Genre: Puzzle/Rhythm
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Inis
Release Date: Q4 2006

With companies like Konami and Harmonix making rhythm/music games popular in the 'States, we've begun to see lots more than the latest Dance Dance crazes coming our way. We've had taiko drums, regular drums, virtual karaoke bars, guitars, and now ... well, now we've got touch-tapping.

It's really fun touch-tapping, though.

Elite Beat Agents is the localized pedigree of a Japanese DS game by the name of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, in which male cheerleaders are summoned everywhere they can be to solve the problems of the world through dance.

Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Release Date: TBA

Nintendo has been pimping Red Steel unusually hard for it to be a third-party title, especially a third-party FPS with a Western developer. It's because Red Steel embodies Nintendo's promise that the Wii's games are going to cater to every possible type of gamer, including the aggressive, predominantly male demographic of FPS fans that felt distinctly ignored by the GameCube. Red Steel is not just an FPS, either, but almost a tech demo that shows third-party developers just what kind of an experience they can create

Drift around corners at speeds over 160 mph taking the lead as Ridge Racer 7 brings gamers a driving experience unlike any other.

With a new platform comes new territory as RR7 promises to reinvent itself, allowing players to choose from 40 different machines and over 20 courses. With reversed courses, the total grows to 40, most in the series ever! Players can further enjoy the drift racing experience by taking part in the new customization mode, opening up the experience with up to 200,000 customization combinations. With full support of Sony’s new network service, Ridge Racer fans have an entirely

Genre: Action
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Montreal
Release Date: 2007

We live in perilous times, my friends. These days, the game industry is either all about the single-player experience, or the dynamics of (God help us, sometimes massive) multiplayer. Remember back in the day, when it was only about two people? In games like Streets of Rage, Contra and Final Fight, you had to help out your partner every step of the way, or face mutual destruction. These days, we're lucky to get a "cooperative mode" in the games of our choice.

Enter Electronic Arts, who wants

Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Release Date: Q3 2006

This year's E3 featured an astounding number of PSP titles that were just plain fun to play, which is something that the handheld console has been lacking until now. Tekken: Dark Resurrection was among those titles, and it was perhaps the single game I put in the most time with during E3. While it is largely a straight port of the limited arcade release by the same name, T:DR is certainly more portable than an arcade machine.

The most important facet of any fighting game is

Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Irrational
Release Date: 2007

It's been long enough that quite a few gamers have never heard of the System Shock games, two benchmark PC games that set the bar for challenging FPSes and, in their own way, for survival horror. When you hear older gamers talking about SHODAN or crawling through hallways with only a wrench to defend themselves, they're referring to the arguably classic System Shock 2.

(It's also unfortunately out of print. Would it be too much to ask that somebody run off another batch of those?)

Bioshock is a

The first in the Active Life series, Outdoor Challenge offers a variety of fast-paced games that engages your whole body for a fun and challenging experience.

The first in the Active Life series, Outdoor Challenge offers a variety of fast-paced games that engages your whole body for a fun and challenging experience.

The game is set in Soleanna, the beautiful city of water. In his first adventure set in the human world, Sonic meets a beautiful princess named Elise, whom he quickly befriends, but Princess Elise is abducted by none other than the calculating Dr. Eggman who is working under dark and sinister motives,to destroy this special kingdom of hers. In order to restore safety and serenity, Sonic must maneuver his way through a series of adventures and challenges where he will encounter and interact with a bevy of allies and enemies, and ultimately go head to head against the menacing doctor

Genre: Racing Combat
Publisher: SEGA
Developer: Pseudo Interactive
Release Date: Fall 2006

Fuller Auto

If you're a fan of the first Full Auto, the Xbox 360 combat racer that arrived earlier this year to mixed, but positive-leaning reviews, you have reason to look forward to this fall – if you're also saving up for a PlayStation 3. The sequel, Full Auto 2: Battlelines, as of the last day of E3 2006, is set to be a PS3 exclusive. After some developer face-time and about 15 minutes of hands-on multiplayer combat at E3, I can say that Battlelines will