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Dark Souls (PS3, Xbox 360)
• Publisher: Namco Bandai
• Developer: From Software
• Release Date:10/4/2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
A playable demo that showed off checkpoints and invasion as well as part of the games new setting. There were several playable classes and multiple paths available to follow.
• What We Think:
  Jason: I love Demon’s Souls, so Dark Souls was a big deal for me to see at the show. I was not disappointed. The game feels the same as Demon’s Souls, but with tweaks and slight adjustments. There’s a new checkpoint system, since there’s no longer a hub, and multi-player game invasions, of which I took advantage (sorry other demo players). Favorite quote from the demo “From Software isn’t scaling the difficulty back. In fact, it may even be harder.” Let’s do this.
  Brandon: This is a game that makes me wish I were better at video games because it looks like it will be extremely hardcore and extremely fun. Being able to see the ghosts of those that came before you, read their messages and possible deal with others invading your game, all while getting torn apart by monsters looks like a blast. Fans of Demon's Souls will not be disappointed as it's clear that for every element given to make things slightly easier, like bonfires that restore health, there will be more than enough things in the game there to tear you a new one. Hardcore gamers, take note, October is going to be a very good month for you.

Darkness 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)
• Publisher: 2K
• Developer: Digital Extremes
• Release Date: October 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
We watched a developer led session that showed off Jackie's new quad wielding abilities as well as the Brotherhood, the new enemy Jackie will be going up against. The Darkness tentacles are back, with the left tentacle able to pick up objects such as car doors for use as cover, or as a weapon that Jackie can then wield while the right tentacle delivers deadly slashing attacks. The army of darklings from the first game have been replaced with a single AI controlled darkling that will help grab guys that are in cover and pull them out to be perforated. The Brotherhood is equipped with some pretty interesting powers, and use a wide variety of light based weapons to deny Jackie the use of his powers. The game has a new cel-shaded look that works well, especially in the more colorful areas such as the carnival the demo was set in. Jackie has a skill tree this time, with powers to upgrade. The power they showed was called gun channeling and it allowed Jackie to channel the Darkness through his weapons, allowing him to do tremendous amounts of damage and, when maxed out, allowed Jackie to see through walls and take out hiding enemies.
• What We Think:
  Brandon: I loved, loved, loved the original Darkness and I didn't see anything here that makes me doubt my love for the second one. The action is really fast paced and gory with bullets, limbs and blood flying everywhere as you mow down foes. The ability to simply shoot out lights and go crazy is gone as your enemies will bring the light to you, requiring you to prioritize targets so that you can get your powers back and continue rending fools asunder.

Dead Island (360, PS3)
• Publisher: Deep Silver
• Developer: Techland
• Release Date: September 6, 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
We played a half hour’s worth of four-player co-op behind closed doors in a Deep Silver meeting room. We got to check out the quest system, weapons and modifications, and a handful of different zombie types.
• What We Think:
Mitch I’m into Dead Island. I love that it’s focused on melee combat, and that the sparse guns have few bullets. Not all of the weapons feel great quite yet—blades don’t pack the same crushing blow as a baseball bat, naturally, so I only knew I was hurting something because it bled. Encounters are small, but zombies are tough and they do a lot of damage. I died a couple times because I got cocky and tried to take on a lousy three undead dudes. You have to let them get close enough to hurt you if you’re going to kill them. Dead Island forces you to do a nice balancing act if you get separated from your team—which can happen if you split up to cut your quest time in half, or to gain more XP for wrapping multiple jobs at once.
Brandon: Being the guy drawing all of the zombie aggro and playing with a group of players that didn't communicate wasn't the best way to experience Dead Island as I got attacked a lot and my teammates insisted on blowing up zombies that were currently chomping on my face. This is a much different game than Left 4 Dead in that you have mostly melee weapons and the zombies dribble out rather than come charging from all over. They're also a lot tougher, requiring several smacks or slashes before going down. The different player classes are interesting, allowing you to approach the game a number of different ways and the game definitely punishes you for playing against the strengths of your chosen character. I like the open world design of the game, but I'm still not sold on it. There's just something about the pace of it that doesn't appeal to me. Too many fast zombie games have clouded my judgment.
Brian: Most zombie games exist in horizontal and claustrophobic environments, so I spent much of my time exploring the terrain of the tropical resort and testing the boundaries of movement. I climbed four flights of stairs, hopped a fence, barreled down a rocky hillside, dropped down to a bungalow’s roof, and leapt to a nearby balcony. For me, Dead Island’s success will not rest on the multitude of weapons with which to slaughter the undead, but rather, how effectively it can capitalize upon the diversity of the environments to keep players in a kinetic state of panicked desperation. Unfortunately, my demo was limited to five minutes of the game’s opening with a handful of zombies, so the true depths of Dead Island remain to be seen.
Tom: Before actually playing this, I was concerned that the graphics engine could only do a handful of zombies at a time. I mean, really, what kind of zombie apocalypse trickles out so few zombies at a time? Hasn't Dead Rising set the bar everyone else needs to meet? Fortunately, developer Techland has a clear sense of a resource-management RPG where even a few zombies at a time are a threat. Furthermore, I'm really impressed at the sense of place and the basic tone. This one now sits high on my Can't Wait To Play list.

