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Tera (PC)
• Publisher: Atari
• Developer: Bluehole
• Release Date: Q4 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:

Tera is an MMO in which the combat is completely action-oriented. My very enthusiastic developer demoed all aspects of the fighting, down to the real-time aiming and the need for quick reaction times – he was keen to emphasize that there’s no auto-fighting or casual clicking in this game, no sir. I also got a pitch for the political system in the game, wherein players can actually take control over a territory via a voting system – or the old fashioned way – by beating the crap out of everybody else.

• What We Think:
Danielle :

Tera looks very slick for an MMO. It’s an Unreal 3 game, so there are sexy particle effects and fantastic lighting everywhere you turn, though I can’t say I found the art style terribly original. The combat model certainly is promising – and everything about my demo screamed “action” with a streamlined interface.

Tomb Raider (360, PS3)
• Publisher: Square Enix
• Developer: Crystal Dynamics
• Release Date: TBA 2012
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
The Tomb Raider presentation was hands off and so-called “alpha code”, but the slice we saw looked very complete. After explaining that this reboot would be an origin story starring the 21-year-old Croft, the developers dove right in, showcasing an early underground environment. We had a look at a few puzzles showcasing fire and water, then got a feel for a hyped up quick-time-event (or rather, Heavy Rain moment), and had a look at the mysterious island, which showed shipwrecks from every era of exploration (from early exploration vessels right up to modern tankers).
Later, we were shown a rainy environment and a mission involving the infiltration of a wolf den, complete with a tense battle with a nasty, almost undead-looking beast.
• What We Think:
Danielle :

This was one of my top five games of the show, for sure. Everything about the demo – from the cinematics with Lara’s older mentor to the subtle icons used in puzzle solving to the overall visceral feel of the game came through brilliantly. It looks and sounds gorgeous as well, with deep, saturated colors and vivid lighting effects. The only thing I could do without is the overbearing “I’m hurt” moaning from Lara, which is so over the top it crosses over into mildly orgasmic territory – not the tone that I suspect was intended.

Todd: Sold. Just sold. I was never a big fan of the original games, so I'm fine with them making whatever changes they feel like making. What I like is that Lara feels like a real person now. She's battered. She's covered in grime. She's tired. She's scared out of her mind. And she's never, ever going to quit. Playing along as she grows into whatever it is she will become in this game deserves to be a fascinating ride. I am concerned about the game still being a little too over the top. In our demo, when Lara is forced to pull a steel rod out of her side and minutes later is leaping out to catch a platform and then haul herself up... ummm, no. They might also look to reduce the amount of grunting and expressions of shock and surprise they have Lara making. It's too much and it's distracting. I'm also not going to be sold until they show off some combat. It looks like they've nailed the setting and have the characterization down, and I don't mind the Heavy Rain style parts of the game we saw, but making the combat work in this environment is going to be every bit as crucial.
Tom: This is the Lara Croft I'm looking forward to meeting. Human, vulnerable, scared, battered, and rendered with a canny sense of emotion. In other words, real. I also like the potential for a reversed father/daughter relationship. Lara's early character arc seems to be her role as protector to a wounded father figure.

Top Gun: Hard Lock (360, PS3, PC)
• Publisher: 505 Games
• Developer: Headstrong Games
• Release Date: Spring 2012
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
We were shown the game as well as given a chance to play fighter jockey for ourselves. The game is set 25 years after Top Gun allowing for a selection of more modern aircraft. Maverick and Jester return with cameo roles as flight instructors, but you play an entirely new character. The game's titular hard lock feature is very similar to the FPS style of Ace Combat's newest outing, allowing you to keep a better eye on your opponent as you fill it with bullets. As you fly about the skies, you'll have various stick movement prompts that, when pulled off correctly and with a low reaction time, allow you to pull off all sorts of cool moves to give you an offensive or defensive advantage. The game will feature 16 person muitiplayer as well as four player co-op, allowing for a quarter of Top Gun quotes.
• What We Think:
  Brandon: I found the casual controls of this one much more to my liking than Ace Combat. Getting a hard lock was difficult but not impossible and as long as you stayed on your toes, it was easy to pull off the special moves and get out of danger. Obtaining a hard lock and blowing your foe out of the sky with a missile was pretty dang satisfying and made you want to seek out your next target as soon as possible.

