Where did they go?
There were a lot of games at E3 2011. Some of them we've seen plenty of since. Some of them have been released. We've completed them. Finished. Done. On the shelf. But others have just sort of... vanished a bit. What's happened to those games? Where the hell have they been? And what is the percentile chance of them being at this year's show?
Let us embark on a voyage of discovery...
Animal Crossing 3D | 3DS
Nintendo gave us the first Animal Crossing 3D trailer at last year's E3. It was such a lovely thing. It had butterfly catching and mushroom picking and clock hanging and bench sitting and tent exiting and animal talking and water swimming and all the sorts of things that make living side-by-side with sartorially aware creatures of the forest seem like humanity's only chance for perennial happiness.
Where the hell?
For the last two years Nintendo has chosen E3 as pretty much the sole delivery platform for Animal Crossing 3D info - announcing the game in 2010 and dropping the debut trailer in 2011. We can only assume that between shows the beasts retreat into a year-long hibernation. Or maybe they're hat shopping. Or planting vegetables. It's anyone's guess. But never mind. Either way, when it comes to E3 2012 we're going to be all over Animal Crossing 3D like a veterinarian on a bad case of canine distemper.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 100%
BioShock | Vita
Technically speaking we didn't actually 'see' the PS Vita version of BioShock at E3 2011. It simply wasn't there. There was no game to see. However. We were witness to the next best thing: a promise from the cuddlesome Ken Levine (creative director at BioShock dev Irrational Games) that an all-new BioShock would be coming to Sony's handheld at some as-yet indeterminate point in the future. Admittedly, as announcements go it was a bit light on actual detail. But we saw him say the words with our own eyes. And that's good enough for us.
Where the hell?
Unsurprisingly, there have been zero sightings of BioShock on Vita since then. According to Levine, the game is still in the 'paper design stage' (presumably someone has scrawled a logo on a Rizla) and it sounds as though the team is going to remain focused on finishing BioShock Infinite before the portable version makes the first steps from paper to a platform more practical for making an actual game. Like, say, a computer.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 0.001%
Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 | 360, PC, PS3
Revealed as a sort of Inglourious Basterds-inspired Nazi murderathon and gratuitous carnival of cartoon violence, the game's first showing at last year's E3 made it crystal clear this was a dramatic departure from the altogether more sober tones of the core series. It was less about strategic pincer movements and more about tasering herr kommandant in the schnitzels.
Where the hell?
We shouldn't be too surprised that we've had radio silence on this for the last 12 months. After all, developer Gearbox is busy-busy-busy. Borderlands 2 and Aliens: Colonial Marines aren't going to make themselves and both Aliens: Infestation and Duke Nukem Forever have both been released since BIA: Furious 4 was announced at last year's E3. And, thanks to recent confusion over expiring trademarks and a worrying lack of solid reassurance from either Gearbox or publisher Ubisoft, there's currently some concern over the current state of development on this one.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 12%
Dragon's Crown | PS3, Vita
Not as high profile as the other games on this list, but certainly no less sexy or exciting or worthy of tail-wagging anticipation. Last year's E3 reveal trailer featured developer Vanillaware's (the Japanese studio behind Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade) distinctive 2D hand-drawn, cut-out sprite style and looked very much like a side-scrolling brawler but was in fact an action RPG, hence all the dragons and busty sorceresses and castles.
Where the hell?
While Dragon's Crown has been keeping a low profile since E3 2011, it was announced last month that Atlus was taking over publishing duties from Ignition. Not only that, some of the Atlus in-house creative team (including talented folks who worked on the Persona series) would be taking up producer roles on the game. With the arrival of Atlus as publisher it's become evident that Dragon's Crown is still early in development - the original 'Spring 2012' release date promised by Ignition has been booted into a timeframe no more specific than '2013'.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 72%
Killer Freaks from Outer Space | Wii U
This was billed as a 'surprise third-party Wii U announcement' and in the midst of the illogical mad-thinking symptomatic of mob excitement, everyone jumped to the conclusion that it would be Rockstar related. Possibly even a Wii U exclusive GTA V. So there was a teensy bit of disappointment when it turned out to be Ubisoft's b-movie styled shooter Killer Freaks from Outer Space. It wasn't GTA V, but it looked OK. Clearly it was still early in development but at least we saw it running, which helped us make a little more sense of how Wii U's tablet would function alongside the regular controller set-up. So that was something to be grateful for.
Where the hell?
