The show is over and so the PixlBit staff discusses the games that gave them the most thrills this year.

Jesse’s Picks

Game of Show - Watch Dogs

For me, E3 has always been about being blown away by new game announcements that I couldn’t have possibly have seen coming.  So while I certainly loved seeing more on potentially fantastic games like Tomb Raider and Halo 4, nothing beats the announcement of a brand new IP.

That’s why Watch Dogs has been the highlight of E3 2012 for me.  Ubisoft came on strong this year, showing off a wide breadth of titles, but none of them had the same impact on me that Watch Dogs did.  Clever, stealth orientated gaming is something that has pretty much gone by the wayside in the industry, with even Ubisoft’s own Sam Fischer of Splinter Cell fame taking on more of an action hero in his latest outing: Blacklist. 

Gorgeously rendered and wonderfully fluid, Watch Dogs not only shows how thrilling and tense a blending of espionage and action can really be, but it also exposed the real modern fear of society’s dependence on technology.  With a few simple swipes on what appears to be no more than a simple smart phone, our protagonist is able to monitor phone calls, disrupt cell signals and even access the power grid.  The open ended nature of how to accomplish your goal is a refreshing break from the increasingly linear nature of games, and I can’t wait to see more of this game soon – hopefully this generation.

Runner-up - ZombiU

The Wii U’s showing this year may have been a bit disappointing on multiple levels for gamers and journalists alike – this one included – there were a couple of gems to be had; chief among them being the reveal of Ubisoft’s ZombiU.

I have longed for a zombie survival horror game with a real emphasis on survival.  Watch a zombie flick and you’ll know that a single bite is the kiss of death, but video games have usually ignored this important fact and placed you in the shoes of a character that is inexplicably immune to infection.  This has always taken away some of the tension and dread that should be present in a zombie game.  Well, now I have what I want in ZombiU.  By blending the traditional zombie story with a more punishing consequence for death – borrowed from Dark Souls of course – we can refresh a genre that has gotten more than stale over the years.

So long as the game continues to develop well, and it’s looking mighty fine now, this could be my reason to pick up a Wii U on day one.