Top 10: E3 2012 game trailers and demos

We love E3. All those shiny trailers full of promise and hope. Here, in no particular order, are our 10 favourites from this years show. Where possible we’ve embedded the videos here, but you may need to click through for the HD versions. Apologies for any pre-roll adverts.

1. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Studio Ghibli, Level 5 and Namco Bandai get together to produce an RPG which looks set to combine the legedary anime studio’s distinctive style and deep plots with a rich fantasy world to explore. It’s already been a hit in Japan and is due out in the west in January 2013. We can’t wait.

2. Nintendo Wii U

This is an epic video, released before E3 and it’s a little dry in its presentation to say the least. However, there’s a huge wealth of Wii U-information here for anyone considering buying Nintendo’s latest console come Christmas.

3. Assassin’s Creed 3

Ubisoft had a fantastic line up at this year’s show, and three entries in this list. First up is this extended gameplay demo of the new Assassin’s Creed. It shows how our hero’s acrobatic skills can be put to use in a forest, some basic RPG type elements, how to take out crowds of opponents and a classy-looking assassination. We can’t wait for the game later this year.

4. ShootMania

Trackmania was a phenomenal little racing game that became a huge community-driven phenomenon. Now developer Nadeo is hoping to do the same for shooters with ShootMania, design your own games and levels from this sandbox shooter engine. It’s all helped along here by an awesome trailer with a great soundtrack.

5. Halo 4

Despite promises of a sequel, we’d kind of let Halo go after Bungie moved on. But this trailer reminds us just how much we missed its fantastic blend of shooting, grenade tossing and rifle butting aliens in the face. The first 3 minutes here are a rather smart live action intro, but when the gameplay kicks off its back to business. In fact, a fresh start should do the series good, as Bungie’s plotting had quickly bogged down after the first game. Halo 4 is certainly one that has gone up in our expectations.

6. Middle-Earth Guardians

Ever wanted to smash a rock against Gandalf’s condescending head? So have we, and it seems that this game will let us do just that.

OK it’s only a very fancy intro sequence and purists will have be screaming at the idea of Gandalf and Gollum going toe-to-toe, or the fellowship ganging up on what looks like a corporeal Sauron, but the video is well worth a look anyway.

7. Crysis 3

One of the prettiest games of recent years gets a third outing, and boy does it look good. Two videos here, one is a walkthrough (partly spoiled by a man in the front of the screen at the start), the other a jazzed up trailer.

8. Aliens: Colonial Marines

Looks suspenseful and action-packed – just like the the James Cameron film. If there’s any justice, you’ll be able to play as a marine called Apone, too.

9. Lego LOTR

Impossibly cute, cuddly, heart-warming and funny – everything you could want from a Lego game. But again any middle-earth purists will be shrieking in rage .. calm down it’s only a book! One big questions remains unanswered though here, are Lego hobbits really smaller than Lego men?

10. Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation (PS Vita)

The new Assassin’s Creed games are set around the time of the American Revolution and both retain the free-running gameplay of their predecessors. While the both are set to be strong releases for Ubisoft, we’re particularly intrigued by the Vita game. The home and portable console games have parallel plots, with the Vita title following the adventures of Aveline, who begins her struggle against the Templars in New Orleans. It promises to be refreshing change from the revisionist history of many titles, touching on themes including poverty, freedom and slavery.

And just one more …

11. Far Cry 3

It seems to give away a little too much about the Far Cry 3 plot, but then reveals this is just one plot strand, from one island, in a whole archipelago. If Far Cry 3 combines the lush island setting and gameplay of the first game with the story breadth of the second, then this could be game of the year.