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Ninja Gaiden II (June 3): Temco's original Ninja Gaiden revamp for the first Xbox was considered one of the console's best games...and one of its hardest to complete. Now Temco brings the sequel to the Xbox 360 this June..it looks better, it has your main character battling lots of weird and odd creatures and it's likely to be a game that will be among the most challenging ever made. You have been warned... (By the way, an original DS game, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, ships to stores on March 25)

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (June 3): The Civilization series has always been among the top of PC gamer's list of esssential game franchises and now developer Firaxis and publisher 2K Games release the first console only version of the historical turn based strategy series. Look for the traditional elements of the PC game, combined with a console interface and online multiplayer for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions (a DS version will also be released).

Metal Gear Solid 4 (June 12): The PS3's biggest third party exclusive is finally in sight as Konami's stealth action game franchise makes its long anticipated debut on Sony's newest console. Solid Snake is back, and even though he looks a little long in the tooth, he can still get behind enemies and kill them before they even knew he was there. And there's mechs, guns and all sorts of other stuff.

Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway (June): Another long delayed UbiSoft game looks like it will get released this June. Developer Gearbox Software creates their third game in the long running WWII tactical shooter series for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 as the troops participate in the real life Operation Market Garden (no Sean Connery impersonations, though..darn).

The Bourne Conspiracy (June): Developer High Moon and publisher Sierra bring us this third-person action game that's (sort of) based on The Bourne Identity, the first movie in the Jason Bourne spy action series (which itself is based on the Robert Ludlum novel) with some additional story content as well. While Matt Damon's voice and likeness won't be in this game, The Bourne Conspiracy will have input from the movie's screenwriter Tony Gilroy along with the film's fight coordinator that will hopefully give this title more heft than the normal movie based game.

Mass Effect For The PC (May 27): BioWare's Xbox 360 sci-fi RPG was a big commercial and critical hit back in November and in May PC gamers get a chance to check out the deep storyline, the solid combat and the terrific role-playing features. The PC version, developed by BioWare and Demiurge Studios, will feature a new UI and customized controls especially made for the PC port along with a new decryption mini-game. There's no word if the PC version will get the extra downloadable content that the Xbox 360 version already has available.

Warhammer Online (June): Electronic Arts bought Mythic Entertainment nearly two years ago on the strength of the company's previous MMO title Dark Age of Camelot along with the potential that exists in Warhammer Online, the long delayed fantasy MMO based on the Games Workshop created war game. It looks like it will be sometime in June when the game finally goes live. With lots of orcs, golins, eft and dwarf combat and the promise of massive player army battles, it's the MMO title that could (and we emphasize the world "could") finally be the game that gets a lot of folks off that World of Warcrack binge.

Conclusion

As you can see, spring 2008 should be anything but dull if you are a hardcore gamer, a casual player, or anywhere in between. And there might be one or two suprise releases that we haven't learned about yet! Unfortunately it looks like summer 2008 will follow the typical time table with little to no major game releases until late August/early September...but we will get to that timeline in three months.