Video-Game Realism Shifts into High Gear

Two new game consoles released in November--the powerful but long-delayed Sony PlayStation 3 and the motion-sensitive Nintendo Wii--dominated year-end media coverage of the video-game market. But in the eyes of many gamers and critics, the most important video game of 2006 wasn't made for either of these machines. That game is Gears of War, made exclusively for Microsoft's 13-month-old Xbox 360.[/q]