Rock Band
Publisher: MTV
Developer: Harmonix
Release: November 20
Platform: PS3, XBOX 360
ESRB: T

How does a developer successfully one-up itself? By creating one of the most successful and innovative concepts in gaming (read: Guitar Hero) and then upping the ante considerably by taking the concept to its next logical (but incredibly daring) step. Undoubtedly more than one gamer saw Guitar Hero and thought something along the lines of "Wouldn't it be cool to combine this with Karaoke Revolution?" Harmonix obviously thought so as well and also decided to throw a little Beatmania into the mix to create a real rock 'n' roll wannabe's wettest dream ever.

Despite some issues with occasionally problematic hardware and a fairly steep price ($170 gets a guitar, drum kit, microphone and the game leaving a second guitar to be purchased for those who really want to get the four-piece ensemble going), Rock Band seems to be a success in terms of both sales and critical acclaim. It's the same Guitar Hero fun we've been seeing for the past couple of years but now multiplied by four - and it can even be played online. Other games may be more innovative or interesting, but you'll have a hard time finding anything more fun to play this year.

Unreal Tournament 3
Publisher: Midway
Developer: Epic
Release: November 19
Platform: PC (coming soon for XBOX 360 & PS3)
ESRB: M

Let the fragging continue. If you've played Unreal 2004 then you won't be all too surprised by anything in UT3 - yet at the same time this feels like a completely new game. Chalk it up to how much the FPS has evolved over the last few years and to the fact that the Unreal Tournament is no longer a spectator sport for fun and profit as in the previous games (now you're at war) or simply to the fact that it's been nearly four years since we've seen a UT title, but this game feels much newer than it really is.

Multiplayer is where it's at for this game (as usual) and the game offers six modes and a bevy of well designed maps (we're bound to see mods start pouring onto the web any day now too), but there is a compelling campaign as well. And, as an added bonus, the campaign offers an online co-op mode. That's right; UT finally has a campaign mode that can be played cooperatively online. This game may be nowhere near as interesting as some of the other FPS games released this month, but it is twitchy FPS goodness for the PC and a real must play for fans of the popular Unreal series.