E3 2011 preview round-up

We’ve seen a lot of games at E3 2011, and written more previews than fit on our home page. In case you missed some, here’s a handy round-up of all the games we’ve written about so far.

Ezio is wiser and more vicious than ever before in Assassin’s Creed Revelations

Martin knows more about Assassin’s Creed than anyone else I’ve ever spoken to, and that’s at least five people. He also seems to really like what he saw of Revelations at E3. “Now in his fifties, Ezio has lost none of his agility – you’d be hard pressed to see his age if it wasn’t for his grey hair and spindly beard. He’s still trailing a seemingly unending Templar hierarchy to the very top, and at the start of the E3 demo he’s looking to head out of the city of Constantinople in order to further follow his enemies.”

Has Gearbox’s take on Aliens been worth the wait?

Neon couldn’t resist another “mostly” joke in his preview of Gearbox’s Aliens FPS, but who can blame him? We’ve all tried at one time or another. “As an Aliens-themed FPS title Colonial Marines instantly recalls over a decade’s worth of similar titles from various developers, but it’s fair to say that the whiff of authenticity has never been stronger. Every sound effect – from the barking chatter of the pulse rifles to the squealing death-throes of your endless foes – seems to have been culled directly from James Cameron’s 1986 epic.”.

Far Cry 3 embraces chaos and craziness – but what’s the camera for?

Neon loves Far Cry 2 and seems to be very fond of Ubisoft’s latest effort too. “Far Cry 3 isn’t out till next year, but this initial reveal has certainly whetted my appetite,” he wrote after seeing the E3 presentation. “I was a massive fan of the last game – yes, even with all those respawning guards at the checkpoints – so I’m keen to learn more about what Ubi has in store for us this time. With any luck, we’ll see a bit more at gamescom in August.”

Hands-on with SSX, EA’s ‘Burnout on snow’

Jamin got to play EA’s SSX, the first outing for the series on Xbox 360 and PS3. According to him, “by punching in the longitude and latitude co-ordinates of a mountainous region, the game will create a tangible representation of the area in 28 seconds.” This from the man known for this extreme snowboarding abilities is “arguably the most innovative feature to come out of E3 this year”.

Zelda meets Wii Sports Resort in Skyward Sword

Emily was lucky enough to get hands-on with the first proper Zelda game made exclusively for the Wii. Dungeon, Boss Battle, and Bird Flying sequences were available to test out and highlighted “gameplay tailored specifically with Wii Motion Plus in mind”.

Johnny Gat and the boys are just plane crazy in Saints Row: The Third

“You’re on a private jet, you’re tied to a chair, and you’re currently being menaced by a snooty Belgian fop and his twin svelte lady-friends. The Euro-prat, Philipe, is threatening to snuff you unless you effectively agree to be his corporate bitch,” wrote Neon in his E3 preview. Is this the craziest Saints Row to date?

Mario’s 3DS debut is a compendium of gameplay from the series over the years

Emily managed to make time to take a look at Mario’s platforming debut on the 3DS, which is shaping up very nicely. “Despite functioning as an original title in the series, the gameplay on offer is a cross-section of Mario titles, combining the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64,” she said in her preview.

Modern Warfare 3’s Survival Mode Detailed

“Is it even possible to get excited by a wave-based survival mode in 2011?” asked Martin in his Modern Warfare 3 hands-on preview. “Sledgehammer Games and Infinity Ward clearly seem to think so, offering up this Survival mode as part of Modern Warfare 3’s returning two-player Spec Ops package”

Lara hunts down wolves in extended E3 Tomb Raider Demo

“Needless to say, Lara Croft has been freshly redesigned,” said Emily, clearly deciding saying it was needed after all. “Her days as a buxom and sly lass of the 90s have come and gone, and out of her ashes rises someone grittier and noticeably toned-down. The younger Lara stands out in the hands-off E3 demo (an extended version of what was shown at Microsoft’s press conference) as a resourceful but scared kid straight out of college – a far cry from the Croft we’ve come to know.”

Absorbing dragon souls in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Jamin got more than a little excited about this during the Skyrim preview screening. “As the first flakes of snow fall from the grey heavens, the horse whinnies and rears its passenger. It’s at precisely this moment – as the soundtrack reaches a crescendo – that a layer of goose bumps appear on my arms,” he wrote while most likely listening to the Oblivion soundtrack and pretending his arms were big enough to hold two swords.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is Resi 2 déjà vu

Neon shows his age by mistakenly talking about Resident Evil 2 from 1998 in the opening of his Raccoon City preview. “A police car swerving out of control. A boyish cop in one seat, a hot brunette in the other. A zombie riding in the back, and then flying through the rear windscreen as a wall brings the vehicle to a sudden halt. Sound familiar? If you owned a PlayStation in 1998 it should do, as I’m talking about the intro to the wonderful Resident Evil 2.” He does eventually give his impressions on the new game.

Uncharted 3 airport level detailed; Drake stows himself away on a cargo plane

Martin uses his detective skills to figure out that a plane in the demo is the same plane we’ve seen on the front cover of the game box. “I think it’s safe to say this plane – spewing its cargo out into the air and inevitably minutes away from a nasty collision – is an earlier version of what we see crashed and burning on the game’s front cover.” He’s clearly been playing LA Noire.

3D visuals and several new mansions for Luigi’s second solo outing

Jamin once again proves he’s clearly the most enthusiastic VideoGamer.com staff member. “Having played a good ten minutes of Luigi’s Mansion 2, it fills me with warm fuzzy feelings of hope and enthusiasm to see some real Nintendo charm on the 3DS,” he wrote minutes after gleefully running to the Nintendo play area following the company’s E3 conference.

Molyneux horses about with Fable: The Journey

“Has Peter Molyneux finally taken things too far?” asked Neon in his opening to this Fable: The Journey preview. “That seems to be the view of some people out here in Los Angeles. Initial reactions to Fable: The Journey at Microsoft’s presser ranged from confusion to derision to something bordering on enmity. A horse-and-carriage Kinect game? An on-rails Fable? What the hell was he thinking?!” Fable: The Journey was perhaps the most interesting Kinect game on show from Microsoft.

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita delivers tactile experience

“LittleBigPlanet works surprisingly well as a more tactile experience,” said Martin in his hands-on preview, “masking some of its iffy control quirks and floaty jump mechanics with a bounty of other ways to move Sackboy around.” How is it tactile you ask? Let Martin explain: “Tilt the device on certain platforms, for instance, and he’ll move in that direction. Pull back certain objects on tight elastic bands and you can use them to slingshot Sackboy across the map.”

Uncharted: Golden Abyss the best looking handheld game ever

Guess who wrote these positive words teeming with enthusiasm? “Abyss is the best looking handheld game of all time. Quite. The rustic ruins that Drake was jaunting about looked fantastic, with vegetation crawling out of cracks in ancient walls and birds circling blue skies painted with the occasional wisp of white. I’m not sure where this was supposed to be – India or Thailand, perhaps – but it was distressingly pretty. And smooth. Very smooth.” That’s right, Jamin.