Brutal Legend (X360, PS3)
TBA 2008 / Dev: Double Fine Prod. / Pub: Vivendi

Have you ever stared longingly at a Manowar, Iced Earth, or Iron Maiden album cover and wish it were real? Did you ever wish there was really some epic land of pure metal where guitar gods ruled from atop mountains of their slain foes, while leather-winged demonesses fawned at their feet? Well, Tim Shafer has, and his follow-up to Psychonauts is going to be epic. Brutal Legend tells the story of a roadie named Eddie Riggs (Jack Black), who is transported to the land from whence metal was born.

Expect gory ax battles, hellspawn hotrods, and wars between legions of the most powerful sub-genres, from death metal to the dreaded hair bands. The blood soaked action is even viewed through a camera designed to make every shot look like an album cover. Let there be no doubt, this is a labor of love, a tribute to everything metal, from the truly great to the embarrassingly campy, and Tim Shafer is as much a fan as he is an artist. - Travis Fahs

By now, you've probably heard about Haze. It is the oft-delayed shooter that takes place in a futuristic world where wars are engineered and conducted as big business. You play as Shane Carpenter, who has been selected to be a soldier by the atrocious Mantel company which has developed a rather "unique" supplement to give its soldiers. It's called "Nectar," and it increases skill and enhances speed and agility to almost superhuman levels. But there are also some pretty steep consequences to using this mega-juice, like altering your reality. However, what has been altering my reality is how many delays this project went through. From November to January we waited, and now we have no release date at all. All we know is that it won't be coming out before April. Let's hope we'll have some kind of release date that Ubisoft and Free Radical can stick to, before this game's release becomes even more Haze-y. - Amanda L. Kondolojy

Sucker Punch has taken off the gloves and is ready to play in the mature gaming world. Sucker Punch is best known for Sly Cooper, but not for long. At 2007's E3, Sony unveiled the trailer to Infamous, the latest work by Sucker Punch available only on Playstation 3. Infamous is an open environment (free roam) game that gives the player choices that shape the entire world. The Infamous trailer shows us dramatic visuals of amazing environments and elaborate super powers. The decisions in the battle between good and evil within the player will set shape to the world around them. Either choice is likely to lead to bloodshed as the trailer gives glimpses of bodies in several different circumstances. It is safe to say that Sucker Punch is shifting away from family gaming; so say goodbye to cute, witty, talking critters, and hello to the future of free will gaming. - Devin Finley