During Microsoft's E3 2009 Media Briefing, it not only revealed that Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm are coming to Xbox Live, new Netflix and HDTV features and controller-free gaming, but also showed off a slew of titles such as Splinter Cell Conviction, Crackdown 2, Forza Motorsport 3, Halo: Reach and a bunch more.

The Beatles Rock Band

The show opened up with a demonstration of the newest entry to the Rock Band franchise, starring the original pop foursome themselves, The Beatles. The game's opening cinematic was a long and surreal trip through every thinkable Beatles reference, and then we got a demonstration of

Konami's E3 2009 press conference ended up being extremely top-heavy, but that's what you get when Hideo Kojima shows up from the start to announce Kojima Productions' four-game lineup.

After a bit of the mysterious storm footage, Kojima revealed Metal Gear Arcade. Currently planned for Japanese arcades, it's basically a 3 version of Metal Gear Online with save cards. A U.S. release will hopefully be coming, possibly with a different cabinet. For the arcade debut of Solid Snake, it's nothing exceptionally special, except for the fact that the machines will be connected to the Internet so that you can battle other

In THQ's Cars Race-O-Rama, players will join Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks in Radiator Springs as they prepare their academy of student racers to compete in the Race-O-Rama Exhibition.

Genre: Role-Playing
Publisher: BioWare
Developer: BioWare
Release Date: October 20, 2009

RPG fans have already experienced Bioware's storytelling expertise in titles such as Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. When Bioware announced the development of Dragon Age, it helped the prolific RPG developer break out from the shackles of having to work within someone else's IP. Mass Effect's runaway success has already proven that the developer can easily stretch its legs beyond its former work, and with Dragon Age: Origins, it's ready to do the same within a world of dark fantasy.

At E3, a playable

Genre: Racing
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Turn 10
Release: October 29, 2009

I didn't know what to expect at the Forza Motorsport 3 demo at E3, and not only because I haven't played the previous two iterations, but because we weren't actually told beforehand that the hush-hush appointment would be the Forza 3 demo. After checking out the game and chatting with one of the lead designers, though, Forza 3 certainly looks to be an impressive piece of work.

The developer immediately set forth the very interesting argument that there is no such thing as "arcade" versus "simulation"

Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War 3 is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he treads through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell once more to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him.

Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Lucastarts
Developer: Lucasarts
Release Date: Q3 2009

Adventure games are a bit of a niche genre. Compared to many other games, they focus on crafting an interesting and enjoyable story and don't require a tremendous amount of natural skill to play. Some adventure games take themselves incredibly seriously, such as the classic CD-ROM title, Myst, but the titles that are most fondly remembered by gamers are ones that had a sense of humor, such as Grim Fandango and Sam & Max, which are infinitely quotable and fun to replay. The Secret of Monkey Island was

Genre: Adventure
Publisher: City Interactive
Developer: City Interactive
Release: Sept. 2009

City Interactive is a relatively new publisher, especially in North America. While they have been doing PC games since 2002, this is the first year that they've started on consoles with a few games for the Nintendo platforms. Among the games that they demoed at E3 was a DS iteration of their recently established adventure game series, Chronicles of Mystery. The game showed off just enough to potentially be a fun romp through a genre that has earned its resurrection on the Nintendo platforms.

Chronicles of Mystery: Curse

Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is a classic 3D fighting game featuring new and improved gameplay mechanics and multiple gameplay modes, 40 3D environments to choose from, including nine completely new stages, over 30 characters, and for the first time, includes Wi-Fi multiplayer capabilities.

Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: November 17, 2009

The first Assassin's Creed left me a bit cold. It was a visually stunning game with silky-smooth controls and lots of interesting ideas, but it also had enough flaws to be solidly average at best and tedious at worst. I was understandably hesitant when I went to see Assassin's Creed 2 during E3. Fortunately, Assassin's Creed 2 appears to have been designed entirely to counter every almost every criticism leveled against the original game. From the moment the demo began, I found that every

Genre: Action Role-Playing
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Vicarious Visions
Release Date: September 15, 2009

It's hard to make a good superhero game but nearly impossible to make a good superhero team game. Characters like Superman, Spider-Man or The Hulk are hard enough to make work when the entire game is focused on them, but trying to put a bunch of heroes into a single game usually leads to iffy results, such as the lackluster Justice League games. The one notable exception to this has been the Activision superhero titles, X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. The two games

Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Eidos Interactive
Developer: Avalanche Studios
Release Date: TBA 2010

The original Just Cause had some big ideas. It thrust gamers into a gigantic tropical sandbox and invited them to tinker with some interesting gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, glitches and an overall lack of variety kept the game from being anything above mediocre. There was the potential for a truly unique game, but it was buried under the repetitive gameplay. Fortunately, Just Cause 2 looks to be anything but repetitive. In our brief demo at E3, we got a glimpse of a handful of the game's

World of Zoo takes players beyond the fences and into their own zoo, allowing them to care for and build relationships with numerous animals through hands-on interactive gameplay.

Front Mission 4 marks the debut of the popular mech-based strategy game on the PlayStation 2, bringing you the newest chapter in the bestselling series.

Golden Axe: Beast Rider is an all-new take on the legendary Golden Axe arcade game.

Golden Axe Beast Rider is an all-new take on the legendary Golden Axe arcade game.

Warhammer 40,000: Firewarrior is a first-person shooter set in the dark gothic sci-fi future where you play as Kais, a young Tau warrior set to embark on a journey to become a Fire Warrior by completing your 'Trial by Fire' - your very first combat experience.

A dramatic tale of revenge sees Nariko, a fiery red-haired heroine embark on a quest for vengeance against an invading King and his army. The story builds around the ancient Heavenly Sword which once belonged to a powerful deity. It can never be wielded by a mortal without it draining their life-force, killing them within hours.

When the invading King (played by Andy Serkis) destroys the warrior clan that guards the Heavenly Sword, the clan leader’s daughter, Nariko, takes up the sword in a desperate fight

In Warhawk, players experience the thrill of white-knuckle aerial combat with hundreds of enemy fighters, bone-crunching armored assaults and high-intensity infantry combat in a massive, all-out war fought both on the ground and in the skies.

During gameplay, players are tasked with protecting their homeland from the invading Chernovan armada. By doing so, players take command of the most advanced war machine in the fleet, the Warhawk, capable of aerobatic dogfights at high speeds or hovering over ground troops providing tactical support. Players continue the battle on foot with an arsenal of weaponry including pistols, rifles, grenades and more.

In Pac-Man World Rally, players can race through a variety of environments from Pac-Man World as Pac-Man, Pac Jr. and other beloved characters from past Namco classics. In one of the fastest and most exciting kart racing games ever, players will race for the win or fight it out in colorful Battle Arenas with special weapons, power ups and variety Pac-Man powers.

Gamecube