Dead Rising 2: Off the Record (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Blue Castle
• Release Date: Fall 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
Played a timed demo showing off one of the new areas being added to Fortune City. We saw several new modified weapons as well as took a few pictures to check out the photo system.
• What We Think:
  Jason: We may be seeing a real glut of zombie games, but Dead Rising will always have a special place in my heart. At one point, I grabbed a foam space ship that had fire extinguishers taped to it, slammed it on a zombie and watched them slowly take off and freeze the undead beneath them. Good times!

Defenders of Ardania (PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, iPad)
• Publisher: Paradox
• Developer: Most Wanted
• Release Date: September 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
This game uses the engine and lore from Majesty 2 for a cross between a full-blown RTS and a tower defense game. Use your resources to build defenses, launch soldiers that make their way towards the enemy base, and tweak the action with spells. Meanwhile, the other player is doing the same thing (or players, as the game can support up to four players or AI opponents). Mix up the action with three different factions with unique buildings and units. There’s even a surprisingly full-featured iPad version which was fully playable at E3.
• What We Think:
  Tom: Referring to this as a tower defense game sells it short. It struck me as a Defense of the Ancients style game, along the lines of League of Legends. But instead of anchoring you to a single hero, you’re still hovering over the battlefield as if you were playing a conventional RTS. I like the concept a lot, which reminds me of an under-appreciated multiplayer tower defense game on the Playstation Network called Comet Crash. Like Majesty 2 itself, Defenders of Arandia seems to have plenty of personality and design smarts.

Defiance (PC, 360, PS3)
• Publisher: Trion Worlds
• Developer: Trion Worlds
• Release Date: TBD
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
During a competent but uninspired demo of dudes running around shooting stuff, the developers at Trion promise an MMO shooter in a dynamic world. The basic look and feel is more Halo than World of Warcraft. As you run around the world, you’ll fight more than the usual fodder. For instance, dynamic alien invasions or warring player factions might be just over the next hill. The game is being developed in tandem with a TV series for Syfy, with plans that the game and the TV show will inform each other. For instance, a character in the show might mention the name of a player at the top of the leaderboards. Or a poster seen in the background of the TV show might have a code that unlocks special content in the game.
• What We Think:
  Tom: If I hadn’t played Rift, I would have been more skeptical about Trion’s promises of a dynamic world. But Rift proved they can do that admirably. So where I’m skeptical is how this whole endeavor feels like some ill-informed committee's attempt at entertainment synergy. This is such a baldly presented bid to get people who play games to watch the show and to get people who watch the show to play the game. Also, no word yet whether this is going to be a subscription based game, but since it’s essentially a giant advertisement for what I predict will be a bad TV show, I'll be surprised if this turns out to be anything other than yet another free-to-play game that fades quietly into obscurity after a month or so.

