Christmas has always been known as a time for giving and we would like to kickstart this year’s Nine Over Ten 9/10 Christmas 2011 Gift Guide with a question: why not gift a gift and do your bid for charity as well? The Humble Indie Bundle 4 is the perfect avenue for this. Not only can you purchase this bundle which consists of amazing indie games such as Gratuitous Space Battles, Super Meat Boy, Bit.Trip Runner and many more, as a gift, part of the purchase goes to American Red Cross and Child’s Play Charity. Check it out over here.

If you are feeling a little more generous, you can always head over to the nearest NGO or Charity out there and donate. Here are some organizations that are closer to home in my case:

• National Cancer Council of Malaysia: http://www.makna.org.my/
• National Council for the Blind: http://www.ncbm.org.my/
• National Kidney Foundation: http://www.nkf.org.my/

OK, with that charity bit out of the way here’s our annual gift guide for Christmas 2011, this time it has something for everyone, I think, ranging for the bookworms to tech heads (I’m actually adapting my Amazon wish list for this year’s Christmas guide):

Books

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Hardcover)
2. Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape: The Remarkable Life of Jacques Anquetil, the First Five-Times Winner of the Tour de France by Paul Howard (Paperback)

Electronic Devices and Gadgets

1. Apple iPad 2
2. Kindle Fire
3. Arduino UNO Board
4. Grado iGi In-Ear Headphones

Video Games

1. Nintendo 3DS
2. Batman Arkham City Collectors Edition
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collectors Edition

Movies

1. Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray]
2. Harry Potter: The Complete 8 Film Collection [Blu-ray]

Music

1. Torches (Music CD) by Foster the People
2. Pickin’ Up The Pieces (Music CD) by Fitz & the Tantrums.

If you need more gift ideas, check out our super popular guide articles:

• Ultimate Guide to Getting the PlayStation Vita (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Nintendo 3DS Accessories (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Nintendo DSi LL/XL Accessories (click here)
• Ultimate Guide to Sony PSP Go Accessories (click here)
• Nintendo DSi Accessories Guide (click here)

With zombies being flavour of the year and Christmas right around the corner, it’s about time someone came up with a Christmas/Zombies mashup. Mention Mobile has just released Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack, an arcade-style game with 8-levels. In the game, players help Santa save Christmas from hordes of crazed zombies.

As Santa gets stranded on Christmas night, after all of his reindeer pals take flight, zombies attack poor Santa and Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack begins.  With only a candy cane shooter, a pile of presents and holiday cheer, players tap the screen to move Santa and shoot at the undead. There are three classes of zombies to kill, the Gnashers are the fastest, the Scramblers are the nastiest, and the hulking Galutes are practically impossible to stop.

The object of this progressive game – to move from one holiday house to another (there are 8 in total) while keeping the zombies away and Santa alive.  Even the weather becomes more frightful as you move through this demented winter wonderland, changing from snowflakes to snow flurries as the zombies continue to try to take down Christmas.

“We are very excited to be introducing Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack,” said Ryan Ozonian, founder and chief producer of Mention Mobile. “We thought the combination of zombies and Santa made for a fun new kind of holiday story that could be played and enjoyed all year long.  With amazing graphics and a classic Space Invader game type-feel, Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack offers a great way to spend a couple minutes (or hours) this holiday season.”

Selling at a discounted rate of 99¢ Going for FREE, Zombie Bash: Xmas Attack is currently available in the Apple App Store and is the perfect gift for iPhone and iPod touch users of all ages.  Allowing for both individual and interactive play, Zombie Bash: Christmas Attack utilizes Game Center capabilities allowing you to compete against the world and friends.

Mention Mobile plans to make the Zombie Bash brand social in its next update adding your Facebook friends into the mix. For more information please visit www.mentionmobile.com.

For all you cooking aficionados out there, the Recipes Genius app for the iPhone and iPad is available for free on the iTunes App Store for a limited time only until the 5th of December. Originally priced at USD 4.99, the app boasts 485 recipes from a broad range of categories. Check it out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recipes-genius/id477962838?mt=8

It’s that time of the year again (Christmas! Yay!) and once again, Blacksmith Games’ Appvent Calendar 2011 is upon us. Check out their website as they unveil free apps and games on a day to day basis until the end of the month. Otherwise, feel free to download their brand new app instead from the iTunes App Store: http://bit.ly/ubcNIM

The site currently has a couple of games and one app, so be sure to check back daily!

Ahh…the Humble Introversion Bundle turned out to be a rather cool indie gaming bundle, and if you are a gamer, you would be crazy to miss it. I just bought the bundle which consists of Multiwinia, Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON, Crayon Physics Deluxe, Aquaria, and Dungeons of Dredmor. The last 3 games are made available to bundle buyers who pay more than the average price of USD 3.85 and all of the games run on Mac and Windows.

The bundle also comes with two tech-demos, Voxel Tech Demo and City Generator Tech Demo, both of which are Windows only. Bundle buyers will also have access to the SOURCE CODE for Darwinia, Multwinia and DEFCON! I think the bundle is a really cool bargain, and you’re doing your bid for charity and supporting indie developers at the same time.

