The Holiday season is fast approaching and we all need to start thinking about what to get as gifts for those we care about (or for ourselves as personal presents). For those of us who are gamers we know that this is shaping up to be a crowded marketplace for new games on all the major platforms. With all of these choices, deciding what to buy someone can be a very daunting task. Being faced with these decisions as well, we decided to research all the upcoming and recently released games for all platforms and come up with a definitive list of must have games in each major genre (Action, First Person Shooter, Fighting, RPG, Sports, Strategy and Other) for all the platforms. We will look at not just what games to buy, but why they should be bought! Please note all release dates are based on North American street dates.

So without further ado, let's get to the Guide!

Part 1 - Xbox 360

Part 2 - Playstation 3

The Playstation 3 has struggled to gain a market foothold in it's first year since launching worldwide last fall, price concerns, development delays and lost exclusives have plagued the electronics giant. This Holiday season Sony is coming out swinging, with massive price cuts on their large 80GB model and a newly introduced $399 40GB model they are ready to enter the ring again with a second wind. To further improve their chances they are slated to launch a number of notable exclusives (Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, Haze, Eye of Judgment) in the next month that are sure to attract a lot of new consumers to the PS3 this year. It is becoming a very good time to be a PS3 owner and this holiday season a lot of gamers will be very happy.

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Uncharted: Drakes Fortune
The newest game from Naughty Dog (creators of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter) looks to be a surefire hit for the PS3. Uncharted: Drakes Fortune is a third person action game following Nathan Drake as he travels the globe looking for the treasure of Sir Francis Drake, who may be a long lost relative. The game will feature incredibly realistic characters and lush graphics that will likely be a showcase for the system. Combat in the game is a mix of hand to hand and gunplay, the hand to hand combat is very detailed with disarms, knockouts and parries mixing up the action very nicely. This game is heavily hyped but with a developer like Naughty Dog at the helms all signs point to this being an outstanding game and one any PS3 gamer should own.

Why Buy it? This game has been on the must buy list for the PS3 since it was announced. The compelling storyline, amazing graphics and Indiana Jones style of action has had fans waiting a long time for it's release. One of the things that sets the game apart is the main character Nathan Drake, he is an accomplished hand-to-hand fighter, gun fighter and adventurer, when the action starts Nathan can handle anything that comes his way. The battles are always impressive, but in particular the had to hand fights shine, when fighting you can chose to disarm your opponent, if you do so the action slows and the gun is highlighted. You can then grab the gun out of midair and us it on your foe. There are blocks, parries, dodges and cover maneuvers... all of this together will keep any gamer excited as the play through this game, Uncharted: Drakes Fortune is set to hit store shelves on November 20th.