Desktop Dungeons (PC, Mac)
• Publisher: QCF Design
• Developer: QCF Design
• Release Date: Fall 2011
• What We Saw:
If you were around in the days of the Commodore 64 and remember a game called Sword of Fargoal (or if you've played the recent iPad iteration of it), then you have a notion of what Desktop Dungeons is all about. Playable already in a free alpha version, this more feature-complete and polished edition of the roguelike game promises better graphics and much more gameplay variety. It features a random dungeon designer capable of spitting out an infinite number of quickplay dungeons designed to be defeated within about 10-minutes. You pick a character from among a host of races (human, elf, dwarf, halfling, gnome, goblin, orc) and classes (18 in all) and delve away in search of monsters and treasure. The final game will have an upgradeable kingdom that, unlike the characters you put into the dungeons, you carry on with you as you progress.
• What We Think:
  Todd: This is the kind of "quick time waster" I can see myself getting lost in for hours on end. One of the problems with the bigger (but still awesome) RPGs of yesteryear is that you'll probably only play through them once (if that), maybe twice, so you don't get to experience the different types of play that separate being a dwarven monk from a gnome assasin. This game will let you experiment with such absurd combinations and when they don't work, hey, you're up and running with a new character in 10-minutes anyway. Sword of Fargoal was a cool game in its day, so I'm excited to see something carry that legacy forward with a solid splash of modern design know-how thrown in for good measure. I just hope we get an iPad version in the relatively near future.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC, PS3, 360)
• Publisher: Square Enix
• Developer: Eidos Montreal
• Release Date: Late 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
In this hands-off demo presentation we were taken through a stealth approach to one of the game's missions that included bribing a guard, sneaking past others, knocking guys out and hiding their bodies, and hacking our way through a secured terminal. It was all very Deus Ex. During the presentation we were told that, bosses aside, it is possible to play through the entire game without having Jensen kill anyone, though he certainly can bring down the thunder at the player's command. We also saw several of his augmentations at work, including an Icarus landing system for preventing a long fall, a temporary invisibility stealth system, a vision mod for seeing through walls, and a strength mod that allowed Jensen to move a vending machine and use it as a platform to reach a higher level of the facility he had infiltrated.
• What We Think:
  Todd:As a fan of the original PC game, it was a huge relief to see a demo emphasize the different ways main character Adam Jensen could tackle a particular quest. One of the first points of emphasis during the presentation was that they wanted the player to have the option of playing to "four pillars of play": combat, stealth, dialog, or tech. If they do end up pulling that off I'm going to be very happy indeed. I'm still not quite sold on the voice of Jensen, but if he's the only weak link it'll hardly matter. This is easily at the top of my list of most anticipated games for the rest of the year.

Dragon’s Dogma(PS3, Xbox 360)
• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom
• Release Date: 2012
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
Played a demo fight outside of a castle against a griffon. It showed off the controls, graphics, moves and character commands.
• What We Think:
  Jason: I’m not sure how much of this title will be co-op, but if it’s not mostly playable in that mode, I’ll be very disappointed. The action is pretty stunning and fast paced, though a bit confusing. Jumping on a griffon and stabbing it in the rear with my sword while it flew around was pretty awesome.
  Mitch The prologue dungeon in Dragon’s Dogma was a bit plain, but my game bugged out so I restarted and played a different demo mission. I’m glad I did. I went from not caring about the game to adoring where it’s going. I played a big boss battle against a griffin in a field, which started out with me just lighting it on fire a bunch ‘til it collapsed onto the ground. I didn’t really know what to do from here. I kept lighting it on fire. Eventually I discovered I could grab it, so I did just that. Now I’m stabbing a blazing griffin, which decides at that particular moment to take off into flight. I’m a hundred feet in the air hanging on for dear life, stabbing a bird/lion/goat that is ablaze. It isn’t that I had to do this that made me dig Dragon’s Dogma—it’s that I could. The organic dynamic of that fight sold me. I just hope it’s more of that, and less of the stab-dudes-in-caves stuff of the prologue.
  Brandon: Wow this game looks rough. Admittedly, it's not releasing tomorrow, but still for a playable demo, there was a lot going wrong with it. Your AI teammates clipped into you, and with no way to issue direct commands, seemed to just do whatever they wanted to. Basic enemies weren't hard to take down, but the final boss, a Chimera, was a long, arduous slog. I like the inclusion of so many mythical creatures such as harpies and griffons, and the fact that there are special moves for both your sword and shield, but this game needs a lot of work. Also, the lack of co-op is a huge missed opportunity.

Dr. Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights (3DS)
• Publisher: Konami
• Developer: Konami
• Release Date: September 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
I was able to play a lengthy demo of this puzzle/exploration/treasure combat game. Dr. Lautrec is an archaeologist that stumbles across a plot that involves the Hope Diamond and King Louis XiV as well as a bunch of puzzles and treasure combat. Some of the treasure you find in the game will be inhabited by a spirit, a spirit you have to tame in order to take the treasure and use it in battle. To tame the spirit you battle it with other treasure spirits, all of which have strengths and weaknesses against other treasure spirits. The game also sports a number of puzzles, some of which were downright tricky, requiring me to ask the Konami rep for repeated hints. All of this combined with a story that's told via 3D and traditional, hand drawn 2D animation, makes this one very interesting title.
• What We Think:
  Brandon: This game is easily one of the biggest surprises of the show,. When I first heard about it, I wrote it off as a Professor Layton clone and while it shares a lot of similarities with the good professor, there's enough that's different about this game to make me very, very interested. The puzzles look tricky, the treasure combat is a nice diversion and Dr. Lautrec has a monkey that he keeps in his hat. Sold!

