Genre: RPG/RTS
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Liquid Entertainment
Release Date: Summer 2005

One of the weirder revelations coming out of this year's E3, if you're as big a damn nerd as I am – and you aren't, so don't even try to step to this – is that the new Dungeons & Dragons PC games -- Dungeons & Dragons Online and Dragonshard -- are set on, of all places, Eberron.

This is one of the few memorable campaign settings to come out since D&D's third edition hit shelves, because it is, in a way, a fantasy world taken to its natural

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,

Genre: RPG
Publisher: Square-Enix
Developer: Square-Enix
Release Date: TBA

One of the titles I anticipated most before this year's E3 was Kingdom Hearts II, which picks up the story a year after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The Heartless are back once again, but so are Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Some of the supporting characters from the original game have returned, as well as a few new friends.

For me, Kingdom Hearts was always about two things: the gameplay, and the joy of seeing the Square-Enix characters working with the Disney characters. As far as gameplay goes, a lot of

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

Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Redwood Studios
Release Date: Fall 2005

They all just make it look so easy, don't they? The mob, that is. Control of underground criminal activities, a reach that spans cities, the power to make or break lives within minutes, manpower to call their own … oh, yeah, it's incredible.

Most movie mobs, however, don't show you the nitty-gritty side of things, just the raids and the gunshots and the thick accents. But what about getting there? Isn't that half the fun?

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were organized crime empires. There's

Beatmania

Genre: Puzzle/Rhythm
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Release Date: TBA

Konami has finally started bringing their music games stateside, which means that we gaming fiends can finally experience Beatmania. I'm hoping that this will start a trend, forcing Namco to import more Taiko goodness, and Konami to bring over DrumMania and Guitar Freaks.

For those who are new to Beatmania, the game is Konami's version of deejaying. It plays like Dance Dance Revolution, but instead of using your feet, you are using your hands to hit the keys of their deejay controller, basically a turntable and seven buttons. At the Konami booth, they

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

Get the Soul of the Ultimate Nation Trailer off WP (75mb)

Hack and Slash your way to fun with Soul of the Ultimate Nation. Accelerate the pace with Soul of the Ultimate Nation™, the multiplayer action online RPG that delivers more fun and more friends in less time than other MMORPGs. Form a party from thousands of gamers using Soul of the Ultimate Nation’s Battle Zone System and embark on a graphically stunning and ever-expanding online fantasy world that is ready for action when you are.

Under the reign of the Immortal Emperor, the Geist Empire has ruled the Brakion continent

Genre: Sports / Golf
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Redwood Shores
Release Date: Fall 2005

In the mist of video franchises for more popular sports such as football (Madden) and basketball (NBA Live), EA's Tiger Woods series of games has always been somewhat off to the side, discreetly making strides for those who like their sports a little quieter than most. They simultaneously strive for both accurate simulation and for accessibility, with the random fun feature thrown in for good measure. The series is now making its way to the next-generation systems, and we were able to take a