We might still be a few months away from the college football season, but that doesn’t mean you have to be deprived of all the NCAA action that you so crave for the entire summer. You’ll just need to be a little proactive. Pick up a copy of NCAA Football 09 and you won’t have to deal with that terrible college football withdrawal.

NCAA Football 09 is the most realistic, action packed college football game to ever hit game consoles. It’s got all of your favorite schools and teams, and it was developed with a new breakaway mechanic that gives you amazingly realistic and quick-responding movement on the field. You’ve got hundreds of offensive, defensive, and special teams plays to choose from that are specific to the team you’re using, and the graphics are absolutely stunning. You’ll almost forget that you’re playing a videogame and not actually watching a game on TV.

Sid Meier’s Civilization series of strategy games has allowed PC gamers to create societies from scratch on the PC for years now, becoming one of the most successful and famous strategy game franchises in gaming history. It’s a set of games that’s always pushed the boundaries of gameplay, graphics and scope, but also a series that’s been exclusive to the PC. Until now, that is.

Civilization Revolution is the first game in the series to be released for next-gen consoles, the Xbox 360, specifically. Its interface has been completely redesigned for the Xbox 360, eschewing keyboard-based controls for the fewer buttons and thumbsticks of the Xbox. What results is a streamlined experience that doesn’t lose any of the complexity that you’ve come to expect from Civilization. You still get the epic task of building an empire from scratch, and you can now play multiplayer over Xbox Live. Finally, Civilization on a console!

Gamers over the age of 25 might remember the original 2D Ninja Gaiden games on the NES. Those days are long gone. Tomonobu Itagaki, the lead designer of the modern Ninja Gaiden games on the Xbox had a vision of unrelenting, pulverizing, insane action that was sure to be a challenge for even the most seasoned action game veterans. The game was not easy. In fact, it was downright masochistic. The camera was horrid, the enemies took cheapshots, the game had infrequent checkpoints (understatement of the year!), it was brutal and unfair…but we loved every second of it. No other game had a combat repertoire that was as rewarding, deep and enjoyable. Dare I say it, not even Devil May Cry. Once you got the hang of it, Ninja Gaiden was a blast to play. The main character, Ryu Hayabusa was just a bad ass of epic proportions. I bet Chuck Norris cowers at the might of Ryu.

The sequel, Ninja Gaiden 2, was released recently on the Xbox 360 and the reviews, according to Gamerankings.com, have been great. So far, when not having my hindquarters handed to me by unforgiving boss fights, the game has been awesome. Gametrailers, as usual, has awesome gameplay footage of Ninja Gaiden 2. Sadly, Tomonobu Itagaki resigned from Tecmo, so this is no doubt the last Ninja Gaiden game he will work on. That by itself has already cemented it as a future classic.

Hellboy is a relatively unconventional comic book super hero, eschewing spandex and a cape for a freaky-looking body that’s bright red and more than a little demon-like. Which is why he’s awesome. Full of attitude and working for the side of good despite really looking like someone who should be doing evil, Hellboy is the ultimate alterna-superhero. With one popular movie out already and an amazing-looking sequel coming to theaters soon, America is getting more and more acquainted with just who Hellboy is.

And now people just discovering the plucky superhero can take control of him in a brand new story thanks to Hellboy: The Science of Evil, a new game for the Xbox 360 that puts you in the gigantic shoes of our favorite anti-hero. In it, you uncover a crazy Nazi plot for world domination and must take on the wily Hermann Von Klempt. You’ll get full access to Hellboy’s brutal strength and special abilities, and you’ll do it all thanks to some amazing graphics and play mechanics. Who needs Batman?

Mega Man was one of the best series of games from the early days of console video gaming. It was up there with Mario and Sonic as a platform game that defined the entire genre, with over 10 games coming out with the little blue guy for a number of different systems. While the move to 3D gaming didn’t treat Mega Man as well as, say, Mario, the 2D platforming Mega Man games are still incredibly fun and challenging.

And now, Mega Man is moving into a new genre: RPGs. With Mega Man Star 2: Zerker X Saurian, you’ll work with Geo Stelar and his crew to take on legions of viruses that are ravaging the virtual Wave World. You’ll jump back and forth between the real world and the Wave World to complete your quest, which is jam packed full of both action and RPG elements.

