Eurogamer's Best of E3 2011

Best Game Announcement: Luigi's Mansion 2

"The first brother of video games is back and he's got his vacuum." And about freaking time. Like all gamers, we spend most of our lives walking the hypocritical line between moaning about unwanted sequels and moaning about unwanted change, but Luigi's Mansion was treated roughly when it accompanied the GameCube to market at the start of the century, and while it burned brightly for those who did fall under its spell, it only did so briefly. We've got unfinished business, then, and having been associated with a weak console launch once before, how perfect would it be for Luigi to come full circle and reinvigorate another one 10 years down the line?

Honourable Mentions

Sly 4: Thieves in Time: This originally appeared on our shortlist with four exclamation marks next to it, such is our enthusiasm for all things Thievius Raccoonus. OK, it's not being made by Sucker Punch, but Sanzaru Games did a bang-up job porting the PS2 games over to the current generation, and the trailer shown at Sony's conference ticked all the right boxes. Plus, Wikipedia informs us it's host to "an ego-centric tiger named El Jeffe". MORE OF THIS.

Dust 514: Although it was first revealed some time ago to CCP's hardcore audience of EVE Online players, Dust 514's appearance at the Sony conference - and confirmation as a PS3 console exclusive - was definitely its big moment. A large-scale multiplayer shooter that plugs in to a persistent universe and talks to an entirely different game - EVE's cerebral space trade and warfare - this remains one of the most interesting and exciting games in development anywhere. And now the whole world knows about it.

Halo 4: Surprise! Well, not really - ah, the perils of internet publishing. And not really in any event - what else did we imagine 343 Industries was doing? It remains to be seen whether gamers will accept a Halo not made by Bungie, but as Microsoft's Chris Lewis pointed out to our sister site GamesIndutry.biz, if the game is good then the game is good. Let's hope it is.

Far Cry 3: "Have I ever told you the definition of insanity?" Yes - in your conference, on your booth and in the trailer. The fact we're not bored of being told about it reflects how much we enjoyed Far Cry 3's energetic reveal. The game looked a little predictable in places, but now Crytek's given up on jungles, this is a welcome sight.

Best Video: Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

With Star Wars: The Old Republic pre-emptively disqualified from this category due to spamming us with CGI and never actually coming out, this one wasn't difficult to call. Most games borrow or steal from cinema, but few have learned as much as Uncharted under the stewardship of Amy Hennig, and that's evident even in the trailers. This one is as good as any film teaser we've seen in 2011.

Honourable Mentions

Assassin's Creed: Revelations missed out but not by much, and easily has the best music of any trailer released during E3, although Just Dance 3 had the best musician in Katy Perry. Halo 4 gave us very little to go on but just enough, and Fruit Ninja Kinect features men dressed as ninjas and low-fi fruit doing pretty advanced choreography in feudal Japan, so what's not to like?

And Finally

Dharma Initiative Award for Advanced Corporate Clarity: Wii U. Days later, people still thought it was an add-on.

Most Fetishistic Approach to Warfare: Ghost Recon's amazing GunSmith Kinect thing, where you hug and caress invisible guns in the air to make them more deadly.

Biggest Cock-up: Putting Halo 4 on Xbox.com two hours before the Microsoft conference. Hey, at least they didn't leave it on a bar stool...

Least Appropriate Change of Direction: Brothers in Arms: Furious 4, or "Rise of Turbo Hitler" as we've renamed it.

Best Use of Number Three In A Title: Tied between Serious Sam 3, Battlefield 3, Mass Effect 3, Gears of War 3, Uncharted 3, Dungeon Siege 3, Saints Row 3, UFC Undisputed 3, Ninja Gaiden 3, Far Cry 3, Modern Warfare 3, Resistance 3, F.E.A.R. 3, No More Heroes 3 and Pikmin 3.

Biggest Money Bonfire: Eurogamer's hire car. A Cadillac Escalade.

Best Apology: Jack Tretton. "You are the lifeblood of the company. Without you there is no PlayStation. I want to apologise personally and on behalf of the company for any anxiety we've caused you."

Best Quote: Jack Tretton. "To all our esteemed members of the press I say, 'You're welcome.'"

Best Rented Celebrity: A tie? Sony had Kobe Bryant, but then Microsoft had Ice-T. Neither of them can play video games.

Most Forced Attempt At Meme Generation: Ubisoft's Mr Caffeine. Doodledo doodledo doodledo.

Best Simulated Families: Microsoft's amazingly fake brother and sister combos, who laughed and danced their way through demonstrations of Disneyland Adventures without biting each other's arms or even pulling hair.

Best Banter: Tretton again - "Great news on Vita but I can't believe Kaz made fun of my tie. I was tempted to bust out that Ridge Racer line, but I like my job too much."

Best Executive Panic: Kaz Hirai's face when the audience laughed and jeered at the AT&T Vita exclusivity announcement.

Least Memorable Corporate Mantra: Don Mattrick's "You search, Xbox finds it." We had to look it up. On Google.

The "Let's Chill here on the Deck" Kaz Hirai Memorial Award for excellence in strained banter: HUT, HUT, TWENTY TWO. Those NFL-playing lunatics at the Microsoft conference. Made all the more wonderful, as ever, by the presence of their lines on the massive autocue staring most of the audience in the face from the back of the room, which at one point included the prompt: "[Pause] WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO".