The packing has begun. A week at the in-laws is about all we can handle, so we'll be glad to get back to our own digs. The weather wasn't as bad as predicted; there wasn't severe rain and flooding, but it was damn cold.

It was a lazy day with lots of Call of Duty: Black Ops (brother-in-law is amazingly good), Stronghold: Kingdoms and watching Sorcerer's Apprentice, Planet 51, and The Amazing Race.

As soon as we get back in the office, we will be closing the Bejeweled 3 contest and kickstart the Greed giveaway, so the clock is ticking. Get in on it NOW!

Nintendo added two WiiWare (one demo), two Virtual Console, and three NDSiWare titles to the Shop Channels. Nintendo owners with online access can redeem points to download: chick chick BOOM, Around the World, Max & the Magic Marker demo (Wiiware), G.G Series Z•ONE, DodoGo! Challenge, Fantasy Slots: Adventure Slots and Games (NDSi), and Fighter's History Dynamite, Magical Drop III (VC).

Mysterious creatures called the Twisted are trying to take over and destroy New York, and the only one who can stop them is Aya Brea. Aya has an impressive selection of weaponry, so the game is chock-full of action.

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is a co-op multiplayer Arcade Shooter that gives the player the ability to destroy thousands of giant bugs and turn an entire city to rubble in an unforgettable gaming experience built for replay.

Oddworld Inhabitants' award-winning classics, Abe’s Oddysee, Abe’s Exoddus, Munch’s Oddysee and Stranger’s Wrath are now available for PC owners through Steam in one generous downloadable package.

World Supremacy is a beer-and-pretzels strategy game of contemporary conflict for one to eight players. In World Supremacy players have but one goal: total global control through utter annihilation of all who oppose.

We are back at the in-laws today, and we're leaving tomorrow to fly back home. Looking forward to our own cozy home already ....

We are working on our holiday features for the best games of 2010 and most anticipated games of 2011, so you can look forward to those in the very near future.

Over the holidays, we will also have a few more giveaways like the recent Bejeweled 3 contest. For instance, there will be beta codes for DC Universe Online, download codes for Xbox Live titles and so forth.

Yesterday we did some post-Christmas shopping, and I got some new sneakers, socks and hoodies. Good stuff! Spending money is tiring, even if it's at an outlet, so we watched some The Amazing Race and Get Him To Greek (decent, but not as funny as I had hoped).

Without any details or official announcement, Project Soul Game Director Daishi Odahisma, known for Soulcalibur IV and  Soulcalibur : Broken Destiny, has revealed that the developer is working on the next installment of the fighter franchise. Namco Bandai producer Katsuhiro Harada confirmed the announcement, lending further credence to the reveal.

In Crysis 2, New York is under the attack of a unique and frightening alien species that combines deadly weaponry, exceptional sensory abilities and intelligent collaboration to present players with the most challenging opponents ever seen in a first-person shooter.

FIFA 11 reinvents player authenticity – on and off the ball – for every player and at every position on the pitch with Personality+, an all-new feature that sees individual abilities reflected in game, enabling clear differentiation for every player.

We had a wonderful Christmas with no snow but plenty of food and presents. We had an awesome BBQ on Christmas eve and stuffed ourselves with turkey on Xmas day. I'm quite sure that my recent two-pound weight loss has been magically transformed in a five-pound gain. Weird how those things happen.

Later today, we are going out for some post-Christmas shopping, maybe grab a movie and then drive back to the in-laws place. In a few days, we are flying back home, and we can start thinking about what to do for the New Year holiday.

The entire WorthPlaying staff would like to say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" to our readers all around the world. We hope everybody has a wonderful holiday, loads of good food, and a joyful time with friends & family. May Santa bring you all the games you wished for, but above all, stay safe! Our news coverage will not slow down, but the news itself might be lacking. If there is anything worthy of your attention, you can be sure to read it here ....

Featuring a wealth of new content and triple the fun of previous installments in the series, Bejeweled 3 elevates the "match-3" category of puzzle games to an entirely new level. We teamed up with PopCap Games to give away a few free copies. All you have to do is enter or hop on The Twitter.

In MySims SkyHeroes, players take to the sky to lead the resistance against Morcubus and his drone army and to stop his plans to take over the skyways.

Super Meat Boy is a challenging platformer, featuring over 100+ single player levels, insane boss fights, competitive vs modes, beefy co-op play and a slew of unlockables that are rumored to fill your life with great happiness!

Earlier this year five independent game developers joined forces and created a bundle of games, and they are doing it again. The Humble Indie Bundle #2 consists of: Braid, Machinarium, Osmos, Revenge of the Titans and Cortex Command, and to top it off you can pay whatever you want.

SOE Austin has built a world where you feel like you've stepped into the DC Universe and become the ultimate super-hero (or villain) along side of Superman, Batman, or Ambush Bug.

In Sept. 2006, Viacom's MTV Networks acquired Harmonix after it had been developing Guitar Hero titles for RedOctane for several years. Wanting to take the music game genre further Harmonix wanted to add more instruments and came up with Rock Band in late 2007. However a $299 million deficit in Nov. 2010 prompted Viacom to sell off Harmonix and last week investment firm Columbus Nova acquired the developer, in particular it's subsidiary, Harmonix-SBE Holdings. Unfortunatly some will not make the transition as Harmonix laid off 39 of its employees, primarily in the Q&A department.

We've arrived safely at the in-laws, and later on today, we are going to help out a friend with some house renovations and then on to Christmas Eve dinner. Tasty turkey ahoy! I've also put in a request for a BBQ, but since it's winter, we'll see how crazy people think I am.

So far the weather has been decent and cold, but no downpour and flash-flooding like the weather forecast had predicted.

Stronghold Kingdoms just got a whole lot more interesting — not in terms of the game itself because nothing has changed — but one of the largest houses is getting its ass handed to itself by a smaller team, and people are defecting all around. It just goes to show that being the biggest isn't always the best if you don't take any action.

Diablo III is an action RPG where you create a hero from one of five distinct classes, such as barbarian or witch doctor, each equipped with an array of spells and abilities, and adventure through rich and varied settings, unraveling an epic storyline and engaging in combat with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses.

Stacking is a third-person adventure puzzle game that makes players laugh while challenging their perception and intellect.

Test Drive Unlimited 2 expands on the traditional racing experience providing gamers with M.O.O.R.: Massively Open Online Racing; immersing drivers in a persistent online environment and revolutionizing multiplayer racing communities as players compete, team up, and share their achievements and creations online.

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga includes the original game, and Flames of Vengeance, the new adventure that continues the epic story and adds dozens of hours of additional gameplay. Divinity II: Ego Draconis appears here as an entirely new and re-mastered edition with improved graphics and content.

Binary Domain is an original squad-based shooter that puts players in the middle of a fast-paced and intense battle for humanity in robot-invaded 2080 Tokyo.

Featuring an 83-song set list and access to far more music than ever before, as well as innovative new gameplay modes and instruments, Rock Band 3 will change the way fans think about and play music games.