Knowledge's Blog

(CNN) — Like a well-placed power-up, the right gift can light up the eyes of that video gamer in your life.

But for non-gamers, navigating the many offerings at your local store can be confusing. So with that in mind, here are suggestions, grouped by category, on some of the most buzzed-about games for holiday giving.

Make sure you know which gaming console (PlayStation, Xbox, Wii) your gamer has before you shop. Prices for these games will range from $30 to $60, depending on the store and any promotions or sales. Check online or at your local store for the latest pricing.

These are only a few of the games in demand this holiday season. If you have other recommendations, feel free to let us know in the comments area at the bottom of this story. Click here to read more.. »

“Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” has seized a leading eight nominations for this year’s Video Game Awards, Spike TV announced Wednesday.

The action-adventure “Uncharted 2″ is bucking for Game of the Year, as is “Batman: Arkham Asylum,” which logged a total of seven nominations, according to Spike TV, which presents the awards.

Military shooter game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ and zombie thriller “Left 4 Dead 2″ each has landed six nominations, including Game of the Year. “Assassin’s Creed 2″ rounds out the contenders for Game of the Year.

Nominated for Studio of the Year are Infinity Ward, Naughty Dog, Rocksteady Studios and Valve.

Vying for Best Music Game are “DJ Hero,” “Guitar Hero 5,” “LEGO Rock Band” and “The Beatles: Rock Band.”

Bill Murray, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, Shia LaBeouf and Vin Diesel are up for Best Performance by a Human Male, while Eliza Dushku, Kristen Bell, Megan Fox and Tricia Helfer are nominated in the Human Female category.

Nominees for the 2009 VGAs were selected by an advisory council made up of experts in the video game industry. Winners are chosen by that group and by fans, who can cast their votes in 28 categories at VGA.Spike.Com.

The seventh annual Video Game Awards will air on Spike TV at 8 p.m. EST on Dec. 12. Originating from Los Angeles, the two-hour live broadcast will give viewers a sneak peek at “Halo: Reach” with a world-premiere video from the game. A prequel to the “Halo” trilogy, it is scheduled for release in Fall 2010.

(Wired) — The early hours of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ take gamers around the world and back again, but the new game’s story hits close to home.

Military scenarios, violent police actions and straight-from-the-big-screen massive firefights take place in such far-flung locales as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Brazil.

But things don’t really get interesting until the action moves to Russia and the player is embedded in a squad of terrorists. And then, inevitably, the fight comes to U.S. shores.

“Modern Warfare 2,” a first-person shooter released Tuesday for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, is a greatly immersive experience that embeds players in the battlefield. Click here to read more.. »

It’s oh-so enticing: you find a copy of a brand new game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on a pirate site and the temptation to download it is too strong.

Well, that temptation may have cost up to 1 million users of Microsoft’s Xbox Live the ability to use that service. According to a report in InformationWeek, Microsoft has banned as many as a million players from Xbox Live for altering their consoles in order to play pirated versions of games.

This week, Activision’s new Call of Duty was released, and InformationWeek speculated that because pirated versions of the game appeared on various sharing sites in advance of the release, the game’s developer may have exhorted Microsoft to enact the bans.

“Xbox 360 consoles are equipped with digital rights management technologies designed to detect pirated software,” InformationWeek wrote, “but some players have successfully ‘modded,’ or modified, their machines to circumvent DRM protections.”

Even if someone has been banned, their Xbox will still play offline games, InformationWeek said. But it’s not at all clear if the bans are permanent or if Microsoft will allow those who have been booted from Xbox Live to return at some point down the line. Click here to read more.. »