Nintendo has had all Wii U projects in a state of complete lockdown since last year's E3. Nothing gets out. NOBODY TALKS TO THE PRESS. And they haven't. But the game is still happening, it's had another 12 months of development and we're sure Ubisoft will be talking to us about it until our ears fall off just as soon as Nintendo removes the ball gag.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 99.9%
Metro: Last Light | 360, PC, PS3, Wii U
Ukrainian developer 4A demoed its sequel to atmospheric subterranean survival-shooter Metro 2033 at last year's show. It was pretty bleak. Not in a bad way. It was good bleak. The sort of bleak completely appropriate for a game that has mutants and Nazis and gas masks and is set against a backdrop of post-apocalypse Russia. Even pre-apocalypse Russia is pretty bleak. So the Metro games have to be *really* bleak. And the sequel looks to continue with the theme of bleakness.
Where the hell?
Unfortunately, any word on the progress of Metro: Last Light since E3 2011 has also been bleak. In a bad way. The only update on the game's development has been the disappointing news that it was being delayed to 2013. So that sucked. Anyway, despite publisher THQ not having a booth on the show floor at this year's expo, we'll be seeing the game behind closed doors along with the rest of the world's gaming press. So it's not all bleak.
[UPDATE: In the time it has taken me to assemble this feature (which has been considerable), a live-action short has been released for Metro: Last Light. It doesn't exactly tell us anything new about the game, but it's definitely worth a watch]
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 100%
Overstrike | 360, PS3
The first non-PlayStation exclusive game from Resistance and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac was introduced to gamers at E3 2011 with a pretty-looking CG trailer. It had gadgets and robots and explosions and four distinctly individual agents (each with a unique talent, natch). Some folks made comparisons with Pixar's 'The Incredibles', with the superheroes swapped out for elite agents. It set the scene in terms of tone and aesthetic and looked cool and everything but left attendees wondering how it would translate into actual gameplay.
Where the hell?
It's a four-player co-op action game. That's still all we know a year after it was announced. When you consider Insomniac was working on Resistance 3 and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One at the time, its completely conceivable that actual game development of Overstrike hadn't even started by the time E3 2011 rolled around and it existed purely as a concept and CG trailer. Insomniac and publisher EA have been tight-lipped, so there's a real possibility this is still in the very earliest stages of development and still not ready to be put in front of the media.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 50%
Paper Mario | 3DS
Just like Animal Crossing 3D, this was announced at E3 2010 and then teased with a trailer at E3 2011. And, just like Animal Crossing 3D, we've seen bugger all of it since then. It's probably been standing sideways or something. Because it's hard to see paper if you're looking at it sideways. Whatever. The trailer was crammed with all the sorts of adorable paper-exploiting genius ideas we've come to expect from the series and the novelty of seeing the world of Mario in paper-form doesn't seem to be in any danger of wearing thin. Even though paper is thin.
Where the hell?
It's being made. It's in development. That's it. There's no secret. Nothing to worry about. Nintendo doesn't have to parade its upcoming Mario games every other week in order to drum up a bit of interest. If anything, the fact we haven't seen Paper Mario for a whole year is even more of tease. We are teased. Nintendo has teased us with its papery Mario paper trail. But we'll still be glad when the 'paper' wait is over.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 100%
Pikmin 3 | Wii U
It's incredible to think this was first confirmed at E3 2008 as a Wii game. And that's pretty much how it was left until last year, when Nintendo's lovable development ace, Shigeru Miyamoto, casually revealed during a cosy roundtable session that Pikmin 3 was heading to Wii U. And while Pikmin 3's E3's have all been the very definition of 'low-key' to date, this year Nintendo's little multi-coloured vegetable freaks are set to play a starring role.
Where the hell?
Quite clearly Nintendo has been developing the ass off this baby for over four years. But that does not matter. What does matter is that Nintendo has already confirmed Pikmin 3 for E3 2012. And we're expecting it to be playable at the show.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 100%
Prey 2 | 360, PC, PS3
Thanks to an impressive CGI trailer Prey 2 grabbed some lusty stares at last year's E3. There was no sign of the pre-Portal portal shootery that defined the original, but the shift in focus to running and jumping and sliding under stuff and ensnaring aliens with fancy-looking sci-fi weaponry against a sexy intergalactic cityscape looked rather tasty. And any trailer with a Johnny Cash musical accompaniment is fine by us.
Where the hell?
