Handout/MCT Almost two years after the Xbox 360's release, Microsoft's marquee franchise finally comes home in "Halo 3."

By Heather Newman
Detroit Free Press

Be a rock star, a gun-toting dispenser of alien death, a hockey hero or ... a really bouncy guy with a giant mustache?

This year's fall and holiday lineup for video games offers something for every fantasy and every age group, and if you want to get a jump on your gift giving this season, the time to act is now.

The blockbusters of 2007 are already hitting store shelves, and the pace of new games will be thick and fast until the end of the year. More than half of all games sold during the year are purchased in the last three months, thanks largely to kind folks like you buying them for their friends, their families -- and themselves.

Here is a list of some of the biggest titles to hit the streets, just in time this weekend for you to purchase them early (before they get snatched off store shelves) or order them:

HALO-ED GROUND

"Halo 3" by Bungie Game Studios/Microsoft, already on sale, $59.99-$129.99, rated M for Mature. Okay, we're just going to get this over with right now. This little sci-fi shooter made more than $300 million in its first week of sales at the end of September, and it just keeps on rolling. It's got a strong (if short) story line, fun multiplayer modes that pit you against your friends and enemies online, and it's pretty much required if you own an Xbox 360. (It won't play on any other platform.)

If you haven't bought it yet, you might as well give in. Good news for parents and family members: The M rating comes from simulated alien deaths and the occasionally inappropriate word, so it's older-child friendly if you want to play together. Also, unless you're a major "Halo" geek -- yes, it's OK, you know who you are -- don't buy the Legendary edition, which comes with a Master Chief decorative helmet you can't even wear. No, stick with the standard edition, get the same game and save yourself $70.

(Xbox 360 players, don't forget the awe-inspiringly wonderful underwater shooter adventure "BioShock" as you're considering the gift you want to give yourself this year. This $60 title, rated M for Mature, is already on sale.)

STILL MARIO

"Super Mario Galaxy" for the Nintendo Wii, Nov. 12, $49.99, rated E for Everyone. Consider this the anti-"Halo." It's the most-ordered game in Wii history (again, it's exclusive to that platform), and takes the Mario gang to outer space, where you'll have the usual hop-and-jump fun on miniature planets collecting stars. In some themed areas, you can even take to the air in a bee suit or ride a manta ray.

The best part: Unlike many "Mario" adventures, you can take a friend along for the fun in two-player mode.

HOCKEY TIME

"NHL 08" is on the wish list of 20-year-old Brian Yaczik of Petoskey.

"Hockey games within themselves are much more fun then actually watching them on TV," he said. "You can develop your players out, or even during a game you can go as far as making your team however you want it. If you want (Colorado Avalanche player Joe) Sakic on the Red Wings, you can do it ... although it's 'sac-religious.' 'NHL 08' is just a further continuation of the great game of hockey, in video game form."

"NHL 08" is available on multiple platforms now for $30-$60, and is rated E.

UNREAL FUN

"Unreal Tournament III" by Epic Games/Midway, November, $49.99, rated M for Mature. This was supposed to be the crowning glory of the holiday season for PS3 owners, but alas, that version's been pushed back. Still, PC players can get their frag on in time for the holidays. "UT" is one of the granddaddies of player-vs.-player combat, so be considerate and package this one with an ultrasensitive mouse (we like the Razer Diamondback 3G for $49.99, www.razerzone.com).

PERFECT FOR THE PS3

OK, so what do you buy that PS3 owner? You could try the soaring dragonback adventure "Lair" (rated T, $59.99, already on sale) or the gorgeous slack-and-hack adventure "Heavenly Sword" (rated T, $59.99, already on sale). But we're betting "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction" ($59.99, Oct. 30, rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and up) will be a hoot to play and a sure bet.

The candy-colored adventures of "Ratchet" have been entertaining zoom, jump and gun fans for years, and this future-based installment promises to explain the core question: What exactly is that cat/wombat/rodent thing?

ROCK ON!

So maybe rocking the cosmos isn't your style... but rocking the living room is. You're in for a treat: "Guitar Hero III" not only includes some killer new songs to practice your riffs on (think "Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones or "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar for classics lovers, "Miss Murder" by AFI for the more modern set), but it's also available on multiple platforms Oct. 28. Wii, Xbox 360, Play-Station 3, PlayStation 2 owners all get their love from this T-rated title.

If you're buying it for someone who hasn't played the previous games, be sure to spring for the $90 "Legends of Rock Bundle," which includes a Gibson Les Paul guitar controller. Seriously. Otherwise the $60 version is fine. Keep an eye out later this fall when Harmonix, who invented "Guitar Hero," comes out with "Rock Band," (Nov. 20, rated T) where you can join friends on drum controllers, guitars and microphones to make up a whole, well, rock band.

"I am most excited about 'Guitar Hero III,' because the other 'Guitar Hero' games were awesome," said 11-year-old Logan Wilamowski of Livonia. "And 'Guitar Hero III' has some of my favorite songs, like 'Sabotage,' 'Miss Murder,' 'Rock and Roll All Night,' and 'School's Out.' If I got this game, I probably would never need to buy another video game."

BOXED SET

That $90 price tag a little steep for you? The best deal in gaming this year is "The Orange Box," which includes both previous installments of the beautiful, crisp, gory M-rated shooter "Half-Life" plus additional chapters released later and "Team Fortress 2," the team-based multiplayer that fans have been salivating to play. It's available on next-generation platforms (Xbox 360, PS3) and PC. The PC and Xbox versions are available now; PS3 follows Nov. 13. Prices range from $49.99 to $59.99, and we've seen discounts online.

SOME OTHER TITLES

Other titles not to miss: "Assassin's Creed," the beautiful, smart stealth killer available Nov. 13 on Xbox 360 and PS3 (rated M); "Super Smash Bros. Brawl," the fighting series for short-attention-span gamers (Dec. 3 for the Wii, rating pending); "Mass Effect," Microsoft's sci-fi role-playing game, available for the Xbox 360 Nov. 20 (rated M).

"The game I'm most excited for yet to be released this fall (that I can play on my Xbox 360) is 'Mass Effect,' " said Brendan Knapp, a 30-year-old TV news producer from Kalamazoo. "I loved the 'Knights of the Old Republic' and 'Baldur's Gate' series BioWare created. BioWare has a sense for depth that really makes games stand out. You feel like you're one inhabitant in a world."

© 2007, Detroit Free Press.