Xbox 360 2010 Gift Guide

Players get ready for more active gameplay using the new Microsoft Kinect (Nov. 4), which tracks movements without a controller. The Kinect games also list different activity levels. The Kinect Adventures game comes with each Microsoft Kinect.

Players can test their dance moves on Dance Central (Nov. 4) or get active with several Kinect games including Kinect Adventures!, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, and Kinect Joy Ride.

EA SPORTS Active 2 now features David Beckham while Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Nov. 4) offers cardio exercises, martial arts, and yoga.

Zumba Fitness (Nov. 30) incorporates rhythm into home exercise while The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout ramps up the physical activity with your own fitness program.

DECA Sports Freedom includes archery, boxing, dodge ball, kendo, paintball, snowboard cross, and tennis while MotionSports (Nov. 4) features several special challenges involving football, skiing, soccer, and many other sports.

Adrenalin Misfits (Nov. 18) has fun for everyone with seven colorful characters centering on crossboarding, which is a variation of snowboarding and wakeboarding so players can experience any environment.

The Kinect also brings new dimensions to franchise game series with Sonic Free Riders (Nov. 4) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 while Fighters Uncaged (Nov. 4) features two player battles, 70 different strikes, and 21 fighting settings.

Power Gig: Rise of the SixString gives music fans a functioning six-string electric guitar controller to shred with bands like Black Sabbath, Dave Matthews Band, Eric Clapton, Jet, Kid Rock, Living Colour, Queens of the Stone Age, and Three Days Grace.

Rock Band 3 offers an option 102-button guitar controller and keyboard controller plus a new “Pro” mode for more realistic play. Other music game releases include DJ Hero 2 and Def Jam Rapstar where players can rap with or without the original vocals and enjoy online features.

Create (Nov. 16) lets players build environments and playable challenges in a whole new interactive world.

Military action gamers can conquer Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition includes Battlefield 1943, a four player “Onslaught” mode, and special unlockables/vehicle upgrades.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2’s fighter jet action give players Russian and French pilots and easy-to-join multiplayer options for cooperative or competitive battles.

Medal of Honor has first-person shooter action featuring U.S. special ops soldiers with a free “Clean Sweep” multiplayer mode available November 2.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nov. 9) features different war periods and is also available in different editions while Bloody Good Time spoofs first-person shooter games with multiplayer and online modes in a Hollywood setting.

R.U.S.E. presents real time military strategy with special deception elements and wide-ranging zoom capabilities for close battles or wide military map shots.

Apache: Air Assault (Nov. 16) features helicopter battles in Africa, Central America, and the Middle East plus competitive online multiplayer matches.

The hunting shooter Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts 2011 is also available with the Top Shot Elite gun peripheral while Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Nov. 16) features a new online multiplayer mode.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has an engaging futuristic survival story that pairs mysterious female named Trip with tough male Monkey, played by Andy Serkis. Also available in a collector’s edition.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom (Nov. 23) features the unique character pair of Majin and his beast friend Tepeu and mixes their adventures with provoking puzzles.

Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days follows a gritty 48-hour storyline with optional “shaky-cam” option, challenging AI, and tenacious attack dogs.

Advance weapons and super science give Vanquish some high level ammunition plus the “AR System” bullet time feature creates some amazing action move.

Alan Awake offer unique thrills while additional action games include Halo: Reach, Fallout: New Vegas, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Red Dead Redemption, and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Special editions of popular games include the Saints Row Double Pack and Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition. Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage (Nov. 2) centers on a hero who protects citizens from gangs.

Looking for a great deal? Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Edition includes the amazing fantasy RPG game with the entire seven piece set of post-release downloadable content for $59.99.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, and Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet (Nov. 16) continue successful game series while The Sims 3 debuts on console format.

Syd and his AI-controlled partner Filena work together in Quantum Theory to conquer dynamic environments and huge enemies in single player or an online mode for up to 8 players.

Thrills, scares and action are plentiful in games like Splatterhouse (Nov. 23), Rock of the Dead, Saw II: Flesh and Blood, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which has an original storyline and voice talent including Patrick Stewart, Robert Carlyle, Jason Isaacs, and Natasha McElhone. Blood Drive synergizes destruction racing with zombie hordes.

Race fans can rev up with Monster Jam: Path of Destruction (Nov. 9), nail’d, and SBK X: Superbike World Championship, which features motorcycle racing in three gameplay modes and a multiplayer mode for up to 16 total players.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (Nov. 16) lets players choose cops or criminals as they enjoy the autolog system that uses performance statistics for customized experiences online or offline.

Shaun White moves from snowboarding to Skateboarding – going head to head with Tony Hawk: Shred while mixed martial arts gets their first wide release game with EA Sports MMA. Madden 11 is always a football essential while NBA 2K11 offers a deep NBA basketball experience centering on Michael Jordan.

Other sports games include Backyard Sports Football: Rookie Rush, Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, Little League World Series 2010, NCAA Football 11, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes of the Ring, Brunswick Pro Bowling, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, which features a new online match mode.

Battle vs. Chess expands the classic showdown game with story-driven campaigns, expanded game modes, and piece placement variations. All ages board game adaptations include Monopoly Streets and Hasbro Family Game Night 3, which includes variations and recreations of Clue, Twister, Yahtzee, Life, and Mouse Trap.

Fable III, also available in a limited collector’s edition, continues the choice filled role playing adventures – also available in a Limited Collector’s Edition while Arcania: Gothic IV has a more casual role playing experience with surprising looting elements.

Other movie adaptation game releases include Megamind: Ultimate Showdown (Nov. 2), TRON: Evolution (Dec. 7), and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole that contains an inclusive genre mix of racing, RPG play, and aerial combat featuring 360 degree maneuvers.

Bond movies are currently on hold now, but James Bond: Blood Stone (Nov. 2) keeps 007 going strong with international intrique in this third person action extravaganza, which includes environmental elements incorporated into fights and a multiplayer mode for up to 16 people.

Other adaptation games include Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Defenders of the Core (Nov. 2), Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction (Nov. 2), CSI: Fatal Conspiracy, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Nov. 2), Man vs. Wild (Nov. 16), Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, which has a new online mode and character perspectives from Naruto, Sasuke and Jiraiya plus an unlockable Tekken 6 guest character Lars Alexandersson.

Downloadable games are always plentiful and include Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury! with several playable levels as well as a special level editor.

Gift cards can be used for New Year releases including Beyond Good & Evil 2 (Dec. 31), Brink (Jan. 25), Dead Space 2 (Jan. 25), Duke Nukem Forever (Feb. 1), Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (Jan. 25), LA Noire (Feb. 1), Lord of the Rings: War in the North (Feb. 1), Spec Ops: The Line (Feb. 1), Test Drive Unlimited 2 (Jan. 15), and Two Worlds 2 (Jan. 4). Xbox Live Gold Subscription cards also make a great gift.