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The Best Games of E3
July 20, 2008
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We’ve picked these because they exuded a sense of magic or achievement, above the average. We picked them because they are trying to do something different or because they promise extraordinary things.
There were probably 50 games at E3, in some form, that you could tab as promising or good or exciting. We’ve picked 20 that stood out, for us, because they exuded a sense of magic or achievement, above the average.
We picked them because they are trying to do something different or because they promise extraordinary things.
These games, listed alphabetically, represent the industry’s best hopes for the next few months.
Maybe we’ve been suckered by the glitz. Or we’ve omitted something that really ought to have been mentioned. Please add your entries in our Comments section.
The Conduit
Wii
High Voltage
Shown off-site, this attractive Wii shooter has yet to be signed by a publisher. But at a time when hardcore Wii titles are failing to ignite, and when mainstream Wii titles seem samey or gimmicky, this shows promise.
Dead Space
Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC
EA / Redwood Shores
Alien-esque survival horror offers some neat weapons upgrade systems and genuinely frightening moments.
Fable II
Microsoft / Lionhead
Xbox 360
Plenty of opportunities to play with this “finished” game at E3, all of which add to the enigma of Molyneux’s unique RPG. He’s trying a lot of strange new ideas here; not all of them wholly convincing, but it adds up to something greater.
Fallout 3
Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Bethesda
Not much on show, but VATS targeting system looks like it might challenge gaming conventions. As you’d expect from Bethesda, a rich, textured world and dashes of humor. E3 didn’t especially enhance this game’s awesome reputation, but we trust Bethesda to deliver.
Guitar Hero World Tour / Rock Band 2
Various
Multi
Not enough between these two to merit a single entry, but we can hardly just not mention the sales phenomena of our time. Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour have both delivered the goods in terms of new song rosters and gameplay tweaks, enough to justify more purchases anyway, even if the experience is going to much of the same.
Final Fantasy XIII
Square / Enix
Xbox 360 / PS3
As is standard for Square / Enix, we were treated to some epic, big-screen footage, but little in the way of actual details (release date, combat system, plot are all misted in secrecy). Ultimately this is Final Fantasy reborn, in every conceivable way. So sure; we’re excited.
Gears of War 2
Xbox 360
Microsoft / Epic
We enjoyed the Horde mode, which allows five players to battle down large-massed enemies. The flesh-shield is a neat idea but, perhaps, more gimmick than gameplay. Even so, Epic has clearly been fine-tuning a franchise that is likely to repeat its 2006 success.
Halo Wars
Microsoft / Ensemble
Xbox 360
Ensemble’s work in sufficiently streamlining RTS controls to work on a console is deeply impressive, as is its beautiful rendering and reconstruction of the Halo universe.
Infamous
PS3
Sony / Sucker Punch
Visually exciting post apocalyptic super-hero adventure with a touch of class, above the ordinary. One to watch.
Left 4 Dead
Xbox 360 / PC
EA Valve / Valve
Valve’s highly anticipated zombie four-player team co-op game demoed well at E3, with new designs for its main characters and a playable level that, while short, impressed.
Cannot wait for resident evil 5 i've been a fan of the games and films for ages
lets hope it lives up to the trailers and the gameplay from E3
is it going to be like RE4 it looks like it gameplay wise and i heard its a lot lot bigger then RE4 aswell....... so can't wait to get my hands on it Brown trouser time joke
I know this might sound weird but i'm also looking forward to little big planet it looks like a game were it will cheer you up on a sad day haha
other good games i'll be playing are Resistance 2, Killzone 2, far cry 2 and loads others
Resident Evil 5 certainly looks promising.
The Black Hawk Down setting with a cover and duck system ups the ante, but the development team should be able to deliver the goods like with RE4.
Nevertheless, Chris Redfield will return as the suavest hero of the series.
Not to mention the appearance of his arch-enemy, the one and only Albert Wesker.
Nothing comes close to killing zombies.
I can't wait.
The sad thing about E3 for me this year is that it hasn't had any impact at all upon what I'm looking forward to. There's plenty of exciting stuff, but to me it doesn't seem that there's anything more than we had before.
I think it'll be a great year for PS3 owners looking at that list
Fallout 3 typo is now corrected. Many thanks.
Typo? Fallout 3 is coming to PC and PS3 too this year.
I am a bit flabbergasted that there is no mention at all of Dawn of War II or Dragon Age, both not exactly average titles without any novelties or without any extraordinary promises I'd say...
Especially in the case of DoW II it's a bit disappointing; it's nice to see two console RTS's being mentioned here just because they try to be good console RTS's through their control scheme but what other new things do they actually bring to the table for the genre?
Tomb Raider: Underworld gets a special mention at the end? That's it? For shame, for shame.
That said, the 3rd person action game genre is really looking good this holiday. Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Dead Space. All good stuff. Only thing more I could ask for is a God of War 3, but that will come, eventually.
Most anticipated game for me is Mirror's Edge. I take that as a good sign for EA, since I typically don't care a whit for their games.
HEY! What about Fat Princess!? x)
Great list Colin.
MadWorld and The Conduit deserve to be on it simply because they are bold enough to try something different .
As for Final Fantasy XIII...as much as I'm looking forward to the game, one really wonders if it's worthy of any "pre-release accolades" considering Square has failed to show any sort of evolution since the last time we saw the game at E3.
I suspect that the decision to bring it to the 360 was made very recently, too. (I suspect it was made by Yoichi Wada after Square's poor performance last fiscal year. This would mean around March or later.)
Only because I'm a sucker for anything from the 80's, I'm eagerly looking forward to Ghostbusters : The Videogame.
Anyone who says they never wanted to strap on a proton pack when they were lad, is a liar.
Can't wait to play this video game. The trailer is exciting ! Here's the game trailer
URL: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36349.html