Every holiday season sees an flurry of new releases. With the hundreds of games it's hard to sift through them all. The following list is comprised of my favorite games that have been released just in time for the holiday shopping season.
1. F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R. is high powered action shooter that includes life-like graphics and visual effects, realistic firefights and an audio track that, when combined together, create both a fun and truly terrifying game. The graphics, gameplay, and audio for F.E.A.R. are all top notch and create a truly scary experience which make it easily stand above other FPS this year.2. Call of Duty 2
World War 2 games are far from new, nearly every mission, setting or battle has most likely already been done. From the D-Day landing, to the liberation of France, to the final conquest of Germany, all have be recreated countless times over. None however, have done it as beautifully as Call of Duty 2 does. The excellent graphics, audio and new features bring excitement to a worn down storyline and if not for the very average multiplayer this would be a near perfect World War 2 game.3. Civilization IV
With Civilization IV, Sid Meier is back in the drivers seat of one of the most successful game series ever. With a new graphics engine and mutliplayer component Civ IV comes to life in a fully 3D world and still delivers the same addiciting game-play as the original.
4. Age of Empires III
The game series that perfected a genre is back with stunning graphics, a new game engine, and the single and multiplayer game play that has made the series one of the best selling series ever(not to mention highly acclaimed). With Age of Empires III, Ensemble Studios returns to the familiar AoE timeline and continues the tradition of solid and addicting game play.5. Quake 4
The series famous for it's game engine and multiplayer capability is back. Utilizing the Doom 3 game engine, Quake 4 looks nothing less than spectacular and contains an engaging single player campaign.6. City of Villains
Being evil has never been so much fun. The every day superhero of City of Heroes and Paragon City be advised, there's a new evil in town and you're no longer limited to battling just computer controlled villains any more. With City of Villains, the successfully massively multiplayer comic book world finally gets a new evil by allowing players to take on the role of sinister super villains.7. Dragonshard
Dragonshard is set in the newest D&D world Eberron, a magical world formed from the fallout of a great battle between dragons. Dragonshard does a good job of breaking away from the RTS cookie cutter mold and offers a unique experience that makes it one of the year's best RTS games.8. Serious Sam II
If you're in need of an action game in the puriest sense of the word then look no further than Serious Sam II. Forget the puzzle solving or plot twists found in many first person action games released today, Sam II doesn't waste time with any of this. Instead it delivers a non stop action experience with colorful environments and nice animation that will have your fingers numb before you know it.9. Gun
If you're looking for a simple, straightforward game with a good story line then look no further than Gun. The superior voice acting and the short storyline gives you enough flexibility to keep this game entertaining in the midst of some game play flaws and average graphics. Gun also provides a nice change of pace from all the Sci-Fi, Military Action, and World War 2 shooters.10. Star Wars Battlefront II
The original Star Wars Battlefront was the best selling Star Wars video game of all time. With Battlefront II you get to experience all new battles in new envorinments out of the latest Movie, Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Both single and multiplayer game play awaits.