6 Games You Need to Play This Fall*
Easily the smartest $550 you'll spend in the next two months.

Rock Band 2
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii
Release Date: Sept. 14, 2008 (Xbox), Oct. 19, 2008 (PS3), Nov. 18, 2008 (Wii)
Price: $49.99 (Wii, game only), $59.99 (360 and PS3, game only), $189.99 (special edition bundle)
Sort of Like: Rock Band (turbo, duh!)

Why You NEED This Game: With over 80 new songs spanning the '60s through the '00s, copping the game's early release on Xbox 360 is a no-brainer. What's new is the online World Tour mode, which will finally give David Lee Roth virtually the band that won't play with him personally.

Drawbacks? If you already have the original RB instruments, there's no need to plunk down 200 smackaroos for the new set. PS3 and Wii owners, however, must wait an additional month for the game or bundle.




Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS2
Release Date: Aug. 31, 2008
Price: $59.99 (PS3, 360), $49.99 (PC), $39.99 (PS2)
Sort of Like: Warhawk

Why You NEED This Game: Reviled by the Venezuelan government as a tool for whipping up American support for invasion, M2: WIF puts you in the boots of a merc seeking payback from a deadbeat drug lord who's seized control of Hugo Chavez’s country and its massive oil fields. The game features an almost fully destructible environment and—if that doesn’t pique your interest—deployable nuclear air strikes.

Drawbacks? You’ll hate Venezuelans a lot more, apparently.




Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, PS2, DS
Release Date: Sept. 16, 2008
Price: $59.99 (PS3, 360), $49.99 (Wii), $39.99 (PS2, PSP), $34.99 (DS)
Sort of Like: God of War, only with the Force

Why You NEED This Game: See how the game's being released for every console under the sun? That's usually a sign that developers think a title is going to sell eleventy bajillion copies. You play Darth Vader's apprentice, Starkiller, slaying Jedi and upgrading your Force powers to perform almost godly maneuvers and combos.

Drawbacks? None. We're not sure how you can mess up anything Star Wars–related—oh wait.




MotorStorm: Pacific Rift
Platform: PS3
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Price: $59.99
Sort of Like: MotorStorm

Why You NEED This Game: It's been a year and a half since Sony let loose their original off-road racer, and frankly we've gotten sick of the desert. Enter Pacific Rift, which, if the words “Pacific Rift” didn't give it away, will include romps through Hawaii's lush jungle areas, sandy beaches, and—gulp!—volcanoes.

Drawbacks? When we log into the PlayStation Network, hopefully we won't be pitted against Dusty, the four-time MotorStorm world champion. In other words, Sony, some matchmaking would be nice.





Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Price: $59.99
Sort of Like: Need for Speed and Burnout Paradise with a plot

Why You NEED This Game: Following the biggest game release ever (Grand Theft Auto IV) is no easy task, but Rockstar is putting forth one solid effort with MC: LA. Try to fathom this: The game's environment will be bigger than the cities from all three previous versions combined. And unlike in GTA IV, you won't be driving faux autos like a Super GT, but cars like the Lamborghini Miura and bikes like the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R.

Drawbacks? We didn't see any smog, gang shoot-outs, or desperate crack whores pitching movie scripts in any of the trailers, so we're withholding comments like, "Holy shit, this really is Los Angeles," until we play the game.




SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation
Platform: PS3
Release Date: Oct. 14, 2008
Price: $59.99
Sort of Like: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter

Why You NEED This Game: Call of Duty 4 showed the gaming community how to do online multiplayer right. SOCOM hopes to take it further, so much so that it completely dropped single-player from this iteration. With the extra Blu-ray space, Sony is packing in enough to make your head explode—to date, 12 maps have been announced, and new features include online tournaments and expansive clan support.

Drawbacks? Series noobs will find the going tough—there is a hard-core fan base that has been in the shit since 2002. P.S.: This is an online multiplayer game only.



*All games scheduled to be released between Aug. 25 and Oct. 14.