There is a big buzz about the new video game consoles now in development, but they will not be here this holiday season. We have to continue to look at titles for the Playstation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, along with the ever-evolving platform, the PC.

Two big titles coming out in the summer and fall of this year for the PC have been ID's Doom 3(Activision) and Valve's Half Life 2 (Vivendi Universal Games), both first person shooters. Both require a 3GHz processor or higher, a top of the line 3D video card that has come out in the last year, and 512-1024 MB of RAM to play effectively with all the options turned on. Even then some people are reporting their computers are too slow. The game play on Doom 3 is not as good as expected, and in parts so are the graphics. Based on the information at this writing Half Life 2 is your better bet on a graphically high-end video game for your PC. If you want a tried and true graphically high end first person shooter get with Far Cry or possibly the less hardware intensive Electronic Arts' Battlefield Vietnam, both which came out earlier this year.

Of course the biggest game probably this holiday season will be Bungie's Halo 2 for the Xbox (Microsoft Game Studios). The original Halo is why so many people bought the Xbox in the first place, and the new version looks even greater. It is a first person shooter and is best played in multiplayer mode with the players in your home with 1-4 Xboxes connected together or via Xbox Live (I have played the original Halo with two teams of 7-8 playing against each other and it is was fantastic fun). I expect people will be lined up outside the stores on November 9 when it will go on sale. It should be out later for the PC just as the original was, but most Halo fans will not wait.

Another favorite is expected to be Lucas Arts' Star Wars Battlefront for the PC, Xbox, & PS2. There you can fight the battles in the Star Wars movies as an individual soldier with all the neat vehicles. You can chose between soldier types within each side of the conflicts. Multiplayer is available for LAN & Internet. There will be no additional fees for Internet play for online play on PC or Playstation 2 if you have a network adapter for them. For Xbox you will need to subscribe to Xbox Live (up to 16 players on Playstation 2, 24 players on Xbox, and 32 players on PC).

There is a split screen mode for offline multiplayer play. As has been the past with Star Wars games developed by Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles, the game is reported to be fantastic and a blast to play. If you want something of more sword fighting in your role playing game try Ubisoft's Prince of Persia 2: Warrior Within for Playstation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and PC. Another sword fighting RPG is Onimusha 3: Demon Siege from Capcom for the Playstation 2. Also on the Game Cube is Nintendo's Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

One of the most interesting games is Lionhead Studios' Fable for the Xbox (Microsoft Game Studios). This game has been in development for a long time because it has wanted to be a break thorough in the area of role playing games, and I think they have succeeded. You start out as a 17 year old boy and journey through life until you are 45. Every action has a consequence for the future. It will determine how other characters in the game treat you and even how your physical appearance changes over time. You can wind up as the hero that people cheer every time you arrive in a town and your wife thanks God every day that she married you, or a villain that everyone wants to avoid except for possibly other villains.
If you are into real time strategy you should definitely look for The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth (Electronic Arts). It is a step above anything that has gone before in the RTS games from the viewpoints of graphics, animation, and game play. If you have seen the History Channel's Decisive Battles, you have already seen the game engine and animation in Rome: Total War. The technology from it was used in the series to show how actual battles were fought in the ancient world. It also looks to be a good RTS game.
If you want to experience the difficulties of what the US and its allies face in Iraq, try THQ's Full Spectrum Warrior, a real time squad based game developed from a US Army training aid that revolves around a fictional Middle Eastern country in the present day. Also developed by Pandemic Studios in Los Angeles, it is for the PC and Xbox with online play available. If you want to be the bad guy in the James Bond universe check out Electronic Arts' Goldeneye: Rogue Agent for Playstation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Of course if you want to play the good secret operative there is the stealthy Sam Fisher of Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. The third installment "Chaos Theory" has been delayed until March, but Pandora Tomorrow that came out last spring is still good for the PC, Playstaion 2, Xbox, and Game Cube.

Sony Online Entertainment's Everquest II is a world 500 years after the current Everquest; but with enriched graphics, better game play, and better adventures. Unlike a lot of these games, Everquest II does not just throw you into the virtual world to fend for yourself the best you can. You start off on a large sailing ship with only you and a bunch of computer generated 3D characters where you find out how the world works before you get to the first town and interaction with other players. It's designed for the experienced massively multiplayer online role playing game player, but to the novice as well. Unlike Everquest, there will be no Mac version and will be for Windows only.

For those of you Star Wars Galaxies fans who have been disappointed that you can't journey into space and duke it out in an X-Wing Fighter, Lucas Arts/Sony Online Entertainment's Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Light Speed expansion pack will be out in time for the Holidays

One of the games that is the best selling game ever is Electronic Arts' The Sims. The Sims 2 is very different. Your characters are fully 3D, detailed, and you get up close with them. They have motivations that cause them to act in certain and sometimes unexpected ways. You can control up to four characters and are creating a story of a family over multiple generations. It sounds serious, but you can have some fun by creating episodes right out of a soap opera. If you want to laugh while you're playing a game go for Destroy All Humans!from THQ and Pandemic Studios. It is a parody of all those 1950s alien invasion movies where you play the alien. It is for Playstation 2 and Xbox. Sony's Grand Turismo 4 car racing sim for the PS 2 is finally coming out before the end of the year and it looks like it is worth the wait. With great graphics, 100 courses and 500 cars to drive plus online play with up to 6 players.

Microsoft Game Studio's Forza Motorsport is for you racing fans on an Xbox. A good racing sim for the hardcore and novice is NASCAR 2005 Chase for the Cup (Electronic Arts) for Playstation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Of course there is always Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 2005 for PC, Playstaion 2, Xbox, and GameCube (Electronic Arts is usually a good bet for sports games).

For the younger set I would look at Microsoft Games Studios' Zoo Tycoon 2 and some of the offerings from THQ.

Nintendo also has been known for having good games for kids, but they are for GameCube only.

Yes, this holiday season there will be celebrations all over. However, that will include the individual celebrations of those who on their gaming platforms protect the human race from orcs and aliens.

Timothy Everingham is CEO of Timothy Everingham Consulting in Azusa, California. He is also Chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH, the largest chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques and one of Southern California's significant professional organizations within the entertainment and media industries. He graduated from with honors with the double majors of Management Information Systems and Accounting from of California State University, Fullerton. In addition he is the Vice President of the Windows Media Users' Group of Los Angeles. He is also part-time press in the areas of high technology, computers, video, audio, and entertainment/media and has had articles published throughout the United States and Canada plus Australia, England, & Japan He is a member of TUGNET. Further information can be found at http://home.earthlink.net/~teveringham