Pre-E3 blowout day one: Xbox 360

Crackdown
This game has us revved up like a kid on Christmas. The term "sandbox gameplay" gets thrown around a lot these days, but Crackdown actually has a chance to make it meaningful. Created by one of the main brains behind the mega-hit franchise Grand Theft Auto, this futuristic crime-fighter chucks you into a world where it's your duty to nab, incarcerate or otherwise punish the bad guys. A little bit of a shift in the GTA dynamic to say the least, but it doesn't darken our outlook on the first big open-ended future-cop game to harness the 360's power.

Not only is Pacific City (the sprawling metropolis that Crackdown calls home) an enormous go-anywhere do-anything joint, it's also got enough room for you to invite a friend along for co-op crime-bustin'. Plus, while you run amok in the city hurling cars at your foes (yeah, you get to throw vehicles around like juggling balls), your crime-fighter actually gets tougher as the game goes on... like it was an RPG or something.

Cramming so many different genres into one game is a feat that few have ever accomplished, but with Crackdown's pedigree, we're anxious to see what they'll have to show us at E3.