Sega reintroduces Sonic the Hedgehog for the next generation this holiday season, and this looks like the Sonic game that could put the hedgehog back on top. I had the chance to play the Sonic at X'06 and I was impressed with the simplistic controls, crazy environments and bright graphics. Sonic needs to be able to appeal wide audience from kids all the way up to adults and I think they might have found the right balance.

In Sonic the Hedgehog you will be playing through the adventure using three different Hedgehogs, Sonic, Shadow, and the new addition Silver. Each character has a unique way to play the game which should keep things fresh. Sonic has the speed, Shadow has the firepower and Silver is mutated out with some sweet psycho-kinesis baby! After running through one level with Sonic and Silver I respected the two different approaches each character has to offer. The level design and gameplay approach generally is inviting and looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully Sonic's new next generated red sneakers will revive this franchise to its former glory.

The guilty pleasure of gaming, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 was on the show floor. Team Ninja has amped up their controversial Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball game with a host of new modes which focuses on much more than volleyball. DOAX2 is similar to a party game of sorts on one end while providing a voyeuristic look into the relationships and girls behind Tecmo's fighting franchise. I was a rough (not) obligation to my journalistic duties to further investigated the beach party on Zacks Island .

In the demo, everything except the story mode and casino was available and I tried out most of the new modes. The most impressive new addition to DOAX2 is the Jet Ski racing available in short or long races. The Jet Ski mode is your basic Wave race game with good graphics and girls in bikinis. The water was a little shaky, but once I did a few rounds I started to get the handling of the ski. This mode will probably be the biggest draw besides the actual volleyball in DOAX2, and for those adventurous types will be able to hide your pride online for a few good rounds on the Jet Ski. Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 is more like a real game this time around and it was refreshing seeing a game without violence, guns, and racing. I know you'll be checking out this box when it hits shelves late November.

I was really questioning the quality of Superman Returns when I approached the EA terminal. First, there hasn't been a good Superman game yet and secondly the older builds where a little bit underdeveloped. Its seems Electronics Arts and Warner Bros. have put aside more resources and given the development team what it need to get closer to their vision. Superman Returns is loosely follows this years Superman's movie plot, but also gives the player a free-roam open world Metropolis to explore.

Being a fan of comic books in general, I had to get in the action. I found Superman Returns to be similar to Spiderman 2 from Activision in the way you roam around the city opting to do missions, rescue attempts, or any other task to help out the fair citizens in Metropolis. Although in Superman Returns the scale is much larger, Metropolis has to be at three times the size of Spiderman's NYC. One hurtle EA had to over come was making Superman simply feel super, and they had to implement flying along with ground based game mechanics. In this respect Superman comes off with flying colours, its real easy go from the ground to miles above the clouds in the sky.

I didn't get into the story mode because I was having too much fun running around the city throwing around cars and freezing fiery inferno with my ice breath. Superman Returns might be a surprise to a lot of gamers who have lowered their expectations. If the story mode can connect to the already impressive scale and size of the game, well it should be a winner. I can feel the hours slipping away already. Not bad EA.