Let’s face it—Thanksgiving sucks. Sure, stuffing your face full of turkey, potatoes, stuffing and Mama’s delectable apple pie is always fun, but sitting around the house with all your in-laws and extended family members sucks harder than Superman 64. To get you through turkey time, you’re going to need to blow off steam by playing some games—but with all these relatives around, how are you going to do that? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Thanksgiving could dash any chance for you and your PS3 having some of that “special” time together. The solution is simple! Get your relatives to play with you! While it is hard to imagine sharing your gaming goodness amongst these…people…it’s your best excuse to get your gaming on while they’re over, so suck it up nancy boy and deal with it. Chronicled below are some of the best multiplayer games on the PS3 for you and yours to play before and after you all fatten up.

1. Rock Band

Ideally you would play Harmonix’s latest rhythm game with your buddies, but your relatives will work out just fine. Just imagine the possibilities! Getting your drunk and obnoxious uncle to sing off tune, Grandma and Grandpa to shred some mad guitar solos, all while you rock the drums (because, let's face it, the drums are the best part of Rock Band) could provide some memorable and hilarious moments.

Rock Band offers a wide breadth of genres that should satisfy any member of your family. So whether you have a cousin that likes Metallica, a hippie aunt who is big on both the cowbell and Blue Oyster Cult, or your little sister that’s privy to Fall Out Boy, there’s a song for them to get in to.

2. Calling all Cars!

Perhaps Rock Band’s $170 price tag sends you and your wallet screaming for the exits. Don’t fear—there is a cheaper option that can be just as fun. Calling all Cars!, if you don’t recall, is a downloadable game from David Jaffe, the creator of the God of War franchise.

The game is actually quite a bit of fast, frantic fun, but because of a short single-player and a complete lack of an online user-base, it hasn’t quite gotten the love it deserves. However, racing around and catching criminals with your family could be a great source of cheap ($4.99 cheap) thrills to get you through this holiday.

3. Madden NFL 08

What represents Thanksgiving more than the game of football? (Well, aside from eating a whole bunch.) After you’re done watching your favorite NFL team get blown out, popping in Madden 08 and embarrassing all of your male relatives with your amazing play calls, stellar running game and iron-curtain defense will have a smile on your face in no time.

Aside from being accessible and a widely known quantity, this is probably the easiest game to coax your relatives to pick up and play. Everyone likes football, right?!

4. Shooters (Call of Duty 4, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Warhawk)

Have I mentioned that relatives suck yet? What better way to really show it to these jerks than to pump them full of lead? (Virtual lead, of course!) Call of Duty 4 is the most recent and sexiest of these shooters, but both Resistance: Fall of Man and Warhawk both can hold their own in the multiplayer space. It all depends on whether or not you want a realistic, modern shooter in Call of Duty 4, a fast-paced shooter in Resistance: Fall of Man, or if you want to take to the sky in Warhawk.

Either way, it’s unlikely that any of your relatives are going to pull off some amazing headshots on you, so you’ll get to feel what it’s like to be on the top of the kill list rather than the bottom. See, relatives do have some benefits!

While Thanksgiving might not be the merriest time of the year for you, spending it with relatives can be enjoyable if you throw games into the mix. From ... (continued on next page)