Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is a free-form action-adventure game currently in development by Ubisoft Montreal, from the makers of the most recent Prince of Persia game. It features stunning graphics and free-roaming gameplay comparable to that found in the Grand Theft Auto games. The game is set in the Holy Land, some time during the Third Crusade. The player takes on the avatar of Altair, a member of the secretive Hashashin sect, who is on his own personal crusade to strike for justice, and revenge against an unknown traitor. The game was first exhibited during E3 2006, in the form of an absolutely stunning trailer, which the developers claim was made entirely within the game engine. Any object protruding more than two inches can be used as a platform to climb, jump, and explore, meaning every inch of the cities of Medieval Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus from the rooftops to the sewers, are at your feet. A game of stealth, action, tactics, combat, and just oozing with style, Assassin's Creed is an impressively ambitious game. Despite the limited material available for review, Gamespot, Gamespy, Gametrailers, 1up, and the Game Critics Awards all awarded Assassin's Creed a host of impressive awards at E3 06. Assassin's Creed will ship in the first quarter of 2007, on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Stranglehold

Stranglehold is a linear, story-driven action game currently in development by Midway Chicago, due for release in the first quarter of 2007. Director John Woo has a strong creative influence in the game, which has Inspector Yuen Tequila, of Woo's 1992 film “Hard Boiled”, played by Chow Yun Fat. Built using the Unreal Engine 3, it is a graphically impressive game. One of the important features is the inclusion of a highly cinematic gameplay mode called “Tequila Time”, unapologetically reminiscent of “Bullet Time” from the Max Payne games. The settings and presentation of the game also bring Deus Ex to mind, although it is not an otherwise similar game. The game is set in Hong Kong and Chicago, where Inspector Tequila battles his way through underworld crime bosses to seek vengeance for the brutal murder of his family.
Stranglehold will be released on Xbox360, PS3, and PC.

Call of Duty 3

The third in this series of wildly popular World War II shooters from Activision, Call of Duty 3 takes place immediately after the invasion of Europe at Normandy by Allied forces. COD3 will allow the player to play as American, British, Canadian, or Polish troops, however, the Russian option from previous games is not available. Featuring upgraded multiplayer support over its predecessor, allowing 24 player deathmatches between players on Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, PS2, and PS3, but rather conspicuously, not PC, much to the anger of many fans. The game includes vehicle combat, for which the motion sensing features of the Wii and PS3 controllers can be used. Call of Duty 3's launch will coincide with that of the Wii and PS3, available in early November 2006.