E3 2010: All aboard the hype train

E3 is coming! Like, it’s right around the corner. Microsoft’s kicking gaming’s biggest and most exciting show off on Sunday June 13 with a special media briefing just for its motion controller, Project Natal. Then, from Monday onwards, we’ve got conferences coming out of our ears, from Sony, Microsoft (again), Nintendo and all the other major players. AND, there are bucket loads of games set for their first reveals behind closed doors. Pretty overwhelming, huh? Fear not. Allow us to present what we’re most excited to see at E3 2010. Read on, and whet your appetites for gaming goodness.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

A new Metal Gear Solid game is always a huge deal, but there’s something extra special about MGS: Rising: it’ll be the first Metal Gear game on the Xbox 360. The only downer is that the main character is Raiden, the androgynous part man part machine samurai who we don’t like much at all. Fans will know him well – he was the main playable character in MGS2. That didn’t sit well with Solid Snake fans, so it’ll be interesting to see how Raiden’s big E3 reveal goes down.

X-Com

This 2K Marin-developed reboot of the classic sci-fi strategy game has old school gamers going mental. On one hand, it’s a new X-Com game, which is wicked. On the other hand, it’s a first-person shooter, which isn’t very X-Com at all. In this case, both hands are pulling in different directions. Hardcore X-Com fans reckon the game heralds the end of the world. The rest are reserving judgement until the game’s proper reveal at E3. So are we.

Killzone 3

We loved Killzone 2. It’s still the best-looking game on consoles. And it’s still a kick-ass first-person shooter. While we don’t expect a huge jump in graphical quality, we still expect developer Guerrilla Games to blow us away with graphics worthy of a PS3 exclusive. It’s got jetpacks, fully destructible environments, and less swearing (yes, you read that right, less swearing). Oh yeah, and it’ll be in 3D, so expect to dodge imaginary bullets when the going gets tough.

Project Natal

This is the big one, the revolution, the showstopper. Microsoft’s motion controller will finally be revealed during a special media briefing on Sunday June 13. So, what’s in store? Well, apart from confirmation of a proper name, expect plenty of casual-focused games, lots of flailing arms and much embarrassment. But we’re more interested in seeing how traditional game genres, like shooters, will incorporate motion controls. This is where Microsoft-owned Rare comes in. We have faith.

3DS

The successor to Nintendo’s DS exists and it will be revealed at E3. What’s the hook? Like so much else at the moment, it’ll be 3D-enabled. Rumours suggest it’ll be more powerful than the Nintendo Wii, and perhaps even be capable of Xbox 360 and PS3 quality graphics. We doubt it’ll be that good, but it will be good. Very good.

Sony 3D

While the 3DS might hog the limelight, Sony will have a truckload of 3D enabled PS3 games on show at this year’s E3. We already know that mega exclusive Killzone 3 will support the new technology, but what else dose the platform holder have up its sleeve. Hopefully we’ll find out next week.

Portal 2

Some people reckon Valve’s physics-based puzzle shooter Portal is the best game ever made. We wouldn’t go that far, but we bloody-well loved it. Ergo, our knickers are in a twist for Portal 2, set for a proper reveal at E3. The wonderful Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device returns, as do head-spinning puzzles. But this time physical effects, caused by air currents and tractor beams, can work through portals. And, of course, there will be new cubes. Lovely new cubes. Best of all, though, is a brand new two-player co-operative mode, which sounds like the best thing in the world of all time.

Gears of War 3

This is the daddy, the final game in current story arc of the brutal cover-based shooter series that made brutal cover-based shooters cool. Four-player co-op; Anya Stroud; Ice-T; double-barrelled shotguns; explosive piranhas; mech suits and mutating monsters… what more could we ask for? As muscle-bound marine Marcus Fenix often says: “Nice.”

Valve’s surprise

A week ago, Valve sent a cryptic email out to press saying it will no longer host a Portal 2 E3 event on June 14, replacing the scheduled activity with a “surprise”. An E3 surprise from Valve. Half-Life 2: Episode Three, Half-Life 3, Left 4 Dead 3, Counter-Strike. There’s too much to get excited about.

The Legend of Zelda

This, really, is what all Nintendo fans have been waiting for since the Wii was released in December 2006. This new Legend of Zelda, announced last year with a solitary image, is the first built from the ground up for Nintendo’s phenomenally successful console. So, what do we know for sure? Well, we know it’ll use the Wii MotionPlus peripheral for sword-fighting and archery. And we know it’ll be out this year. But that’s it. If industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto walks out on stage during Nintendo’s press conference wielding a sword and shield, grown men will cry tears of joy. So will we. Probably.

What are you looking forward to seeing from E3? Let us know in the comments section below.