Midway, one of the oldest companies in video gaming, this year continued its practice of not actually having a booth on one of the main show floors, but opted again for using one of the large private display areas in Petree Hall of the LA convention center. Here, isolated but not too far from the insanity that is the West hall show floor, it was a little easier to look at a few games without getting run over by the show riff raff with “Exhibits Only” badges (You know who you are!) that tend to rudely hog the games from the people who have actual work to do.

Anyway, Midway had a great variety of games that spanned all platforms and included everything from kids to classic franchises and games for extremely hardcore players. Let’s look at some highlights for the more hardcore gamer.

Unreal Tournament 2007 from Epic Studios looks to be one of the biggest titles for Midway. Primarily designed as a multiplayer game, UT2007 promises to also sport smart A.I. bots to play against. The game utilizes the latest version of the Unreal Engine 3 for ultra realistic combat action. Graphically beautiful with new alien races packing unique weapons to play against, players can look forward to one intense experience when this title hits PS3 and PCs. Too bad it won’t see store shelves until an unspecified date in 2007.

Continuing the story from the John Woo movie Hardboiled, John Woo Presents: Stranglehold is a third-person action game staring Chow Yun-Fat as Inspector Tequila. (What kind of name is Tequila for a Chinese detective?) Stranglehold aspires to allow the player to take control of the main character in a John Woo action flick. Developed by Midway Studios, Chicago, the game uses the Unreal 3.0 and Havok physics engines to make everything in the world destructive and interactive. With lots of gunplay and incredible stunts, Stranglehold comes home this winter for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Midway makes its annual dip into the Mortal Kombat franchise bag and comes up with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. It boasts 50 fighters from the entire life of the series, more than any other MK game before. Armageddon also has new Kreate-a-Fighter and Kreate-a-Fatality modes. Kreate-a-Fighter allows the player to create and define a fighter’s look and abilities and then use them online. The new Kreat-a-Fatality mode has the player stringing together a series of attacks to make his own unique fatality move. With a more robust online capability, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is scheduled to ship this fall for PS2 and Xbox.

Reaching even deeper into its vast vault of game franchises, this September Midway will release its third modern game based on the 1983 arcade game Spy Hunter. But this time there is another star besides the super spy car, The Interceptor. In Spy Hunter: No Where to Run we are introduced to the man behind the wheel – Alex Decker. Decker will be played by none other than wrestler-turned-actor (Aren’t professional wrestlers really actors anyway?) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But we won’t just see The Rock behind the wheel. In this Spy Hunter game the driver actually gets out of the car and performs missions riding only the shoe leather. Developer Terminal Reality promises Spy Hunter: No Where to Run will have some high-action Hollywood moments for PS2 and Xbox owners later this year.

Midway seems to believe in the Sony PSP, even if players are still picking up more Nintendo DS’ than Sony’s powerful but control-hobbled little handheld. To back that belief up, Midway is offering two PSP exclusives.

Mortal Kombat: Unchained, developed by Climax, brings the world of Mortal Kombat to the PSP for the first time. PSP owners even get six new fighters exclusive to the platform. Midway will be including most of the modes that have been showing up in the more recent console games, including the single-player Konquest adventure mode. Probably best of all, players can engage in multiplayer games via the PSP’s Wi-Fi. Look for Mortal Kombat: Unchained to hit retail this fall.

Midway’s other PSP exclusive is based on the 1996 arcade game San Francisco Rush. Called simply Rush, this PSP game offers the player a variety of racing and stunting modes. For multiplayer racing, Rush will take advantage of the PSP’s Wi-Fi capabilities. Also included is a story mode strangely similar to the 2005 console game L.A. Rush where you’ve lost your 30 sweet rides and now have to race to get them back. Let’s hope this game is better than the L.A. Rush game. Developed by Midway Studios, Newcastle, Rush should reach stores this September. - Will Jayson Hill