Genre: Third-Person Shooter
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: TBA

Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions was one of the earlier games for the Xbox 360, and it really stood out for its unique gameplay and interesting premise. It had monster insects, a thermal meter, space pirates, a grappling hook and even giant robots, so it seems like it had enough features to be schizophrenic, but it all held together very well. It should come as no surprise that Lost Planet 2 is focusing on improving the formula set forth by the first game. Even those who left Lost

Genre: Racing
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: United Front Games
Release Date: TBA 2010

Play, Create, Share: three words that catapulted Sony back into the systems race, as they challenged the Microsoft and Nintendo lineups with one word: LittleBigPlanet. With the kinds of physics and adjustments that you could make as you built your own levels, and the wrapping of simple, wonderful charm, Sony created a hit to challenge many. At this year's E3, they've shown that they hope to replicate that success with ModNation Racers.

Play. ModNation Racers is a twist on normal kart racing archetypes; player stats are

Brink is an immersive shooter that blends single-player, co-op, and multiplayer gameplay into one seamless experience, allowing you to develop your character across all modes of play. You decide the role you want to assume in the world of Brink as you fight to save yourself and mankind's last refuge for humanity.

Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: iRem
Release Date: June 30, 2009

Steambot Chronicles has become a significant series for Atlus. It's not a massive property that defines the company, like Shin Megami Tensei, but it's certainly a nice series that has a significant fandom. If what I saw was any indication, the PSP release of Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament should turn out to be fairly satisfying for fans.

Steambot Chronicles: Battle Tournament is slightly smaller in scale than other games in the series; it only encompasses one very large town and the areas around it. In a

Genre: Puzzle
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Blitz Game Studios
Release Date: June 2009

Atlus Software is starting to break into the casual space with several of their recent releases, such as manic puzzler Puchi Puchi Virus. However, one of their latest works breaks into the grand tradition of slow-paced, ultra-casual games meant to relax and inspire just the right amount of thinking. I spent some time at E3 demoing the PlayStation 3 and iPhone versions of Droplitz, but it's also coming to the Xbox 360 and PC.

Droplitz is a fairly basic puzzle game, somewhat reminiscent of PopCap's

Genre: Role-Playing
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Chunsoft
Release Date: Q1 2010

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren The Wanderer was a roguelike for the Nintendo DS, with most of the trappings thereof (when a character dies, all items are lost, etc.) The game has had several console releases in Japan, and now the third is coming to the U.S. for the Wii. At E3, they were showing attendees a demo of the Japanese game and explaining everything to those who were interested.

The basics of Shiren the Wanderer are your standard roguelike. The game even features two difficulty levels, with a hardcore mode

Atlus U.S.A. has secured the North American publishing rights for Demon's Souls, a groundbreaking PS3 exclusive action RPG experience. Beautiful, compelling, and unforgiving, Demon's Souls is the hardcore RPG experience PS3 fans have been waiting for.

Genre: Shooter
Publisher: City Interactive
Developer: City Interactive
Release Date: Oct. 2, 2009

Shooting should be one of the most generic genres on the Wii. Just look at all the gun-shaped items that have already been sold, and consider that some of the Wii's gem titles have included House of the Dead games. But the more I think about it, I haven't seen that many. As City Interactive's most complete game that isn't near release date yet, Redneck Chicken Riot is odd, perhaps inspired by Wallace & Gromit, but with a confusing idea of its very own.

The game is a pretty

Genre: Role-Playing
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software
Developer: Ride On
Release Date: July 1, 2009

Before we go any further, let's listen to that little voice of Robin in our heads. You know you want to. Now, wonder who at Atlus decided this would be a name to trademark. Imagine that the title fits the actual game just enough to be even more hilarious. Just three minutes convinced me that Atlus has invested wisely in a game that truly captures its name like few other games on market. I mean, a lot do better and a lot

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom pits Capcom's iconic characters against Tatsunoko Production's anime superheroes. This clash of heroes face off in two-on-two battles for the ultimate 2D tag-team battle. During the E3 madness, we sat down with Capcom's senior communications director, Chris Kramer.

WP: Who has the honor to speak with us? State your name, rank, and occupation!

I'm Chris Kramer, and I'm the senior director of communications and community at Capcom.

