2012 Gift Guide: My Teenager's Favorite Games

After much poking and prodding, I finally go my 14-year-old gamer son, Joseph, to cough up his favorite games and picks for your kids's Christmas list this year. In no particular order, here are his picks.

Starcraft 2 (Blizzard Entertainment)

"I like it because it is all about strategy -- micromanagement and macromanagement. You having to be thinking about the big and the small all the time. Startcraft 2 is all about the community. It is one of the biggest e-sport games today. I like to watch it -- videos of past matches -- as much as I like to play it."

Diablo 3 (Blizzard Entertainment)

"Diablo was basically the creator of the 'hack and slash' genre. It is great fun to hop into a lobby with 3 of your friends and for an hour you are basically a family -- everyone communicates and works as a team."

Planetside 2

"A free-to-play, MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) shooter with a tug-of-war aspect to it. You are taking and losing factories and facilities all over the map and it can hold up to 2000 people at a time on a map. It is another game where teamwork is essential."

League of Legends

"A free-to-play - RTS (Real Time Strategy) game where, again, teamwork is essential. You are constantly waiting for other team to mess up so you can take advantage of that. It is a crazy game!"

Minecraft

"One of the world's greatest sandbox games and as been under development for the past 2 years where you can do anything your heart desires. Single player is fun but it is the multiplayer is where it shines. The great thing about Minecraft is it is so flexible that people can create games within the game that take it to an entirely different level."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

"Possibly the #1 selling game of 2012 and the newest installment of the Call of Duty series. It sends you into near-future warfare and continues the story of Black Ops 1 directly in the campaign. Most of the most energetic and face-paced FPS games and the most balanced Call of Duty since Call of Duty 2. It is also trying to be introduced in the eSports community like Starcraft 2."

More 2012 Gift Guide Items:

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