E3 2010: X360A's Best of Show

Written Sunday, June 20, 2010 By Dan Webb

This year’s E3 is all done and dusted now and before we head home to lock ourselves in a room and write up our impressions of everything we saw, we spent the last few days lounging around the pool thrashing out our winners for this year’s Best of Show awards - yes, it’s a tough life, but we do it because we care...

While this year’s show lacked the big announcements that we’ve come to know and love, the games as usual delivered and there were plenty of standout titles. New to the awards this year is the Best Rest of Show award, where we award the title that doesn’t fit into the traditional categories that we often celebrate - be it a fighter, sports game or music title. Without further ado, let’s get on with the show.

Best Press Conference of the Show

This year was an interesting year as far as the press conferences go. Microsoft’s was a bit of a letdown, Ubisoft’s was leaps and bounds ahead of last year’s - even with that ridiculous laser tag-esque game - and if we were a multiplatform site, Nintendo would surely have stolen the show. Seeing as we’re not though, it’s EA that takes home the candy this year as their press conference was not only full of stellar games and great live demos, but with Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, a few release dates, the Medal of Honor 24 player online match and the surprise announcement of the Bad Company 2 Vietnam add-on, we couldn’t really give it to anyone else.

Winner – EA

Best Stand of the Show

This category was a no-brainer for us this year and with so much diversity on show, we’re awarding the THQ stand the best stand of the show award. With a mini UFC ring - fresh with ring girls - a cavernous entrance to the Red Faction theatre, a monstrous Red Faction mech, marching Homefront soldiers, huge Warhammer 40K Space Marines and more, the THQ stand was a wonderfully diverse stand with plenty to see, do and play. Whilst everyone else seemed to base their stands on last year’s designs, THQ raised their game and pretty much blew everyone else out the water.

Winner - THQ

Best Looker of the Show

There were some great looking titles at this year’s E3 but the Best Looker award ended up in a closely fought two horse race. Failing to make the top spot, but impressing nevertheless, was id Software and Bethesda’s Rage with its cel-shaded post apocalyptic world, varied environments and incredible draw distances. Taking home the prize though is undoubtedly one of the best looking console games ever: Crysis 2. While we’ve not seen enough of it to see whether the whole title will be as stunning, but watching our Nanosuited hero make his way through downtown New York to Grand Central station to battle a Pinger was enough to completely wow us. Even more impressively was that on a 50” screen behind-closed-doors, the title looked equally amazing.

Winner – Crysis 2

Disappointment of the Show

To be perfectly honest, this was probably the hardest category to choose this year, because whilst at the show we didn’t actually see any really bad titles. We toyed with awarding the award to Kinect and what looks like a load of shovelware, but in the end, we decided on giving our Disappointment of the Show “award” to Splash Damage’s Brink. A title that not only saw a 2011 delay thrown into the mix - it’s probably for the better - but our hands on time left us feeling a little empty. Yes, the controls were responsive and as a shooter, it’s more than competent, but it frankly didn’t look that great running on a PS3 and the action was a little shallow and lacked the excitement you’d expect from a title and a studio that puts so much emphasis on its multiplayer. Hopefully this delay will do the title a world of good and we pray that Brink can raise its game before its release next year.

Winner – Brink

Surprise of the Show

After recovering from the shock that came with the announcement that 2K’s rejuvenation of the XCOM franchise would turn the title from a strategy game to a first person shooter, we were actually surprised at how promising the re-imagination was shaping up to be. Whilst the game seems to be a long way from its original XCOM roots, as a shooter with a huge emphasis on story, its debut was more than we were expecting and as a result, we’ve added 2K Marin’s latest title to our radar. Forget the name. Forget what they’ve done to the franchise. This is XCOM in name only and with that familiar 50s setting and alien invasion scenario, but that didn’t stop it from impressing us with its gadgetry and detective style elements at this year’s show. We’re adding this one to our watch-list, we suggest you do too.

