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• PC gamers have numerous good titles to enjoy this holiday season. The titles that top our list this year are "Call of Duty," "XIII," "Max Payne 2," "Halo For PC," "Rise Of Nations," "Deus Ex: Invisible War," "Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic," and "Madden 2004." "Call of Duty" was previewed by THG game reviewer, Weston Patch, at Quakecon 2003, where we told us that it was a title to keep our eyes on. The end result of this title is stellar, and it is perhaps one of the most interesting World War II games of 2003. While the graphics in this game are top notch, it offers a much broader range of system requirements range than many of the other games that we have seen this year. Still, it should not disappoint gamers and has become a huge hit with gamers who like this game genre. You can read our full review of the game here . "Rise of Nations" is an excellent real time strategy ("RTS") game that delivered a huge wallop at its release and continues to remain a strong favorite. "Rise Of Nations" was selected as one of our Editors' Choice titles this year, and continues to be a game with long play value. You can read more about this game in our review of it here . If you seek a game that offers pixel shaders that can push your new graphics card to the limit, we suggest "Deus Ex: Invisible War." This game has incredible dynamic lighting and bump mapping effects that will give your DX9 graphics card a good workout. "Knights Of The Old Republic" pushes the Star Wars saga to new heights with some great vertex shader effects and pixel shader work on the light saber, which provide this game with a unique look. "Madden 2004" is still the best of the best, as far as sports games go for the PC. The reflections in the visors and the blades of grass that are visible on the playing field showcase the programmable shader power within this excellent sports title. A Screen shot from Halo for PC. While the reviews of "Halo for PC" were quite mixed due to the hefty system requirements of the game, "Halo for the PC" is one of our favorite games this year. The incredible bump mapped effects, as well as the dynamic lighting, make this game look significantly better than its originally released Xbox version. However, we only recommend this game for those with PCs that exceed the system requirements recommendations by a large margin in order for the game to deliver its best performance. Still, if you have a system that can run this game at its recommended highest levels, you will encounter a game that offers multi-player mode (this was not available in the original Xbox release), plus several new weapons and additional levels not found in the original Xbox release. We still stand by our claim that "Halo for PC" is an Editors' Choice title, and is a game that you should own if you have a system that is capable of running it well. You can read our complete review of "Halo for PC"

• Complete Coverage! E3 2006

  Last Update: 14 May 1:28 pm EST Intel claims 40% performance gain with new Core 2 Extreme processor Intel uses E3 to show off its next generation gaming processor, Core 2 Extreme, and highlight its performance capability: In an interview with TG Daily, Intel claims that the CPU will be 40% faster than its predecessor and that new enthusiast PCs will outrun Sony's PS3 in graphics performance. And this advantage may even increase with the introduction of quad-core processors.Read more... Microsoft: Xbox Live "way ahead of Sony" Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president at Microsoft's Xbox and Gaming Platform Group, is one of the more influential figures within software giant's growing gaming business. Inside Microsoft's mammoth booth at E3's exhibit floor, Holmdahl spoke with TwitchGuru about the next generation console and its competition. Read more... Scroll down for more stories | Go to E3 2006 News Archive Center Stage Sony's high-stakes, high-definition gamble on PlayStation 3 Sony's PlayStation 3 has come out swinging, literally, with the first testers swinging the company's new 4D controller console from side to side. There's no doubt it's the high-resolution system we have all been expecting. Whether that translates into a high-quality system remains to be proven, as Sony has big hurdles to overcome.Read more... Nintendo is coming for Sony and Microsoft gamers with a vengeance One of the clear unspoken messages to emerge from the Nintendo press conference earlier today was that they are no longer to be considered the "Third way" in console gaming. The Wii has a family feel to it, but the game lineup speaks differently: This will be a console for hardcore, gun toting, mania loving gamers as well as Mario fans. Read more... Microsoft banks on Xbox 360 installed