As roles ever-closer and the biggest annual gaming Expo prepares to open its doors to hordes of drooling journalists, developers, designers, coders, publishers and producers, only one main topic of discussion seems to be hanging in the air: next-gen. With already laying consumer foundations since December of 2005 thanks to the huge jump it stole on the with the 360, the pivotal draw of E3 this year will likely centre on and Nintendo, which both plan to release next-gen offerings at the close of 2006 - both currently aiming for November.

Looking at the two consoles separately, there are rather persistent question marks hanging over Sony's lack of a finished controller for its PlayStation 3, and industry watchers are certainly anticipating masses of 'real' in-game footage from various developing titles come E3, especially after last year's sadly rendered fobbing. The E3 faithful will also likely be expecting to receive absolute confirmation on the PS3's pricing too, especially after the internet mill has cited such a myriad of differing possibilities. Nintendo, on the other hand, has timed the unveiling of a brand renaming of its product just before E3 2006, which may well further bolster interest in its next-gen hardware. The general gaming populace seem somewhat divided concerning the abrupt shift from the dynamic 'Revolution' to the rather pretentious 'Wii', but it's a relative certainty that - coupled with the cloak and dagger mystique that surrounds the - Nintendo's booth at E3 will be swarming with activity. For both Sony and Nintendo, E3 2006 stands as the last globally spot-lit platform before the PlayStation 3 and Wii hit retail, and its highly improbable that either of them will forgo the chance to push their wares forward; though Nintendo's continuing covert may mean that Sony hog the resulting furore.

Beyond the obvious struggle for next-gen bragging rights, which, it must be said, Microsoft presently hold by default, and are hardly likely to relinquish easily once the other 'big 2' finally arrive on the battlefield, E3 will surely play host to plenty of rousing keynote speeches from each prospective party amid the usual fevered hollering that the Expo attendees seem so willing to bestow. Industry bigwigs like and Will Wright will be offering up speeches and opinions on 'What goes into the industry's best-selling titles' and 'From Sputnik to Spore: Will Wright's new way of game creation' respectively, and there are workshops galore from industry professionals covering everything from 'The Rise of Entertainment', 'Next-gen Game Design', and 'Blueprint for a killer title' to 'Game Piracy', 'Franchise Power', and 'The wireless revolution'. However, E3 has always revolved around the videogames themselves; that's what the consumers are most concerned with. And there are plenty on show to whet gamers' appetites for the year to come. Ferrago has therefore collated the upcoming titles to be showcased during E3 and duly selected its picks in terms of what to keep an eye out for over the coming weeks and months, as well as those shadowy dark horse titles that may unfortunately slip beneath the quality radar.

Exhibitor: Games
Game: Prey
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360
Scheduled Release: July 7
Official Site: www.prey.com

"Tommy is a Cherokee garage mechanic, refuting his heritage and undecided about his next step in life. His world comes to a halt when an extraterrestrial crisis forces him to awaken spiritual powers from his long-forgotten birthright. Abducted with his people to a menacing mothership orbiting Earth, he sets out to save himself, his girlfriend, and, eventually, the entire planet."

A fruitful future looks assured for Prey, the new reality twisting first-person from and Human Head. Indeed, it has already amassed notable from last year's E3, and the media previews running up to this point have all been rather rosy. The current trailers and snippets of gameplay footage convey a sci-fi shooter that could be described as a visually stunning amalgamation of Turok and 3 - thanks to its American Indian central character and the fact that the game runs on a beefed up Doom 3 engine and its creatures do have that ugly 'id' quality. That's not to say that Prey is overtly derivative, it does all it can during the trailers to dispel that notion via bizarre reality jumps that genuinely mess with the grey matter. Navigating environments by traversing walls vertically, scrabbling across ceilings, or travelling through dimensional portals - oddly located in crates, etc - only to end up suddenly miniscule on a tiny planetoid held within a glass case, as a now gigantic alien peers down menacingly from outside, should all provide some idea of what to expect.

In short, the unexpected is what Prey aims to utilise through its single-player and components. It takes the normal standards seen so predominantly in almost every first-person shooter and flips them over before the player's eyes; it should make for a strangely disorienting but refreshing and invigorating roller coaster ride - and the multiplayer should prove inspired.

Also showing: Bioshock

E3 should offer the first decent look at this ambitious shooter that's still in early by 2K Games and due for release sometime in 2007.

Exhibitor: Capcom
Game: Okami
Platform: PlayStation 2
Scheduled Release: September 2006
Gameplay Clip: www.e3insider.com/products/?productID=N44Q2K2WZ9

Okami emerges as the virgin gaming endeavour from Capcom's Clover Studios in Japan, which is led by Atsushi Inaba - who previously produced a certain cult hit entitled Viewtiful Joe. Okami is set in a time when gods rule the planet, and one particularly evil deity known as Orochi has rendered the world a dull and desolate place, bereft of human life or thriving plants and trees. Another god, Sakuya, who is concerned by Orochi's nefarious exploits, realises that the only way to stop him and restore the once vibrant planet is to call upon the sun god, Amaterasu. Upon Amaterasu's reincarnation as a wolf, Sakuya unleashes him against the minions of Orochi in order to breathe life back into the colourless world.

