You got a pretty good taste of some big games EA SPORTS™ has in store this next year at the E3 show -- but Madden NFL 06, The Godfather™ The Game and Burnout™ Revenge aren?t the only titles now getting buzz. On June 9th, EA SPORTS held a smaller press event in San Francisco?s ultra chic Fluid Bar and Lounge to unveil a few more hit franchises due out for release this Fall, which included SSX On Tour, NHL 06, NBA LIVE 06, NCAA® March Madness® 06, FIFA Soccer 06,Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 06 and PC version of Madden NFL 06.

I got to see them all -- as did the other 30 or so scribes from major gaming websites and publications -- but unfortunately, my lips are sealed when it comes to March Madness and FIFA Soccer (I'll have more on those titles in July). What I can tell you, though, is that SSX On Tour is going to take fans by surprise.

?Glad to see [SSX On Tour] come back and changed up a little,? said Will Tuttle from Gamespy, when asked what the hit of the event was. ?The Monster tricks are totally different with skiing [versus boarding], and the audio cues are different too. It?s the real deal.?

That pretty much sums up the vibe of the event -- SSX is shaping up to blow it out this year. With the focus of the game being ?choose your path to become a black diamond rockstar,? the hardcore ski and snowboard lifestyle are nailed perfectly as you get to define your experience.

When I get my hands on a more polished version of the game, I'll be able to create my little snow-bunny with gear that is almost the same as the stuff I actually use in real life (ok fine, probably a little better): K2 board, Burton boots,Burton Chopper jacket, Special Blend pants, Coal headband and Anon goggles. Hey, you gotta look good on the mountain, right? With this build I decided to get a little crazy boarding with the group shred event rather than racing one-on-one. The slopes were a little crowded, but made for more realistic runs? or in my case, falls.

The game is just cool. The new line-drawing design, music, 13 new skiing or boarding tracks, On Tour career mode, the rockstar theme? all of it is just flat-out cool. When the game team showed the demo with video clips that compared SSX 3 to this year?s game, everyone got a real sense of just how different On Tour is. It?s not quite as arcade-like as SSX 3 was -- it?s much more realistic, but still has the same sense of fun.

Throughout the evening I tried desperately to finagle one of the SSX On Tour hoodies that the game team was giving out as trivia prizes. Either I didn?t have my A-game with me or these hoodies are a hot commodity, because I got shut out completely. Silly me, I thought the Donovan McNabb autographed football that was being given away would be enough of a distraction for me to snag one of the ?extras.?

I?ll admit, I got suckered in to SSX On Tour for much of the evening, but I did make the rounds to the other games that were on display. NHL 06 brings hockey fans back to the fun, pick-up-and-play feel of NHL 94, but with the modern game engine, the new EA SPORTS Skill Stick, major advancements to shooting control, and new realistic puck momentum. (Oh, and an FYI: NHL 94 will be included in the PlayStation®2 version of NHL 06!)

This year's game is all about offense, which not coincidentally comes in part from improvements made to the defense ? you are able to actually set up, rather than just clump together around the puck and hit, which enables you to block and create turnovers that lead to more offense. The realistic puck momentum mimics the crazy flipping and ricocheting that you have to deal with on the ice. It can hurt people, knock them out, cause realistic net movement and even knock the goalie?s water bottle off the net.

NHL 06 Producer David Littman says his favorite part of the game is that ?I can go in the offensive zone and actually [have room to] set up. It?s as fun to play as the Sega Genesis Days.?

Moving around the room to NBA LIVE 06, I was surprised to find myself intrigued by this year?s game. I wouldn?t exactly consider myself a huge basketball fan ? I?m a once-a-year watcher, and I only pay attention to the Finals, because that?s when you see stars at their best, right? Not anymore. NBA LIVE 06 gives gamers Freestyle Superstars: players in the game reflect the specific attributes and superstar strengths that real NBA players have.

There are six Freestyle Superstar attributes in the game, and we were privy to two ? Power and Playmaker. Power Players are like Shaquille O?Neal, taking the ball to the hole and dominating the court, although users have control of when and how to use the Power. Steve Nash is an example of a Playmaker, an unbelievable passer with total court vision. Superstars are recognized by an indicator underneath them while on the court.

In Freestyle Superstar Mode, the user-controlled moves are created by pressing the left trigger + holding or tapping a face button. If you press the left trigger + tapping Y when trying to dunk with Shaq, he?ll go throw out a windmill, while pressing the left trigger + holding Y will give you a one-hand tomahawk. This new focus on the players and their athletic style, rather than simply their appearance, brings the action I enjoy watching during Finals week back into every game in NBA LIVE 06. Maybe that means I should start watching all the games in real life too?

Stay tuned for more info on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06, FIFA Soccer 06, NCAA March Madness 06 and the rest of the EA SPORTS 06 line-up throughout the summer.