Winner – XCOM

Best Action Title of the Show

Two titles. Both sequels. One award. Both are looking to add more to their already impressive and much loved originals, including multiplayer, but there can only be one winner. Of course, I’m talking about Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Dead Space 2 and it was a hard category to call this one. One that could have gone either way. Fortunately for Ubisoft Montreal, the coin landed on the Assassin’s Creed side and although there was a few noses turned up at the franchise getting multiplayer - admittedly, mine was one of them - the core game is also receiving a ton of new features to make this look like a must have for action-adventure fans the world over. Boasting 15 hours of new single player content in a new city with a new combo system, the ability to throw weapons and the new BAM move (“Brotherhood Assassin Move”), it ultimately meant that Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood just edged ahead of its closest rival.

Winner – Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Best Racer of the Show

This time last year I never thought I’d be sitting here any time soon telling you that Driver and Need For Speed would be fighting it out for an award - well, not after their last outings: Driver: Parallel Lines and Need For Speed: Shift - but here we are. Regardless of their up and down histories, the two franchises aren’t nominated just because they were all the genre had to offer this year, but because both are looking quite promising indeed. While we’re still not 100% sure on what the purpose of Driver’s “Shift” mechanic is - although we’ve tried it in multiplayer and we can report it does work - the title does mark a return to its roots, although, that being said, it didn’t do quite enough at this year’s show to pip Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit to the winner’s post. With Criterion at the helm and police chases, fast cars and exotic environments back at the forefront, it’s fantastic to see the title return to form... it‘s about time!

Winner – Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

Best RPG of the Show

Although this year’s E3 brought great franchises like Fallout and Fable back into the limelight - although Fable is more action than RPG these days - it was refreshing to see the return of a classic franchise impressing us most: Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Eidos Montreal’s latest title was shown off to the press behind-closed-doors and it didn’t fail to astound. After seeing some of the game’s player choices which relate to conversations and how you go about objectives, the stealth style combat and some really cool augmentations, Eidos Montreal’s Blade Runner-esque action-RPG seems to be ticking all the right boxes. Plus, the gameplay demo shown to the press finished with our main character, Adam Jensen, punching through a wall and snapping someone’s neck… and this was an in-game move!

Winner – Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Best Shooter of the Show

To say E3 2010 was dominated by great shooters is an understatement. It wasn’t a year dominated by Call of Duty, Gears of War and Halo either - although all of them looked great, yes, even Black Ops - but the newer IPs were the ones that stood out the most: XCOM, Spec Ops, Bulletstorm, Vanquish, new console shooter Crysis 2, and our eventual winner, Rage. Spec Ops certainly added a new meaning to the ever-changing playground and made other bleak shooters look like a trip to Disneyland and Vanquish’s outrageously fast pace and gameplay on acid were both enough to leave us with a warm feeling inside. Nevertheless though, neither had the legs to catch up with id’s Rage and although they felt the need to show us the Wellspring again(for the third time now), to see an impressive new section of the shooter in an all new environment, we just had to give the Shooter of the Show award to Bethesda’s 2011 shooter, Rage. It would be rude not to.

Winner – Rage

Best Rest of the Show

New to the awards this year is our Best Rest of Show award, simply because there were so many games that just needed to be heralded but didn’t quite fall into the other categories. Just missing out on the award were two standout titles: Rock Band 3 with its all new keyboard and its impressive barrier-breaking Pro modes (especially Pro-Guitar) and of course, Capcom’s Marvel vs. Capcom 3 whose jaw-dropping visuals and fluent tag-team combat was as addictive to watch as it was to play. Taking home the cheese though was Valve’s Portal 2, whose new puzzle innovations and promise of co-op play had us jumping for joy. Offering a 6-8 hour single player campaign and a similarly lengthy experience from its co-op mode, Portal 2 set out to prove it can standalone as a full retail title. Not only did Valve do that, but they also proved that they can add just as much humour this time around as the short demo was full of laughs, which is frankly awesome.

