As a beginner to 3d, any tool you start to use will have a vast learning curve. They are complicated packages which take some time to master. Creating realistic characters, props and environments is an artistic skill which no tool will compensate for. You need to put in the hours to learn how to model correctly, how to UV map efficiently and how to texture realistically.

In the game space another level of complexity is involved as you also have to take into consideration poly-count, texture size and anything that may impact the memory and processing of the target platform.

It also depends on how much of the assets you want to create yourself, the type of game and how current-generation you are aiming your game to look. A lot of this can also depend on the game engine you are working with.

In terms of software, most game companies usually work with "The Big 3" (3ds Max, Maya and XSI), as well as their own proprietary tools, but it doesn't stop there. These days there are far more options, such as specific modelling, sculpting and texturing packages. Programs like ZBrush and Mudbox are used a lot to generate high-detail meshes for normal-map generation. Modelling-specific programs like Modo are popular for their focus on one area of the art pipeline.

We could rant on about software all day which can be dangerous, as no tool is specifically better than another. They are just tools and it comes down to what you're used to working with.

My advice is to just pick a trial or PLE version of a 3d package and start using it to see if you like working with it. There is a vast amount of training resources available for all of them. As much as I don't like bias towards any one piece of software, my advice would be to go with one of the Autodesk packages, purely because they pretty much now own all the major 3d applications used in the industry. Not all, but a lot of the major ones.

This is probably not what you're after, but I hope it helps point you in the right direction.