Genre: Action/Platform
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sonic Team/Sega Studios Japan
Release Date: Fall 2006

2006 is Sonic the Hedgehog's 15th anniversary, but he doesn't get any days off. Nor would we want him to.

Sonic Team's hard at work crafting his first next-gen adventure, and we got to play an extremely early build of a few levels on the show floor. Sonic Team's claimed to have "re-invented" the blue blur for his new game and to have brought him back to his roots. This statement is both true and false, but whether or not you agree with its

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

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 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: 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
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: 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/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: 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: 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