Halo

Even if money can’t buy Bill Gates a decent haircut, it can get him a cutting-edge game system, and launch title Halo makes Microsoft’s billion-dollar Xbox gamble seem like a pretty good bet. This staggeringly polished first-person shooter (which also includes a Quake-style multiplayer option) will have even the most passive players sweating, er, bullets as they take control of an eight-foot-tall cyborg and greet intergalactic invaders with open arms—or open fire. The frenetic pace of the game, which lets you fight alien scum in vehicles and on foot, makes for an addictive adrenaline rush, though juggling a two-joystick interface may have novice console commandos sounding the retreat. Fight on, however, and you’ll find victory, as well as a reasonable justification for dropping $300 on an overgrown Atari.