Ah so clearly I remember; it was in the bleak November...

There is a definite reason why November is most gamers' favorite month. Hoping to cash in on the buying frenzy for the upcoming holiday season, most publishers release their greatest; awesomest (is that a word? It is now), and most amazing titles at the end of October and all through the glorious turkey-infused month of November. Of course waiting until the holiday is for suckers and most gamers worth their salt have already jumped headlong into this month's hottest releases. Several titles may well deserve the November Game of the Month honors, but usually only one can take home the prize. In a month that gave us goodies and much anticipated titles like Assassin's Creed, Rock Band, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, and Mass Effect (just to name a few of the stellar titles released in November) anything can happen.

The nominees...

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity ward
Release: November 5
Platform: PC, PS3, XBOX 360, DS
ESRB: M

First-person shooters are a dime a dozen these days, so one that wants to really get noticed had better be damned good. Call of Duty 4 is damned good. While some may decry the single player campaign as being woefully short (and it is - expect 5-6 hours on an initial playthrough), those are the same people that don't realize that quality can mean so much more than quantity. With enemy AI that is the best we've seen since Rainbow Six: Vegas or F.E.A.R., immersive and realistic weaponry and military tactics, and a story that has the player working as both a US Marine and a British SAS commando, COD4 delivers in ways that no game has in a long time, regardless of campaign length.

The ridiculous button timing minigames of COD3 are history, flashback levels and joystick warfare levels mix up the action nicely, and the multiplayer kicks much arse with an RPG style XP system to level up your online persona and unlock new weapons and "perks" to enhance gameplay. It's late in the year, but this may be one of the first perfect games of 2007. In fact with the exception of Bioshock, I can't think of a more satisfying shooter.

Gears of War
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Epic
Release: November 6
Platform: PC
ESRB: M

I probably don't have to tell anyone out there that Gears of War rocks really freakin' hard, but on the PC it rocks just a little harder than it does as the game responsible for selling more Xbox 360 consoles than any other. This new version of Gears includes all of the maps and modes (save split-screen) that made Gears on the 360 as cool as it is and adds new levels and battles (Brumak!), a map editor, and an excellent mouse and keyboard control scheme to the mix.

It looks better on the PC than it does on the 360 as well, but you need a pretty nice machine to see the game at its best. Those who still play on the 360 may not need this new version, but hardcore GearsHeads and those who haven't visited the world of Marcus, Dominick, Baird, and Cole Train in a while (or, incredibly, at all) should definitely check out this new version of one of the best games out there.