TOKYO - It was strange to walk through the Sony booth and see mainly smaller titles, with no blockbuster sequels to knock heads against Sega's Sakura Taisen 2. Sony was pushing its action puzzle game XI (Sai), handing out demo discs of the game to the press. It's a dice puzzle game with six different modes of play (tutorial, trial, battle, wars, and the standard game).

　　Stolen Song was another game making a big splash at Sony's booth. Dubbed a Rhythm Guitar Game, you jam out to the game's songs just as if you were starting a real music career. The game is filled with plenty of full motion video along the way, and you can even play a two-player jam with a friend.

　　One of the more promising games at Sony's booth for a US release was Fire Panic, designed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. It looks a lot like Burning Rangers, only with a Blasto-type rendered character in the starring role. Much like Burning Rangers, your goal is a search-and-rescue mission inside towering infernos.

　　Games filling out Sony's lineup included Great Peak, a mountain climbing simulator, Carl the Dark Angel (a PlayStation comic, not a game), and a few full motion video drama titles in the same vein as the popular life simulator genre.

　　There was unfortunately no sign of Parappa 2, a game that was recently confirmed to be in development at the present time. But both Crash Bandicoot and Parappa were present at Sony's booth, advertising its already released titles.