The has cast a long dark shadow over the entire expo, a shroud that poor games have struggled to shake off. Publishers punting their upcoming games for the future generation must know what it feels like to be the gal who won Miss Universe last year as all the attention is shifted to the younger model strutting around and flashing here pre-rendered boobs in everyonefs face. Which is a shame, as unlike other formats such as the and therefs a fair number of both new franchise instalments and the kind of quirky and innovative games which are just as happy on the PS2 as they are on ethe creatorfs friendf machines. Here we list a few of the PS2 titles coming your way that have caught our interest at this yearfs E3.

After three long days it pains us to use any more clich?s but the term ecult-hitf is the best way to describe Katamari Damacy, Namcofs distinctly unusual videogame. Fans of the uniqueness of the original should be well served in the upcoming sequel, We Love Katamari. Among the new features are a two-player cooperative mode and, hopefully, a European release.

Burnoutfs making a comeback in the form of Burnout: Revenge. The newest take on the smashfnfcrash series features a new Revenge mode which sounds like a virtual anger-therapy session as players are set against the horrors of rush-hour traffic. Burnout 3 was a lot of fun and could turn out to be a title that will blossom under EAfs 1-every-12 policy. One thing to note, that the screenshots released by have been so lovingly touched up that they diminish the impact of the shots from next-gen racers.

Resident Evil 4 will be lurching its way onto the PS2 sometime in the second half of this year. The game that has led to a resurge in GameCube is slipping off the bonds of exclusivity and making a beeline for Sonyfs console. It seems like the dash has roughened the game up a bit, with reports that it looks to have been struck by a dose of the jaggies. Tom Clancyfs 3 will also be marched onto the PS2, even if it will suffer horribly when put next to the X360 version.

Final Fantasy XII will shortly be arriving on the PS2, stripped of its recent network code and returned to its rightful place on the high altar of cinematic singe-player JRPGs. Ratchet and clank are also steaming back onto the PS2 in their new adventure, Deadlocked. This time round youfll be able to take the characters and get stuck into some 3rd-person team based shooting action.

Horror series Fatal Frame will be returning for the third time. Going by the subtitle The Tormented, players will assume the role of Rei Kurosawa, a cursed young woman whose feeling of guilt takes her dreams to places that no nightmare should have to suffer. a place where she is confronted by the mystery of the Tattoo. Players will again have to use the camera obascura to capture ghostly images with which to solve the mystery and bring peace to Rei and her dead fianc?. Fatal Frame 3 will be the first to offer a range of playable characters, with Kei Amukara from the first game in the series falling under the playerfs control. Start making deposits in your sleep bank and Fatal Frame will become the stuff of nightmares this autumn.

Spartan: Total Warrior will be the first new game from developers to appear after their buy-out by SEGA. This previously PC-only developer sure knows a thing or two when it comes to recreating gigantic battles from yesteryear, so it will be interesting to see how they handle things at the more personal scale, which is where gamers will find themselves playing Spartan. While a hackfnfslash in the traditional sense, Spartanfs fluid combat requires more than just moronic button mashing. As success depends on both clever blocking and wise use of the many available special powers. Spartan will feature some very stripped down elements so expect to upgrade your as time goes on, with improvements coming in the form of improved weapons and armour and a larger pool of deadly instruments to choose from. If CA can add just a bit of the authenticity and spectacle of their epic games then PS2 owners will be in for a treat when Spartan is released.

One of the longer titled games at the show is Suit Gundam Seed: Never Ending Tomorrow, the latest instalment in Bandaifs giant-stompy-robot series. Featuring over 50 suits from the TV shows playable in the four game modes, MSG:NET will also come packaged with over 40 minutes of quality CGI and cut-scenes from the TV show. More TV show inspiration was on display in Bandaifs Inuyasha: Feudal Combat, a battlefield fighting game set in feudal Japan. 14 playable characters from the TV show will be on offer to fight their way across the interactive environments. Both Gundam and Inuyasha should be released this August.

The creator of Viewtiful Joe has been wowing the crowds with his newest project, Okami, another artistically dazzling game set in environments straight out of Japanese folklore. Players will assume the role of the sun god Amaterasu who comes to the world in wolf-form to defeat the curse that plagues the world. Presented in a style somewhat reminiscent of Viewtiful Joefs, Okami will be focused on beating the range of monsters which stand in his way, with a third person perspective that promises to allow people to appreciate the watercolour-esque style of traditional Japanese art that will be the basis for all the graphics. Okami will be released in al PAL territories sometime next year.

Like all the other formats on show this year the PS2 still has plenty of life left in it yet. In the face of all the hype surrounding the next-gen itfs been a tough year for the machine thatfs already in close on 100 million homes. But the games in this piece and the many others that were on show this year, prove that therefs plenty of life in the old dog yet.

By Sam Gibson