Tropico 4 (PC, 360)
• Publisher: Kalypso
• Developer: Haemimont
• Release Date: Summer 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
Banana republics aren't just for the Cold War anymore! Now Tropico extends into modern day, with the addition of new superpowers to fill the gap where Russia used to be. Hey, China, can my island dictatorship interest you in some delicious pineapple? The E3 demo seemed like a mostly complete build of an oil spill scenario. Also new is the ability to import goods for your buildings, which will give the economy a bit more flexibility. Now you can appoint specific people on the island to your ministry. Brand new disasters such as volcanoes and oil spills give you a variety of response options. Rebalanced tourism makes it less of a feast-or-famine economic choice than it was in the previous games. A new challenge editor will make it easier to make and share your own scenarios. Also, new social media tie-ins so you can announce your dictatorial side on Facebook
• What We Think:
  Tom: Count me in! Tropico 3 was a gorgeous city sim with a unique flavor twist. This version seems to consist mostly of a few new tweaks, but I hope Haemimont fully appreciates how much they can mix up the gameplay by bringing the setting beyond the Cold War.
  Mitch I’m only a recent Tropico convert. I reviewed Tropico 3 for Xbox 360 at GameShark, and despite its rather clunky interface, I fell in love with building cities, stalking citizens, balancing international relationships and the political balance of tourism and industry. It’s a goofy series, and Tropico 4 keeps up with that. Natural disasters are the sort of addition you look at in Tropico and think, “Ha! That’s really cool!” They are the sort of addition you’ll encounter while playing, and no doubt wet your pants in panic. “A tsunami just wiped out my coastal hotel and port? A volcano just torched my busy downtown?” It’s going to be a painful problem, and I can’t wait to see how it throws a wrench in my gears. This will also be the first time I play a Tropico game and get down deep into the social stratum and political ins-and-outs. I’m excited for Tropico 4 to totally overwhelm me.

Twisted Metal (PS3)
• Publisher: Sony
• Developer: Eat Sleep Play
• Release Date: October 4, 2011
• Trailer
• What We Saw:
Most of what Sony showed this year was the mayhem of Twisted Metal's multiplayer combat spilled out on the show floor where it was hard to tell what was going on. But behind closed doors, Sony showed off a single-player boss fight. Twisted Metal's single-player consists of following each of three drivers through a five-mission sequence, followed by a boss fight. One such fight pits you against Doll Face, a woman piloting a giant doll robot with a face on either side of its swiveling head. To take her out, you have to defeat a gang leader in a limo, drag him to a missile launcher, and then defend the missile launcher from enemy attacks during a countdown. Hold out long enough and you'll mulch the gang leader in exchange for a missile. Steer the missile into the giant doll robot and you'll move on to the next stage of the boss fight.
• What We Think:
  Tom: One of the best thing Twisted Metal has going for it is a vehicular combat sized hole in the latest gen games. After filling that hole so well on the Playstation 2, it's about time Twisted Metal came to the Playstation 3. However, a boss fight is about the last thing you want to show off in a demo.

Two Worlds II: Pirates of the Flying Fortress (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
• Publisher: Topware Interactive
• Developer: Reality Pump Studios
• Release Date: October 2011
• What We Saw:
For this full-priced and full-sized expansion to Two Worlds II, we were treated to a hands-off guided demo of live gameplay. This game continues where the main title left off, with the Hero continuing to take center stage as he seeks to aid a group of cursed pirates find an "immaterial" treasure. It promises a variety of new sets to explore, better character detail, more mount types, more use of your boat to sail between locations, and better voice acting. Inventory management, item crafting, and spell making remain entirely intact. We were told the design of this game was driven in large part by feedback from TW2's player base and that content they had planned to put into Two Worlds III was instead pulled into this expansion.
• What We Think:
  Todd: Given that it's a $60 game that (I don't believe) you can play without owning the main game, I'm not sure why Topware insists on calling it an expansion. But whatever, I'm told it'll provide a good 20 hours of content, so there's value to be had there. The character models in TW2 were rough, especially in the faces, and that was noticeably improved here. We're not talking Bioware or CD Projekt quality, but still better.
  I couldn't hear the game well during the demo, but if there's an improvement to the atrocious voice-acting of the last one, I'm sad to say it sounds minimal. The environments were a huge plus of the main game and those I saw in this demo continue that trend, and may be even better looking. I didn't notice any of the needless motion blur from that game and not once did the Hero (does this guy have a name?) get locked into a finishing animation that resulted in him being clobbered by other nearby baddies. All pluses.
  I'm still not sold on this franchise, but it's undeniable that Two Worlds 2 made a huge leap from the original game. This game looks like another step forward, if not a particularly big one. Now, if only I could convince them that the idea of having a quest that involves zombie strippers really isn't as funny as they seem to think it is.