LAS VEGAS (AP) - Three critically acclaimed first-person shooters won top honors at the video game industry's most prestigious awards show. ''BioShock,'' ''Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' and ''The Orange Box'' garnered four prizes apiece Thursday night at the 11th annual Interactive Achievement Awards.

If you're reading this I'm assuming that you're a gamer. Perhaps your taste lies in homegrown first person shooters or maybe you anxiously await the new iteration of Madden every year.

News from the virtual world: -BATTLE-SCARRED: I really like Electronic Arts' ''Battlefield'' games, although I have to admit that I'm a little intimidated when it comes to playing with strangers over the Internet.

For a relatively youthful medium, video gaming has a profound sense of its own history. The majority of popular franchises - Mario, Madden, ''The Sims,'' ''Final Fantasy'' - have their roots in the 1980s, practically ancient times in today's accelerated pop culture.

2007 was one of the best years for video games that we have ever seen. We saw all types of triple-A titles, from new masterpieces like Bioshock, Mass Effect, Portal, and Rock Band to the continuing success of franchises such as God of War 2, Call of Duty 4 and Super Mario Galaxy.

News from the virtual world: -BEST OF 2007: It has been a terrific year for video games, and boiling it down to a top 10 list was difficult. But here are the games I enjoyed the most in 2007.

News from the virtual world: -WORLD OF GUITARCRAFT: What do you get when you cross ''Guitar Hero'' and ''World of Warcraft''? I picture something like the ''Stonehenge'' performance in ''This Is Spinal Tap,'' but the publishers of those two games are hoping their merger will be somewhat less calamitous.

With the holidays right around the corner, this time of year is easily the hotbed for big video game releases. However, a lot of the great games coming out are drowned out by the enormity of the new releases – and plenty of those games are simple cash-ins that are going to be traded in in January. So, here is a rundown of what to buy for yourself or loved ones this year, listed by intended audience. Part 3 - Everyone:

News from the virtual world: -LIVE WITHOUT A NET: Since its launch, Microsoft's Xbox Live has redefined console gaming. Whether I'm playing ''Halo 3,'' ''Madden NFL'' or ''Catan,'' or downloading pictures, game demos or ''Looney Tunes'' shorts, I spend far more time on Xbox Live than on the competing online services from Nintendo and Sony.