CREDIT: NINTENDO
One of the most anticipated game releases just in time for the holiday season, Super Smash Bros. has captured gamers' hearts since 1999.

Rejoice gamers, for that time of year is upon us. The sun is going down earlier, the air is getting chilly and the barren game release forecast has finally come to an end.

The release of Destiny a few weeks ago seems to have triggered the annual holiday release season, as developers finally unleash their long awaited projects onto a gaming community that is hungry for something new to put in their shiny new consoles.

The next few months will see a deluge of big name releases from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and everyone in between as they look to take a chunk of your holiday shopping budgets. Here are three of the earliest.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (September 30, on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

The only game on the list that you can purchase right now, SoM puts you in the shoes of Talion, an original character created for the game, as he seeks revenge against those that killed his family. Armed with a sword, bow and ghostly powers given to him in the afterlife, players are unleashed on an open world and given license to roam Mordor, weakening the armies of Sauron from within. A unique “nemesis” system, in which orcish characters remember the results of your last battle (if they survived) and by the end of the game, players will have uniquely built rivals to contend with until the bitter end. If early reviews are anything to go by, this is one of the best Middle-Earth based games ever released, and a perfect kickoff to the new gaming season.

Super Smash Bros. (October 3, 3DS, November (?) Wii U)

Fifteen years ago, Nintendo released a game with a ridiculous sounding concept: a party-focused, four player mascot fighter with no mechanical similarities to other titles in the fighting genre. “It’ll never work,” I would have thought if I hadn’t been 10 years old, and I would have been sorely mistaken as it marked the birth of one of Nintendo’s great franchises and some of the most fun you can have with three of your friends. Each console generation had its own Smash, and now the fourth iteration is on the horizon, and Nintendo is kicking it off with the portable version, before the main event arrives in time for the holiday season. With a bigger than ever cast of characters, and the opportunity to punch the Duck Hunt dog in the face, Super Smash Bros. is guaranteed to be a great party game, no matter which console you pick it up on.

Driveclub (October 4, PlayStation 4)

A game delay can be a messy thing: hype builds up and can be just as quickly deflated developers reveal that it will not be shipping on the date they originally promised, and usually it would only be a matter of a few months. Enter Driveclub, first announced alongside the PlayStation 4 as a launch title, it will finally be seeing the light of day nearly a year later. But it’s looking like it is going to be worth the wait. Featuring globally spanning tracks and promising some truly jaw-dropping visuals, it promises to be the perfect showcase for what your PS4 can really do. The extra year of work put into the game has hopefully paid off and will put a rest to the thought that all game delays are a sign of something going wrong.