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

Part 3 - Wii

The Nintendo Wii has become the breakthrough console of this generation of console Wars with approximately 13.5 million units shipped since its launch in November of 2006. While the Xbox 360 still leads in North American units sold, the Wii has a worldwide edge on Microsoft's white giant. The Wii is wowing everyone with its low price tag and innovative motion controls that really involve you into the game. Non-gamers are entering the gaming world thanks to the Wii as this consoles original style and motion based game play is easy for everyone to pick up and play. While their lineup isn't as large this Holiday season as the PS3 and 360, there are some real gems coming out soon that will keep the Wii sold out throughout the season and beyond.

ACTION

Super Mario Galaxy
The next core installment in the Mario universe is the highly anticipated Super Mario Galaxy, this time Bowser has amassed a space armada and kidnapped Princess Peach and Mario needs to go intergalactic to save her. Spanning many planets all with distinct environments and challenges, Mario and his friends will need to give their best to save the Princess. Thankfully Mario and Co. will have a host of new moves based on tilting, flicking and moving the Wii Remote, the first Mario game of any Nintendo console is always an event and this one promises to deliver on all the hype.

Why Buy it? Nintendo's first party games and especially Mario games are always given huge internal support and are generally the best on Nintendo's system, Super Mario Galaxy is going back to it's Mario 64 roots and that is a very good thing. This game has very well implemented motion controls and is the best-looking Wii game to date. Mario controls like a dream and (literally) gravity defying jumps, new moves, amazing game play, rock solid frame rate and great visuals make this THE Wii game to have this holiday season.