From the Pocket Gamer workhorse's mouth: Mark Brown

It's Christmas. That means the staff of Pocket Gamer is drunk, if not on alcohol then on the giddying sensation that comes from receiving numerous expensive presents.

All this frivolity means we're not writing stories today. To enable you to connect with us in a different way - one that doesn't involve the transmission of news, reviews, and features concerning the world of portable gaming - we've decided to go on about ourselves a bit.

Good grief, it's Mark Brown. In Mark's high school yearbook his fellow pupils voted him Least Likely to Succeed, which tells you all you need to know: he's tailor made for games journalism. When post-apocalyptic scientists in 2260 are attempting to repopulate the profession with genetic material from this generation, it is for Mark Brown's wolf-ravaged remains that they'll search.

I love the Game Boy Advance SP. That little beauty is as sleek and sexy as hell, with a gigantic back catalogue to boot. Not only does it play GBA games in pixel perfect ratio and with a blinding backlight, but it accepts cartridges from just about every Game Boy predecessor before it.

If you want a do-all wonder machine that can play The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening in the same breath as Metroid Fusion, this is the one.

This year, I’ve been most impressed with DoDonPachi Resurrection. Who would have thought that a twitchy arcade bullet-hell shmup would work so perfectly on the slippy slidey touchscreen of an iPhone or iPad.

It’s got a smart new scoring system, addictive leaderboards and some seriously dreadful, but utterly catchy, J-Pop background noise. I love it.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was the first portable game that really amazed me. To think that a massive, sprawling fantasy kingdom was living inside such a tiny cartridge, blew my little mind as a kid, and I spent hours exploring it.

I think having Link’s Awakening as my first experience has always dictated my preference for the weird and wacky handheld Zeldas over the Hyrule-focused console epics.

Red Dead Redemption seals the deal here. It’s big, bold and beautiful, providing some seriously fun wild west antics but with characters you actually care about. Rockstar has this stuff down to a science now, and I’d be happy for them to crap out open-world crime dramas from different periods throughout history until time itself ceases to tick.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is my favourite game, hands down. I’m a little bit in love with history, archeology, and conspiracy theories, and I’m confident that Broken Sword’s witty, clever world just pushes out Uncharted for the top spot.

Will I be handing over oodles of money in exchange for whatever Nintendo makes next? But of course. They might have sullied their reputation in the console world with fitness boards and shovelware crap, but they can do no wrong in handheld form. I can’t wait for 3D games, and I’m immensely looking forward to the system’s N64 renaissance.

A week of excess. As in video games, chocolate and turkey leftovers, that is. Not, like, drugs or anything.

2011 is all about building my nuclear bunker for the impending 2012 apocalypse. You’re welcome to join me, but you’ll have to act as my scavenging pack mule in a Fallout-esque post-2012 situation.