The holiday season is officially upon us at sundown tonight. Children will be gathered around their Channukah menorahs, spinning their dreidels, eating potato latkes--and inviting their gentile friends to partake in the traditions that were so foreign and interesting in elementary school--at least that's what the kids told me back then.Then, a few days later that naughty or nice list will be coming into play as kids all over the world run down the stairs to see if the red-sutied cookie monster aka Santa Claus has brought them some amazing gifts. Gamers though--what do we want for all the holidays? Isn't it obvious--GAMES. We're going to give you oblivious gift-seekers five games to run to the stores to sweep up for the gamer in your life featuring NBA 2K12, among others.

Well, before Hollywood gets its claws on it and does the unthinkable, we might as well enjoy Voltron: Defender of the Universe for what it is now -- gloriously cheesy 80's entertainment featuring awesome Lion robots and the enormous defender that is Voltron himself.  The cartoon is still popular with many folks, and they'll probably be the ones who appreciate THQ's video game take on Voltron more than anyone else.  Still, it's a serviceable twin-stick shooter with plenty of oomph.

One of the most recognizable personalities from professional wrestling has been keeping busy in the video game business. WWE Legend Hulk Hogan is featured in two new games this year. He plays Angel de la Muerte in THQ and Volition’s Saints Row The Third. And the pro wrestler stars in his own wrestling Kinect wrestling game, Hulk Hogan’s Main Event, from 505 Games. The Hulkster gets his game on in this exclusive video interview from the Spike “Video Game Awards” (“VGAs”) show.

The hit Comedy Central series South Park hasn't always found the greatest of success in video games.  Acclaim's barrage of licensed games (Chef's Luv Shack, along with a kart racing game and a shooter) turned out to be real stinkers, to the point that the show's creators ragged on them.  There has been a turnaround as of late, however.  Microsoft produced an XBLA strategy game, Let's Go Tower Defense Play, that fared pretty well, and a platforming game, Tenorman's Revenge, is due for release next year.  But THQ and Obsidian are taking the series one step further with a full-blown RPG.

THQ and Volition have launched Saints Row: The Third around the globe. And with each big launch comes some type of marketing push. In Germany, the game was celebrated with a big party featuring vehicles from the game, sexy models dressed in costumes, and lots of guns. Whether those guns are real or not remains to be seen, but check out some hot photos from the launch event below this Volition video interview.

Great news for all of those who are cruising around Steelport in Saints Row The Third on the PS3. For all players that purchase Saints Row: The Third on the PlayStation 3 and redeem their online pass codes within the next 90 days, they will receive a digital copy of Saints Row 2 absolutely free! Insanity!

One week prior to the release of WWE 12 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii, and THQ is still adding folks to the downloadable content list.  Just a couple of days after we announced that the animal Batista was to be included in the crew, we've just received word that a hardcore legend will be joining the ranks -- and he's bringing the barbed wire bat.