25 Video Game Deals to Wake Up Early For on Black Friday 2011

The holidays are a very special time of year. Spending time with your family is fine, and we all love stuffing our faces full of fowl and other fall treats. Our favorite part, though, is gift-giving—especially when we're the ones receiving.

That's why Black Friday is our favorite holiday of the year. There's literally nothing like dragging yourself awake at 3am and driving bleary-eyed to Best Buy, Target or Walmart to stand around with 1,000 other people all out for the same deals as you. Actually, it's pretty miserable, though there is a certain festiveness to it. To ease your pain, we thought it might be nice to throw together this list of our favorite deals on games this year. Consider it our gift to you. Happy shopping!

Where and when: Kmart 6am to 9pm on Thursday

What makes it a steal: The 4GB Xbox 360 is normally $199.99 on its own, so getting a pretty new game packed in for free is amazing. On the other hand, you can actually get just the 4 gig 360 on its own for about $140 elsewhere (check it out further down the list) and then get whatever game you want in case you already picked up MW3.

Where and when: Toys R Us from 9pm Thursday through Saturday

What makes it a steal: If for some reason you need to buy a PSP, this is the best deal you're going to find outside of eBay. On the other hand, conventional wisdom dictates that you should probably just wait for the PS Vita to come out.

Where and when: Target Friday through Saturday

What makes it a steal: Skyrim hit shelves pretty recently, so it's not surprising there's no discount. At least you can get a $10 gift card with it—that's better than what we got waiting in line at Gamestop for the midnight release (the flu).

Where and when: Walmart from 10pm Thursday through Friday

What makes it a steal: Like Skyrim, Zelda: SS is a little too new for us to be getting a great discount. Keep in mind, though, that the limited edition comes with a golden, Zelda-themed Wii Remote Plus (With the required MotionPlus built in) and the game's soundtrack. The game by itself is normally $50, and the bundle is normally $70, so it's up to you what's the best value.

Where and when: Kmart on Thursday 6am to 9pm

What makes it a steal: Despite being out for almost two months, there aren't a whole lot of Dark Souls deals going on that we currently know of. So if you're into this game's unique form of punishment, now's the time to pick it up.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday

What makes it a steal: Deus Ex has been out since October, though chances are you haven't been able to find it under $30 until now. We highly recommend it for its mixture of RPG and FPS gameplay and huge amount of player freedom.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday, Kmart on Thursday 6am to 9pm

What makes it a steal: The new game from legendary shooter developers Id Software left reviewers wanting more, but sort of in a good way. $30 is a great deal if you've been hesitating to give it a try.

Where and when: Gamestop from Friday to Sunday

What makes it a steal: Rayman: Origins was recently released to stellar reviews, so chopping a third off its list price is a fantastic deal. We can't remember the last time a Rayman game even bleeped on our radars, so it seems this one's worth checking out.

Where and when: Walmart from 10pm Thursday through Friday

What makes it a steal: Gears 3 speaks for itself, and if you haven't got yourself a copy yet, this is the perfect time. It'll also be found for $29.99 at Best Buy on Friday.

Where and when: Gamestop Friday through Sunday, Toys R Us from 9pm Thursday to 11pm Saturday

What makes it a steal: A three-month Xbox Live Gold pass is normally over $20, though the price can vary a lot by location. Still, this is a definite way to save on a subscription. Plus, no one's hacked Xbox Live yet, so your investment is a sound one.

Where and when: Kmart 5am to 11am on Friday

What makes it a steal: $15 off the list price is nothing to shake a stick at, and the HD Collection is a unique triplet of games: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The original games (for PS2 and, in the case of Peace Walker, PSP) have been remastered in HD, so this is a perfect deal for fans of the series.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday

What makes it a steal: Let's be honest: if you're buying a 3DS, there are, like, three games that you want for it. Ocarina of Time 3D is definitely one of them. With this deal, you're getting the game for free. It's perfect.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday, Target Friday and Saturday

What makes it a steal: Like the last deal, this comes with one of the few 3DS games that's actually a system seller: Super Mario Land 3D. And it's free with the price of the console. It's just like back in the day when Super Nintendos came bundled with Donkey Kong Country or Super Mario World instead of today's shitty pack-ins like Wii Sports and Kinect Adventures.

