Holiday Gift Guide 2009

Why isn't every game like this? You're a badass desperado wandering a postapocalyptic Western wasteland, blasting critters with a near infinite variety of sweet-looking firearms and driving around in funky vehicles with bouncy suspension. This is a shooting game, but it's set in a rolling, rollicking open-world landscape, with lots of role-playing elements. You go up levels. The critters go up levels. Even your guns go up levels. Plus, the dialogue is sharp, and the art direction is gorgeous — like a Wile E. Coyote cartoon with better resolution and a hard R rating. — Lev Grossman
Price: $49.99 at Amazon