"Gears"

Everyone's favorite old coot asked me how I liked "Gears of War", the new blockbuster game for the Xbox 360.

Short answer: This is my favorite game on the system so far.

After the "Halo" series, "Gears" is probably the best action shooter on the Xbox. The graphics are great, the action is brutal and furious and, more importantly, the gameplay is just sweet.

Journalist Clive Thompson put it best when he said it's like a sonnet -- it doesn't break any new ground per se, but it excels at everything it does, basically attaining purity of its particular art form.

If you haven't fired up your 360 recently, now is the time to do it. And "Gears" is far from the only must-have out there. If you're into tactical shooters, the new "Rainbow 6" is supposed to be excellent (I have it but haven't played due to my "Gears" obsession), the new "Splinter Cell" delivers awesome stealth-action, and "Viva Pinata" is a colorful, quirky game in which you tend to a virtual garden and attract and raise pinata lifeforms.

Better get your letter off to Santa, or at least send him an SMS.