Winner – Portal 2

Best of Show

Last, but by no means least, is our pinnacle of this year’s awards: the Best of Show award. There was one title and one title alone this year that completely knocked us off our feet. Sure, Crysis 2 and Rage looked pretty damn fantastic and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Gears of War 3 showed that there was still plenty of room for improvement in their respective franchises. However, it was the Warren Spectorless return of the Deus Ex franchise that stood out the most. If there is a game that was made for Sci-Fi fans across the globe, this is it. Set before the events of the previous titles, this prequel not only looked fantastic and offered both impressive action and RPG elements in equal measure, but the augmentations you saw in the Blade Runner-esque CGI trailer are not just smoke and mirrors, but are available in the main game as well. Eidos Montreal have set out to make a living breathing future world with a plot steeped heavily in intrigue and mystery, and it’s clear from this first look that Deus Ex: Human Revolution is shaping up to be one of next year’s shining lights.

Winner – Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Check back next week and throughout the rest of the month for the rest of our E3 coverage and more in-depth looks at all the titles mentioned above and more.

User Comments

Forum Posts: 2877	Comment #2 by Outline Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 04:11:07 AM	(0)
	Not at all surprised by Brink being a disappointment.

Forum Posts: 2773	Comment #3 by jtr1gg3r Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 04:23:20 AM	(0)
	I cant wait for vanquish and rage, both are looking sick I think I agree with all the awards too I think next time there should be a best trailer award, that prize would,ve gone to Metal Gear Solid : Rising imo

Forum Posts: 59	Comment #4 by The Dutch Pinyo Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 05:14:16 AM	(0)
	I hope Brink turns out good, I saw a gameplay vid and didnt like it alot...

Forum Posts: 149	Comment #5 by jessd_25 Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 06:32:05 AM	(0)
	Shouldn't it be Best of Show -E3 2010, not 2009?

Forum Posts: 301	Comment #6 by surreal_82 Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 06:44:49 AM	(0)
	@ 5 lol i just noticed that! Agree with most of the decisions above, just wish i could visit an E3 for real... goes off to ign london office to beat up a ps3 writer and steal press card

Forum Posts: 306	Comment #7 by zslux Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 10:24:49 AM	(0)
	i was a very excited for kinect/project natal but after seeing videos of it with delays im very scheptical. major let down :(

Forum Posts: 4	Comment #8 by Fata1Stryke Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 10:47:42 AM	(0)
	I really, really want Brink to be up there with all the other great shooters coming up, I hope it can shape up for 2011 or I will be very sad. :( Lots of good games though. I've never played a Deus Ex before, but I'm definitely pumped for this one. And late 2010 - early 2011 is gonna be a shooter fan's paradise.

Forum Posts: 2078	Comment #9 by litepink Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 10:57:33 AM	(0)
	Best Kinect game?

Forum Posts: 2084	Comment #10 by mjc0961 Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 11:21:13 AM	(0)
	"if we were a multiplatform site, Nintendo would surely have stolen the show" I certainly agree. Right from the start they just went "BAM! Games, games, more games, even more games, and new hardware." Just what they should do. On the "worst" side of this... I'm still trying to figure out what the hell Ubisoft was trying to show everyone with that recreation of the Beat It music video.

Forum Posts: 1105	Comment #12 by Pixo Monday, June 21, 2010 @ 11:57:15 PM	(0)
	I never thought Brink looked that good from the start. It's a shame, but that's how it is.. I'm surprised Gears of War 3 isn't up there though. That game was huge at E3.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #13 by BodamEscapePlan Tuesday, June 22, 2010 @ 03:05:50 AM	(0)
	That new Deus Ex game is shaping up to be a total revival of the series. Cannot wait.

Forum Posts: 4292	Comment #14 by Purge Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 05:33:30 AM	(0)
	Great article, couldn't agree more.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #15 by sdg657 Wednesday, June 23, 2010 @ 08:11:52 AM	(0)
	if this was a multiplatform site, no matter what i would have put Valkyria Chronicles II as best RPG! Assassins Creed Brotherhood looks great, definitely getting it

Forum Posts: 44	Comment #16 by vettesrule76 Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 09:37:34 AM	(0)
	personally i liked driver san francisco. always have been a player of the driver games.

