Batman: Arkham Asylum

Lots of games give players a sidekick, but we can't think of any except Drakan that take the concept to such an extreme. In this game your cohort is a massive, winged, fire-breathing monstrosity of a dragon named Arokh that adds an entirely new dimension to what otherwise could have been a mediocre Tomb Raider clone.
You control Rynn, warrior woman and dragon rider, as she avenges the deaths of her fellow villagers and searches for her abducted brother. As with most games of this type the plot is wafer thin, but we really didn't care as we fought and flew our way through the game's lush environments. Some of the levels feel contrived, since the designers had to come up with ways to keep Rynn separated from her powerful dragon companion at times, but it's still fun. The best parts of the game are those when Rynn hops on Arokh and gains the ability to wing her way through the levels. We had great fun taking in the stunning vistas from the air and fighting with Arokh's devastating dragon-breath attacks.

On the ground the game gets a little repetitive due to the annoying waves of enemies and relatively weak puzzle design. The cutscenes also suffered from poor production values and interfered with the flow of the game. Despite the flaws, don't mistake this refreshing title for a Tomb Raider knockoff, or you'll deprive yourself of a very entertaining third-person action game.

Featuring transformable mechas called LFO (Light Finding Operation), "Eureka Seven Vol. 1: The New Wave" introduces Sumner Sturgeon, a budding LFO pilot trainee on a lush, futuristic planet whose primary energy source are "trapars" - invisible energy particles that provides lift for aerial travel. An aspiring elite military officer, Sumner can transform his LFO into its humanoid form to surf the skies on a ref board or remain in vehicle mode to participate in exhilarating high-speed chases. "Eureka Seven Vol. 1: The New Wave" offers a variety of gameplay modes as the gamer can switch from playing the character and controlling the LFO mechas in real time. With customizable mechas, this upcoming title guarantees an intriguing storyline and exciting combat in an unforgettable sci-fi world.

Iron Phoenix, exclusively for Xbox, brings a new genre to online multiplayer games as the first ever 16 player 3D fighting game. Follow the fate of a set of weapons forged from the shards of a massive meteor. Survivors of war and the masters of the weapons converged to fight to the death and choose who would wield the nine weapons. More than 10 playable characters with movements captured from world-class martial artists wield nine unique weapons, each with a large variety of combos and special attacks. Combine strategic team play with melee combat, offering new multiplayer modes and games. With Xbox Live you can engage in 16 player combat with players from around the world. Massive environments, with beautiful wide-open combat arenas, giant caverns, and entire villages serve as your battleground.

While investigating the kidnapping of a distinguished judge, Jack Slate uncovers a labyrinth of corruption and betrayal and reaffirms for himself that he can only trust his loyal dog, Shadow--the fiercest crime-fighting weapon known to man.
In Dead to Rights II, Grant City's finest returns with nastier disarms, spherical slow-motion dives, and some awesome graphics and programming features. You can now use the K-9 fighting companion to attack enemies in real-time while you take care of your other vital business. You control Shadow's attacks--if his stamina bar is high enough, Slate's loyal companion will kill the enemy, and if the pooch is tired, he'll work to restrain any villain with vicious bites. And once he's finished his work, Shadow will return to Slate and await your command for the next mission. This dog will attack, restrain, and destroy enemies while you wax other scumbags. Speaking of moves, Dead to Rights II delivers 13 new brutal disarms to take down enemies in the heat of battle, bringing the total number to 25.

The spherical slow-motion dives mean Slate can shift in all directions, from one enemy target to the next, and take them all out in the dramatic fashion popularized by the Matrix movies. Namco delivers a lightning-fast fighting system that allows Slate to bash enemies with bats, pipes, meat cleavers, swords, and just about anything else he can wrap his fingers around.

In Dead to Rights II, Slate is armed with a massive arsenal that now includes heavy hitters like rocket launchers, grenades, and molotov cocktails. But even with all this weaponry, sometimes you still have to go fisticuffs on villains. A new, 360-degree fighting system enables Slate to battle enemies coming from all directions in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Brawling has never been better than with Slate's array of dynamic punches, kicks, melee disarms, unruly blocks, and desperation attacks.