E3 2012

The Electronics Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, starts next week and I'm excited as ever. This year features some of my most beloved franchises so lets hit the ground running and get a break down.

Gears of War
Gears of War is a franchise I didn't think that I would hear from for a while The first trilogy gave me many hours of game play and I was really impressed with it. Now comes a new Gears game and I'm happy to see it return. I haven't read much about this game yet but so far we know two things, Baird and the Cole train are back. The teaser art that I've seen simply shows locusts, Baird, and Augustus Cole, with Augustus Cole in chains and being escorted in chains by the Cog. I'm really interested to see what Microsoft has in store for the Gears franchise. 

DOA5
DOA5, or Dead or Alive 5, is another game that I know nothing about but will be adding to my preorder list soon. DOA is of the fighting franchise genre. DOA4 was secretly one of my favorite fighting games. With polished graphics, multitiered fighting grounds, ninjas, and bouncy girls, how can you not go wrong. DOA5, while being shown at E3, it is already scheduled for release on September 25th, 2012 for both Xbox 360, and for the PS3.

Transformers Fall of Cybertron
Ah, loving both cars and robots how can you go wrong with Transformers? Transformers Fall of Cybertron is going to be another hit if it falls along the same lines as its predecessor War for Cybertron. While I'm not 100% sure of the story of the game, I'm sure the name says it all. One thing I am hoping to see in Fall of Cyberton is some human interaction with the Autobots or Decepticons. The name implies that we will see the end of Cybertron which may lead into their journey to Earth, of course as of right now, this is just speculation on my part. Aside from the similar game play and a more polished look to the graphics, there is one main reason for me to be looking forward to this game, Dinobots. Yes, the Dinobots will be ripping through the Decepticons in this sequel but the Autobots will have their hands full too as we will also get the Insecticons. Also with Combinors like Bruticus, this game is going to be a fans dream come true. Transformers Fall of Cybertron is scheduled for release August 28 (?), 2012 on the Xbox 360 and the PS3.

HALO 4
Halo 4, the game that needs no introduction. Halo is equally despised as it is loved but this time the franchise be being taken over by 343 Studios. In Halo 4 Master Chief returns with all new toys to an unknown alien world to battle an "ancient evil." What does that mean? Your guess is as good as mine. We have already seen the grunts returning in Halo 4 so the fodder of the covenant will be present. While I haven't seen any confirmation of Elites it is quite possible that the word of a new truce between the sanghili and the humans hasn't spread all through the galaxy yet. But what about this "ancient evil"? Could they have been an unknown species that was a threat to the Forerunners that weren't wiped out by the Halo array? Could we see the Forerunners alive and well in Halo 4. Game play footage is expected to be debuted for the campaign so we will have an answer in a few short days. The suspense will be killing me in the mean time. Halo 4 will also return with a beefed up multiplayer mode with you taking control over a Spartan 4 (ironically). There will be new load outs and new abilities such as the ability to see through walls around a corner. Halo 4 will be out for retail on November 6, 2012 as an Xbox 360 exclusive title and as of now currently has a regular edition and a collectors edition. A legendary edition is rumored to be shown at E3, but only time will tell.

There's so many other items I'm looking forward to and all next week I'll be updating this blog so expect updates on the new Wii U, Gears of War, and of course Halo 4.

There's alot of titles that slipped in under my radar which I was really surprised at so here is a full list of what has already been confirmed for E3.

2K GAMES
Spec Ops: The Line (360, PS3, PC)
Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360,PS3, PC)
NBA 2K13 (PS3, 360, Wii, PSP, Wii U)

ACTIVISION
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, PC)
Skylanders Giants (360, PS3, Wii, PC, 3DS)
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (360, PS3)
The Amazing Spider-Man (360, PS3)
Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (360, PS3)

ATLUS
Persona 4 Arena (360, PS3)
Persona 4 Golden (Vita)

BETHESDA
The Elder Scrolls Online (PC)
Dishonored (360, PS3, PC)
Doom 3: BFG Edition (360, PS3, PC)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- Dawnguard (360, PS3, PC)

BOHEMIA INTERACTIVE
ArmA III (PC)
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission (360, PS3, PC)
DayZ (PC)

CAPCOM
Resident Evil 6 (360, PS3, PC)
Lost Planet 3 (360, PS3, PC)
DmC (360, PS3)
Street Fighter x Tekken (Vita)

CCP
Dust 514 (PS3)

D3 PUBLISHER
Ben 10: Omniverse (Wii, Wii U, 360, PS3)
iCarly: Groovy Foodie! (DS)
Madagascar: Join the Circus! (iOS, Android)
Madagascar 3: The Video Game (TBA)
Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game (360, PS3, Wii, DS, 3DS)

