"Gears of War clearly has won the battle for the title of the must-have game of the year," said Jeff Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. "Its phenomenal success is one of many reasons why Xbox 360 is the ultimate place to get together with friends to play this holiday."

"We've always held high hopes for Gears of War, but we never expected such an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and gamers all over the world," said Michael Capps, president, Epic Games. "I can't describe how stoked our team is right now. Our fans can absolutely count on Epic to keep delivering new gameplay through Xbox Live."

In addition to being the must-have video game of the holiday season, Gears of War continues to rage on the Xbox Live battlefield as well, with more than 1 million unique gamers engaging in 10 million online gameplay sessions and unlocking an impressive 7 million achievements.* On top of being the No. 1 title on Xbox Live, Gears of War has driven new members to the network; paid registrations per day have skyrocketed more than 50 percent since the game's launch.

Capcom's upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive, Dead Rising, a free-roaming(ish) zombie-blasting game that sets you in a small town completely overrun with zombies and lets you use anything as a weapon (hedge trimmers, park benches), has been denied release in Germany. Ever the symbol for "cute and cuddly," Germany's government feels the game is a tad too violent.

"The game has not been banned in Germany. It is scheduled for release on September 8," a Capcom US rep told 1up. So there you have it. Xbox 360 owners residing in Germany can look forward to some zombie-slaying action just like the rest of us.

While there are plenty of missions to keep you busy, this game is, at its heart, all about killing zombies in the goriest manner possible. To that end, you'll be able to pick up just about anything lying around the mall and wield it as a weapon. And when I say anything, I mean anything. Getting near an object will bring up a small icon (mapped to the B button) which indicates that it can be picked up by Frank. We killed zombies with everything from cash registers and sledge hammers to propane tanks and handguns. Oh, and coat hangers, mannequins, planters, boomerangs, and zombie limbs, too. There are a lot more deadly options lying around, but isn't it more fun to find out for yourself?

As famed horror writer, Michael Arthate, you arrive at Blackwood Manor, your newly acquired home, an old Victorian house lost in the outskirts of a small English market town. While the ominous weather bodes of darker days, you are initially charmed by this peaceful and quiet place. The pleasant stillness is soon broken, however, as the rooms of this exquisite, if faded glory, mansion speak of past events, their tales echoing through its walls. As the odd noises in the basement grow ever louder, you set about solving your sanctuary's long-held mystery.

Isolated by a washed out road, and in search of clues, you delve into every dark corner of the mansion and its untended grounds via a point-and -click interface. Examining, probing, and hunting your way through musty rooms, an overrun greenhouse, a sinister chapel, and a forbidding crypt, your investigation deepens, and you slowly become aware of one terrifying fact: you are not alone.

Games featuring graphic scenes of cannibalism, "F.E.A.R." and "Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse," were among the 12 "games to avoid" listed Tuesday by the National Institute on Media and the Family.

"It's something we've never seen before," said institute president David Walsh, warning that today's games are "more extreme" and more easily available to underage kids than ever before.

1. Far Cry (M)
2. F.E.A.R. (M)
3. The Warriors (M)
4. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (M)
5. True Crime: New York City (M)
6. Blitz: The League (M)
7. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (M)
8. God of War (M)
9. Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil (M)
10. Urban Reign (T)
11. Conker: Live and Reloaded (M)
12. Resident Evil 4 (M)

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (E 10+)
2. The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer (E 10+)
3. Peter Jackson's King Kong (T)
4. Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (E)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (T)
6. Sly 3: Honor Amongst Thieves (E 10+)
7. We Love Katamari (E)
8. Sid Meier's Pirates! (E)
9. Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX3 (E 10+)
10. Backyard Baseball 2005 (E)

In "Stubbs the Zombie," the lead character eats the brains of humans as blood splatters across the screen.

"It's just the worst kind of message to kids," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who joined institute officials at a press conference announcing the group's 10th annual video game report card. "They can be dangerous to your children's health."

Evil Dead Regeneration follows Ash, the lone survivor of a camp discovering the Necronomicon -- the wholly evil book of the dead. Thought to have murdered his companions, Ash is arrested, convicted of the crime, and sentenced to Sunny Meadows, an institute for the criminally insane, but not for long. Ash's peaceful stay is about to end -- thanks to the perverted experiments of his very own psychiatrist. Hell-bent on using science to harness the Necronomicon's powers, the mad doctor unleashes the book's all-powerful Evil on the world -- releasing a new slew of Deadites, monsters and spirits, twisting reality into a hellish strudel and leaving mankind with that not-so-fresh, apocalyptic feeling.

Fox Broadcasting Co. has acquired the rights to develop THQ's best-selling sci-fi video game "Destroy All Humans!" into a half-hour CGI-animated comedy by former "King of the Hill" writer/co-executive producer Jim Dauterive. The deal marks the first time a video game will be used as the basis for a primetime network television program. The script will be developed through 20th Century Fox TV, where Dauterive has an overall deal. Set in the 1950s, the third-person action game puts players into the bulbous gray head of Crypto 137, an alien who has landed on Earth and is intent on destroying it.

Demonik is set to launch in 2006 on next generation consoles and is being developed simultaneously as a feature film by filmmaker and writer Clive Barker. Barker is set to oversee the story, character designs, cinematics and voice talent for the game. Barker also has the option to write and direct the film.