base, cross-platform gaming Microsoft confirms the latest new entries in its favorite franchises, including Halo 3 and D.O.A., in a bid to establish itself as the next-gen console that's already established. But Nintendo had, by most accounts, a surprisingly successful gala earlier this morning, leaving many to wonder whether there's enough middle ground for Microsoft to make up. Read more... Opinion: E3 2006 in a nutshell E3 is generally a themed event, with one or two issues dominating the whole proceedings and all other facets orbiting around this. This year as well as last it was the consoles which ruled. Two years ago it was blockbuster titles like Half-Life 2 and Doom III which held centre stage. Read more... Multimedia Coverage TG Daily Video: The Nintendo Line and Via's UMPC We published several videos over the past few days to offer you a first hand hand impression from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Here are two more videos that slipped through our busy schedule initially: Via demonstrates it's Ultra Mobile PC and if you have not made it to E3 in person, you'll see what you have missed at the Nintendo booth. Read more and watch the video... TG Daily Video: Game technology trains soldiers on missiles, remote gun While most of the games at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) are being played for fun, the U.S. Army has adapted game technology to train soldiers. The technology of the video game "America's Army" has been integrated into the Javelin missile training system and the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System (CROWS), which is a remote-controlled gun used on newer Humvees. You can see the Javelin Missile trainer and the CROWS trainer in action in our video. Read more and watch the video... TG Daily Video: eFocus Part 1 At every E3, Pepcom organizes an off-site preview of the actual tradeshow and conference. Called "eFocus," the show isn't affiliated with the convention, but some of the same companies attending E3 also show up at eFocus. At this press-only event, a few dozen companies compete for attention and you'll see in our videos what we found to be most interesting. Read more and watch the video... TG Daily Video: eFocus Part 2 Plantronics, Seagate, Toshiba, Ubicom and Viewsonic show off their wares in part 2 of our eFocus video series. Read more and watch the video... Slideshow: Crytek's new first person shooter Crysis A first impression of the game that succeeds FarCry. Slideshow: Dell unveils new XPS desktops and notebooks Dell displays fancy new desktop and notebook designs for its XPS gaming systems. Slideshow: E3 showfloor, Friday 12 May Get an impression of today's showfloor. Slideshow: Alienware's new SLI notebooks Click through a slideshow of Alienware's Aurora mALX and m9700 notebooks. Big Announcements Playstation 3 to launch on 17 November for $500 In an otherwise rather underwhelming presentation of its next-generation game console and upcoming software titles, Sony unveiled during the E3 opening keynote the launch date and price of the Playstation 3: The console will be available just in time for the holiday season and be available in two versions for $500 and $600 - and will include a motion-sensitive controller. Read more... Nintendo Wii hitting store shelves in Q4 Nintendo today announced at its keynote at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that it will be launching its next-generation gaming consoled "Wii" in the fourth quarter of this year. Read more... Update: Microsoft to offer HD DVD drive for Xbox 360 in Q4 Microsoft confirmed at E3 that it will be offering an external HD DVD drive for its Xbox 360 gaming console in the fourth quarter of this year. Compared to Sony's Blu-ray, HD DVD will offer similar functionality, but will be available for substantially less money, Microsoft promised. Read more... Game Previews Crysis makes a breathtaking first impression First Impressions: Battlefield: 2142 from EA for Windows PCs Preview: Heavenly Sword for PS3 NCsoft previews third Guild Wars installment First look: F.E.A.R, Saint's Row and Crackdown for Xbox 360 E3 2006 First Impressions: Company of Heroes by Relic for Windows PCs Preview: Superman game character will not return in time for the movie First Impressions: Gundam: Mobile Suit for PS3 First Impressions: Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man for PS3 E3 2006 Preview: The hot games list Latest News and News not to miss Preview: Indiana Jones and The Next Crusade LucasArts has announced at E3 that their first internally developed title for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 will be Indiana Jones 2007 (set in 1939, we're assured it's a working title.) MotoGP coming to Playstation Portable Sony has announced that Namco will be bringing the MotoGP series