Genre: FPS
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Criterion Studios
Release Date: February 28, 2006

Joe Keiser: Burnout 3 was a revelation in racing games when it came out in 2004, so when a shooting game from the creators of Burnout claims to be "Burnout for shooters," it'd be pretty foolish not to pay attention. Criterion, the game's creators, really knows their stuff – they're the daddy of Renderware, the most popular set of game creation tools in the industry, and they are virtuosos in its use. As a result, Black should be fast, fluid, and exhilarating. But perhaps most excitingly,

Year 2010, a small Caribbean country. The main part of the island is aflame with revolt. The Government Army tries to quash an uprising, powerful drug cartels are trying to decimate the Indians, and the whole population is being indiscriminately slaughtered by criminal gangs. This boiling pot, however typical for Latin America, is rapidly nearing an explosion. The main hero of the game is entrusted with a task to uncover some dark secrets, to investigate a few disappearances, and to stay alive above all.

White Gold: War in Paradise explores the shadowy background of modern low intensity conflicts, where the newest

Genre: Tactical FPS
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Release Date: March 7, 2006

Chad "Wudi" Crawford: I'll admit that I wasn't a fan of the original Ghost Recon: it seems that within three minutes of starting a map, my team would be all but dead. However, as I played new iterations in the series, it really started to grow on me, to the point where Advanced Warfighter has me foaming at the mouth. Maybe it's the breathtaking graphics, the redesigned HUD with the Cross-Com that lets you see what your soldiers see, or the robust multiplayer with competitive and cooperative

Genre: FPS
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: March 20, 2006

Geson Hatchett: The pack-in cartridge with the Nintendo DS contains a demo of Metroid Prime: Hunters, a glimpse at the future of first-person shooters. On those merits, many people have been waiting for this, myself included. In addition, Metroid's proven itself to be a viable franchise even in 3D, and merely the promise of another installment is reason enough by itself to salivate.

Joe Keiser: Metroid Prime: Hunters seems to be stuck in the nightmare tunnel of a release date that is to be forever pushed back, but all

Genre: RPG
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Release Date: Q2 2006

Mark "RumDragon" Bolin: When I picked up the original Neverwinter Nights, I was just looking for more of my Baldur's Gate fix. What it ended up offered me was amazing, and for the sequel, I am most excited about building my own gaming world. The graphics are nothing short of amazing, and the world looks as if it will suck me in for a good long time. One of the greatest assets Obsidian has here are the legions of fans who will ravenously throw themselves at the modding

Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Eidos/Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Superhero games are a weird genre. On the surface, it seems like it shouldn't be too difficult to come up with a good game, but they have some of the worst records as far as licenses go. Even games that are based on extremely popular characters like Superman or Iron Man tend to be mediocre at very best, but perhaps the greatest surprise here is Batman, whose failure record easily dwarfs his successes. For the last good Batman games, we have to

1942: Joint Strike takes inspiration and influence from the 194X series of World War II-themed vertical shooters. The art, sound and gameplay of the new game take cues from the original 194X games, but will stand out as its own unique entry in the series. Gameplay will resemble the classic 2D style that gamers expect, but the game utilises a full 3D engine. Set in a World War II-themed locale, stages, vehicles and weapons have the look and feel of WWII with some stylistic differences. The world in which 1942 takes place is not our own and the

Grandia III is the newest title in Game Arts' role-playing series, using an all-new engine, N3, allowing for larger and more detailed environments.

Genre: RPG
Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Release Date: February 7, 2006

Alicia Ashby: Tales has been the major Japanese RPG series to fare the worst when it comes to entering the American market, but the great success of Tales of Symphonia for the GameCube seems to be changing that. Tales of Legendia hopes to continue the hot streak, offering an amazingly fun fighting-game like active battle system that still lets you manage a party full of characters. The 3D graphics are sharp, incorporating elements from Soul Calibur III's prodigious graphics engine, and it contains about 25 minutes of new