15 Best Holiday Video Game Buys of 2009

Wouldn't it be nice if Santa brought a game system that played everything exactly as it was meant to be played, out of the box? No need to choose between Mario, Master Chief, and Nathan Drake? One platform, indivisible, with free online access and social networking plugins for all?

Well he won't--but the elves at PC World are ready to help you sort through the deluge of games, gadgets, and gizmos festooning store shelves and online digital repositories. What's the best investment in 2009--Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, or Sony's PlayStation? The Nintendo DSi or the Sony PlayStation Portable? And what about Microsoft Windows 7 with 8GB of RAM, a quad-core CPU, and 3D video cards double-stacked and running visual circles around the console crowd?

Decisions, decisions. Let's take a look at 15 of the year's best, with pros and cons identified to make your choices a little easier.

Of Related Interest:

• "The Most Promising Games of Fall 2009"

• "The Hottest Games of Summer 2009"

• "E3 2009: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Games and Tech"

• PC World's Games Blog (Twitter: @game_on)