After a serious slump in the game release schedule through the summer, the holiday season is upon us, with every game publisher on the planet hurling out their very best to sop up those sweet, sweet gift-buying dollars. For those of us without unlimited supplies of disposable income, it can be a vexing time as a gamer. Reviews are the only tool we have to make the tough decisions about what games to buy and which ones can wait for the discount bin or be ignored.

Unfortunately, this post won't be any help at all. The game-release equivalent of "sweeps" opened with a triad of gorgeous FPS titles in rapid succession. Bioshock, The Orange Box, and Halo 3 are all worth your hard-earned coin. Hell, if you don't already own an Xbox 360, these three titles make a pretty compelling argument for shooter fans.

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