Genre: FPS
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Raven Software
Release Date: TBA

I can honestly say that I won’t forget Quake IV anytime soon. The FPS has reached new heights of deliberate immersion lately; games like Breakdown have placed us behind the eyes of people who are, for example, puking, throwing punches, or doing a backflip.

In Quake IV, among many other things, you get to see the world from the perspective of someone who’s being forcibly converted into a cyborg. This process involves, among other things, a giant needle being thrust directly into “your” face.

So yeah. That’ll stay with me for

Genre: MMO
Publisher: NCSoft
Developer: Destination Games
Release Date: TBA

Another MMORPG from NCSoft under development is Tabula Rasa, which combines gameplay elements from futuristic shooter games with the MMORPG formula in order to create something new. It has a very shooter-like interface, all the way down to having crosshairs in the middle of the game. If I hadn't known better and just glanced at the screen, I would have assumed it was a third-person shooter without hesitation.

Humanity is at war with aliens, and the battle isn't going so well. Humans have been lent aid, however, by the mysterious

Get the Sphere trailer off WP (35mb)

Sphere is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) that immerses players in the world of medieval Europe where they have complete freedom to shape their own destiny.

The story begins when a monk, Brother Batist, discovers an ancient mystery of incredible power: the ability to create one's own Universe. The newly created universe absorbed him and a few thousand people from all over the Earth, cutting off its inhabitants from their home and forcing them to adapt

Genre: Action RPG
Developer: Racjin
Publisher: Square-Enix
Release Date: July 2005

FMA2 was one of the only five games that Square-Enix was showing off at E3, along with Kingdom Hearts 2, Radiata Stories, Romancing SaGa, and Dragon Quest VIII. All of the titles looked impressive, but FMA2 won out as our choice for preview thanks to an in-depth preview session of the game with the producer, Tomoya Asano, alongside with publicity manager Koji Taguchi. One of the greatest parts of the E3 experience is getting shown a new game by the guys who've been working on it, and with

Get the Adrenalin trailer off WP (85mb)

Adrenalin is a game that successfully blends the genres of thrilling adrenalin-pumping racing and an economic management sim. The aim of a player is to not only become the fastest driver around, but to be a talented manager as well.

In the beginning of the game the player has to pick out one of the twelve beautiful young ladies. One of them even exists in reality - she is the winner of Miss Russia contest in 2003. Once you choose a character the task is to make your protégé as successful and famous as

Genre: Racing
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Climax Group
Release Date: June 14, 2006

Vim and Vigor

The diversity of experience hidden beneath the rather reductive genre label "racing" can be mystifying to gamers for whom tooling around a paved loop – modeled on a real-world counterpart or not – falls somewhere beneath precision jumping and key-collecting on the scale of exciting leisure-time pursuits. It doesn't matter if we're talking car or kart, bike or motorcycle, tuner or arcade racer. The varieties and possibilities are lost on many potential consumers who aren't already fans of a particular sub-genre before

Genre: MMORPG
Publisher: Buena Vista Games
Developer: 10tacle Studios
Release Date: Q2 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the Disney franchise of the same name. The goal here is to undertake enough adventure quests and gather enough treasure to become the Caribbean's most legendary pirate. You'll learn tactics and skills from Jack Sparrow, which will teach you how to battle evil undead forces, forge alliances, and hunt for buried treasure.

PotCO promises to be enjoyable by all ages and a treat for any serious fans of the movies. Players

Genre: Rhythm/Puzzle
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: Red Octane
Release Date: November 28, 2006

Take one of the greatest, if not the greatest, rhythm-music games to ever enter the market. This is a game that lets you act like a virtual rock star, using an innovative controller that really makes you feel like you're on stage playing a guitar. It's got tons of songs that have universal appeal, and difficulty modes that challenge even expert guitar players, yet are still accessible to the complete newbie.

Take all of this guitar perfection… and now, pretend as if it were just practice

Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Arc Systems Work
Release Date: September 1, 2006

Guilty Gear Judgment is the next game in the popular 2D fighting franchise from Sammy. Although the title of the game only mentions "Judgment," the disc itself actually is two games in one – the aforementioned Final Fight-style GGJ and the neoclassic fighter Guilty Gear X2: Reloaded, a practically perfect port of one of the best 2D fighters around.

