Looking forward to the console hits

These are good times for gamers. New consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have ignited furious competition the likes of which has not been seen since the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and N64 wars of the mid-1990s. The sensational games at E3, the industry's annual show in Los Angeles last week, shows that this one-upmanship can only be a force for good. So what games will have you hooked come Christmas? Here are our predictions.

Super Mario Sunshine (Nintendo)

Luigi's Mansion was a nice enough launch game for Nintendo's GameCube but what everyone really wanted was to see how a Mario game would fare in a next-generation console. The good news is the little Italian plumber takes platform games to new heights. Fully 3D, naturally, he's even easier to move around and, armed with a jet pack and water gun, he fights to clear his name from allegations he has polluted a holiday island.

The biggest Xbox news was the unveiling of its online capability. Available only through broadband, XBox Live should cost about £35 a year when it launches this autumn. It promises some interesting features, including The Xbox Communicator headset, which will make talking to fellow players during gameplay - maybe to agree tactics - a reality. First-person shooters Unreal Championship and Halo both look mouth-watering online prospects.

At last Tomb Raider makers have shed the emphasis on the cartoon breasts and made PlayStation2's first Tomb Raider darker and more Metal Gear Solid-like in approach. Depending on your mood, you can either sneak up on enemies or interact with them RPG-style to find out more of the plot. Like Microsoft, Sony announced plans for online capability this year but only gave a US release date.

This rally game stood out a mile simply by being a little different. Car racers are notoriously poor on handhelds, but not this one - it looks absolutely stunning. And it plays wonderfully too, being a speedy, scaled-down version of hit games on PlayStation. With a June release date, this is a GBA must-have.

Although it probably won't get released this year, Doom III looked incredible. The infamous first-person shooter looks more lifelike than ever with the mission of the single marine being more ghoulish and future-shock than any of the previous Doom imprints. Set in a darkly industrial world packed with zombies, there's a definite emphasis on close-quarters fighting rather than sniper-based action. Very, impressive indeed.