That's right. This year's E3 wasn't all frowns and poopy pants. Below are the announcements and games that pleasantly surprised me.

PSVita priced right with games I actually want
250 dollars with games I games that look cool? Sign me up. Uncharted and Wipeout look great and all, but it's really the niche titles announced that are getting me excited. To hear about these kinds of games so early in the life of the handheld is a really good sign. Check out the links to see trailers for these lesser talked about games.

Dragons Crown [video]
Shinobido 2 (Way of the Ninja) [video]
Sound Shapes [video]
Gravity [video]

Prey 2
Who knew? I never finished the first Prey on the account of it being awful and all. But I experienced enough of the game to know this new game is nothing like the first Prey. If anything, calling it Prey 2 is going to hurt the sales of this new IP that Human Head Studios has created. In the 20 minute demo I watched, what I saw was a a blend of Stranger's Wrath, Mirrors Edge, Blade Runner, and Mass Effect. Throw that into an open world with a strong sense of verticality, and you have 4player Podcast's E3 Game of the Show. I was really impressed with Prey 2, and it has skyrocketed to the top of my list of most anticipated games of 2012.

Metal Gear Solid HD collection
Despite Metal Gear being one of my favorite franchises, I stopped playing Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PSP. I couldn't stand to see such a great series ruined by such awful controls. Well, after playing the Xbox 360 version of the game, the series is back to getting by with adequate controls. Maybe it's okay to start calling it Metal Gear Solid 5.

Resident Evil: Revelations
This is the first 3DS game that has really impressed me. It's a proper Resident Evil entry that controls just like Resident Evil 4. It's also the first 3DS game to really wow me with its visuals. And just like Uncharted 3, the game is introducing underwater swimming for the first time in its series. Revelations will make we wish I had a 3DS.

Batman: Arkham City excites
I never doubted that Batman: Arkham City would be a good game, but finally playing it has made me a believer. Arkham City is now an open world game, and with the combination of his cape (think Mario World cape) and grapple gun, Batman can move around the city like Spiderman or Rico from Just Cause 2. Add in some new gadgetry, a woman in a tight cat suit that can climb on walls, and a waypoint system that uses the Bat Signal, and I'm now approaching Skyrim levels of excitement.

Binary Domain doesn't look awful
Crazy, right? Despite there only being one other person with me in the behind-closed-doors demonstration of the game, Binary Domain looks like it could actually be kind of cool. The robot AI acts appropriately roboty depending which limbs you shoot off, the shooting isn't poor like in Yakuza: Of the End, and there are even some light RPG customization for the squad. But the most impressive part is the companion trust system. Everything you do in the game from following orders, fighting effectively, and even flirting, affect how your teammates think of you. And the cool part? Everything you say to your teammates is delivered through voice commands. Have a teammate that doesn't trust you? Well, he or she might ignore you when you ask for help with a flank, or even leave you to die when you fall in battle.

Comments

  • Avatar
    NiN1000
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Yeah, my interest in Binary Domain is up after hearing you talk about it on the podcast. Shinobido 2 is looking pretty good. I will have to keep up with that game.

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    Relay
    13 years, 5 months ago

    After hearing about Prey 2, I can say I'm pretty excite for it too. Speaking of e3, is there no day 3 podcast?

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    Rusty
    13 years, 5 months ago

    I found the PSV surprisingly appealing as well. As of yet I don't see any Killer Apps for it, don't really care about Uncharted or anything else they teased, but that price really got me.

    Dragons Crown *should've been the game that got me jumping up and down in joy:Vanillaware, Golden Axe-ish gameplay and co-op! But it looks really boring. Compared to the setting and monsters, the characters look horribly generic and the actually gameplay, the speed and variety of attacks and movement, looks really slow and lackluster. Meh.

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    Fodie
    13 years, 5 months ago

    I'm really in interested "Gravity Daze?", Shinobido, and Dragon's Crown. Gravity is probably my favorite of those. Everything else seems rad too.

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    RedAma131
    13 years, 5 months ago

    PS Vita was interesting. Seeing all the trailers for the games gave me some excitement. And for some reason I wanted Binary Domain to be better than What I saw in the trailers. also Shinobido 2 and Dragon's Crown look better than in the 6 second fuck ups.

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    Darth Spudius
    13 years, 5 months ago

    How in gods name is Prey awful? The controls were smooth, the art design was unique, the plot was simple and it gave some unique ideas to fps games! Garunteed the console version was a little bit dumbed down in comparison to the pc but really?! Awful?!

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    Comradebearjew
    13 years, 5 months ago

    After all this positive press I am very excited about Prey 2

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    Balancebgm
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Wow, Prey 2 sounds pretty good, im going to have to keep an eye on that game. The biggest suprise of this article is Binary Domain though, some parts did look good in the trailer but not enough to warrant more attention for the game. I trust brad's opinion so I'll check these games out.

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    J52
    13 years, 5 months ago

    I was excited for Vita and MGSHD already, and now after reading this post, I'm excited Binary Domain.

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    Zladko
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Damn thats a big hat.

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    Nosferuz
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Sorcerer?! More like Succubus.

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    kd_battletoad
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Prey 2 was really a surprise for me and Binory Domaine looks like an intriguing game.

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    VagrantHige
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Vita was my big surprise. The fall of the PSP was that everything was console ports and there were few really creative titles. Glad to see it is priced well ad getting some unique content. I can put the Wii U up here seeing as to the fact that even though the tech is cool and unique and all, there is still too much unknown about it yet to get behind.

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    Dimensaur
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Binary Domain sounds really interesting. I heard about it on one of the E3 podcasts and thought it sounded pretty impressive. That's why I love 4pp, that game would have gotten little to no coverage or airtime anywhere else.

    Also, if the impressive price point wasn't reason enough for me to get a Vita, then Dragon's Crown might put me over the top. I love the looks of the game, and really what could be better than rolling through dungeon after dungeon with five of your buddies?.

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    inthenameofharmon
    13 years, 5 months ago

    I'm glad Binary Domain isn't just another crappy shooter, but the characters still seem kinda poopy or rather generic to me. They don't stand out and so the game doesn't stand out to me.

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    SomethingSnappy
    13 years, 5 months ago

    some sweet games right there

  • Avatar
    CocoPanda
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Seeing that Prey 2 gameplay got me really excited, and seeing Catwoman in Batman was amazing.

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    Kevin Schnaubelt
    13 years, 5 months ago

    i want skyrim =[

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    Pokop
    13 years, 5 months ago

    http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac91/Shameimaru_Aya/Reactions/flirtstare.gif >My face when Sorceress.

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    Syko Shadow
    13 years, 5 months ago

    As soon as I read Prey 2 looks like a combo of Mirror's Edge, Blade Runner and Mass Effect, I fell in love. Now I wanna see more of this game!

    I definitely agree about Arkham City, that's my most anticipated game this year. I loved Asylum, and I'm just a big Kevin Conroy/Mark Hamill Batman fan.

    Binary Domain, I'll have to see the gameplay for myself, I'm still very wary of the game. At the very least, I hope you're not stuck playing as the generic "let the good times roll" character.

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    Rendrak
    13 years, 5 months ago

    So one series loses underwater swimming and two more gain it. I guess it could be worse.

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    Riochyu
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Boobs :3

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    Sei
    13 years, 5 months ago

    Binary Domain not looking bad? That's certainly something.