WP: One of the big announcements for E3 was the fact that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is coming to the U.S. and Europe. What was it like getting that brought over? We kept hearing

Genre: Puzzle/Platformer
Publisher: Nobilis
Developer: Frozenbyte
Release Date: July 2009

On the surface, Trine is not a difficult game to understand, as it is essentially a puzzle game in which you can switch on the fly between three varied characters. However, the basic puzzle mechanics and characters are mere underpinnings for the meat of the physics-based gameplay and cooperative play. The co-op was not present in our preview build, but the physics most definitely are, along with a surprisingly developed theme and production values for a puzzle title.

The three characters in Trine all have varied roles and

Genre: Platformer
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Release: Q4 2009

Nintendo came out of E3 2009 much stronger than they did in 2008. They started off our booth tour with their big announcement of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and I got to squeeze in some play time with the game.

If you've played the DS version of New Super Mario Bros., most everything is going to be familiar, including major elements of Super Mario Bros. 3 from the NES era, new and entertaining power-ups, and a fair supply of secrets to keep things interesting for a good, long

Half-Minute Hero is a bold new concept of having the player save the world, 30 seconds at a time. The player must fight, shoot, summon, and protect in four distinct modes, each containing a different perspective and unique gameplay style, across a total of 120 varied stages. The 8-bit graphics and story elements provide a unique style and humor, while the hard-rocking soundtrack keeps pace with the breakneck speed of gameplay.

Genre: Rhythm/Music
Publisher: MTV Games
Developer: Harmonix
Release: September 9, 2009

How can a game be both so much more than its predecessors, and yet so much less at the same time? This conundrum defined what I saw of the upcoming Rock Band release, The Beatles: Rock Band. The game floored me as a Beatles release, but its heritage as a Rock Band game seems a bit tenuous.

The basics are all there; this is Rock Band, with one significant evolution and some major interface modifications that I'll get to in a bit. The big new idea

Genre: Puzzle
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive
Developer: 5TH Cell
Release Date: September 15, 2009

5TH Cell is perhaps the best DS game developer that no one has heard of. They've only developed a few games, but those games have been fun and innovative, making excellent use of the DS' various features to create games that would not be the same anywhere else. Drawn to Life was a platformer designed around creating your own character, while Lock's Quest was a combination tower defense and hack-and-slash game. Their upcoming game, Scribblenauts, is easily their most ambitious to date, and

Genre: Action/Adventure
Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Headstrong Games
Release Date: Q4 2009

With the exception of the poorly received The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, every modern LotR title has been based on Peter Jackson's very popular set of movies. This has caused most of the games to have a very similar, distinctive look: dark, grim, gritty and realistic; featuring the likenesses of the movie actors; and monster and enemy designs similar to those in the film. Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest is still based on the movie, and you'll

Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Rebellion
Release Date: January 19, 2010

Defying all laws of God and man, the Alien vs. Predator video games are actually really good. The Jaguar AvP is one of maybe two titles that justify the platform's existence, and the PC version has a devoted fan base even now, 10 years after its release.

The team at Rebellion that' responsible for making those original games has, for the most part, reunited, and they're working on a new, current-generation Alien vs. Predator title. As with the original games, you have the option to play

Genre: Role-Playing
Publisher: BioWare
Developer: BioWare
Release Date: October 20, 2009

RPG fans have already experienced Bioware's storytelling expertise in titles such as Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. When Bioware announced the development of Dragon Age, it helped the prolific RPG developer break out from the shackles of having to work within someone else's IP. Mass Effect's runaway success has already proven that the developer can easily stretch its legs beyond its former work, and with Dragon Age: Origins, it's ready to do the same within a world of dark fantasy.

At E3, a playable

This eagerly anticipated title takes full advantage of the Xbox 360 system's advanced hardware, providing tangible, intuitive controls while delivering seamless transitions between real-time gameplay and stunning in-game cinematics. The latest in cutting-edge technology has been utilized in the development of Final Fantasy XIII, thus making this newest addition to the Final Fantasy series worthy of the title "next generation."

In Devil May Cry 4 Capcom's gun-slinging demon hunter Dante is back, but this fourth chapter introduces a new hero, Nero, who possesses a demonic arm that can pull in enemies or use them as projectiles.