While Nintendo and Sony showed off new hardware and "nice, but not quite there yet" games at E3 2006, Microsoft was impressing with a strong lineup of Xbox 360 games. Find out what games we're drooling over after the show right here.

1. Gears of War

After all of the hype and promises from Epic and Microsoft about how great Gears of War is going to be, we can say happily after E3 2006 that the game will definitely deliver. The third-person-shooter gameplay focuses more on using cover and teamwork than just running around madly shooting everything, and it is this new focus that makes Gears of War so impressive. It is more than just another blood soaked shooter. Emergence day is sometime this Fall.

2. Dead Rising

Trapped in a mall filled with weapons and having to combat thousands of zombies. This isn?t a nightmare, this is paradise! The sheer number of ways to dispatch the living dead is the key here, but Dead Rising is more than just a non-stop beat-em-up. You will also meet other humans that you need to help ? or not, and you also need to take pictures of the zombie invasion whenever possible.

3. Halo 3

The two minute trailer of Halo 3 was created with the in-game graphics engine, so Master Chief?s super-detailed armor is exactly like we can expect when we finally get to play Halo 3 in 2007. When the music picks up and you see the Covenant flying all over and a huge weapon appearing on Earth it is hard not to get excited. It makes me desperately want Halo 3, so it was certainly effective.

4. Mass Effect

BioWare = Quality. That is all you really need to know. Mass Effect is a new sci-fi RPG that is the first game in an eventual trilogy. The combat is in real-time but you can pause the action to tell your teammates where to go on the battlefield. You can also freely switch between your team members to take advantage of their unique abilities. The game looks great and the story of galactic genocide that wipes out a species in order to make room for a new one is fascinating.

5. Prey

Prey caught my attention thanks to its absolutely amazing graphics. Since it uses the Doom 3 engine, you know it is going to look good, but it will still surprise you just how great everything looks. The FPS gameplay mixes alien weapons with mysterious ancient powers and should be pretty good. The best part: Prey is going to hit the Xbox 360 in July!

6. Alan Wake

Alan Wake is a psychological thriller that Peter Moore describes as a ?genre buster?. We don?t really even know what the gameplay is going to be like, but the graphics are looking very pretty and the storyline is very intriguing. The main character runs to a small town to try and escape his past but finds something even worse. Sounds very good to me.

7. WWE SmackDown! vs Raw 2007

Finally, a decent wrestling game will appear on the Xbox 360! After the massive failures of the Raw games and the absolutely horrible WrestleMania 21, THQ has finally wised up and is going to give fans what we have wanted all along ? a SmackDown! game on an Xbox console.

8. Marvel Ultimate Alliance

The next entry in the X-Men Legends franchise extends the character roster to include the entire Marvel universe. Fighting alongside the X-Men will be Spider-Man, Blade, Thor, Ghost Rider, the Thing, and many, many more. The graphics and gameplay are also getting major upgrades from the Legends games as well. This is going to be a game to watch for this fall.

9. Lumines Live!

An Xbox Live Arcade game in my E3 top ten? You bet! Lumines is awesome on the PSP and there is no doubt that it will be every bit as good when it hits Xbox Live Arcade. Lumines is such an incredible visual and aural experience on the small PSP screen that it isn?t hard to imagine just how great it will be on an HDTV and surround sound setup.

10. Dead or Alive Xtreme 2

DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball is one of my favorite Xbox games and DOA Xtreme 2 looks to deliver more of the same. A fun, upbeat atmosphere, simple yet fun minigames, catchy music, amazing graphics ? its all here. Oh, and the DOA girls in bikinis too.