GGJ itself is a side-scrolling brawler featuring almost the entire Guilty Gear cast, minus Justice, Kliff, and Robo-Ky. That's 20 characters in all, which is

Genre: Action/RPG
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Iron Lore
Release Date: June 2006

Your Own Private Titanomachy

It was neither difficult nor rare to catch developers using words like "accessibility" and "casual" to describe the titles on display at the THQ pre-E3 summit. Talking with Iron Lore Entertainment, co-founded by Age of Empires veteran Brian Sullivan and currently putting finishing touches on PC action-RPG Titan Quest, those words came up plenty often, too, but this time, they were frequently accompanied by the word "Diablo," which of course makes all the difference.

In the years since Diablo's arrival, no truly satisfying

Genre: Puzzle
Publisher: Majesco
Developer: Taito
Release Date: Q4 2006

Cooking Mama is poised to take over the US in a whirlwind of Japanese-influenced culinary awesomeness. This title, a hit in Japan, is quite possibly the first in a new genre of cooking games, being followed up later this year, of course, by Devil May Cook and World of Foodcraft.

All kidding aside, Cooking Mama features over 76 real recipes for Japanese dishes such as yakitori (meat and veggie skewers) and okonomiyaki (a kind of Japanese pancake). The game is laid out as a series of mini-games which divide up

Genre: Action
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Release Date: Fall 2006

The year is 1944. Thirty-three years ago, John Morris and Eric LeCarde defeated Dracula's niece, Elizabeth Bartley, and in so doing, saved the world. As usual.

Now, in the middle of World War II, another vampire has raised Dracula's castle. Two mysterious girls are using the chaos of the war as cover to raise Dracula yet again. John's son Jonathan – the current wielder of the Vampire Killer whip – and his childhood friend Charlotte Orlean are the only people who can prevent Dracula's newest resurrection.

If history is

Genre: Action/RPG
Publisher: Eidos/Warner Brothers
Developer: Snowblind
Release Date: Fall 2006

This is Snowblind’s last hurrah on the PS2 and Xbox, and they’re trying to go out with a bang. Justice League Heroes is a two-player beat-‘em-up running on the fifth version of Snowblind’s famous beat-‘em-up engine, allowing you to step into the shoes of the members of the Justice League of America.

The game’s more based upon the comics’ version of the Justice League than the cartoon’s; for example, the JLA’s Watchtower is a lunar station rather than a satellite. You’ll be able to play initially

Genre: Action RPG
Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment
Developer: Sony Online Entertainment
Release Date: Fall 2006

Why Do Kings Always Listen to Really Bad Advice?

Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom is an action role-playing game due out on launch day for the PS3. Dark Kingdom places a clear emphasis on the action half of that genre tag, though from what SOE revealed about the story at E3, it sounds like there will be no shortage of drama. You play as one of your king's elite soldiers who's been on a long journey at the kingdom's edge, conquering new lands for

Genre: Fighting
Publisher: SNK-Playmore
Developer: SNK-Playmore
Release Date: Q3 2006

SNK's playing a sort of three-card monte game with their games' titles. The King of Fighters 2006 began its life as the sequel to last year's KOF: Maximum Impact, SNK's slightly underwhelming first entry into the 3D realm. In Japan, KOF2006 is, simply, Maximum Impact 2.

As such, KOF2006 features a slightly larger cast, with MI's boss Duke becoming playable, 14 hidden characters, and the 3D debut of KOF favorites Billy Kane and Kula Diamond.

What does this all mean to you, the casual player? A classic fighting

Genre: Action
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Quicksilver Software
Release Date: Fall 2006

Space Cowboys

If you're among the Trekkers/ies who hold up Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as the pinnacle Trek achievement, you've been waiting a long time for a return to old-school form. As we mark the 40th anniversary of the original series' appearance on television, fans – at least those with a PSP or Nintendo DS – may get their wish at long last in the form of Star Trek: Tactical Assault, a tactical action game that promises a trip back to the