Odds are you'll have a paycheck from the government winging its way to you soon. You might even be stimulated already. But how can you support the local Australians this money is meant to be for, while still playing videogames? By buying Australian-made products, that's how.

Wait! Come back! I know it's hard to believe, but the Australian gaming industry really has matured in the last few years. Want proof? Here:

BioShock (360):

Receiving international praise and recognition, BioShock is a game we're lucky to be able to call our own. Developed by 2K Australia (formerly Irrational Games), the game takes place in the underwater city of Rapture. Saying more would spoil the surprise. You can pick this one up on PS3 if you'd like, though the port was done by 2K Marin, not the original studio.

de Blob (Wii):

Developed by Melbourne's Blue Tongue studios, de Blob is a great platformer with a twist. You have to bring colour back to the world by splashing around in paint and then scampering around the environment. Unlike much of the crap on the Wii, it's gorgeous, deep, has a great dynamic soundtrack, and will sustain your interest for longer than five minutes. If you've completed Mario Galaxy and are starved for more adventuring, don't overlook this one.

Empire: Total War (PC):

You can thank The Creative Assembly for the Total War franchise, and you can thank them a second time for having an Australian base. The latest game in the series kicks the setting up to the colonial era, and, as if that wasn't enough, throws in marine warfare and a host of other new features. If you're after an epic turn-based strategy game (with real-time tactics), it would be rude to buy anything else.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS, PSP)

The ingenious twist to the RPG genre that is guaranteed to get you hooked on Puzzle Quest is its Bejeweled-esque fights. Yes, the battles in this RPG are a crazy mash-up of gem-swapping, spells and hit points. The game has been released on basically every platform known to man, including XBLA, PSN, Wii, PS2, PC, iPhone and iPod Touch - though whether all of them got local releases is a different question. Hunt down either of the portable versions, as they were created by the Aussies at Infinite Interactive, or give it a few weeks and then pick up the sequel, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix. It's in space!

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii, PS2, PSP):

The versions of Force Unleashed to hit the Wii, PS2 and PSP were all the work of local developer Krome Studios, whose previous work includes the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger series, some Spyro games, and Viva Piñata: Party Animals. If you want more lightsaber battles, you should pick up Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels for Wii, which they also developed.

Stormrise (PS3, Xbox 360, PC):

Wait, The Creative Assembly gets two mentions? Yep - partly because I wanted to highlight an option for all you PS3 owners out there, and partly because Stormrise looks really cool. In a week's time, you'll be able to experience a console RTS that actually seems to have put serious thought into reimagining both the control scheme and the gameplay of the genre for your living room. Plus, you can look forward to making tactical decisions in three dimensions, thanks to someone finally making use of the vertical plane when designing environments.

So there you go. There is a growing pile of Australian-made games that we as a nation can truly be proud of. If you're looking to spend those stimulus dollars on games, why not think about why you're getting the money in the first place, and then invest it back into the system? If you buy these products, then not only do you help support the economy, but you ensure that we'll be getting even better Australian games in the future. That's something we should all be able to get behind.