Joystick: What came out of the 2012 E3

The Electronics Entertainment Expo came and went with less attention that usual, it seems.

Yet there were plenty of exciting announcements, demonstrations, and overall fun things to come out of the year’s biggest gaming tradeshow. Here’s our top five announcements:

1.) Castlevania: Lords of Shadow sequels

The little kid inside me jumped up and down with excitement once I saw the trailer for “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2,” which featured Gabriel Belmont in his new role facing enemies with incredible powers. The trailer for the 3DS game bridging the first and second Lords of Shadow games, “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate” looks even better as developers bring several previous protagonists together under a new storyline and what looks to be an old-school style game.

2.) Square-Enix’s Luminous Engine

Square knocked everyone’s socks off with yet another amazing demonstration of its new-gen game engine. The presentation, titled “Agni’s Philosophy” looked better than real, and is raising some significant buzz.

3.) Zone of the Enders sequel

ZoE is considered one of the most interesting mecha games to come out of Japan, and considering Kojima Production’s penchant for engaging, albeit overemphasized, plot and storytelling, this game could make big waves.

4.) “Beyond: Two Souls”

Though there were plenty of planned announcements, I’d argue none had the impact that Quantic Dreams’ “Beyond: Two Souls” had, as Ellen Page stars in what could be a Game of the Year contender down the road.

5.) Fire Emblem: Awakening

A game not even on Nintendo’s official press list for E3 caused a massive flurry of attention after Kotaku got Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime to casually confirm its stateside release.

Score one for unexpected announcements.

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