The most interesting facets of Okami are twofold. Firstly, its visuals are absolutely gorgeous, portrayed with an elegant but stark beauty through Japanese watercolour painting environments and subtle cell-shaded character sprites and peripheral details. Secondly, its innovative (DS-inspired?) godly calligraphic interaction is pleasingly original, whereupon the player can manipulate an analogue stick to create scribed ink strokes that appear across the painted visuals and invoke various beneficial gameplay effects, such as helping to battle enemies, create new pathways, turn night to day, and clear obstacles that block Amaterasu's progress. As Amaterasu moves through the game and defeats more and more enemies - specifically end of level bosses - the world is steadily restored to its former glory as colours begin to spread, plant life begins to prosper, and even humans begin to reappear.

Regardless of the current swelling hysteria surrounding the next-generation platforms and their highly anticipated (but as yet largely unproven) gaming triumphs, Okami could well become one of the biggest titles of 2006 for both the PlayStation 2 and the industry in general. Beyond its critical and consumer reception, it will certainly be one of the year's more original offerings.

Also Showing: Lost Planet

Lost Planet is a fast-paced and superbly engineered third-person sci-fi game developed by exclusively for the Xbox 360. Set upon the frozen wastelands of a hostile planet, humanity battles for its survival on foot and in mechanised battle suits as conflicts arise between mankind, the planet's endemic creatures, and also hordes of alien invaders. Release: Q1 2007.

Exhibitor: Nintendo
Game: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Platform: GameCube
Scheduled Release: November 2006
Official Trailer: www.gamespot.com/pages/video_player/popup.php?sid=6125175&pid=920769

"When an evil shadow stretches from the heart of Hyrule to its peaceful borderlands, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero within and stand tall in defence of his village. Lead Link and his beloved steed into battle against hordes of foul creatures with an incredible horseback combat system, then take on massive bosses that have to be seen to be believed. The last ray of hope for a dying realm, Link finds himself on an epic journey that will challenge him endlessly and transform him in ways unimaginable."

It needs no introduction but its window of opportunity is starting to run short given the Q3 release and accompanying November rush of next-gen expectation. As such, pretty much everyone holding close to their dusty GameCubes as title after title is unceremoniously cancelled for the crumbling format is presently hoping that Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess can prove itself a royal ray of sunshine amid a console's enveloping dusk. Everyone knows the game's basic premise of saving Hyrule while exploring massively accessible locations; we've all played a Legend of game at one point or another and have been subsequently hooked to the magic. The trailers look beautiful, the gameplay clips show off all the prerequisite Zelda elements amid lush scenery and a convincingly realistic game world. All that now remains is actually getting our grubby gaming mitts on another incarnation and seeing whether the more maturely designed Link is also able to usurp the cutesy appeal of the Link in Wind Waker.

Also Showing: New Super Bros.

With the absolutely massive amount of market popularity presently being enjoyed and exploited by the Nintendo DS, New Super Mario Bros. is only ever going to be an enormous global hit and further cement Nintendo's positioning as leaders of the portable pack. The game hits retail on June 30.

Exhibitor: Microsoft Game Studios
Game: Gears of War
Platform(s): Xbox 360
Scheduled Release: Oct 27
Official Site: www.gearsofwar.com

"As Marcus Fenix, you fight a war against the immense Locust Horde, which not only out powers but outnumbers you, your squad, and the entire force of the Coalition of Ordered Governments. is the only game to blend a deep and disturbing story of human survival against an endless mass of nightmarish creatures, a next-generation tactical combat system, and unsurpassed visuals and special effects. The story unfolds as a ragtag group of soldiers use every last ounce of strength to survive the onslaught from the forces of evil, which begins on the historic Emergence Day."

Epic Games may be one of the first (brave) developers to openly state that they've created a squad-based, third person videogame that's meant, first and foremost, for mature gamers over the age of 18. They claim that Gears of War is for those gamers "who seek a deeper and more connected story that revolves around mature themes and depictions." Of course, could simply have made an uber violent game and are now scrambling for some form of justification and demographic niche before release; yet it's unlikely as their absolute belief in Gears of War is palpable after just a few minutes perusing the game's official site.

Admittedly, that belief bubbles over into some rather far-reaching claims, such as, "Gears of War is not a game that's played but rather experienced. Epic is creating some of the most memorable moments in gaming history, and players will share and recall this experience for some time to come." which is definitely proof of a balls-out approach to selling the product. But here's hoping that E3 2006 does nothing but strengthen Epic's 'heart on your sleeve' position and that Gears of War does indeed utilise the Unreal Engine 3 to its fullest and deliver a visually stunning game like no other on Earth. In these times of genre stagnancy, it would be a welcome and refreshing change.

Also Showing: 99 Nights

This is Microsoft's twin-pronged attempt at shouldering its way into Japan's beloved hack-and-slash genre, while also endearing its console to a section of the market who just don't seem all that interested in an otherwise impressive piece of gaming kit. It may look pretty enough, but 99 Nights appears to be no more intriguing or rewarding than the host of the button-mashingly dull games it's so obviously emulating. Perhaps E3 will disprove that statement.