ELECTRONIC ARTS
Battlefield 3: Armored Kill (360, PS3, PC)
Battlefield 3: Close Quarters (360, PS3, PC)
Crysis 3 (360, PS3, PC)
FIFA Soccer 13 (360, PS3, PC)
Madden NFL 13 (PS3, 360, Wii, Vita)
Medal of Honor Warfighter (360, PS3, PC)
NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3)
Need for Speed Most Wanted (TBA)
NHL 13 (360, PS3)
SimCity (PC)
Outernauts (Facebook)
World Series of Poker (iOS)
Dead Space 3 (TBA)

GAMIGO
Otherland (PC)
Grimlands (PC)

HARMONIX
Rock Band Blitz (XBLA, PSN)

INFERNUM
Brick-Force (Web)

KONAMI
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (360, PS3, PC)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (360, PS3)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow -- Mirror of Fate (3DS)

LARIAN STUDIOS
Dragon Commander (360, PS3, PC)
Divinity: Original Sin (PC, MAC)

LUCASARTS
Star Wars 1313 (TBA)

MAJESCO
NBA Baller Beats (360)
Zumba Fitness (360)
Double Dragon: Neon (360, PS3)

MICROSOFT
Halo 4 (360)
Gears of War Project (360)

NAMCO
Star Trek: The Game (360, PS3, PC)
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (360, PS3)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition (PC)
Dragon Ball Z for Kinect (360)
One Piece: Pirate Warriors (PSN)

NINTENDO
Pikmin 3 (Wii U)
Super Mario Wii U (Wii U)

PERFECT WORLD ENTERTAINMENT
Neverwinter (PC)
Raiderz (PC)

SEGA
Aliens: Colonial Marines (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (360, 3DS, PC, PS3, Vita)
Jet Set Radio (Vita)

SNOWBIRD GAME STUDIOS
Eador: Masters of the Broken World (PC)

SONY
The Last of Us (PS3)
LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3)
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS3, Vita)
Soul Sacrifice (Vita)
Guacamelee! [Pub Fund] (PS3, Vita)
Papo & Yo [Pub Fund] (PS3)

SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT
DC Universe Online (PS3, PC)
Free Realms (PS3, PC)
Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures (PC)
EverQuest II (PC)
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (PC)
Bullet Run (PC)
PlanetSide 2 (PC)
Wizardry Online (PC)

SQUARE ENIX
Hitman: Absolution (360, PS3, PC)
Tomb Raider (360, PS3, PC)
Sleeping Dogs (360, PS3, PC)
Quantum Conundrum (360, PS3, PC)
Heroes of Ruin (3DS)
Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance (3DS)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS)
Gameglobe (Web)
American Mensa Academy (PC, 360, PS3, iOS, Android)
Darius Burst Second Prologue (iOS)
Raystorm (iOS)
Guardian Cross (iOS, Android)
Demon's Score (iOS, Android)
KooZac (iOS, Android)
Motley Blocks (iOS, Android)
Qwirkle (iOS, Android)
SolaRola (iOS, Android)

TEAM17
Worms Revolution (PS3, 360, PC)

TECMO KOEI
Dead or Alive 5 (360, PS3)
Pokemon Conquest (DS)
Mugen Souls (PS3)

THQ
Darksiders II (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Metro Last Light (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Company of Heroes 2 (PC)

TRION
Defiance (360, PC, PS3)
End of Nations (PC)
Rift (PC)

UBISOFT
Far Cry 3 (PS3, 360, PC)
Rayman Legends (Wii U)
Assassin's Creed III (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Rocksmith (360, PS3, PC)
ShootMania Storm (PC)

VALVE
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (360, PS3, PC)

WARGAMING.NET
World of Tanks (PC)
World of Warplanes (PC)

WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE
F1 2012 (PS3, 360, PC)
Guardians of Middle-earth (PS3, 360)

ZEN STUDIOS
Zen Pinball 2 (PS3, Vita)
Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles (360, PS3, Vita)
Marvel Pinball 3D (3DS)
CastleStorm (PC, 360, PS3, Mobile)
KickBeat (Vita)


I know its a long list so if you got this far congratulations.

The official E3 website should also be updated as well and you can find that here: http://www.e3expo.com/
G4 also has really great coverage so check with your local cable listings for them. They will be there all week. Also you can check with IGN.com for updates too.

There's lots of coverage so if you don't find something here, it will be available.

-"Nurd" Pat!