Rumours did abound that the game had been canned, but publisher Bethesda went on record to categorically confirm that Prey 2 was still in development. The bad news was Prey 2 would no longer make its 2012 release as originally planned because - in its current state - the game did not meet Bethesda's quality standards. Yes. Bethesda has quality standards. Will Prey 2 put in an appearance at E3 2012? We've got a feeling it could go down as a high profile MIA.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 8%
Tomb Raider | 360, PC, PS3
Before E3 2011 the Tomb Raider series was in serious danger of languishing forever in 'pfft' territory. But then the show came along and we were given two very good reasons to give a shit about Tomb Raider all over again. First, a slick CGI trailer redefined Lara Croft as a vulnerable rookie adventurer in a desperate struggle for survival (as opposed to a sexy infallible superheroine making it look oh-so-easy). And, second, a creepy gameplay demo coloured with dark shades of jeopardy which in terms of tone was more in-keeping with survival horror than anything as daring and adventurous as the raiding of tombs.
Where the hell?
The completely rebooted and reinvented Tomb Raider officially had our attention. But then E3 went away and so did any trace of this new and very exciting-looking Lara Croft excursion. We heard nothing more about the game until a couple of weeks ago, when developer Crystal Dynamics broke the news that the release of Tomb Raider was being pushed back to Q1 2013. Bums. However. To sweeten the foul stench of delay fart, Crystal Dynamics promised the game was looking amazing and couldn't wait to show it off at this year's E3.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 100%
Ryse | 360
What's that you say - Far Cry and Crysis developer Crytek developing an Xbox 360 exclusive? Yay, excitement! But wait. Whats this - its a Kinect only fighting game in which I can pretend to kick and stab and headbutt a man not with a controller but with my body? Because my body IS the controller? Oh. Well then... And so the collective enthusiasm for Ryse at Microsoft's conference at E3 2011 did fall. There was no rise in enthusiasm for Ryse. Only drooping.
Where the hell?
There have been murmurings this is now being developed as a next-gen Xbox title. Either way, all Crytek is saying about Ryse is that it's still in development and everything's going fine. So that's good news for everyone that wants to play a Kinect fighting game. If it does put in an appearance at this year's E3 we'd be very surprised if it's in anything other than video form.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 32%
Super Smash Bros | 3DS, Wii U
At last year's Nintendo conference, company president Satoru Iwata was bursting to tell everyone that Super Smash Bros would be coming to 3DS and Wii U, despite work on the games not even being close to started at the time. These are his exact words: "I have just promised you that Smash Bros will be developed for Nintendo 3DS and for Wii U and that the software will work together in some fashion. Of course, this is a product for the future." And that was pretty much all he had to say on the subject.
Where the hell?
Now that Smash Bros director Masahiro Sakurai has finished work on Kid Icarus: Uprising, we'd hope he's turned his attention to getting work underway on these two because - quite frankly - we love beating the shit out of Nintendo characters. But I've just recently started a rumour suggesting Smash Bros is actually going to be at this year's E3 and that all Iwata's talk of the game being nowhere near started - let alone finished - is just a smokescreen of lies and a serious Smash Bros MEGABOMB is going to explode all over our unexpecting faces at this year's Nintendo conference. Either that or it won't be there.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 1%
Wii U sizzle reel games | Wii U
At last year's E3 there was a whole bunch of Wii U games that flashed before our eyes as montage sizzle reel fodder. On the third-party front there was Darksiders II, Arkham City, Assassin's Creed, Aliens Colonial Marines and Ninja Gaiden 3 just to name a few. And then there was Nintendo's own line-up, which featured bundle suspects Wii U Sports and Wii U Play, balance-board dependant Wii U Fit and, more excitingly for gamers, Mario and Zelda tech demos.
Where the hell?
As we said before, nobody working on Wii U titles is talking about Wii U. There is obviously a strict order from Nintendo to keep-it-zipped. After the subsequent confusion over the console following last year's conference, it clearly wants to make sure the message is communicated with crystal clarity this time around. And keeping loose talk to a minimum has been the first part of fully achieving that goal. And, for the most part, Nintendo has been successful - we're going into the show really not knowing any more than we did at the end of E3 2011. But rest assured the vast majority of those sizzle reel games from last year's Nintendo conference will be at E3 2012. This is the year Nintendo wants Wii U to absolutely dominate and it will have made it an imperative to get as many of those games primed for the show as possible. It's already confirmed that a new Super Mario Bros for Wii U will be unveiled and it's unthinkable that Wii U Sports and Wii U Play won't be in attendance with their brand of pick-up-and-play simplicity to help sell the magic of the tablet. In fact, about the only thing from last year we're not expecting is for the Zelda tech demo to return as a fully fledged game.
Percentile chance of being at E3 2012: 100%
Don't forget to keep up to date with all the E3 news and rumours and everything else in between right here on GamesRadar.
