Once you've finished the last turkey sandwich and your horlicks-fuelled knitted jumper is starting to itch- fear not, the fun is in no way over. Nintendo have revealed what games they'll be releasing in 2004- and I suggest you get a change of underwear ready. You're going to need them.

The suits over at Nintendo have obviously got their thinking caps on, because 2004 will see an intensive fusion of genres and games for all ages. The year kicks off with none other than woman-eating world-saving super agent James Bond, in his latest epic adventure, Everything or Nothing. Luckily, the game is not based on a movie, meaning the producers are free to do what they please with the script- and with real actors lending their likeness and voices, intensive driving scenes, and a solid 3rd-person gameplay base; Everything or Nothing is set to bring back the golden days of, um.., Goldeneye. 20th February is when it hits the shops, so make sure you try it out; once you've read the CE Verdict of course. Next up to bat is Kirby's Air Ride, which- although heavily criticised by the media, can be enjoyable, especially with its LAN capabilities. The pink ball of gum lands on GameCube on the 26th of February.

Make sure you save up for the 11th of March though, because that is the day when arguably the greatest RPG series of all time finally touches down on our beloved purple wonder. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles needs no introduction, Buy it. You won't regret it. Oh, and you'll need four Game Boy Advances as well. Hum. Onward! Solid Snake-lovers will finally get the game they so greatly desire in March- as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is released to the stealth-hungry public. The remake of the PlayStation classic now features up-to-date gameplay features taken from the sequel on PlayStation 2- and lets not forget the gorgeous visuals. Sega's blue hedgehog gets another shot at the big time with Sonic Heroes in Quarter One (Tech-speak for the January- March period) followed by the elegant fairway-abusing golf-em-up Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and the monster-filled RPG/poke-tweaker Pokemon Colosseum in Quarter Two (Around April- June). The eagerly awaited Phantasy Star Online Sequel, C.A.R.D Revolution is pencilled in for the same time period- and will surely be snapped up by avid role-playing fans everywhere.

Smile-Inducingly pleasant is the fact that this is a brief highlight of what the GameCube has to offer in 2004- and we haven't even mentioned what's going on in the world of Game Boy Advance next year. Sword of Mana, the new F-Zero and Donkey Kong Country will all be heading over to the portable in 2004- but I'll leave the rest to Dennis, so be sure to check Advance Weekly. The release dates Nintendo sent us are in full below this text, so don't forget to check them out.

I can't guarantee you a Merry Christmas, but you're definitely going to have a Happy New Year.

Release Dates:
World Racing - TDK January 2004
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing - EA 20th February 2004
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life - Natsume/ Ubisoft 15th February 2004
Kirby Air Ride - Nintendo 26th February 2004
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles - Nintendo 11th March 2004
Spawn Armageddon - Namco/EA 5th March 2004
R: Racing - Namco/EA 19th March 2004
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes - Konami March 2004
Scooby Doo! Mystery Mahem - THQ March 2004
Sonic Heroes - SEGA Q1 2004
Puyo Pop Fever - SEGA Q1 2004
Pokémon Channel - Nintendo April 2004
Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour - Nintendo Q2 2004
Pokémon Colosseum - Nintendo Q2 2004
Phantasy Star Online III: C.A.R.D Revolution - SEGA Q2 2004