Surprise! I'm still alive! I've been very busy (with life) during these few centuries that passed since my last update, but E3 is worth a post. Those who are familiar with me know that I am less interested in console reveals or big plans to do this and that as much as I am interested in the individual games, so this post will relate to those games I thought were interesting.

Dark Souls - From what I saw in the stage demo, this is definitely the "spiritual successor" to Demons' Souls. It looks very similar to the original, with dreary, desolate enviroments, lots of creative enemies and unforgiving gameplay. I hope there will be a narrative or at least a reason to go about exploring the new open-world, however, because I want it to be different enough that the game warrants a purchase. Else I could just go play Demons' Souls.

Bioshock Infinite- To be honest about this one, I am having mixed feelings about this game. The setting, the concept and the game are looking very good, but the way the narrative seems to be playing out in the game (with Elizabeth having such a major role) indicated that there there will be a lot of scripted events. What I loved about Bioshock and Bioshock 2 was the roaming around, exploring and finding things and putting the story together bit by bit. I hope that this will not disappear from Bioshock Infinite, because it looks like it will very enjoyable to explore.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim- I loved the stage demo for this. It showed the vast changes in the gameplay engine and the dynamic world very well. Todd Howard said they were really paying attention to everything, down to the plants and flowers. This, judging from footage of the in-game menu, seems to be true. If this game manages to live up to the hype and the expectations of the fans, I think it would easily be Game of the Year, despite the very strong competition this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope Bethesda succeeds in producing the game it's been taking about.

Dead Island - This game is worth keeping an eye on. The emotionally charged trailer released a while ago has left everyone with high expectations, and the gameplay from the demo looked pretty promising. The combat seems to be very tense, with everything carefully done. I can't imagine myself rushing in this game. It's pushing for realism, and in reality, you can't blow through a horde of zombies with a shotgun. I think this take on the zombie scenario is going to be this game's strongpoint. I hope there's a strong narrative or interesting characters behind it, though, or some careful pacing, because with weak objectives, a game like this could end up being repetitive.

Battlefield 3- Simply said, this game looks gorgeous. I am sure it will be a strong competitor to Call of Duty. It's heavy realism is something that gives it something different than other shooters. The scenario with the tanks in the stage demo also felt very professional. I don't know how to properly convey this. It was tense, business-like and more importantly war-like. I found myself thinking, this is what a real tank battle would be like (even if it might not be, I wouldn't know). When they came under attack, I thought, "There is NO WAY that I would keep driving forward in real life. This is SCARY". In most other shooters, scenes like this come off as artificial. So props to Battlefield 3 for making me feel anything in a first-person shooter, because that's kind of rare.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - This was a surprise to see in E3 and brought a lot of nostalgia. I loved Sly 2 and 3 (I never played the first one, sadly). It's not being made by Sucker Punch, but these new developers seem to be staying true to the franchise. The graphics still have that cartoonish look to them, except it looks much better. There's not really much to gain from the boss fight shown, though, so I guess we'll have to wait for more information in the future. Just one thing: did Sly move that slow in the earlier games? He seemed a bit sluggish here. I remember him being friskier. Maybe my memory is rusting.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3- The demo shown is very Call of Duty-ish. Narrow, linear levels, breathtaking setpieces and fast-paced action. Judging by Modern Warfare 1 and 2, it will likely be short and can be considered as almost a peripheral to the multiplayer. The talk about Spec Ops and the horde mode is interesting though. The best thing a fast-paced. accessible game like the CoD games can have is a series of challenges designed to test a player's skills. At this point, Spec Ops is the only thing that might save this game for me.

Far Cry 3 - I started watching Sony's conference in the middle of the demo for Far Cry 3. (Exams, you suck.) As soon as I did, a friend of mine told me via Facebook that they were showing off a "good-looking game". I watched for a minute, then thought "This looks like Far Cry. Is this Far Cry 3?" And yes it was. The surprising thing is that I haven't played Far Cry 1 or 2, at all. My only experience with them is a single video of Far Cry 2 gameplay a couple of years ago. So how did I know? There are two possible answers. 1: That Far Cry 2 and 3 have a shared quality that is unique to this franchise, and it was so strong and memorable that I could still tell after two years. Or 2: I know the future. (THIS). Either way, that a game's "feel" is so palpable and memorable is a credit to the game. I'm paying attention to this one.

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection - Whoever is behind this: THANK YOU SO MUCH.

There were other games that I thought looked amazing, like Tomb Raider and Uncharted 3. In most cases, like Tomb Raider or Batman: Arkham Asylum, I'm too unfamiliar with the franchises to really know what I'm talking about. In others, like Uncharted and Mass Effect, things look like the usual (which is a very good thing.) This concludes my E3 impressions. Tell me what you think in the comments! :D