Where and when: Target Friday through Saturday

What makes it a steal: The four gig Xbox 360 is $200 any other day of the year. A $60 discount isn't too shabby, so if you're looking for just the console and aren't worried about hard drive space, this one's for you. Plus, it's a better deal than the Modern Warfare 3 bundle at the top of the list, since you can spend the same amount here and get whatever game you want. However, there are some fantastic bundle deals further down the list, so if you'd rather get some games as well, read on.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday

What makes it a steal: This game literally just came out, and Best Buy has it this weekend for a full 50% off. You might need a lot of speed to snag this one—you might even have to run to Best Buy! Ha.

Where and when: Target Friday through Saturday

What makes it a steal: This is a great choice if you like flashy cars but can't afford them in real life, or if you've just been itching for another game to use with your dusty Kinect. You can also pick it up at Walmart for $28 Thursday night and Friday.

Where and when: Walmart from 10pm Thursday through Friday

What makes it a steal: This Kinect bundle retails for $300 normally, so we're more than happy to get a third off the price, and Walmart definitely has enough other deals going on to make the gift card worth your while.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday

What makes it a steal: AC: Revelations literally just came out, so getting $15 off is great. Its story ties together the plots of all three protagonists (Desmond, Altair and Ezio) and hopefully answers some questions along the way. To be fair, though, trying to make actual sense of this franchise's plot is probably pointless. It's smarter to just enjoy the vague Biblical allusions and pretty graphics.

Where and when: Walmart from 10pm Thursday through Friday

What makes it a steal: It's like Zelda, but Batman! Arkham City adds a lot to the first game's formula, so if you've been hesitating to pick it up, do yourself a favor and get it this weekend. If Walmart runs out, you can get it for $29.99 at Best Buy all day Friday.

Where and when: Walmart from 10pm Thursday through Friday

What makes it a steal: If Modern Warfare 3's small-scale skirmishes have got you feeling claustrophobic, you might as well grab Battlefield 3 while it's under $30. You can also find it for $29.99 at Best Buy on Friday.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday

What makes it a steal: The latest entry in the franchise that's more like a movie than most movies is only $30 this Black Friday, so there's really no excuse not to grab it if you're at all a fan of the series.

Where and when: Walmart from 10pm Thursday through Friday, Sam's Club Friday and Saturday

What makes it a steal: The ten people in the country who still don't have a Wii are going to jump at this one. These days the system is normally retailing for about $150, so getting one for the price of a DS Lite is super cool. Plus, it's a limited edition blue console—not sold anywhere else, as far as we know. It also comes with a matching blue Wii Remote Plus (with MotionPlus tech built in) and nunchuk.

Where and when: Walmart From 10pm Thursday through Friday, Best Buy all day Friday, Radio Shack from 5:30am Friday through Saturday, Target Friday and Saturday

What makes it a steal: The Holiday Bundle includes LittleBigPlanet 2 Special Edition, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and 30 days of PlayStation Plus, so at $200, it's a great buy—it's normally over $300. And you can always do what we do: sell the bundled games on eBay and make up the difference.

Where and when: Walmart all day Friday

What makes it a steal: The second best deal on the list is a 4GB Xbox 360 bundle. Gears 3 is a solid game to keep or sell, the Xbox Live subscription is cool, and the gift card can be used on a game you actually want, assuming you already have Gears 3.

Where and when: Best Buy all day Friday, Sam's Club Friday and Saturday

What makes it a steal: Our favorite Black Friday deal this year is the Xbox 360 Holiday Bundle, which includes the 250GB console, Fable III, Halo: Reach, and three free Months of Xbox Live Gold. It normally retails for $300, and with two of the finest games the 360 has to offer, we deem it the number one reason to get your turkey-filled butt up at 4am—you can bet we'll be there.