The 18 Mystery Xbox 360 games that you know nothing about...

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It's not all about American-developed AAA titles like Halo 3 and Gears Of War, y'know. In locations as far flung as Minsk, Sydney and, er, Leamington Spa, small independent studios are beavering away making Xbox 360 games that will, hopefully, add breadth and depth to the already cracking roster of stuff available (or soon to be available) for our console. While some previously announced titles have already fallen by the wayside and others are teetering on the edge of the 'Project Cancelled' precipice, most of the games featured here will see a release sometime in 2007. But will it be worth forking out £50 to play them? Well that's the rub, isn't it, and sadly we don't have the answers for you. Yet. There's plenty of promise in this 'little ones to watch' list, though, and you're sure to find several games to set your gaming fingers a-twitching. N-n-n-n-n-n-n-nineteen...

1. POSSESSION
From: Volatile
Who did: Reservoir Dogs
And live in: Leamington Spa, UK

With Dead Rising bringing the office to a virtual standstill, our interest in this zombie-flavoured horror has been reignited. Although nothing has been heard about Possession in over nine months, we're assured by Blitz that it's very much still on and it's only protracted negotiations with potential publishers that's holding up the unveiling process. The twist here is that instead of battling zombie hordes, you actually control them, 'you' being The Enslaver, a mutated humanoid type. With dreadlocks. The Enslaver can infect people, form a zombie army and then take them on a rampage, with the ultimate aim of defeating the shady corporation (yes, one of those again) who made the main character a mutant. We're promised a blend of strategy and action and online possibilities are exciting, with one-versus-many gameplay cited as one of the main Xbox Live modes.

IMPRESSIONS
Brimming with potential but still under wraps thanks to publisher gagging orders, one to watch for sure.

2. THESEIS
From: Track 7 Games
Who did: It's the studio's debut
And live in: Athens, Greece

Labelled a 'conspiracy fantasy adventure set in modern-day Athens', Theseis could well be the first true puzzle-based adventure on 360 (we're not counting Tomb Raider, that was hardly a brain-teaser). Playing as either of two paranormal researchers, you're on the trail of an ancient artefact, Theseis, that could spell doom for mankind, or possibly salvation. Drenched in ancient Greek mythology, we're promised sojourns in Hades etc as well as pottering around the Parthenon, all from a third-person view. We'll leave it to Track 7 to try and sell it to you: "Awe and dread, humour and split-second decisions, discovery and betrayal, the mythical and the mundane, are all intertwined in this fast-paced crossing to the other side, where your only hope is the discarded rumour of ancient folklore, dubious medieval books and above all, your wits!" Well, it sounds good.

IMPRESSIONS
A proper puzzler is more than welcome on 360, and we look forward to this Da Vinci Code-alike affair.

3. HUXLEY
From: Webzen
Who did: MU Online (PC MMORPG)
And live in: All over the Far East

Of all the games on show at this year's E3, none attracted quite so much attention as this online-focused shooter. Was it really that good? We didn't think so, but the hordes queuing up to play didn't seem to care, perhaps thanks to the offer of inflatable Webzen bodyboards, Webzen necklaces (really), a load of other tat, a horde of hotpant-clad beauties to dish out the goodies and a stage full of dancing girls to entertain them as they battled. Only on PC at the show, the Deathmatches seemed pretty ordinary, the environments pretty drab and the guns and vehicles none too spectacular either. Certainly no Halo 2, but there's no doubt plenty more to be sampled, including a sizeable offline single-player mode. Huxley will also feature cross platform online play (360 and PC).

IMPRESSIONS
Huxley screams 'average at best' to us, perhaps because we didn't get a Webzen necklace at E3.

4. CITIZEN ZERO
From: Microforte
Who did: Fallout Tactics (PC)
And live in: Sydney, Australia

This Antipodean studio has been around for two decades but Citizen Zero is its first game in a while as the company has been focusing on development toolsets for multiplayer online games. Little wonder, then, that its 360 debut is predominantly a Live experience, a sci-fi shooter with RPG elements and a heavy focus on clan building. Details are scarce but we do know that the action takes place on the world of Tyhpron, a penal colony set up by, you guessed it, some kind of mega corporation. You play as a prisoner who has broken the shackles of his 'behavioural inhibiter chip' and is free to explore the world, advance his character in numerous different directions, join a faction and, of course, frag the shit out of everyone.

IMPRESSIONS
Like many of the games in this list, Citizen Zero sounds decent on paper...