Forum Posts: 1162	Comment #17 by Poppygalaxy Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 11:47:14 AM	(0)
	I think you should ad biggest fail of the show

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #18 by Liek50Ninjas Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 06:43:59 PM	(0)
	Fuck yeah Deus Ex.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #19 by Liek50Ninjas Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 06:50:39 PM	(0)
	Also, I hate to be "That guy" but it's actually Deus Ex: Human Revolution. >_>

Forum Posts: 1000	Comment #20 by Dr Popodopolus Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 07:05:30 PM	(0)
	Good spot #19 i missed it lol damn!

Forum Posts: 313	Comment #21 by Kyanite Friday, June 25, 2010 @ 12:06:02 AM	(0)
	I blame the E3 hangover for the typos and errors in the post. Anyway, Dues Ex: Human Revolution and Crysis 2 are looking really good. I hope you can jump into both games without having played the originals! Rage and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are shaping up nicely as well. As for Brink, well, it would be nice to see it do well, but I'm not holding my breath. It's been a bit underwhelming so far.

Forum Posts: 14708	Comment #22 by Webb [STAFF] Friday, June 25, 2010 @ 06:12:37 AM	(0)
	@#19 - Good spot! It looks like I changed from Revolution which I used in the body text, to Evolution for the "Winner" bit. Fixed now =)

Forum Posts: 162	Comment #23 by SN1P3RSTU113 Friday, June 25, 2010 @ 10:17:41 AM	(0)
	Can't wait for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine :) it looks sick!

Forum Posts: 34	Comment #24 by JamesMallow Friday, June 25, 2010 @ 12:59:04 PM	(0)
	Deus Ex isnt an rpg,but i see why you class it as one. Its an FPSRPG i think.

Forum Posts: 14708	Comment #25 by Webb [STAFF] Friday, June 25, 2010 @ 01:44:11 PM	(0)
	@#24 - Square Enix & Eidos Montreal class it as an "action-RPG."

Forum Posts: 122	Comment #26 by Hustlinonradio Saturday, June 26, 2010 @ 01:25:25 AM	(0)
	I am sure that the MoH demonstration was a full 24 player match and come on i still thought that NFS: Shift was a very good title and i am glad you guys aren't saying that Hot Pursuit is going back to its roots because if it was i would be expecting closed tracks, only Porche's drivable and it being PC only

Forum Posts: 331	Comment #27 by Ali_P_84 Saturday, June 26, 2010 @ 12:33:41 PM	(0)
	Out of all this lot I am most looking forward to Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Portal 2.

Forum Posts: 102	Comment #28 by Zacxx201 Sunday, June 27, 2010 @ 06:02:25 PM	(0)
	Can't wait for some Dance Central!!!

Forum Posts: 576	Comment #30 by ovoon7 Wednesday, June 30, 2010 @ 01:28:07 PM	(0)
	@24, FPSRPG is still an RPG. Deus Ex 1 and invisible war were both RPGs

Forum Posts: 4087	Comment #31 by evokazz Friday, July 02, 2010 @ 12:54:41 AM	(0)
	Deus Ex 1 was the best game of all time for me, it was revolutionary.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #32 by TezJaggs Saturday, July 03, 2010 @ 10:13:54 AM	(0)
	DEUS EX IS THE SHIT BABY. FUCK ALL THOSE OTHER PUSSY GAMES YOU NOBS LIKE TO PLAY.

Forum Posts: 20	Comment #33 by KillerCrumpets Saturday, July 03, 2010 @ 12:38:14 PM	(0)
	Deus Ex and Crysis 2 look essential. Great picks.

Forum Posts: 5889	Comment #35 by Opiate42 Wednesday, July 07, 2010 @ 11:08:46 AM	(0)
	I'm curious to see how ID repairs their image with Rage, Quake 4 was a complete letdown sequel for such a fantastic as Quake 2. Look forward to trying it, Crysis 2 and Deus Ex I'm itching to get too. XCOM looks like Bioshock on Land, but I love Bioshock, so it should be fun as hell.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #36 by XxJeRsEySBeStxX Friday, July 09, 2010 @ 04:17:44 PM	(0)
	Cant wait for Hot Pursuit hopefully it wont be a straight copy of Undercover.

