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The Ultimate Video Game Gift Guide For People Who Wait Till The Last Second

Your favorite gamer will love these.
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By 

Senior Tech Editor, The Huffington Post

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Don't worry if you've put off your holiday shopping off. There's still plenty of time to get something for the gamer in your life, at least.

Practically every video game is released digitally now. That makes gift-giving super easy, because even mega-procrastinators can wake up on Christmas morning and get a decent game for someone. Sure, a digital purchase could mean that your giftee is left without something to open, but be creative! 

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You could make a festive cootie catcher, for instance...

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... with your gift message within!

Anyway, the point is, buying digital video games is really convenient and there's no reason not to do it. To that end, we've collected some of our favorite games from 2015 to give digitally this year. If we missed a game you love, make sure to let us know in the comments.

"Downwell" (iOS, PC)
Steam
Perfect for the person who loves incredibly tense, action-oriented gameplay and classic arcade titles like "Asteroids."

Buy it digitally on iOS and PC.
"Splatoon" (Wii U)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who has a competitive streak, digs shooters but hates violence. "Splatoon" is a great online multiplayer game based on shooting mechanics, but your weapons squirt out paint and you don't kill anyone.

Buy it digitallyon the Nintendo eShop.
"Cities: Skylines" (PC, Mac)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who poured untold hours of their life into "Sim City 2000" back in the day. This is a similar but modernized game.

Buy it digitally on Steam.
"Final Fantasy VII" (PS4)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who wasn't around to witness this piece of gaming history when it debuted in 1997. This slight update of the PlayStation classic contains high-definition graphics, trophies to earn and added features that speed up the gameplay and reduce the overall difficulty level.

Buy it digitally via the online PlayStation Store.
"Persona 4: Dancing All Night" (PlayStation Vita)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who loves eccentric pop music, rhythm games like "Dance Dance Revolution" and anime.

Buy it digitally via the online PlayStation Store.
"Super Mario Maker" (Wii U)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who has always wanted to make their very own "Super Mario" level.

Buy it digitally via the Nintendo eShop.
"Halo 5: Guardians" (Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who loves the "Halo" series and still drinks beer out of red solo cups.

Buy it digitally via the online Xbox Store.
"3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2" (3DS)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who fondly remembers the glory days of the Sega Genesis. The gameplay is basically unchanged here, but the addition of 3D visuals is substantial enough to warrant a revisit -- they're really darn cool!

Buy it digitally via the Nintendo eShop.
"The Witcher 3" (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who wishes video games were a bit more like watching "Game of Thrones." "The Witcher 3" offers a sprawling world to explore, hard-edge characters, a thoughtful script, plenty of blood and, yes, bosoms to gawk at.

Buy it digitally viathe online PlayStation Store, online Xbox Store or Steam.
"Forza Motorsport 6" (Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who loves racing games, tweaking their car "IRL" and speeding.

Buy it digitally viathe online Xbox Store.
"Mega Man Legacy Collection" (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who fondly recalls these original games on the Nintendo Entertainment System. This collection of re-releases painstakingly recreates the original experience of playing "Mega Man" -- fuzzy TV and all -- but may not hook younger gamers.

Buy it digitally via Steam, the online PlayStation Store or online Xbox Store.
"Batman: Arkham Knight" (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who loves Batman or action games in general and can look past some unfortunate plot elements.

Buy it digitally via Steam (a note of caution, though: the PC version has been plagued with performance issues), online PlayStation Store, online Xbox Store.
"Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain" (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who enjoys tense stealth-action gameplay, games that offer a lot of customization (this one certainly does) and completely over-the-top storylines.

Buy it digitally via Steam, online PlayStation Store, online Xbox Store.
"Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight" (3DS)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who enjoys old-school roleplaying games and "Dungeons and Dragons." You can make your party of adventurers completely from scratch in this game if you'd prefer not to follow the main storyline -- and you draw dungeon maps as you go, lending a decidedly old-school flavor to the proceedings.

Buy it digitally via the Nintendo eShop.
"Star Wars Battlefront" (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who loves "Star Wars," plain and simple. This isn't the best or most exciting shooter in the world, but it does totally nail that classic "Star Wars" vibe.

Buy it digitally on EA Origin, the online PlayStation Store and the online Xbox Store.
"Bloodborne" (PS4)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who enjoys an extreme challenge. "Bloodborne" is brutally hard, but all the more satisfying for it.

Buy it digitally on the online PlayStation Store.
"Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void" (PC, Mac)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who likes competitive online games and real-time strategy titles like the classic "Starcraft" or "Age of Empires."

Buy it digitally from Blizzard.
"Fallout 4" (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
YouTube
Perfect for the person who values big open worlds and customization above all else. We didn't particularly love this game, but there's no denying that most critics adored it, largely because of it's sprawling environments, modifiable weapons and absorbing settlements.

Buy it digitally via Steam, the online PlayStation Store and online Xbox Store.
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