Video Game Companies Plan Big Holiday Push

By Michael Lopez

As you may well know, the day after Thanksgiving has become a haven for holiday shopping deals. And in the console world, that means the hottest titles will be hitting the shelves no later than the November 22. So you may want to start camping out early, because the video game bumrush is about to begin!

One of the biggest games of all actually is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 hit shelves on November 8 and promises to blow its predecessors out of the water! Stars like Tobey Maguire and Christopher Meloni are lending their voices for the 1st person shooter, which will take place in Africa, Dubai, and Moscow. Expect tons of political intrigue and great online co-op enhancements.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations caters to much of the same crowd. With its violent undertones and espionage-infused plot, it almost plays like an action-packed version of the Da Vinci Code. There are global secrets, underground organizations, and tons of new skull-crunching weapons (like the deadly hookblade!)

Sports fans will want to get their hands on the new WWE ’12 game. Sporting all new graphics and enhanced controls (the last few WWE titles suffered from multiple glitches), this rock 'em, sock 'em ring battle brings together some of professional wrestling's all time greats. And as an added Black Friday bonus, everyone who pre-orders it will get a code to unlock a playable version of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It was released on November 22.

And, in the Nintendo realm, there are plenty of long-awaited releases too. One particular hot title is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The 15th game in the popular RPG franchise, this outing will take full advantage of the Wii's motion controls. It will also delve much deeper into the Zelda mythology, working as a prequel to 1998's hugely popular Ocarina of Time. Early Japanese reviews of the game have been phenomenal.

Nintendo's other big hero, Mario, will be back around Thanksgiving too, in the 3DS title, Mario Kart 7. Though it technically comes out December 3, Kart will be taking pre-orders way before Black Friday. This high-paced racer will include all of your favorites from the Mushroom Kingdom along with new characters like Wiggler and Queen Bee. There will also be a hang glider option which should make for some very interesting gameplay.

Which upcoming video games are you most excited about? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Black Friday, Call Of Duty, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Hot Stuff, Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Kart 7, Nintendo, The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword, video games, WWE, WWE 12, Zelda