Written by Matt Swider  on December 02, 2008

Holiday Buyer's Guide 2008: We already recommended Intel's Core i7 as the processor to put on your wish list, so how about the best PC Games to go with this holiday season?

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Left 4 Dead
Forget about Fallout 3, forget about Call of Duty: World at War, Left 4 Dead is turning out to be the game of this holiday season. It's based on a simple concept: zombies are scary, and lots of zombies are even scarier. Add in solid online co-op and you'll be able to live out the two classic zombie movie moments: 1) when a good plan goes south because of a tiny mistake, and 2) leaving a friend behind to die because it would put the whole team at risk. Left 4 Dead is all about non-stop frenetic action that will have you on the edge of your seat for hours on end until you fall over from the exhaustion of one adrenaline rush after another. Why aren't you playing this game right now?


World of Goo
A cross between the cuteness of a LocoRoco and the construction game Jenga, World of Goo is a puzzle game that is sure to please budding architects and anime fans alike. It has players building framework structures to reach high platforms, bridge gaps and so on using only a limited supply of simple pieces. Throw in a bit of unforgiving gravity to tear down rickety designs, and you have a game that has won awards for design and technical excellence at the Independent Games Festival. This also is a great game for the kids, since it stretches those critical-thinking and puzzle-solving muscles but without a hint of violence.


Sins of a Solar Empire
Ten months after its initial release, Sins of a Solar Empire is still drawing fans and building a solid community of hardcore players. Its classic space opera strategy, with layers of diplomacy, the potential for alliance and betrayal, technology development, pirates and much, much more, all wrapped up in players' attempts to dominate a small corner of the galaxy. The single-player game is challenging enough, but online multiplayer against a good opponent will have you tearing your hair out. This is serious strategy of the old-school, six-hour match variety, packed with resource gathering and unit building. Not for the faint of heart, but absolutely worth the investment.



Spore
When you pick up a game by Will Wright, you know you're getting something new and different, and that's certainly the case with Spore. In this game, you nurture an alien creature through all stages of its life, from its existence in the primordial soup as a single cell to its attempts at colonizing distant planets. The game gives you tools to style not only the creature's looks, but also the designs of its society's buildings and vehicles. And once you venture out into distant worlds, most of the creatures you'll encounter were actually built by other players, although you won't interact with the players themselves in any sort of multiplayer game. You guide your creature through five stages of development, and it's almost like getting multiple games in one box, with gameplay ranging from something akin to Asteroids at the beginning and RTS strategy at the end. And once you're done, you can start all over again with a completely new creature.



The Witcher Enhanced Edition
Unlike the standard RPG fare that rehash the same shining-armor heroes defending an idealistic world from ultimate-evil villains, The Witcher is based in a gritty fantasy world where the line between good and evil blurs in the hands of a mercenary hero who really isn't much better than the bad guys he hunts. Couple the unique setting and story with an innovative combat system inspired by combo system in fighting games rather than the usual RPG, and you have definite Game of the Year potential. The Enhanced Edition is what The Witcher should have been on its initial release, so that the game and its story now stand up to their full potential. All the dialogue has been revised to improve the English translation, new animations and NPC models have been added, bugs are fixed, and load times have been reduced by as much as eighty percent. The new edition also includes two new adventures and a Уmaking ofФ DVD, and a soundtrack CD. Note: If you already have the original version, all of the new content is available as a free download from the official website.



Fallout 3
Okay, I know I said to forget about Fallout 3, but I didn't mean it. If you're into RPGs, a fan of a good post-apocalyptic story, or just looking for a great way to while away a hundred or so hours, Fallout 3 is a must-have. Plus, Bethesda is releasing a mission editor for the PC version, so players will soon have access to tons of community-generated content. And if you're gifting this to a friend, the collector's edition is the way to go. The Vault Boy bobblehead and lunch box are great additions to any geek desk.




Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty is the revered World War II series (except for Call of Duty 4, which took place during modern times). So, owning World at War this holiday season is a no brainer. While people loved the terror-themed CoD4 and are hesitant to step back into yet another WWII game, this version takes on the much ignored Pacific and Eastern fronts (Уmuch ignoredФ compared to all of the games that have you relive D-Day, at least). Plus, it'll go nicely with The Pacific, upcoming HBO TV mini-series set to debut next year as a follow-up to Band of Brothers.



LEGO Batman: The Video Game
If you just finished this summer's LEGO Indiana Jones game, your love for LEGOs is going to be fulfilled through the holiday season with LEGO Batman, which released this fall. Fighting crime as a block-styled Batman and Robin (among other unlockable characters) makes for an eye-catching adventure compared to the desert sands of Indiana Jones. Additionally, Danny Elfman's classic Batman soundtrack makes this LEGO game complete and better than any Dark Knight game that could've released alongside the film.