Thank God I’ve subscribed to the Humble Bundle newsletter, otherwise I would have given this the skip instead. Check it out over here: http://www.humblebundle.com/

Happy Thanksgiving! Just in case you have not noticed, Disney Mobile has just launched its Black Friday sale. The following apps are now on sale on the App Store for just 99 cents each, and some of them happen to be our favourites here at Nine Over Ten 9/10. You better hurry though, the sale runs through the weekend:

• The Incredible Machine – Regularly $2.99
• Handy Manny Workshop – Regularly $2.99
• Split/Second – Regularly $4.99
• My Baby Einstein – Regularly $1.99
• Toy Story Mania – Regularly $4.99
• Alice in Wonderland – Regularly $4.99
• Phineas and Ferb Arcade – Regularly $2.99
• Fairies Fly – Regularly $4.99
• Handy Manny Workshop on iPad – Regularly $2.99
• Phineas and Ferb Arcade on iPad – Regularly $2.99
• JellyCar 2 on iPad – Regularly $2.99
• Fairies Fly on iPad – Regularly $7.99

The apps are available on Disney Mobile’s iTunes page: http://bit.ly/toudA2. On another note, how I wish someone were to sponsor Nine Over Ten 9/10 with a new iPad 2 in conjunction with Thanksgiving/Black Friday .

If you have an iPhone 4 or a 3rd Gen iPod touch, you might want to check out Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty. Previously priced at USD 4.99, it’s now going for just USD 0.99 to celebrate the stellar opening weekend of “Captain America: The First Avenger“. Remember to check out our review over here, before downloading the game from the iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/captain-america-sentinel-liberty/id434478300?mt=8

If you are Mac gamer and at the same time a fan of Ubisoft’s games, you’ll need to check out the Macgamestore.com’s special “UbiSoft” week. All UbiSoft games including popular hits such as Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Deluxe Edition, and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell are 50% percent off their regular price during the period between 15th July until July 21st 2011.

The entire list of great UbiSoft games on sale at 50% off includes:

• Assasin’s Creed II Deluxe Edition
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Deluxe Edition
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence
• Heroes of Might & Magic V
• Petz Catz 2
• Petz Dogz 2
• Petz Sports
• Prince of Persia
• Prince of Persia The Two Thrones
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
• Shaun White Snowboarding
• The Settlers 7 Paths to a Kingdom: Deluxe Gold Edition
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction
• Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction Deluxe Edition

To check out the entire list of awesome UbiSoft games on sale, visit the  Macgamestore.com specials page. Hurry, Mac gamers, this sale ends at the stroke of midnight at 12:00 PM Pacific Time, July 21st, 2011.

• Macgamestore: http://www.macgamestore.com/
• UbiSoft Specials: http://www.macgamestore.com/listing/Specials/

The 4th of July weekend just concluded a couple of days ago and I kinda went on a mini shopping spree, snapping games up such as X-MEN, Astro Boy, Race After, Starfront, Transformers:Dark of the Moon, on the App Store, and more importantly, for cheap (at 99 cents each). Steam was also having its Summer Camp Sale, so I helped myself to Torchlight and Defense Grid for a total sum of less than 6 bucks.

My fiance went over to the States for a week last week and brought back nearly USD 100 worth of iTunes gift cards. These make for good souvenirs as the designs are really cool looking. I’m setting aside some of the amount for Lion while the remainder should be sufficient for a month or two…since we video game developers tend to be flooded with promo codes anyways.

So what have you guys bought over the weekend, or what will you be buying this week?

A long weekend is coming up, and to all my American readers, have fun celebrating the 4th of July. For the rest of us who don’t get a holiday, we can still cash in on the holiday sales that are prevalent on the App Store this time around. Check out the following stuff:

• EA Games – This is the numero uno publisher/developer that always seem to be in the forefront of iPhone games sale seasons, and this time it’s no different. Stuff like Sims 3, RISK, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, FIFA 11, Transformers: Dark of the Moon…are all going for just USD 0.99 each. Check them out over here: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtistSeeAll?dkId=11&ids=284800461&softwareType=iPhone
  
• Gameloft – One of the biggest mobile game developers out there, these guys have 6 games on sale as part of their 4th of July Explosion of Sales. Check out Asphalt 6, N.O.V.A 2, Dungeon Hunter, Sacred Odyssey, Starfront – Collision and Shrek Kart, all of them at USD 0.99 each: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtistSeeAll?dkId=11&ids=282764297&softwareType=iPhone
  
• Popular photo app Halftone is going for USD 0.99: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/halftone/id419957803?mt=8
  
• Appy Entertainment’s Trucks and Skulls NITRO is going for FREE: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/trucks-and-skulls-nitro/id391137569?mt=8
  
• Konami’s MGS Touch, X-Men, Frogger, Castlevania Puzzle, Krazy Kart Racing, Silent Hill, Silent Scope, and International Track & Field are all going for just USD 0.99: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewArtistSeeAll?dkId=11&ids=286115725&softwareType=iPhone
• G5 Entertainment is also having a USD 0.99 sale for apps such as Romance of Rome, Virtual City and Supermarket Management: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/g5-entertainment/id305426797

More to come