I know, I know, the show ended Thursday, but my weekend got eaten up by the Guild Wars 2 beta (more on that later this week, in a word, it's good). I wanted to start this week off with my thoughts on the show as a whole. What I liked most about this E3 was the great mix of old and new. On the one hand, you had new IPs like the Last of Us, Playstation All Stars, Watch Dogs, and Zombi U. On the other hand, there were plenty of sequels like Halo 4, Assassin's Creed III, and Rayman Legends. Finally, there were some great "re-imaginings" of some classic games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown and SimCity. Overall, I felt like the mix of new IPs and old were pretty good, obviously I'd like to see even more new stuff, but it's hard to complain.

My least favorite aspect was the lack of any real surprises outside of Watch Dogs. We all knew the sequels were going to be there, we knew Quantic Dream's new game would get a reveal, we knew the Wii U would have more sequels to old games, nothing real got my goosebumps going (again, aside from Watch Dogs). This was disappointing, I had no "oh shit!" Moments like at E3s of yore. At any rate though, I should probably talk about my favorite games shouldn't I?

I'm not going to name my best of show, mostly because I would have to list four games. First of all, the Last of Us looks absolutely stunning, and I have no doubt it will be everything it promises. Naughty Dog has never made a misstep in my opinion, and this looks like the best work they've ever done. Next, Assassin's Creed III looks killer. I want that game so bad, and the fact that there's something of a companion piece on Vita is super exciting as well. Third, Watch Dogs does look very promising. Yes, the shooter sequence was a bit of a turn off, but as discussed on the day 3 Bombcast, I have a feeling that combat might be something you can avoid if you play your cards right. Finally, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is easily my most anticipated game of the year at this point. Firaxis has never done wrong, and that game looks like a wonderful adaptation of one of the greatest strategy games ever conceived. My only concern is the console port, as I will be playing it on Xbox, I'd also love some kind of co-op option, as this is a game I'd love to enjoy with my dad over the interwebs.

So there it is, what I loved and didn't love at yet another Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year looks pretty stacked, and I can't wait for holidays to be honest!

I know, I know, the show ended Thursday, but my weekend got eaten up by the Guild Wars 2 beta (more on that later this week, in a word, it's good). I wanted to start this week off with my thoughts on the show as a whole. What I liked most about this E3 was the great mix of old and new. On the one hand, you had new IPs like the Last of Us, Playstation All Stars, Watch Dogs, and Zombi U. On the other hand, there were plenty of sequels like Halo 4, Assassin's Creed III, and Rayman Legends. Finally, there were some great "re-imaginings" of some classic games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown and SimCity. Overall, I felt like the mix of new IPs and old were pretty good, obviously I'd like to see even more new stuff, but it's hard to complain.

My least favorite aspect was the lack of any real surprises outside of Watch Dogs. We all knew the sequels were going to be there, we knew Quantic Dream's new game would get a reveal, we knew the Wii U would have more sequels to old games, nothing real got my goosebumps going (again, aside from Watch Dogs). This was disappointing, I had no "oh shit!" Moments like at E3s of yore. At any rate though, I should probably talk about my favorite games shouldn't I?

I'm not going to name my best of show, mostly because I would have to list four games. First of all, the Last of Us looks absolutely stunning, and I have no doubt it will be everything it promises. Naughty Dog has never made a misstep in my opinion, and this looks like the best work they've ever done. Next, Assassin's Creed III looks killer. I want that game so bad, and the fact that there's something of a companion piece on Vita is super exciting as well. Third, Watch Dogs does look very promising. Yes, the shooter sequence was a bit of a turn off, but as discussed on the day 3 Bombcast, I have a feeling that combat might be something you can avoid if you play your cards right. Finally, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is easily my most anticipated game of the year at this point. Firaxis has never done wrong, and that game looks like a wonderful adaptation of one of the greatest strategy games ever conceived. My only concern is the console port, as I will be playing it on Xbox, I'd also love some kind of co-op option, as this is a game I'd love to enjoy with my dad over the interwebs.

So there it is, what I loved and didn't love at yet another Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year looks pretty stacked, and I can't wait for holidays to be honest!

I'm starting to think that all the hub-hub surrounding the press conferences actually hurts the show and the games shown overall.

You see a select few games presented on a big stage for the widest audience possible and that's what everyone ends up talking about while there are tons more games desperately needing and deserving attention on the show floor.

I hear a lot of people complain that there was nothing to get excited about at the show but then you look at the games and there's sooo much good stuff! You hear about The Unfinished Swan only in a "did you see that? yea that was kinda cool!"-exchanges but the same people end up talking about Assassin's, Halo and how stupid NintendoLand is for half an hour. Why not highlight these games that don't get highlighted by the platform holders and publishers?

So ultimately, great games are coming out. Excite!

You aren't wrong, and I totally agree with you. For me, I wasn't at the show, and I sadly haven't had the time to dig in to the lesser publicized stuff. As such, I was mostly just exposed to the AC IIIs and the Halo 4s like many others. I think there was plenty to get excited about, it just lacked the shock and awe that I remember from E3s last generation. I was also younger then though, so that might have something to do with it.