Wii Points.

From simple titles like Pac-Man to the sprawling adventure to be found in Paper Mario, the service is full of great stuff this Xmas. Lylat Wars, Super Mario Bros. 3, Metroid... Personally I can't wait to be able to have my downloaded Mario Kart 64, the GameCube's Double Dash and the forthcoming Mario Kart Wii all playable on one system! Bliss.

Ashley Boyd:

Disney Friends. Somewhat leftfield (or at least, I can't imagine anyone would have guessed this would crop up). More for your younger sister, cousin, or if your girl is into cutsie Disney things... Whoever its for its a fun little game which I will admit I haven't played thoroughly but it would appeal to a younger (and more womanly) demographic than myself.

I love Stitch which is why I tried this out at work one day and the section with him is so fun. He can play guitar, toast marshmallows and if you build a city (out of blocks and stuff) he will terrorise it and knock it all down growling and stuff (if you've seen the movie you'll know what I mean).

The rest of the game has a decent mix, it doesn't go too far into the girly cutsey side it could fall into; the rest of the games are based around Finding Nemo, Lion King and Winnie the Pooh (and who doesn't like the first two anyway?) To sum the game up really it is almost like Nintendogs (but not as indepth) with Stitch, Dory, Winnie and Simba. And as of 24th December it will be �13 in Game (not meant as an advertisement but it is cheaper than I can find on the net). So if you're stuck for something cheap for a female this may be the solution.

Justin "GCTonyHawk7" Marrimon:

I know that we were supposed to select a game that is outside the typical norm., although I have not really strayed too far off the beaten past any time recently. So, rather than make up a game that I think people should buy this holiday season, I am going to recommend an excellent piece of hardware. It is the Wiimote Charging Dock. I actually recently got one as a gift for my birthday and have since loved it. The concept is simple, it is a dock with two slots for charging Wiimotes when the rechargable battery goes low. This is especially intuitive because most of the games out there will actually warn you when your battery is low. This lets you know that you need simply to pop the Wiimote on the charger when you are done playing and it will be all set for your next play session.

The specific one that I got was Nyko; it can be had for the price of a typical budget game. This specific one has nice grips on the battery covers, nice blue charging lights, a design that matches that of the Wii's white/silver design, and nice 8-20 hour battery life. Many people may insist that they do not need it, that they can simply just use rechargeable AA batteries; I'm here to tell you I was that way as well. I got it, love it, and would never go back. Buy one for sure.

Mike Cordeiro:

First off, if you've just completed Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and want something more hardcore in terms of difficulty I recommend Contra 4. The game looks beautiful and if you loved the NES Contra this is a must buy.

If you have been playing alot of puzzle games like Puzzle Quest (pick it up) and want a change of pace or miss the shooter game play in Metroid Prime Hunters I recommend Call of Duty 4 DS. The 3D engine is nice and the controls are similar to Metroid Hunters, pick it up.

Jim "Flinky" Babur:

I'm going to go against the flow here and put forward my suggestion of FIFA 2008.

EA are usually slated for their annual releases, especially for sports sims. However, this was one title which did please me. There are some innovative uses of the controllers, it even features a family-friendly one handed method where you just play with the remote. For traditionalists, you have the option to fully control and customise your team, including formations, strategies, and so forth. Whats more, EA have added an online function to the game, meaning you can play against others online, and even take part in a league system.

It's been a long time since a FIFA title has really immersed me in the beautiful game, but EA have really outdone themselves here. Online, good uses of the remote, and the traditional game structure still intact... what more do you need?

Have N-Europe helped you out of a Christmassy dilemma? Have we rescued you from festive woe? Discuss the roundtable, and share your own views with fellow N-Europe-ers in the comments below. Game On!