Last-Minute Gifts for Gamers

One of the handiest gifts you can give anyone who plays games, watches movies or listens to music on compact discs is an easy-to-use device with which to clean, polish and repair CD-ROMs, DVDs and CDs.

Made by Chicago-based Digital Innovations, the same device is separately marketed to gamers and audiophiles under two names: GameDoctor MD and SkipDoctor MD. It looks like a power tool and works like a charm.

After being moistened with a cleaning agent, the disc is clamped horizontally onto a circular tray. Then a vertically revolving, felt-covered band slowly, firmly and gently rubs down its entire surface. The hand-held device provides indispensable first aid for discs that skip or freeze because they are dirty, bruised or scratched, but it can’t repair warps or gouges.

GameDoctor MD and SkipDoctor MD are widely available in two options: the hand-cranked version, for $35; and the new motorized version, which comes with an 8-foot power cord, for $55. For further information, contact Digital Innovations at (800) SMART-58 or by e-mail (sales@digitalinnovations.com).

With an MD in the house, gamers needn’t have their fun interrupted by smudges and scrapes on discs that get a lot of play. Discs, for example, such as these recently arrived, addictive goodies:

Giants: Citizen Kabuto: A spectacular action-adventure set in a tropical paradise spanning 25 islands where three warring races battle for supremacy. The gamer can alternate playing as King Kong-sized Kabuto, who stomps enemies or impales them on his horns; the cunning and funny weapon-packing Meccs, adept at disguises and stealth; or the spell-casting Sea Reapers. Up to 10 players can participate, in teams or individually, via local area networks or the Internet. From Interplay, $45, for Pentium PCs.

Escape From Monkey Island: The fourth installment of the much-beloved comic exploits of Chuck LeChuck, Elaine and Guybrush Threepwood is cause to rejoice for fans. Lots of action and gags. The visuals are upgraded: This is the first adventure in which the virtual puppet characters are three-dimensional. But the humor remains classic: The writer-designers are the creators of the fondly remembered Sam and Max Hit the Road. From LucasArts Entertainment, $40, for Pentium PCs.

The Longest Journey: An epic odyssey featuring a heroine’s quest to reconcile the duality of a world that has been divided into parallel realities: one dimension dominated by science, the other by magic, neither complete in itself. Intelligent story, evocative music, lovely graphics. Available at stores or online https://(www.longestjourney.com). From Funcom, $40, for Pentium PCs.

NHL 2001: The latest edition of the best-selling hockey series offers more of everything that has wowed aficionados of the game and casual players alike. In arcade mode, it’s a blast--faster, easy-to-control action on the ice in a more TV broadcast-like setting. For the gamer who prefers realism in running and playing for NHL teams, this is the most realistic simulation of the sport in the marketplace. Playable online by two to eight gamers. From Electronic Arts, $40, for Pentium PCs with 3D video card.

Medal of Honor: Underground: Superb sequel to 1998’s World War II action game. This time, the lead character is a female resistance fighter recruited by the OSS in 1942 (based on a real-life French woman). She goes on missions to Greece, Italy and Casablanca. High-quality animated characters and audio effects, absorbing missions, user-friendly controls. Play alone, or against another gamer. From Electronic Arts, $40, for the PlayStation.

Banjo-Tooie: This game will never end up needing “doctoring,” because it’s stored on a big cartridge rather than a disc. We’re including it on the assumption that some readers who haven’t finished shopping may have a young Nintendo 64 owner on their gift list. Players guide a cartoonish bear and bird on a zany adventure through nine immense virtual worlds, solving puzzles and interacting with other characters. Nintendo will be switching to proprietary 3-inch discs with its next-generation console, the GameCube, in 2001. Meanwhile, the era of cartridges is drawing to a close in style. From Nintendo, $50, one to four players, for Nintendo 64.