Trauma Center: New Blood (Wii)

Keep your hands steady and your mind focused – this time around there's a lot more on the line. Every cut of the scalpel, every pinch of the forceps, each and every second that ticks by is of the absolute greatest importance. If you think it's too much to handle alone, invite a friend to assist with the operation and work together to save patients from flat-lining. The adrenaline is pumping, lives are at stake, and only you can save the day. Have you got what it takes?

At a remote hospital in Alaska, Dr. Markus Vaughn

Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Release Date: TBA 2007

With Soul Calibur IV blazing a trail to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next year, Namco Bandai wanted to bring the franchise to the Wii, as well, but according to Product Manager Wayne Shiu, a simple port wouldn't cut it — they wanted to take full advantage of the unique control scheme of the Wii to offer a new play experience to fans of the long-running series.

Which brings us to Soul Calibur Legends, the first entry in the franchise to focus solely on a

Genre: Action
Publisher: SouthPeak Interactive
Developer: Artificial Studios
Release Date: TBA

SouthPeak Interactive's upcoming console/PC multiplayer frag-fest, Monster Madness, employs a top-down view that may remind you of Smash TV. In fact, much of this game is reminiscent of that old arcade classic, minus the ubiquitous Mutoid Man. The camera floats above the action, zooming as needed to keep all the players on the screen simultaneously.

At the start of Monster Madness, you can choose one of four characters to use as you progress through the game. There is the nerdy guy, the gothic chick, the stoner dude,

Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Craft and Meister/Banpresto
Release Date: July 2006

Two Dragon Ball Z games are going to be punching their way to your PS2 this summer, one a sequel to last year's Budokai Tenkaichi and the other a PS2 port of the 2005 Japanese arcade title Chou Dragon Ball Z. Called Super Dragon Ball Z for its US release, this title has quite possibly the greatest pedigree a fighting game can hope for: it's the brainchild of Noritaka Funamizu, one of the creators of the original Street Fighter II and the producer of nearly

Genre: Action/Puzzle
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Namco Bandai
Release Date: Fall 2007

No seismic shift occurred between the original Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari for the PlayStation 2, and the PSP iteration, Me & My Katamari, did little to disrupt the balance of simplistic gameplay and quirky storytelling established back in 2004. Beautiful Katamari for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 looks to continue this trend of complacency, expanding the role of the multiplayer game while generally maintaining the same style and feel of its predecessors.

As in previous Katamari entries, the name of the game is

The game concept from legendary game developer Gunpei Yokoi comes to life on the PSP and NDS! Re-imagined by the creative minds at Q Entertainment, GUNPEY delivers an addictive puzzle game experience, combined with exciting music and visuals for the ultimate game on the go. The player’s objective is simple – or is it? Lines of various shapes climb up the screen over five columns, and you must connect all the lines over the five columns, filling the screen from left to right. If an incomplete line reaches the top of the screen, the game is over!

With a variety of

Genre: Rhythm/Adventure
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Avalanche Software (Wii), Gorilla Games (DS)
Release Date: October 30, 2007

So much of the press coverage of children's games is either overly snarky or noticeably brief, and the reasons for this are numerous. Some of it can be chalked up to a generational gap or a lack of knowledge or interest in the license, but I suspect that much of it comes from the sad fact that most licensed games developed for young audiences are surprisingly uninventive (check our High School Musical preview), often with disastrous results.

To my

Genre: 3D Platformer
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Etranges Libellules
Release Date: January 2007

There is something faintly surreal about sitting down to a demonstration of a license game based on a very prestigious license that you've never heard of. The developers seemed to have been getting that reaction out of journalists all day, and helpfully explained exactly why I should care about Arthur and the Minimoys before they got down to the nitty-gritty of showing me the game. Since I imagine I'm not the only American who felt that way, I'll pass along this information before I

"Atari's 2007 E3 roster showcases some of the most exciting titles from our diverse fall line-up - from the fan-favorite Dragon Ball Z series to the graphically stunning The Witcher," said David Pierce, Chief Executive Officer, Atari, Inc. "We're excited to participate in the new E3 Media & Business Summit and look forward to having media and business partners spend time with the Atari Team and our titles."

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 combines the lightning fast fighting and action from 2005's Budokai Tenkaichi 1 and 2006's sequel Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 delivers an extreme

Genre: Rhythm
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: A2M
Release Date: August 2007

The wildly successful “High School Musical” made-for-TV movie seems to lend itself well to rhythm gaming, and not just because its title contains the word “music.” More notably, its original soundtrack has shifted more than four million units, making it the best selling album of 2006. With that kind of built-in market, not to mention the hugely anticipated August release of the Disney Channel sequel on the horizon, it would be foolish not to expand the license into the world of video gaming.

After seeing