Labor Day has come and gone and with it, the hordes of gamers that descended on Seattle for Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 2008. The annual gaming convention started by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik draws thousands of die-hard gamers each year, but this year, a record-shattering 58,000 attendees flooded the floor. Game producers also had an unprecedented presence at PAX, offering up a veritable cornucopia of twitchy delights ranging from precious to petrifying.

Among the frightful wares available for play at PAX were Microsoft's post-apocalyptic sequel Gears of War 2, the endlessly anticipated Fallout 3 from Bethesda, EA's Dead Space, and Left 4 Dead by Seattle's own Valve Studios.

Gears of War
Fans familiar with the chainsaw bayonet antics of Microsoft's Gears of War will be pleased to hear that the sequel to the post-apocalyptic alien hunter lives up to its progenitors with a singular aplomb. But while it pleases me to be able to say this, if you've bisected one alien with the sickeningly revving bayonet of your space-rifle you've bisected them all. And if you've got to pass over one title for another, Gears is best left on the shelf in lieu of Bethesda's anachronistically post-apocalyptic, Fallout 3.

Fallout 3
If wry humor and a wasted landscape of mutated monsters is what you're after then Fallout 3 has got you covered in spades. With its characteristically subtle in-game gags finally getting the technological advances they richly deserve, the scraps of skull flying from an unfortunate enemy's head are now richly rendered for you -- rather than simply imagined.

Dead Space
If you're looking for something a little more bleak, the zero-g terror of Dead Space is what you'll want your hard-won dollars to go toward. Eschewing the traditional heads-up display of most shooters, EA's Dead Space provides a more engaging alien-blasting experience. Fighting through the alien-infected fortress of the massive space-mining vessel the Ishimura, the carnage is given an interesting twist in the decompressed and gravity-less environments that only a spaceship can offer. Backstory into the plight of the Ishimura is forthcoming in the animated film Dead Space: Downfall, reportedly debuting prior to the game's release.

Left 4 Dead
But in terms of cinematic backstory, Valve's Left 4 Dead is clearly the king. With decades of cinema fueling the fires of zombie fans, Left 4 Dead is primed to be the shooter of choice for those with a jones for a world of walking dead. In the co-op shooter you and a few friends can choose to zombie apocalypse plans to the test as Survivors, or you can take the role of Infected. Anyone intimidated by the prospect of run-and-gun shooters is also provided for by a system that allows you to "follow" Survivors in your group and even switch which Survivor you're following on the fly should you meet an untimely end.

Ironically, release dates are unlikely to be much of a factor in deciding with which title to terrify yourself as they're all coming out around the same time. Fallout 3 and Dead Space make their debut in late October followed closely by Gears of Wars 2 and Left 4 Dead in November. With but a month left before countless monstrosities are unleashed on the world the only choice left is just how you prefer to be horrified.