Holiday Gaming

Last week officially launched the holiday game buying season with the Halloween release of Final Fantasy XII. I picked it up for a mere $37.99 at Circuit City, and it was well worth every penny. It's easily the best Final Fantasy game yet, and I'm constantly stunned with the graphic quality that the six-year-old PlayStation 2 is capable of. I wonder if the Xbox 360 or the PS3 will have that kind of advancement in their later years.

I mention that because today marks the release of Gears of War, Microsoft's tentpole holiday game. Gears of War is said to stress the Xbox 360 to its limits, something only the HD-DVD drive (and its corresponding 4+ million lines of code) is going to do this generation. If the ultra-violent Gears isn't your thing, Microsoft has you covered with Viva Pinata ... the collectible animal game. That's not to say there isn't any violence in Viva Pinata ... after all, any game where you can beat an animal to death with a stick and feed the entrails (read: candy) to the other Pinatas is deeply disturbing.

Other notable game launches this week include Call of Duty 3, Guitar Hero II, and Elite Beat Agents. Elite Beat Agents is already in my hands, and it's every bit as fantastic as the wonderfully quirky Osu! Tatake! Ouendan! on which it is based. Agents are most definitely GO!

Every game is worth a purchase, and with new consoles launching in as little as two weeks, it looks to be a very expensive holiday for gamers. Thank goodness for gift-giving holidays!