Give the gift of game this holiday season

Games to party with:
These are the games to buy for the social butterfly on your list – that is, games best played when friends are over for a visit. The best part is, the bigger the fool you make of yourself while playing, the more fun the games are.

“Wii Sports” (Wii, free with purchase of a Wii, Rated: Everyone, Nintendo)
This has to be the best party game of the year. It’s really five games in one — tennis, golf, boxing, baseball and bowling — all utilizing the Wii’s revolutionary wireless two-piece controllers. When boxing, you actually jab at the screen while holding the controllers, for golf you physically swing the controller as if it were a club.

Red Octane Live out your rock 'n' roll fantasies with "Guitar Hero II," one of our picks for best party game of the year.

“Guitar Hero II” (PS2, $49.99 for game, $79.99 for game and guitar, Rated: Teen, Red Octane) If you know someone who’s always wanted to be rock star but never learned to play an instrument, then it’s time to get them “Guitar Hero II” and let them live out their rock ‘n’ roll fantasies. Game play consists of strumming a guitar along to songs like “War Pigs,” “Strutter,” “Heart-Shaped Box” and many more.

“Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNOVA” (PS2, $39.99 for game, $59.99 game plus mat, Everyone 10+, Konami) Get ready for a workout. This game will have you dancing, moving and sweating to the beat of the music. In theory, it’s simple: Stand on a specially design mat and step when and where the symbols on the screen tell you to while the music plays. The hard part is keeping up with how fast the symbols change.

Some other party-worthy games:

• “SingStar Rocks!” (PS2, $49.99, Rated: Everyone 10+, Sony)
• “Rayman Raving Rabbids” (Wii, $49.99, Rated: Everyone, Ubisoft)

Games for the sports nut:
Know someone who eats and breathes sports? Check out these games.

“Excite Truck” (Wii, $49.99, Rated: Everyone, Nintendo) Down-and-dirty off-road racing is what this title is all about. The control mechanism is at least half the fun — you hold the Wii’s remote in your hands and physically move it as if it were a steering wheel. If you’re no good at steering, don’t worry. The game rewards you with points for how well you crash.

“Fight Night Round 3” (PS3, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, $29.95-$59.95, Rated: Teen, EA Sports) For those who are into boxing, it doesn’t get much better than “Fight Night Round 3.” The fighters look so real you almost feel bad hitting them. The game features boxers of different styles and eras (among them: Holyfield, Pacquiao, and the legend himself, Ali).

“Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis” (Xbox 360, $39.99, Rated: Everyone, Rockstar Games) Remember how much fun “Pong” was? Graphically it was just two lines and a circle bouncing between them, but you played it for hours. This game features life-like players swinging the paddles — good for hours of fast-paced fun.

More sports games for your sports fan:

• “Madden NFL ’07” (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, Wii, $39.95-$59.95, Rated: Everyone, EA Sports)
• “Tony Hawk’s Project 8” (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, $49.99-$59.99, Rated: Teen, Activision)

Games to lose yourself in:
For the gamer that enjoys checking out for hours on end, stepping into a life of either literal or figurative fantasy, consider these titles:

“World of Warcraft” (PC/Mac, $19.99 plus monthly fee, Rated: Teen, Blizzard) Though it wasn’t released in 2006, this massively-multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) has become a full-fledged pop culture phenomenon that’s now entertaining seven million subscribers. And this holiday is the ideal time for a new player to start, because next year, Blizzard releases “The Burning Crusade,” the first expansion pack for this already gigantic digital realm.

“Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” (Xbox 360, PC, $39.99, Rated: Mature, 2K Games) This is one of the first next-gen titles that actually felt "next-gen." Players set out on a quest to close the doors to Oblivion, a hellish realm full of demons and the monsters that desperately want into the normal world of Tamriel. Player customization is enormous, with dozens of skills, traits, and costumes to wear. The sheer size of Tamriel is astounding, and an explorative player can easily burn 100+ hours in “Oblivion.”

“Final Fantasy XII” (PS2, $49.99, Rated: Teen, Square Enix) Square Enix's long-running role-playing fantasy franchise shows no signs of slowing – or aging – as it enters its twelfth installment. While this game features many familiar sights for fans, such as flying airships and feathered Chocobos, this chapter replaces the slower-paced, turn-based battles with active combat. 

Kristin Kalning contributed to this report.

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