15 Best Months To Be A Gamer (Since 2000)

9. November 2006 €“ Gears, Guitars And Motion Controls...

November 2006 saw the launch of two gaming titans with both the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3 launching within days of each other. The Nintendo Wii proved the more interesting of the two consoles though, thanks to its revolutionary controller (fun fact: the Nintendo Wii's first name was Revolution) which utilised player motions to control games. It quickly became a household name and outsold both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 massively.

The PlayStation 3's launch was a bit of a disaster in comparison; it lacked killer titles (Resistance: Fall of Man is probably the most memorable) and it was criticised for its high price. Still, there were still many early adopters thanks to the system's support for the new blu-ray disc format and there was plenty of potential for growth thanks to the power of the machine.

You might be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft had a quiet month then? On the contrary, the Xbox 360 received its first major exclusive this November €“ Gears of War. A brand new IP from Epic Games, Gears has since deservedly become the Xbox's biggest series behind Halo. It also overtook Halo 2 as Xbox Live's most popular game thanks to an addictive multiplayer which pitted teams of four against each other in nervy, one-life only showdowns.

Guitar Hero 2 arrived on PlayStation 2, following the success of the first game. The sequel introduced a co-op mode which paved the way for the full-band games which would be released later on. It also featured a longer and harder setlist than the first game, becoming a classic almost instantly.

Elsewhere, Tony Hawk's Project 8 proved there was life in the skateboarding genre still whilst Splinter Cell returned with Double Agent, though both games were less well received than their earlier instalments.

Metacritic Roundup: Gears Of War, 94. The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, 95. Guitar Hero 2, 92. Average: 93.67.