Swashbucklers: Legacy of Drake, PC: Swashbucklers: Legacy of Drake is a third person action game chronicling the adventures of a young and desperate daredevil Captain Abraham 'Nightingale' Grey. As Captain Nightingale, player leads his 'Warble' cutter through bloody waters of the Caribbean. Gamers can sail the seas fending off naval attacks from the pirate scourge and English warships embroiled in the War of 1812. Players also can disembark the ship, fight and shoot enemies one on one to capture opposing ships, towns and beach villages. The game's narrative uses black humor and irony that follows the feel of the Caribbean

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

Brigade E5: New Jagged Union, PC: Brigade E5: New Jagged Union is a squad-based tactical game that places gamers in the small tropical nation of Palinero on the verge of civil war. The mission: hire a band of mercenaries and take control of the deteriorating situation before the country finds itself in complete ruin. The story offers players the opportunity to experience three different viewpoints of the conflict, to fight for either faction or work outside the political structure to achieve your own goals in the global domination. Unlike standard turn-based systems, Brigade E5: New Jagged Union does not use

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

NGC/PS2/Xbox/PC

Xbox 360

You Are Empty, PC: You Are Empty is a first-person action game that places players in an exaggerated dark and obscure atmosphere of Soviet totalitarianism. The main character fights against mutants created by the Soviet super human program. The players are tasked to figure out what happened in the city full of mutants and stop it from spreading further. In the late fifties of the 20th century, leading Soviet scientists start experiments that alter human physiology and mentality in order to create super humans capable of building a bright future for communism all over the world. But tampering with the