Despite what certain financial analysts say, the PlayStation 3 is still a great system to own. Seriously, when is the last time you trusted a financial analyst to tell you anything? Come on, you see how the economy is faring on these people’s advice. Anyway, if you have a PS3 owner on your list this year, here’s a a list for you last minute shoppers. We cover everything from stocking stuffers to the big toys should you need to find something little or be the holiday hero…

Title: Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People: 8-Bit is EnoughPrice: $8.95 PC, $10 WillwareSystem(s): *PC, WiiWareRelease Date: December, 15, 2008Publisher (Developer): Telltale Games (Adventure Company)ESRB Rating: “Everyone +10″ for comic mischiefPros: You get to play games within a game. Chock full of video game clichés that will keep you laughing. See the Homestar characters as zany video game characters. Plus you get to fight Trogdor.Cons: Seemed shorter than the other episodes, no mini games to speak of, not even searching via the metal detector.Overall Score:Two thumbs up; 96/100; A; * * * * 1/2 out of five.

We come to the end of our reign of terror with Strong Bad and his crew. This was definitely a very fun way to end the series. It was unique, hilarious as always, and brought back all the elements you learned to love from old-school video games…

Okay, if you want to get a truly special, import gift for your favorite PSP owners, time is limited. There are only a few weeks left till Christmas, Festivus and other December holidays. Luckily, if you order within the next two weeks, you should get imported presents with plenty of time to spare.

Since there’s been a bit of a PSP game draught concerning North American games, this year is probably one of the best years to do some importing. Japan hasn’t been experiencing the same game trickle. Memorable titles were released this year, and maybe there’s one for your special someone…

Title: Metal Slug 7Price: $29.99System(s): DSRelease Date: November 18, 2008Publisher (Developer): Ignition Entertainment (SNK Playmore)ESRB Rating: “Teen” for blood and violencePros: Typical Metal Slug gameplay, Combat School missions offers a nice change of pace, there’s a POW list and you can pick up in the mission you left off at in Main Mission mode.Cons: Difficulty rating is deceiving, the bottom touch screen map isn’t helpful and you have to jump up to shoot below you.Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 85/100; B; *** 1/2 out of 5

Metal Slug 7 is definitely a run-and-gun game created with fans in mind. It offers enough variety and challenge to keep from being repetitive. Plus, it has a Combat School mini-mission mode and automatically keeps track of the last mission you left off at in the Main Mission so you can easily pick up the game and play.

It’s wonderful to finally see Metal Slug 7 finally arrive in the US, after being released in July 2008 in Japan. The game looks and plays beautifully…

The 2008 Toys R Us Big Toy Book has been released and this year and the sneak preview mailer is 80 pages of holiday gifty goodness.

There are a lot of video games spread throughout the Big Toy Book this year.

The most noteworthy deals include $10 gift cards with minimum purchase, $5 off Leapster and similar kids’ game systems, Star Wars DS System Value Pack and pink DS bundle for $159.97 each, free exclusive DS Littlest Pet Shop stylus, PS3 BD Remote for $24.99, PSP Skype Headset for $29.99, a free tag team figure with WWE Smack Down vs. RAW game purchase, $100 Pyramat chair and two Toys R Us-exclusive DS games Pet Adoption Center ($29.99) and Soul Bubbles ($19.99). There are also some pretty decent iPod/iPod Touch offers including a $25 iTunes card and $10 gift card. Check way below for a list of more free-stuff-with-purchase type offers.

Click through for a page-by-page breakdown of video game (and iPod) deals as well as a list of other Toys R Us freebies…

Title: NinjatownPrice: $29.99System(s): Nintendo DSRelease Date: October 28, 2008Publisher (Developer): SouthPeak Games (Venan Entertainment and Cashmere Productions)ESRB Rating: “Everyone” for Crude Humor and Mild Cartoon ViolencePros: Incredibly clever writer, unique art style, great game-play, wonderful characters and lots of options to win each level. Also it comes with a Ninjatown window cling!Cons: Later levels can get challenging and Master Ninja microphone activated powers are annoying.Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 95/100, A, **** 1/2 out of 5

I can’t get enough of Ninjatown. Even when I had to replay “The Loop” level in the Business District three times, because the various business devils kept speeding through my defenses, I still couldn’t bring myself to get annoyed with this incredibly charming and funny tower-defense strategic RPG based on the Shawnimal toys.

Ninjatown may not be perfect, but it sure comes close. It is delightfully challenging, has a clever script, adorable characters, lots of unit options and special abilities which can single-handedly turn the tides of battle. If it weren’t for the occasionally frustrating Ol’ Master Ninja powers, Ninjatown would easily have earned a perfect score.

This year is no doubt a fantastic time to be a gamer. It’s not often that I can count triple-A titles on both my hands in such a short period of time. Sadly though, with every great game released another good game gets lost in its shadow.

It’s time to acknowledge the existence of these games before they fade into the background. Every major console has at least one promising game that won’t get much coverage in the coming months. Give these games a try before you get too immersed in Resistance 2 or Gears 2. You just may be happy you did…

The holidays are sneaking up on us once again, which means its time to review the games released in 2008 that would make great gifts. This year, Gamertell’s compiled a list of 36 delightful adventures just waiting to slide into slot-1 on your DS unit.

We’ve gathered games into six specific categories, to help people with their wishlists. Since its still a bit early, some quality games have been released only recently or still haven’t been released yet. So each category is going to have a wildcard title in bold that still has a lot of potential as a quality present.

So without further ado, let’s help you pick out a present!

Title: Littlest Pet ShopPrice: $39.99System(s): Wii (also available on the DS and PC)Release Date: October 14, 2008Publisher (Developer): Electronic Arts (Electronic Arts)ESRB Rating: “Everyone”Pros: A pretty good variety of pets, very simple controls for kids, kids can dress the characters up with lots of accessories and when you play a game, you actually play it with the selected pet.Cons: Overly structured in the beginning, you can’t choose which pets you want – you must unlock them in order and some of the animals really aren’t that cute.Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; *** out of 5

EA Casual and Hasbro have teamed up to blanket the video game market with a series of Littlest Pet Shop games based on the series of toys which have infatuated young children around the US. The Wii version of Littlest Pet Shop certainly wouldn’t be in my top 10 list of most wanted holiday games, but the target audience will likely express the same love for the game as they do for the toys.

Littlest Pet Shop is clearly geared towards the grade school set. In fact, anyone over the age of 10 may find themselves incredibly frustrated by the title’s simplicity and overprotective tutorials, not to mention the character art. Kids will likely adore it though, as the entire game is almost like the series’ toys brought to life…

Oh Namco Bandai, what am I going to do with you? You seem to know just how to sneak into my heart (and wallet). In case you haven’t heard, Namco Bandai has perfected and produced a portable, cell phone version of Katamari Damacy called Rolling with Katamari. Rolling with Katamari – it has such a nice ring to it.

Its a 2D-ish style approach to the famous Katamari Damacy series, optimized for certain mobile phones. Once again, the King of the Cosmos knocked all the stars out of the sky and the Prince has to make new ones on Earth by collecting stuff. Rolling with Katamari has five game modes, 30 levels, music from Katamari Damacy and the official page states that there will have additional, downloadable levels available in the future…