Driver: San Francisco (360, PS3, PC)
• Publisher: Ubisoft
• Developer: Ubisoft Reflections
• Release Date: August 30, 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
The hook in Driver: San Francisco is the ability to leave a vehicle, ala astral projection, and instantaneously drop into the body of another driver. It is called Shifting. Tom, William, another attendee, and I played two rounds of Tag. Like the schoolyard game in reverse, you want to be It in order to build up points.
• What We Think:
Brian: I am very skeptical of Shifting in the single-player experience, but it makes for a great time in multiplayer. No longer does a crash mean that you’re out of the game, and you can use Shifting to your advantage by jumping into a closer vehicle or even an oncoming vehicle. Ubisoft has smartly promoted the fact that the people behind the original Driver and Destruction Derby are working on San Francisco. But, they also created DRIV3R and Driver: Parallel Lines. I had fun playing Tag in Driver: San Francisco, but you can bet that I am skeptical.
Tom: I giggled a lot during the Saints Row 3 demo. But I giggled way more while playing Driver: San Francisco. Now this is how you make a multiplayer driving game!
Bill: I think I suck at racing games.
No, I know I suck at racing games. The poor UbiSoft rep was behind me the whole time during our multiplayer session and bless her, she tried to help me at every turn. When I almost tagged someone with my sports car she said,”oh, almost.” Yeah I know, I’m terrible. I appreciate the encouragement.
Here’s the kicker, though: I loved this demo. I don’t have to be good at something to recognize a good design and this multiplayer session was a real hoot. There wasn’t a lick of single player on display, however.
I love the shifting mechanic of teleporting your body to various cars in order to get a good vantage point to tag the car that was “it”. The sense of speed was there and the controls of the various cars, of which I have no idea if they were accurate or not, but they all felt completely different. I can see me and my co-op buddies having a lot of fun with this.

Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter (Facebook)
• Publisher: Atari
• Developer: Liquid Entertainment
• Release Date: July 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:

My developer-driven demo of this decidedly hardcore Facebook game started with a look at the character creator, then toured a starter dungeon and highlighted the intricacies of the combat model. It’s a tile-based dungeon crawler with what looks to be a ton of quests and content, along with plenty of character customization and even a robust level editor (players who reach level ten can then make their own dungeons and share them with friends).

• What We Think: Danielle :

  This was one of two surprisingly hardcore-looking – and certainly decent looking Facebook games I saw this E3 (the other was Nival’s Prime World). It looks as deep and engaging as a 16-bit era RPG, with the very cool added bonus of level creation. The ability to share your masterpieces with Facebook friends is awesome – and this may be one of the first games to really get user-generated content “right” on the premiere social network.

Dynasty Warriors (Vita)
• Publisher: TecmoKoei
• Developer: Koei
• Release Date: TBD
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
Dynasty Warriors was on display at Sony’s upstairs booth balcony. It was one of many games on display and playable for the PlayStation Vita. That’s pretty much it.
• What We Think:
Mitch Button mashing blues? Dynasty Warriors for Vita definitely ain’t the cure, because it’s still totally Dynasty Warriors, but it’s at least the most aware of any games in this series. It knows it’s repetitive, so it does its best to break it up with touch-screen controls. Musou attacks come in two flavors: One for the front touch, and one for the rear touch. Filling the front gauge and tapping where you want to attack shot a wide, ranged attacks toward suckers in the way. The rear touch activates your regular area-of-effect attack, but gives you control over where it deals damage. I tapped my fingers on the back of the machine like a madman, and each touch activated an explosion on the ground. Spinning the camera to attack other areas while attacking is uncomfortable, and TecmoKoei knows it—they’re looking into an alternative so it’s easier to bust up everyone around you. Beyond that, guys will leap out at you from time to time, and touching them knocks ‘em outta the air, and boss duels are sometimes touch-only. Swiping to attack and expose openings is very Infinity Blade. See? Variety. Who knew DW could do it?