Microsoft has unveiled 18 Xbox 360 games that will be available on November 22, the official launch date for the console in North America.

Topping the bill are Activision's highly anticipated quartet Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Quake 4, Gun and Call of Duty 2.

Electronic Arts will release four sports titles on launch day - FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup , NBA Live 06, Madden NFL 06 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 - along with Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Sega's Condemned: Criminal Origins, Microsoft Game Studios Project Gotham Racing 3 and Amped 3 by 2K Sports will also hit US shelves on November 22.

Other games available on or before the console launch are Kameo: Elements of Power, NBA 2K6, NHL 2K6, Perfect Dark Zero, Peter Jackson's King Kong and Ridge Racer 6.

"There has never been a more exciting time to be a gamer," said Peter Moore of Microsoft.

"Xbox 360 will deliver mind-blowing experiences across multiple genres, no matter what your personal gaming preferences are. On November 22, the next generation of gaming begins. From there, gamers will be overwhelmed with the pipeline of amazing Xbox 360 games yet to come."

Also available on November 22 are two Xbox Live retail offerings for gamers who want to up the ante on their online gameplay experience from the free Silver level of service to Gold membership.

The 12-month Premium Starter Pack has an ERP of $69.99 and contains a 12-month subscription to Xbox Live, an Xbox 360 headset, a full version of the Xbox Live Arcade game Bankshot Billiards 2, a $20 game rebate coupon and 200 points for use on Xbox Live Marketplace.

The three-month Premium Starter Pack has an ERP of $39.99 and contains a three-month subscription to Xbox Live, an Xbox 360 headset, a full version of the Xbox Live Arcade game Joust, a $10 game rebate coupon and 100 points for use on Xbox Live Marketplace.

The Xbox 360 will come in two packages. The premium version will sell for $399.99 and will include the console, wireless controllers, 20GB hard drive, headset and membership to Xbox Live.

The core version will sell for $299.99 and includes console and wired controller.

The machine will launch in Europe on December 2 and in Japan on December 10.

The Xbox 360 is Microsoft's answer to Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Revolution. Sony said it plans to launch its PlayStation 3 in spring 2006. No release date has been announced for the Revolution.