to the Playstation Portable in an iteration designed from the ground up for the handheld console. Next Call of Duty not for the PC Despite not actually featuring it on the show floor, the World War II FPS franchise Call of Duty has been creating some waves at E3, with the news that the next iteration in the series will not be appearing on the PC; and the quiet news that it will be getting a Playstation Portable release. Lego Star Wars II: The Good Trilogy One of the games being previewed at E3 for what I suppose we can now call the "Alzheimer's Generation" of consoles is Lego Star Wars II. The 10 most over-used words and phrases from E3 2006 Drumroll, please. As E3 2006 wraps up today after a long and eventful week, the editors of TG Daily, TwitchGuru and Toms Hardware decided it was time to to list the most overused words and phrases from the show this year. NCsoft unveils PlayNC, offers free MMOs Korean online gaming company NCsoft is increasing its play in the MMO space with PlayNC, the company's new plan to offer free games. During E3 this week NCsoft provided a preview of four of the MMOs under PlayNC. Sony ditches rumble pack in favor of motion sensor in PS3 controller Sony gave conference goers at E3 this week a first look at its new PlayStation 3, including the consoles new controller. While the PS3 controller has been accused of being a Nintendo Revolution/Wii knockoff because of its similar motion sensor capabilities, we felt in a first hands-on demo that the controller does provide fairly impressive game play capabilities. Nintendo steals Sony's, Microsoft's thunder at E3 On the second day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), it becomes clear that Nintendo's upcoming Wii console grabs the attention of show attendees at a much faster pace that the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. Atari bailing water at a frantic rate, slashes all game prices to $20 Atari is in trouble again, the company announced that they're it is slashing all their game prices, on all formats, to $20 in North America. Warner announces HD DVD Dirty Harry to coincide with videogame Warner Home Video has announced that they will be releasing a "definitive" new collection of the Dirty Harry movies, produced and released in HD DVD format, to coincide with the release of the Dirty Harry videogame next year. Ubisoft announces new FPS: Haze Ubisoft has revealed details of a new first-person shooter franchise from the developers of TimeSplitters, entitled Haze. Nintendo shows off more controller action with Red Steel from Ubisoft One of the several games which Nintendo showed off at its press conference earlier was Red Steel from Ubisoft, a first person game which contains both shooting and sword fighting. Yes, yes that is just showing off the controller, but as long as it's fun we won't complain. Alienware announces SLI notebooks Alienware will be offering two portable computers that integrate two Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 graphics processors in SLI configuration. Sony showcases Gran Turismo HD for PlayStation 3 - plays old prepared demo trick The PlayStation 3 was at centre stage during the Sony press conference today, and the first game showcased was Gran Turismo HD, an updated version of GT4 which ostensibly takes advantage of the PlayStation 3 hardware. Go to E3 2006 News Archive Join our discussion on E3 2006

• Notebook Averatec 5120HG CPU Intel Pentium-M 1300 MHz Memory 512 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM CL2.5 Chipset Northbridge Intel 855GM/82855GM (GMCH) Intel ICH4-M Graphics 82852/82855 GM/GME Hard Drive Hitachi Travelstar 80GN C25N040ATMR04 ATA-6 40 GB / 4200UPM / 2 MB, 2.5 Zoll, 9.5mm Ethernet/WLAN Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Intel PRO/WLAN 2100 802.11b DVD-/CD-R/RW-Drive Panasonic UJ811 2x/1x/8x DVD-R/-RW and 16x10x24x CD-R/-RW (Multi-DVD) Drivers & Software OS Microsoft Windows XP 5.10.2600, Service Pack 1 DirectX 9.0b Chipset Driver Intel INF 5.1.1.1002 Graphics Driver Intel 13.6.1 Resolution 1024x768, 32 Bit, 60 Hz (15" TFT Display) Others Video Source NorthQ 5000 DVD Player, S-Video Video Material Star Wars DVD DVD Express S-Video Conclusion In our view, the image quality we achieved capturing in "good quality" or 4 mbps should have surpassed that of a Super Video CD - but this was not the case. Only switching to "better" or "best" (6 and 9 mbps, respectively) delivers the desired results - without visible deficits from compressing the video data. While we would have liked to have had an internal power supply during the tests in order to have only a single piece of equipment to lug around from place to place, that would hike the operating temp even further. Since the DVD XPress runs hot when in use, you shouldn't keep it under a pile of papers.