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

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: 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

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
Publisher: Red Mile
Developer: Plastic Reality
Release Date: Q3 2006

El Matador is a third-person tactical shooter about a top Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Victor Corbet, who has been sent deep into drug cartel territory to stop drug trafficking. Mainly taking place in South America, El Matador's mission is simple: kill and eliminate all drug lords and bosses. As you progress through the game, its movie-like storyline unfolds with in-game cinematics and dialogue.

The story of El Matador is told through expository movie sequences, and the dialogue and cinematics inform you about the targets. Gameplay

Genre: Action/RPG
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Bioware
Release Date: TBA

One of the most anticipated titles at E3 was Bioware's next-gen action RPG, Mass Effect, which is coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 in 2007. Mass Effect is all about size and scope, and the demo level we saw, "The Citadel," was of an expansive futuristic city that featured a massive docking bay for large spacecrafts. There was a rich use of color throughout the level and some incredibly impressive lighting effects. The lighting really stood out as looking "next-gen" and quite realistic, complete with the blending of

Genre: MMO
Publisher: NCSoft
Developer: Destination Games
Release Date: Q4 2006

The surprise for me at last year's E3 was the original design of Tabula Rasa got thrown out with the bath water. It rather needed it, as it was suffering from too many cooks in the kitchen. It tried to be too original, had an art design that seemed influenced by too many mushrooms, and just didn't look fun. Last year, we learned that they'd decided to make the game more of a sci-fi shooter.

This year, they showed more refined gameplay and concepts. It's still a

Get the Shadows of War trailer off WP (44mb)

Europe, 1936. The Old Continent is still recovering from the wounds inflicted on its territories by the worst armed conflict Humanity has ever witnessed. In the meantime, a new shadow is rising to threaten the newly-established balance of power. Should nobody stop it, the consequences could change the path of history for ever…

Rely on five heroes of different nationalities, each of them with their own background and agenda, and with a future which depends upon your abilities as strategist. Thanks to the unique skills of your commanders, you will