5. TWO WORLDS
From: Reality Pump
Who did: Earth 2160 (PC)
And live in: Krakow, Poland

On paper, Two Worlds is and Oblivion beater. Delicious screenshots of a vast environment, non-linear gameplay with your decisions changing the outcome of events and the path of the story, simple yet multifaceted combat system and a musical score written by Harold 'Beverley Hills Cop' Faltermeyer being just a few of the reasons we've got high hopes for this Tolkien-alike RPG. The story involves the usual fantasy nonsense (which we love!) of Orcish armies rising up and threatening the Dwarves, Elves and Men with extinction as they seek to harness the power of some dead God or other, but the twist here is that you don't have to side with the good guys. Unfortunately we've yet to see the game in action so whether or not the bold claims are anything more than PR hot air remains to be seen.

IMPRESSIONS
The next great fantasy RPG? Here's hoping, and it certainly looks to be heading in the right direction

6. THE SHADOW OF ATEN
From: Silicon Garaje Arts
Who did: It's their first game
And live in: Madrid, Spain

The subtitle 'The Egyptian Chronicles Of Allan Scott' should you leave you in no doubt as to what this adventure title is all about. Yep, easy parallels can be drawn with Indiana Jones and Lara Croft games, and in fact Shadow's plot reads like that of The Last Crusade, give or take a year and a few different ancient artefacts. Set in 1936, British ex-serviceman Scott nips over to Egypt to investigate a mysterious death and soon finds himself up to his Fedora in an arms and antiquity trafficking ring, a plan to filch a horde of treasure from the tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and a conspiracy to prepare Egypt for Nazi invasion. As with the story, the gameplay suggests it'll be very much a Doctor Jones affair, with scraps, puzzling, car chases, camel-riding, exploration and similar blockbusting adventure film antics, all wrapped up in the locales and myths of ancient Egypt.

IMPRESSIONS
While it all sounds rather paint-by-numbers, we can't complain about the prospect of camel riding.

7. INTERSTELLAR MARINES
From: Zero Point Software
Who did: It's their first game
And live in: Frederiksberg, Denmark

So it's got a name that's somewhere between a Paul Verhoeven movie and a Pink Floyd album but this slice of Danish Sci-Fi shooter bacon is looking very tasty, if the latest trailer is anything to go by. While unlikely to win any awards for originality - your mum could have dreamed up the it's-the-near-future-and-mankind-are-livingin-space-oh-shit-there-are-some-monsters premise - the game formerly known as Project IM is causing a minor stir with its alluring visuals, squad-based soldiering and an enemy that's a fast-moving shark... with legs! Brilliance itself. Expect the action to take place in space stations overrun by deranged robots and genetically screwed creatures and a shady mega-corporation behind all the fuss.

IMPRESSIONS
An above average paint-by-numbers space shooter, we're guessing.

8. TERRA: FORMATIONS
From: Star Cave Studios
Who did: Camelot Galway City Of The Tribes (PC)
And live in: Galway, Ireland

We want this multi-genre space opera to be good for three reasons. First, the name of the company, Star Cave, is just lovely. Second, Star Cave are based in Galway, which is just as lovely. Third, the developers recently released a cute-as-a-button PC edutainment title about life in 17th Century Ireland. Anyway, Terra: Formations is an MMOFPSRTSRPG. Say what?! Yep, you can play it as a shooter while taking time out to expand your character's stats through adventuring, or you can take overall strategic command, directing battles from your general's chair. And it's fully online. That's all the info we have for the mo' and while the first screens aren't overwhelming, it's an ambitious project showing a lot of promise.

IMPRESSIONS
Far too early to make a call but if the end product matches the early ambition, it should be a winner.

9. ELVEON
From: 10tacle Studios
Who did: GTR (PC racer)
And live in: Darmstadt, Germany

More high fantasy RPG action is on the cards with this, an Elf-only adventure that punched our ticket at E3 with its arresting looks and dynamic combat system. The focus appears to be very much centred on the fighting, backed up by a thoughtful story (the developers have invented their own Elvish language, would you believe) and we're told a simple upgrade system is in place that will allow you to advance your character's scrapping style and improve his proficiency with your preferred weapon, be it twin daggers, sword, spear or bow. We've been invited over to 10Tacle's German studio to see the game 'sometime in the next month' and naturally we'll report back and inform you as to how it's shaping up since its E3 showing.

IMPRESSIONS
Perhaps not as ambitious as Two Worlds but we're digging it so far.

