Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360, ages 17 and older): The popular shooter title by Epic Games is an adrenaline rush from start to finish, requiring you to take cover and think tactically, rather than come out Rambo-style with both chainsaw-equipped assault rifles blazing. Plus, new weapons, such as the flamethrower, come in handy in those boss battle scenes with the Locust army.

Rock Band 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and PS2, all ages): "Simulate on, dude." Music-based video games are taking center stage in living rooms everywhere. This sequel to last year's mega-hit from Harmonix ships with 80-plus tracks on the disc. Hundreds more can be purchased from an online library. (Groupies not included.)

LittleBigPlanet (PS3, all ages): Media Molecule's award-winning game does more than let us control a customizable burlap protagonist that goes on a globe-trotting adventure; it supplies us with the “editing tools” to design our own levels and share them online. The game’s interface is user-friendly, with tutorials along the way to guide you. Players are only limited by their imagination.

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, ages 17 and older): Rockstar's ninth installment in its blockbuster series gives you a remarkable degree of freedom to sightsee and commit crime in a super-realistic metropolis modeled after modern-day New York City. There's plenty of dirt to get into, but when your character — the Eastern European immigrant thug Niko Bellic — needs downtime from all the carjackings and shootouts, GTA IV offers plenty of "in-game entertainment," such as fictional comedy shows, websites, radio stations and TV shows. Just remember: You snooze, you lose.

Spore (Mac and PC, ages 10 and older): In virtual (video game) god Will Wright's masterpiece, you design your own species from its beginnings as a single-celled organism, wander the planet to conquer or establish tribes, and build entire civilizations that are capable of space travel. And you thought being a parent was hard.

Wii Fit (Wii, all ages): Remember when gamers were a bunch of potato chip-crunching, lethargic button-pushers? That was before Nintendo's innovative Wii console turned our living rooms into fitness centers. With roughly 40 activities such as aerobics, yoga poses and balance games (all of which utilize the Wii Balance Boad), Wii Fit does something even Carmen Elektra couldn't do — it makes exercising attractive.

Boom Blox (Wii, all ages): Steven Spielberg's block puzzle game from Electronic Arts features a series of physics-based challenges for the entire family. Among other contributions, the Oscar-winning director of the Indiana Jones movie franchise added dozens of characters, from deadly grim reapers to silly animal cowboys that seem to have sprung straight out of a 1940s Chuck Jones cartoon.

Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2 and Nintendo DS, 17 and older): Though stunning to look at, with its lush jungles and convincingly drab war-torn cities of Europe, World at War is a vivid reminder of the brutality that combat soldiers faced in World War II. The game is full of so much danger (executions, ambushes and packs of rabid dogs that will attack on your command), it just might make today's teens think twice before enlisting.

NBA 2K9 (PS3, Xbox 360, PS2 and PC, all ages): Sports have always been a big draw for gamers. And while Madden NFL 09 is pretty cool, we've had a lot more fun driving the lane for some rim-rattling, windmill dunks with the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, NBA 2K9's cover boy. Life-like animation that mimics player personality and on-court nuances will have friends utter, "I thought that was a real game!" as they pop into the room. Adding to the illusion are post-game video highlights. Maybe 2K10 will give us a team bus trip to the virtual tattoo parlor.

Fallout 3 (PS3, 360 and PC, ages 17 and older): Set in the year 2277, this action role-playing game from Bethesda Softworks imagines a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C., populated by Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders and other menacing creatures. While players can go anywhere they want in the open-ended gameplay, the main plot involves your character's search for his father, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The cause of destruction we learn was an atomic explosion. Fallout 3 never mentions if one of the Bush descendants was elected into office.