January 16, 2007 - If 2006 was a springboard year for Microsoft's Xbox 360, then 2007 will be the year it leaps onto a trampoline and pulls off triple spin-flips. This year is thick and juicy with great games no matter how you dice it.

It's actually a little scary. Whether they are first- or third-party games, exclusives, or big-time franchises, this year will bring blockbusters on a massive scale -- Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV are coming out on the same system in the same season. Then there is Mass Effect, Forza 2, Too Human, Crackdown, Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, The Darkness, and dozens more.

Developers have familiarized themselves with the Xbox 360's three core heart, learned how to appropriately design Achievements, drilled down into Xbox Live, and started making their games look awful pretty. With Gears of War setting the tone for top-level graphics, rival developers will heed the call and step up their games to new levels. Developers will step up gameplay, too, not just graphics. Look for substantial jumps in AI and new gameplay that sprouts from robust physics.

The first three months of 2007 kick it off. In today's feature, we've picked and previewed the top 10 titles of the winter (January, February and March) to provide you with a head-start on the party. Check our top 10 picks, as well as those games that have already snuck out (Lost Planet and NCAA March Madness 07), while keeping your other eye on Samurai Warriors 2 Empires, Bullet Witch, Earth Defense Force, and Fuzion Frenzy 2.

What to Expect: Previously under THQ's helm, Battlestations Midway has switched publishers and release dates. Now under the tutelage of Eidos, this intriguing real-time strategy title puts gamers into the shoes of a World War II American Naval soldier heading straight into oceanic combat. While a little rough around the edges on the graphic side, Battlestations holds its own on the gameplay front. You'll command dozens of realistic American naval and air craft from battle ships, submarines and PT boats to air craft carriers, fighter planes, and bomb-carrying vessels. The best part is being able to fully handle airplanes, subs and sea-craft in combat, instead of just watching them.

What to Expect: Crackdown is the first effort from the new studio Real Time Worlds, founded by GTA creator David Jones. Knowing that, you probably aren't surprised to learn that Crackdown is another sandbox, open world game that challenges you to explore the world and do as you please. This isn't any old GTA clone, though. Crackdown is looking to break new ground in the genre by infusing a superhero feel to the main character, complete with all of the superhuman powers and explosions that every crime fighter needs. Crackdown will also have online and offline co-operative multiplayer modes, giving you the option of tackling the city's criminals with a friend by your side.

What to Expect: Def Jam: Icon isn't just a run of the mill sequel with updated graphics. EA went back to the drawing board and asked themselves what they could do to make music, the one unifying theme in the Def Jam series, more integral to the gameplay. They then combined that new emphasis with a modified form of the Fight Night Round 3 controls to come up with a brawler that feels wholly original and should inject new life into the hip-hop series. Environmental interaction, explosions that come in rhythm with the music, and a fluid dual analog control system all make this one to keep an eye on.