What's your favorite E3 demo of all time?

I've seen dozens, if not hundreds, of E3 demos in my life, but for me, one of the most impressive is still the Half-Life 2 E3 demo from 2003. It revealed enough about the story to get you interested, and while it was still some 16 months away thanks to the hack/leak of the source code, damn if it wasn't jaw-dropping at the time.

The Xbox 360 was still two and a half years away when this demo was given, and what was shown was far, far ahead of even the next-gen launch titles, in my opinion. (Oh my god are we going to have deal with the term next-gen for the next three years now, again?)

Anyone have any other demos that they remember as being specifically amazing?

I don't think anything beats Metal Gear Solid 2's debut game play stuff.

Half-Life 2 or Assassin's Creed. Both blew me away for different reasons.

Hands down, not for the tech factor but just the pure excitement. Hard to believe this was 10 years ago.

I think this is a question only @marino is fit to answer.

I actually prefer gameplay trailers and sizzle reels to the demos at E3 because demos are usually a vertical slice which is hardly indicative of the tone of the game (see: Mass Effect E3 demos). Not that gameplay trailers and sizzle reels are, but they're shorter and usually much better paced / cut.

But, the demo which wowed me most in recent years was Watch_Dogs, which was a shining beacon of next-gen in a swath of boring at last year's E3.

Even though it was complete CG, it got me really interested in gaming again. And the 360 and PS3.

awww man I remember watching this and getting so excited for it! Can't believe that was 10 years ago...

Honestly, as @demoskinos said, the MGS2 demo -blew my mind-. I was quite obsessed over that E3 demo. To me, that was the next evolution of videogames.

yeah, it'd be half-life 2 for me as well. i remember when the beta was leaked and that demo was playable. to be honest i can't remember any other demos that stuck out to me since.

oh man, i remember when valve released bik files of the demo and i used to pretend i was playing them. hl2 was one of those things i got obsessed with before i got it.

for entertainment reasons: Star Wars Kinect.

The MGS2 E3 2000 demo by far. I was 15 at the time and I think it was the first time I was truly hyped for a game. I remember watching it in super low res quicktime format over and over again.

I can't remember ever giving a shit about an E3 demo. Final Fantasy VII? If there was a demo for that game then that would be my answer. I don't think I ever cared about a game more before release than that one. Sold my N64 and bought a Playstation. Best gaming decision I ever made.

Wait, there was a demo for FFVII packaged with some other game and I did play that but I don't remember what it was.

@rorie: Amazing...I mean, it's still amazing now :o

Assassins Creed really blew me away.

Man, some of the things from that demo were absolutely mind blowing when I was a 14-year-old. Dual wielding machine pistols, AI troops driving the warthog while you were manning the turret, hijacking vehicles, and that ending music....God, those were good times!

I only paid attention to E3 2009 and later, which I think misses the 'amazing demo' window by a good 3-4 years. Uncharted 2 and Watch_Dogs were both hot, but not in a "Oh my God the future of games" sense.

This E3 had better be rife with that.

Although thanks for reminding me of the two things that bummed me out from that demo that didn't make it to release. That the Battle Rifle became a triple shot rather than a single and how there was no 3 hit melee combos.

That Last of Us demo this past E3 was beautiful from start to finish.

God of War 2 also really wowed me (E3 2006?).

The infamous Killzone 2 demo blew my mind. Yes, it was pre-rendered. But what they showed was a good indication of what to expect from not only Killzone 2 but future next gen games, and it was such a leap above shooters at the time.

As far as true demos go, I was pretty psyched about that MGS2 demo. But when it comes to trailers, far and away, Fallout 3's trailer in 2008 is my favorite.

this,this,this. i played this over and over so many times it's so good. didint actually finish the game only got past leaving the bunker and stopped playing for some reason and never felt the need to go back and start replaying .

The immediate answer is still the first MGS2 presentation. Just so many people awe-struck.

For anyone that's interested, I have a ton of old, shitty quality, vintage VHS recordings from the show floor from E3's past on my YouTube Channel.

This ?

The Halo 2 demo was awesome. Too bad that the level never made it into the game...

It's actually probably that Half Life 2 demo, just because if there was a game that I ever got excited about, it would be Half Life 2.