10. VOODOO NIGHTS
From: Mindware
Who did: Cold War
And live in: Prague, Czech Republic

The outfit behind recent Xbox release Cold War, the game we labelled 'a crap Splinter Cell', announced this buddy shooter back in October last year. Since then, nothing. Not a screenshot or detail has come out of Mindware's Czech studio and the game was absent from E3. Is it still in development? There's no evidence to suggest otherwise but if we don't see anything fresh come the autumn, it might be time to worry. Which would be a shame because there aren't enough games featuring voodoo magic, come to think of it.

IMPRESSIONS
Well, the front page of the official website is nice. Unfortunately it's the only page. But we're still very much hoping the pins will be out soon...

11. 2 DAYS TO VEGAS
From: Steel Monkeys
Who did: Rocky
And live in: Minsk, Belarus

Since sending ripples of excitement through the gaming world in mid-2005 with a handful of astonishing screenshots, it's all gone quiet on the 2 Days... front. One of the Steel Monkeys bods did hold court on a forum answering questions about the online elements, but it was all in Russian. Niet! Offline the game has you playing as a newly-released felon and it's set in various US cities over the course of 48 hours. The spiel reads like a mixture of Driver and GTA but with no word of a release date and no new info for an age, we're beginning to worry...

IMPRESSIONS
Car chases, US cities, gun battles and stunning screenshots: great. No fresh info for a year: troubling.

12. INFERNAL
From: Metropolis Software
Who did: Archangel (PC)
And live in: Warsaw, Poland

Previously going by the rather silly name Diabolique: Licence To Sin, Infernal puts you in the shoes of - get this - a top intelligence agent who's also 'a devil straight from Hell'. Great! So one minute you're sneaking about like Sam Fisher using Q-style gadgetry or dishing out justice from the barrel of a gun, the next you've turned into your ghostly demon form and are feeding off the souls of the enemies you've defeated with your supernatural powers and otherworldly weaponry. While we've yet to see Infernal in action, there are a truckload of screenshots that make the game look as uninspiring as it sounds.

IMPRESSIONS
Yawn! At least it's not another sci-fi shooter, but they're going to have to work very hard to convince us that this is anything but C-list gaming.

13. TUROK
From: Propaganda Games
Who did: Er, it's a brand new studio And live in: Vancouver, Canada

The fifth adventure in the Turok series is limbering up for a 2007 release and in a shock departure from tradition, dino-fragging is taking a back seat. Playing as the archetypal ex-special forces hard nut Joseph Turok, you and your posse blast off into deep space on a mission to capture a war crimes fugitive hiding out on a 'genetically altered planet' (ie it's full of dinosaurs). The criminal's mercenary army form your main opposition while the big lizards will attempt to eat anyone they come across regardless of their allegiance. Turok was looking okay when we saw it but the near-future weaponry and oh-so-familiar gameplay made the whole thing appear somewhat generic.

IMPRESSIONS
Great sound and tidy visuals but we're not happy that the dinos have been reduced to a supporting role.

MISSING IN ACTION...
Hello? Hello? Anyone there?

14. DOGTAG
From: Diezelpower
Who did: It's their debut
And live in: Nice, France

Dogtag was announced during E3 2005 and while it appeared to be something of a Clancy-clone shooter, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. What was a bad thing was Diezelpower's publisher Digital Jesters crashing. We emailed the studio to ask what the score was. The reply? Ominous silence. Signs are that Dogtag, c'est morte.

STILL COMING?
If there's money left in the pot to continue development then hopefully another publisher can be acquired.

15. METRONOME
From: Team Tarsier
Who did: It's their first game
And live in: Sweden

Mixed messages are coming out of Sweden with regard to this. Basically, having secured a publishing deal, Team Tarsier is no longer talking about its sound-based adventure. But why? Our sources tell us it's likely the publisher is making them rework the game from scratch because the original demo was just too far out. We hope the game is still on as its artistic style was brilliantly unique and the concept refreshingly innovative.

STILL COMING?
In its original form? Very unlikely, but we're confident this will happen.

CANNED!
Three games that are definitely no longer with us... sniff...

16. KILLING DAY
From: Ubisoft

Quietly brushed under the carpet by Ubisoft, we only ever got to see three (admittedly pretty darn nice) screenshots of this FPS. Ubi decided the game didn't have any hope of commercial success and that was that. Tchah.




17. RETRIBUTION
From: U-235 Studios

After 15 months of work, the great hope of newly-formed Aussie developer U-235 was killed off because the team couldn't secure a publisher and hence ran out of cash. Might have been okay. We'll never know.




18. DEMONIK
From: Terminal Reality

Famed horror scribe Clive Barker was on board for story and artistic direction duties and was also said to making a film for simultaneous release with the game. Not any more he isn't. It did look guff. And now we've got Jericho to fill the gap...

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