Who said Mega Man couldn’t make the jump to the 21st century?

Cooking well is surprisingly entertaining. How else do you explain the runaway success of the Food Network and shows such as Top Chef? Even when you don’t get to eat the amazing meals prepared by culinary experts, it’s great to just watch them work. It’s an art form, after all.

So if watching great cooking is entertaining, it only follows that actually cooking is pretty great as well. But if you don’t have the skills, the kitchen, or the food at hand to do so, you’ve gotta do the next best thing: play Gourmet Chef on the Nintendo DS.

In the game, you’ll need to master French cooking and serve it perfected to a number of picky customers in the restaurant you own. Which is a lot of fun, but what’s really great is that in playing, you’ll learn 70 real life recipes that you can then cook using, you know, real food in your actual kitchen. Talk about a game that has some sweet rewards.

Major Final Fantasy games don’t come out all too often. Final Fantasy XII came out about a year and a half ago, and Final Fantasy XIII isn’t due for another year at the least — it may be longer. Luckily for fans, there’s more to the venerable Final Fantasy series than the major console releases. There’s also games for the Nintendo DS, both reissues of older Super Nintendo games as well as brand new games for the platform.

The latest is Final Fantasy Tactics A2, a game that inhabits the fantastical world of Ivalice from Final Fantasy XII, but brings with it brand new characters and a totally new storyline. You play as Luso, a high school kid who’s stuck in detention when he discovers an ancient book with magical powers that transports him to Ivalice. You know, standard high school stuff. He ends up teaming up with Vaan, Penelo, and Al-Cid from FF XII to take on legions of enemies, taking him far away from his former schoolyards. It’s a fully-fledged Final Fantasy game, one that’ll definitely help ease the wait until Final Fantasy XIII comes out down the line.

While all of the previous Guitar Hero games came loaded up with a wide selection of different types of music, ensuring that almost everyone could find songs to play along to that they liked, they just weren’t satisfying for a certain type of people. Some people didn’t want a wide selection; no, they wanted one band to be the focus of the entire game, full of almost exclusively that one band’s music. What band did these people want? Aerosmith.

At least that’s what you’ve got to think the people behind the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Bundle figured. Because this new Guitar Hero game is based completely around Aerosmith, featuring the band members as characters and a playlist of songs that’s almost entirely made up of Aerosmith tracks. Yes, from hits such as “Walk This Way” to questionable choices such as “Uncle Salty,” there’s more Aerosmith here than any reasonable person can handle. But if you’re one of those hardcore fans that’s been clamoring for this – and I’ve got to assume there are some of you out there – you’re about to be in heaven. Enjoy it.

In the new adventure game Alone in the Dark, our beloved Central Park is not the idyllic green space that we know and love. No, instead it is a source of horror, spawning monsters and creatures of unimaginable evil. Your job? Clean up the park, obviously.

You are Edward Carnby, Paranormal Investigator, and you’re on the case of your life. You’ve got to use your wits (and your weapons) to figure out just what’s going on and return the park to the safe, lovely state that it should be in. With a story told in a TV season’s structure, it’s a game that feels familiar yet completely new at the same time. It’s dark and scary yet light and fun, with a storyline that’ll suck you in from the first minute and gameplay that’ll keep your hands glued to the controller. After all, our Central Park is in danger! You’re not going to let it get destroyed, are you? I didn’t think so.

Traditionally, real time strategy games were one genre of video games that remained more on PCs, with very few good options available for console gamers. The complexity of the games lent themselves better to keyboard and mouse control schemes than to a controller with a limited number of buttons. It was frustrating for strategy fans to not be able to play their favorite games on their shiny new consoles.

That’s an issue no more with one of the biggest names in real time strategy coming to the Xbox 360. Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath is coming to your living room, so you no longer have to boot up your PC for some world class strategy. And they don’t cut corners with the console port, either; you get the full Command and Conquer experience here. All the unit building, all the base controlling, and all the epic battles that you’ve come to know and love, but on the Xbox 360. Finally!