Okay, I have to say that in my many years of gaming, this has easily been one of the most stellar first six months of a year that I can remember. We've had huge releases ranging from RPGs to platformers to shooters to racers and more. Normally all the really good games are saved for the Christmas holiday season. Here in 2010 game developers and publishers must have realized that gamers really do enjoy having AAA titles all year long, because that's exactly what we've had and there are plenty more to come.

As a matter of fact, this month will reveal all kinds of gaming goodness during the Electronic Entertainment Expo. There's a lot of anticipation surrounding this year's E3 because of two particular buzz words: 3D and motion control (which is technically two words, but you know what I meant). Microsoft will unveil their Project Natal in all its glory, and hopefully the rumors of that $150 stand-alone price won't be confirmed. Sony, meanwhile, will unveil its Playstation Move, and again, hopefully they'll reveal a lower price point (current rumors have it under a hundred bucks... per controller; and $99 doesn't really feel like "under $100"). While Move currently appears to be nothing more than an HD version of what the Wii already does, Project Natal still remains a bit of an enigma. Yes, there's potential there, as there is with Sony's improved version of Nintendo's motion controls; but can that potential be realized? We may get a hint of that at this year's E3.

The other big buzz word is 3D, and Sony seems to be the most eager to spearhead this effort. Killzone 3 will be playable in 3D to showcase what the PS3 can do in 3D, and the creators even claim the 3D version will make gamers even better in their shooting skills (something about depth of field or whatever making you more precise). Microsoft says the Xbox 360 is 3D capable and ready, but they're taking more of a wait-and-see attitude toward the current (and I have to say manufactured) 3D craze. Nintendo, as you might expect, is doing something different with the introduction of the 3DS, a new version of their venerable handheld platform with stereoscopic 3D technology that doesn't require heavy, bulky glasses. Again, intriguing technology, but what is it going to do for me as a gamer?

So there's a lot be revealed this year at E3 and a lot of questions that we hope will be answered. We'll do our best to keep you all up to date on the latest developments at this year's E3.

Meanwhile, what about the games? Well, we recently posted a review for Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2, easily two of the biggest and most well reviewed releases of the year. Check out our thoughts on these games at the Playbox. As for what we're working on, there have been so many releases in May and many more in June that our GameFly account is having a little trouble keeping up, but here's a few games we're working on. We'll finally get our review of the Xbox 360 version of Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands in next couple weeks. Also we have Split/Second on the way (a racer I'm very excited about), we'll learn if Wii MotionPlus still has a few tricks up its sleeve for Tiger Woods 11, the intriguing Transformers: War for Cybertron releases this month (could it actually be a good Transformers game, I sure hope so), Toy Story 3 will try to prove that movie tie-in games can be innovative and fun, and at the end of the month Lego gets us ready for the end of Harry Potter (the first of the last two movies debuts later this year) with Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4.

Between all of those games and the big E3 event, we'll have a lot cover. Keep up by following us on Twitter at twitter.com/GamerYo or twitter.com/EyeLoveFilms (that's Michael's Twitter). Also, be sure to look for the female/gamer-wife take on all of this as my wife shares her perspective on all that's currently going on in the gaming world. All of us here at the Playbox hope what we do proves useful for you as you try and figure which game you should or should not play, and don't be shy about leaving us feedback in the comments section.

I am a huge Burnout fan. I've been with that series since the very first game, and Burnout Paradise with its copious amounts of DLC still stands as not only one of the best racers around, but also an example of a game that was really well supported post-launch.

Now, if you're a fan of simulation-style racing, you have several great choices, typically with odd names such as Forza or Gran Turismo. However, when it comes to a blend of both sim and arcade racing with blazing speed and amazing, destructive crashes, Burnout was pretty much the only (really good) game in town.

Well, this year we've seen a couple of contenders for the Burnout crown, one being Blur which features real-world vehicles in a kart racing type game with Modern Warfare-style skill progression. The other is Split/Second, a game that blends reality TV with action movie-like car chases, lots of explosions, and Burnout-like car destruction.

It's this second game that we're reviewing today, and although it doesn't quite reach the lofty heights of Burnout's Paradise City, it's still explosive fun for those who may be burned out on... uh... Burnout.

Split/Second is set-up as a reality based TV show, and your career is split up into various episodes of the show...

Click through for more...