i know christmas is long gone, but i still owe my brother a christmas present. i know he would like a new video game, but alas i just don' t know what to get him as i own a PS2 and PC and have no use/need to follow XBox releases....so i ask you this, what is something good and relativelt inexpensive that is suitable for an 11 year old? i know he wants halo 2, but i feel leary buying that for him as he hasn' t even really played the first one. any advice and well founded opions would be greatly appreciated.

Other than what has already beenn mentioned, what gaming genre(s) does he like?

Here are some choices for inexpensive titles within each genre:

Racing - any Nascar Heat game, MX Unleashed, Dakar 2, Street Racing Syndicate (SRS), Midnight Club, or Outrun 2.

Shooters (FPS or other) - Halo/Halo 2, Serious Sam, Grand Theft Auto 3/Vice City (double pack), Mech Assault I or II, or Mercenaries.

Sports - any from the ESPN 2K5 series ($20 or less), Links 2004, Outlaw Volleyball and/or Golf.

Action/Adventure - Crimson Seas, Crimson Skies, Blood Omen 2, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, Bloodrayne I or II.

Squad-based - Brute Force or any Tom Clancy game.

Puzzle - Tetris Worlds or Super Bust-A-Move.

I am sure there are others that I have not mentioned here, so maybe someone else can add those.

I hope this has helped...let us know what you finally decided to get for him.

Get him Sonic Mega Collection +

Or er... Fable.

Why not just get him the first Halo second hand? That' ll be cheap as chips somewhere by now, surely?

Splinter Cell is also a must. The first of that will be at bargain price now too.

he has the first halo....but his video game skills are limited. so he never really got past the 2nd level in that game......so that' s why i am leary about games like splinter cell or fable.....i' m guessing a racing game or something of the like would be best.

get him need for speed under ground 2 or SRS

I would give you some suggestions but I' m half-awake at the moment and thinking hurts.

Get him Burnout 3. That got huge reviews when it came out, and it may not have all the sexual inuendos of some of the other racing games such as SRS making it a little more appropriate for a kid. Never played it though, so I can' t say for sure.

Of course, Burnout 3 is greatness. Even if he' s no good at the game he' ll be amazed by the ' crash mode' .

I probably woudn' t get him a Grand Theft Auto game, unless you think he is mature enough to be able to do things like rape in a game.
Halo 2 is rated Mature too, but really the worst thing you do is kill aliens. I would go with Halo 2. There wouldn' t really be any problems not playing halo 1, they tell you all about what happend during halo 1 in halo 2.

You definitely must get him Ninja Gaiden!

You might consider Outrun 2.

It has an arcade mode, so he can play at somewhat at his leisure.

Also, it has other modes to keep him busy without overwhelming his skills.

I recently purchased this title for under $25.

Ninja Gaiden, lol. Thats one of the hardest games I' ve ever played. I suggest burnout 3 ot outrun 2, both are excellent racers.