It's hard to watch the Uncharted 2 demo and not get pumped for the game. I mean, the action of the original was fun, but it looks flat out fierce in this game. Nate gets going with the spot-on climbing we know and love, but then his handhold slips and he has to adjust, a helicopter starts spraying bullets, and a building falls down. That'll get the blood pumping.

• Assassin's Creed II
• Bayonetta
• God of War III
• Heavy Rain

King of Fighters XII is not only one of the best-looking fighting games around, it's also one of the most rewarding. Putting hand-drawn sprites into a current-gen game is a difficult task, but King of Fighters XII is entirely hand-drawn and it looks fantastic. The gameplay is equally enticing, as it represents a slick update of the classic King of Fighters combat. Even if you're not a fan of the franchise, this is one to look out for.

• Marvel vs. Capcom 2
• Tekken 6

Just when we thought we were burning out on music games, Activision pulls us back in. DJ Hero looks great with its nifty turntable and frantic spinning, but it's the combination of two completely different tracks and the ensuing mix that really gets us going. Toss in the ability to have a friend jam on the guitar or sing on the mic, and you've got the potential for something special.

• The Beatles: Rock Band
• Def Jam Rapstar
• Karaoke Revolution

Puzzle games aren't generally used as graphics showcases, but when Critter Crunch is released later this year you'll likely be using it to show off the capabilities of your PlayStation 3 and fancy pants HDTV. The hand drawn animation is smooth and beautiful, creating a puzzle experience that really stands out. Plus, you can barf rainbows. Need we say more?

• Trash Panic

There was a lot of good competition on the racing front this year, but Need for Speed: Shift outpaced everything else thanks to its incredible dashboard view. Your vision blurs, kicks and reels with smacks from other cars and the environment, and the engine feedback even while you're racing clean is top-notch. All other racers need to take note at how to handle a realistic driving perspective.

• Blur
• DIRT 2
• ModNation Racers
• MX vs. ATV Reflex

Even though White Knight Chronicles has plenty of promise, we have to give our award for Best Role-Playing Game to Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII. Every time we've seen this upcoming epic, we've been impressed. Despite the tragically short length of the E3 demo, the game's visuals, characters, battle system and story are already eye-catching. This could be one of the best current-gen RPGs yet

• Alpha Protocol
• Dragon Age: Origins
• White Knight Chronicles

It was more James Bond than classic Call of Duty, but that doesn't mean Modern Warfare 2's showing was any less impressive. The snowy setting was very immersive, and the snowmobile and ice climbing segments looked to add a lot to the variety of the demo. Infinity Ward is a forced to be reckoned with, so we're sure that the awesome stuff we saw was practically nothing in the grand scheme of things.

• BioShock 2
• Lost Planet 2
• MAG
• PixelJunk Shooter

Few games have a following in the IGN office like the Fight Night franchise. If you go to Dunham's house, you're going to end up watching or playing Round 3. Luckily, Fight Night Round 4 looks great. Muscles flex as the boxers move, the new physics engine means every punch matters, and who doesn't love knocking someone out?

• FIFA Soccer 10
• Madden NFL 10

Q-Games continues to churn out unique and interesting titles, and the super-slick use of fluid dynamics in PixelJunk Shooter should prove to offer yet another wholly refreshing gameplay experience. While it's about as light on story as a rice cake is with taste, flying around and saving the hapless hazard-suited dudes should prove to be a challenge as you dodge lava and make use of water to save yourself and your targets.

• Critter Crunch
• Fat Princess
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2
• Trash Panic

We have to congratulate the folks at Naughty Dog: Uncharted 2 looks absolutely phenomenal. Whether you're admiring the mind-blowing animations of Nathan Drake or the insane detail of the game's gritty environments, Uncharted 2 was easily the best-looking PS3 game at the show. Drake's next thrilling adventure will surely be a system showpiece when it hits store shelves later this year.

• Assassin's Creed II
• Final Fantasy XIII
• God of War III
• Heavy Rain

The brilliance of The Last Guardian's artistic vision is unmistakable. The lone trailer shown at E3 speaks volumes about the game without a single line of dialogue. Such an occurrence vividly demonstrates the emotional weight of the game, as well as its stunning cinematography and character interaction. We're proud to present Team ICO's upcoming project with our award for best artistic design.

• Assassin's Creed II
• Final Fantasy XIII
• Heavy Rain
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Just when you thought Uncharted 2 couldn't look any sweeter, Naughty Dog went and tossed in a co-operative and competitive multiplayer component. After spending more than a few evening earning cash and leveling up, we can tell you it's pretty sweet. The Co-op is traditional Uncharted action with two of your buds, and the head-to-head is team-based action with a whole lot of climbing. Can you kill Nathan Drake?

• Army of Two: The 40th Day
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2
• Guitar Hero 5
• MAG

While the awesome foliage work and stunning vistas are jaw-dropping, Uncharted 2's animation system and environment-altering engine work have to be seen to be believed. The hand-to-hand procedural climbing animations are incredible, and the fact that your environment can not only break apart but topple while you're inside of it looks to take the experience to a level unlike any other game.

• God of War III
• MAG

At its most basic, Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain is an adventure game. But around this fundamental framework is an incredibly innovative experience. Everything about the game's design feels fresh, from controlling your direction by turning the character's head to watching their thoughts circle around them in a seamless control interface. Heavy Rain deserves our special award for innovation and we can't wait to play more.

• DJ Hero
• ModNation Racers
• PixelJunk Shooter

The PlayStation Motion Controller doesn't have an official name yet, but the technology presented during Sony's press conference is already very impressive. Using a set of wand-like controllers and the PlayStation Eye, this new technology will be able to precisely track your movement, including depth, and display corresponding motions on-screen. Imagine dual-wielding two massive swords and having your actions mapped to a character exactly -- the potential is there.

• DJ Hero Turntable Controller

If there's one thing we can count on Team ICO for, it's delivering an emotional experience unmatched in pretty much the entire industry. With only a couple minutes of intriguing but rather vague footage, the studio has managed to already parlay the bond between a boy and his beastly friend. Add in amazing visuals and a film director's cinematic touch and we're looking at what could wind up being another instant classic from the team when it ships.

• Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
• Final Fantasy XIV Online
• Gran Turismo 5

Sony: what have you done? After dropping the price of the PS2 a few months ago, sales of the last-gen system almost doubled during the first month. Why haven't you dropped the price of the PS3? The entire PlayStation community expected a price drop during this year's E3 and nothing happened. If Sony doesn't drop that hefty price tag soon, it's going to stay in third place.

• Kojima Working on New Castlevania
• Final Fantasy XIV Online Coming Next Year
• PlayStation Motion Controller

Right from the moment that the Uncharted 2 demonstration kicked off Sony's E3 2009 press conference, we were floored. The environments look to be just as animated as the characters, crumbling under gunfire and exploding into bits after being hit with missiles. The way the characters react to this with the newly-enhanced physics and animation systems makes the game look absolutely incredible, more like a summer blockbuster than your everyday videogame. We cannot wait until this fall to get our hands on it.

• Assassin's Creed II
• Final Fantasy XIII
• God of War III
• Heavy Rain

You do realise that since this was a Sony vs Sony contest that no uglyness should be a part of this thread?