Family festivities

Why not buy some festive family fun for all this holiday?

The seasonal spirit is something that naturally brings families together, so what better way to celebrate than with games that are certain to inspire cheer in anyone. Jot these titles down on your shopping list and you can expect a good time that everyone will want to join in with.

The sensational siren song of SingStar on PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 is something few can ignore. The popular music game series is a phenomenon that grows every year, with an ever-expanding range of music videos to croon along to. Packaged with two microphones and extremely easy to set up, its massive variety of genres to pick from should offer plenty to satisfy all tastes, especially as SingStar Pop Hits, SingStar Rock Ballads, SingStar Bollywood and SingStar R&B have all recently joined the game's vast catalogue, with even more songs that can be downloaded and saved to the PS3 system's Hard Disk Drive.

Those feeling a little more quizzical will find Buzz! on PS2 ideal for anyone wanting to test their brain cells. The enjoyable quiz game comes in a number of different forms, such as Buzz!: The Hollywood Quiz and Buzz!: The Mega Quiz, each packaged with four buzzers to get you instantly answering a number of questions across subjects such as film, sport, music and general knowledge. For a younger audience, the Buzz! Junior series is jam-packed with different games for its own special brand of multiplayer mayhem.

Seeking a quick break from games? EyeCreate is a PlayStation 3 multimedia package which allows you to create homemade movies quickly and easily by capturing stills, moving images and sound with PlayStation Eye, which can be edited and combined into storyboards. It's perfect for immortalising your family's activities over the festive holidays.

Featuring the full cast of voice actors from the popular TV show and movie, The Simpsons Game on PS2, PS3 and PSP is likely to bring everyone together via - appropriately - one of the world's most famous fictional families. Full of irreverent wit and humour, your job is to use Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa to save their hometown by taking part in a number of parody-laden missions. With its knowing winks to games past and present coupled with an assortment of comedy styles, The Simpsons Game is bound to appeal on all levels.

If some members of your family have difficulty getting to grips with typical games controls, the motion control intuitiveness of PlayStation Network download Super Rub 'a' Dub on PS3 is just the thing to get them going. By tilting the SIXAXIS Wireless Controller, you guide a gang of yellow ducks to safety through a myriad of mazes. Up to four players can participate, with the best scores saved to online leaderboards to compare against friends and other players.

After all that titling, singing, quizzing and playing, Go! Sudoku on PSP is a great title to wind down to. There are over a 1,000 Sudoku puzzles included in the game, along with customisable grids and a multiplayer mode for up to four players wishing to share the brain teasing posers. PlayStation 3 owners don't have to miss out either with Go! Sudoku All Levels on PlayStation Network to download, boasting animated HD visuals and an online ranking mode to go with its tricky batch of logic conundrums.