Edit: Also, watch that thing. Impressive stuff.

Uncharted 2's helicopter sequence demo was incredible.

This.

I see your Halo 2 reaction, and raise you a Twilight Princess.

Damn dude... sends shivers down my spine. The single best Halo game in my personal opinion. The LAN parties that game from this game, how it revolutionized online play on consoles as we know it.

I can't find the gameplay demo, but the Rome Total War demo hooked me into playing the shit out of that game! Here's the trailer for it from E3 2003. Even though this looks pretty archaic compared to what's been shown of Rome II, this was revolutionary for the strategy genre at the time!

Mirror's Edge

It just looked so clean and fluid compared to all the brown & bloomy games of the time. Then there was the crane reveal of Faith at 01:28 set to that soundtrack.

It's the only trailer I've ever saved.

I really enjoyed the Bioshock Infinite E3 demo. I couldn't wait to play this game after watching it.

@mcghee: That would be Tobal No.1, with the FF7 demo including the Leviathan summon. I'm impressed I didn't even need to look that up. ;) I still remember sitting in my game store hangout trying it.

@rorie: Why in heaven's name have I never seen a Kotaku article about someone recreating that Gordon Freeman stained glass window? ;p

Another vote for MGS2 here. No idea how many times I rewatched it. And the game sequence itself lived up to my expectations. Right up until the room full of soldiers staring in one direction when I realised oh shit, Kojima is still going to put some contrived bullshit in here. Bring it on. ;) One thing people rarely clue in to, pun-wise, is that the Big Shell actually sets up the big shell game. lol

It was just a CG trailer, but I was really excited when FFXIV was revealed. Obviously that game didn't pan out (to put it nicely) but as a long time FFXI evangelist I was pumped for another MMO from Square-Enix, so even though there wasn't gameplay I was excited for the possibility of what could have been.

@bigboss1911:Most definitely. I remember writing fanfiction based on that E3 Demo, cuz Halo 2 was kind of a bummer.

Oh man...this is terrible.

I lovedWATCH_DOGS because there was no 'EXCLUSIVE LEAK FOOTAGE' or any such nonsense. It was pure surprise. Something we don't get too much of these days.

@vonocourt: Damn you for posting that. I'll not sleep tonight wondering what happened after the 'Prologue' of this simply stellar fanfic. I'll probably never sleep again, at that.

The Fallout 3 demo was pretty awesome (not the stage demo,though, if I remember correctly; the one that was brought around to the various journalist booths). Todd Howard's enthusiastic narration of all the horrific violence happening on the screen was delightful.

@mctangle: Agreed - the Watch_Dogs guys just got up there, set out the background of the game and then just goddamn played it.

Totally a show stopper at the time, and I remember the digital crowd going proverbially wild in response. Great demo.

The MGS2 debut demo followed by the Half-Life 2 demo.

MGS2 debut.

Pretty poop video quality and probably the unpopular choice (because yeah, boo Call of Duty etc) but this E3 demo for Call of Duty 4 was amazing to me. The guille suit reveal of 'oh shit, there was another guy there' the 'stealth' tension of it was electric and the cliffhanger of people walking towards you was great. I hadn't played a Call of Duty before and wasn't really into FPS's at the time but this demo made me want to check them out.

I was extremely impressed with a leaked Human Revolution E3 demo. It was the first gameplay you could find and eventhough the quality was pretty crappy I watched it a few times.

Looking back, the Oblivion demo Todd Howard walks you through was incredible at the time as well. Definitely the reason I purchased a 360 in the first place.

Probably the Half-Life 2 and Halo 2 demos. Those have stuck with me even after 10 years.

This was one mindbogglingly huge disaster after another that you couldn't help but keep watching.

@razielcuts: I actually agree with you. I remember being excited when they announced Call of Duty was going modern. I played the other games but that got me real excited and I played the living shit out of COD4.

Yeah, in recent memory, i have to agree with Watch_dogs. I had NO clue what it was. Pure surprise and the way it looked like this slick hacking game where he's walking around reading all these facts on peoples phones and stuff. Then the action exploded at the end. It was just so damn slick and seamless. I absolutely loved it.