Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)

It's rare that a franchise hero misses one game, let alone two in a row. That honor belongs to Halo's kick butt protagonist, Master Chief. Earlier this year, Microsoft released the first Halo game without the big lug, Halo Wars; instead of directing the Chief, we gave orders to Sergeant Forge. This fall, he gets snub again in Halo 3: ODST, a game that casts players as The Rookie (among other UNSC soldiers), an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper battling the Covenant on Earth. So much for steady employment.