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Most of us play games to escape reality. For a few moments, the trials of the material world trickle away and your only concern is how many goddamn gold coins you can collect in an hour. Then, out of nowhere, a friggin' Xbox 360 console shows up in the actual game and all your suspended disbelief goes right out the window. It happens more often than you'd think. So often, in fact, we had little trouble amassing a large collection of these sneaky cameos. Here are the best examples, from zombie-blasting Dreamcasts to a DS floating in space.

Not all sequels are destined for greatness. Tag along as we remember the follow-ups that time forgot...

In case you missed TalkRadar 28 (and shame on you if you did), we couldn’t fathom why Giant Bomb awarded MK vs DCU a five star rating (their highest score). That led to forumites on both sites to start a-feudin’ an’ a-fussin’ about integrity and other such nonsense, so we simply called Jeff Gerstmann up and now you can hear the results of said conversation. Hint: we’re bitter enemies now.

You know the problem with E3? You have to wait months before you find out if a game that looked great in July is going to kick ass or blow goats when it finally arrives in November. And it it sucks, you feel deflated. If only you could read, right here and right now, which games are really worth eagerly anticipating and which you should just start fitting for cement shoes right now. Wouldn't that make the world a better place?

Here, for the very first time, are the exclusive first reviews for all of the games you're most excited about this very E3.

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THE VOICES 

 Legend of Zelda MovieIt’s finally happening thanks to the folks at Fox.

Sonic in Super Smash Bros?We weigh in on the utter impossibility.

Mushroom Kingdom HeartsKeyblades clash

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is up there with Gears of War 2 as far as 360's monster games of 2008 go for us. We've seen a bit about Gears 2 already, and now Rare's finally lifted the cauldron lid on Banjo's third adventure.

To get an idea on what we can expect, check out our hands-on preview. But to find out how the change in direction came about, read this very exclusive interview with Rare's head of design, Gregg

Did you know these nine facts about Banjo and Kazooie's next adventure? Feed your brain cells!

Some games just never stand a chance, do they? Hated on from the moment they’re announced for a variety of reasons, they’re critically stoned by journos and gamers long before anyone lays finger on pad. The following titles all fall into this category of pre-release hatred. Whether they betrayed their series’ heritage, alienated PC gamers or their developer simply shouted his big fat mouth off too much; these games loved

Earlier this year we pointed out how many series reboots were on the way. NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat, GoldenEye and Splatterhouse are just a few of the once-relevant names being dug up for the 2010-2011 season, plus the Sly Cooper/ICO HD remakes for PS3. In short, reviving prior successes is all the rage right now, and seeing these long-lost series with a new lease on life has kicked our nostalgic hearts into overdrive. So make with the reboots and bring these overlooked, formerly triumphant franchises back from the dead...