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Platform: Xbox 360
Rlease Date: Q1 2007
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Microsoft Game Studios

Gentlemen, grab your Xbox 360 wheels. Forza Motorsport 2 should make 2007 a sweet one for racing fans.

With Forza Motorsport 2, Microsoft has an opportunity to cement the Xbox 360's status as the racing fan's console of choice. The original Forza for the Xbox was an instant classic that kept fans nailed to their couches with a hefty car lineup, a multitude of customization options, demanding physics, and forward-looking online racing options, some of which were precursors for the kind of interactive Xbox Live features we've become accustomed to on the 360.

Slowly but surely, the signs of Forza 2's imminent arrival on the Xbox 360 are appearing. After it was announced at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (along with a tentative, optimistic release date of late 2006), we got our hands on a playable version of the game at X06 late last year, which was the first time we had a chance to take a few laps in the sequel to Microsoft's outstanding racing debut on the original Xbox. Add to that a number of official videos showcasing the game's customization and realistic physics, as well as a racing-series reality show on the cable channel Speed inspired by the game--and hosted by former American Gladiator "Hawk"!--well, the Forza 2 gears are beginning to turn even quicker.

The plan with Forza 2? As near as we can tell, more of the same. More cars, more racing modes, more realistic damage, and more customization options than you can shake a copy of Import Tuner at. Toss in the recently released Xbox 360 wheel--the Posh Spice to Forza 2's David Beckham--and you've got all the ingredients for a delicious racing stew sometime in the first half of 2007.

Add to My Tracked Games >> Platform: Xbox 360
Rlease Date: 2007
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: BioWare

Mass Effect is an ambitious sci-fi role-playing game in which you'll have to use your own balance of exploration, diplomacy, and brute force to unravel the mysteries of the universe.

For a lot of people, it only takes the mention of the developer's name to make Mass Effect one of the most anticipated games of 2007. Mass Effect is the latest original project from esteemed developer BioWare, known for such great role-playing games as Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Mass Effect is the first Xbox 360 title from BioWare, and we're extremely excited to see what the studio does with the power of the newer console.

The game takes place in the 23rd century, during a time when humans are exploring the furthest reaches of space while trying to maintain peace with countless alien races. You play as Commander Shepard, a member of the elite Specter agency whose job it is to preserve peace in the universe. Of course, there wouldn't be much of a game if all the aliens lived in harmony. To make things interesting, there's a dark force at work in the universe, and it's up to you to discover what it is and put an end to it. You do this by exploring space in your own private star cruiser, and by visiting distant planets and derelict space stations in search of clues about what's really going on in the universe.

As if exploring space weren't enough to whet your appetite for Mass Effect, there's a strong role-playing element that lets you experience all kinds of unique interactions with the inhabitants of the universe. You can have fully-voiced, real-time conversations with anyone you meet in the game, and you're given a list of options for how you want to respond. But beyond choosing a response, you have to time your actions as well. Interrupting someone while he or she is talking might be a good way to get your head blown off, or it might be an especially effective way of punctuating a forceful statement. The game will change depending on how you interact with people, and based on what we've seen, the choices you're given aren't always black and white.

Of course, no matter how smooth a talker you are, you'll have to resort to forceful tactics sometimes. The combat in the game can be played like a third-person action game, with you controlling one of three party members as you run around and shoot or use special powers. However, if the situation requires a more tactical approach, you can pause the game and issue commands to your party members using a simple interface. When you unpause the game, your teammates will complete their orders. It's an interesting combination of real-time and tactical combat that will hopefully allow for smooth transitions from exploration to combat and back again.

We have yet to play the game, but based on the demos we saw at E3 2006 and X06, this is one game to keep your eye on in the coming months. As of now, the game is scheduled for release later this year, so if BioWare delivers on this intriguing game's potential, you'll want to make plenty of time to get lost in space with Mass Effect.

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Platform: Xbox 360
Rlease Date: February 20, 2007
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Real Time Worlds

One of the original creators of Grand Theft Auto is working on an explosive new game for the Xbox 360.

Games released in the first quarter of 2007 certainly have it tough. High-caliber 2006 games like Gears of War are fresh in the memory but have been played to death, and soon after, gamers are now faced with a drip-feed release schedule with few highlights. As a result, the major releases are subjected to a deadly mixture of hype and expectation as gamers clamor for something to tide them over through the final winter months.

One game to fall into this category is Microsoft's Crackdown, which is set for release exclusively on the Xbox 360 in February. At this time last year, people were too busy looking forward to games such as Oblivion and Gears of War to pay attention to this free-roaming action game. However, with the Christmas big-hitters already beginning to outstay their welcome in console drives around the world, Crackdown has become one of my most anticipated games of Q1. Of course, the recent news that many copies of the game will include entry keys to the Halo 3 beta hasn't done it much harm, either.

One look at the screenshots, and the Grand Theft Auto comparisons are inevitable. However, because Crackdown is being developed under the direction of Dave Jones, the original creator of the GTA series, they're perhaps unavoidable. If GTA's sense of humor was completely absent from the recent preview versions we've played, it looks to be part of a conscious decision to differentiate Crackdown as much as possible. Indeed, because the main character is a law enforcer with incredible physical ability and the game is set in a futuristic world, the dynamic of the game is dramatically different than Jones' previous efforts. That's not even mentioning the graphics, which use thick black lines and stark colors to make the game look like a living graphic novel.

While the requisite driving, shooting, and free-roaming elements are all intact in the game's setting of Pacific City, the game looks set to change dramatically as you develop. The more you fight the crooks of the Los Muertos, Volk, and Shai-Gen factions, the greater your skills in driving, fighting, and athleticism become, to the point where your character completely evolves. Your character will be able to scale buildings like a biometrically-enhanced free-running expert on steroids, while his strength will allow him to fling vehicles all over the place.

Perhaps the biggest potential for Crackdown is in cooperative multiplayer, which lets you and a friend play together on Xbox Live. Add in more than 100 licensed tracks from labels such as Ninja Tune, and hopefully Crackdown will live up to all the mounting expectation.