Forum Posts: 40	Comment #37 by KiErAn 555 Sunday, July 11, 2010 @ 02:35:33 PM	(0)
	Can't wait till portal 2! Looks awesome, and funny :)

Forum Posts: 3	Comment #38 by Balthazar66 Tuesday, July 13, 2010 @ 08:11:57 PM	(0)
	Personally, I think that even though it won't come out until next year, I think the best game would've been Gears of War 3. That looks way awesome, and I thought that should've been on one of the best titles. I just can't wait till that comes out! I like Portal 2 also, the 1st one was really fun, and I bet the 2nd one will be even better.

Forum Posts: 217	Comment #39 by T3z Wednesday, July 21, 2010 @ 11:25:12 PM	(0)
	If these are the real box arts to these games, then it sucks that Brink was a disappointment. That baby blue background is sexy. And Deus Ex is now on my radar.

Forum Posts: 25	Comment #40 by The White Hare Thursday, July 22, 2010 @ 09:51:43 AM	(0)
	For me the disappointment of the show has to be natal (poorly renamed kinect). The Kinectimals promo was sooo sickly sweet and the girls said 'good doggy' at one point, what are they teaching kids at school it was a tiger!!! Apart from that embarrasment everything about the kinect unveil seemed pointless. The features it will add although could be quite cool are not worth the £130 price tag. Im going to hang fire on the pre-order until I know more titles that are coming and how it is going to fit into the 360 landscape.

Forum Posts: 311	Comment #41 by gamerscorhunta Monday, July 26, 2010 @ 06:41:23 PM	(0)
	Kinect was the usual. Kinectimals melted our hearts, and everything else nodded inspirational thanks to the Wii. Otherwise, MicroSoft's was the worst of the bunch, a rare impact for them. Nintendo's was amazing, the new Zelda, 3DS, and Goldeneye made a huge comeback. Sony's was so much better than MicroSoft's, bringing out Medal of Honor's multiplayer (ehrm.. Bad Company 3 by looks. Oh yeah, it's made by DiCE)and Kevin Butler's wrap-up was one of the best in E3 history. Not to mention MOVE's better coming aboard, and Killzone 3, a much better trailer that Reach's attempt. Otherwise, I think Portal 2 is the winner of E3 for me. If you own a PS3, buy the PlayStation 3 version, for VALVe, (mind you, always known for their better PC titles) broke the glass with the announcement "The PS3 version of PORTAL 2 will remain the superior one."

Forum Posts: 718	Comment #42 by Martinnn Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 05:52:01 PM	(0)
	Hmmm.. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is looking good then.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #43 by ShotInTehFace Thursday, July 29, 2010 @ 10:54:09 PM	(0)
	portal 2 doesn't seem like a good game because it is only 6-8 hours long which can be beaten in a few days... 1 day for addicts.... biggest disappointment is definately kinect. all the games for it annouced thus far seem very bad and boring.. seems like microsoft is turning into nintendo >.> @#38 gears of war 3 is nothing special and doen't deserve any awards and same with fable 3. they offer very little that is different from the first 2.

Forum Posts: 788	Comment #44 by GrindPantera95 Sunday, August 01, 2010 @ 04:37:53 PM	(0)
	Can't wait for Deus Ex: Human Revolution, single-player, sci-fi, character development, choices in gameplay. I've been waiting for this game my whole (read: short) life! Didn't doubt Crysis 2 was going to get best graphics, since that was pretty much what the first was made to be. Hopefully it'll play much better this time 'round.

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #45 by JokerEM94 Sunday, August 15, 2010 @ 09:49:02 AM	(0)
	didnt see that coming but ok

Forum Posts: 0	Comment #46 by Monkeyh8etrz Sunday, September 05, 2010 @ 10:16:34 PM	(0)
	I've been waiting for dead space to for a while, it's going to be awesome.

Forum Posts: 1	Comment #47 by Joe1993 Sunday, September 26, 2010 @ 04:36:15 AM	(0)
	I cant wait to see what portal 2 has to offer

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X360A

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X360A

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