Top 5 Surprises of E3 2008

5. Killzone 2 Multiplayer - Ok, Killzone Multiplayer was expected, but did anyone predict the extensive features? The Badge/class system sounds sweet, great clan support, squadrons, 32 player, medals, trophies, online stat tracking, etc. This game definitely is going to have it all.

4. Bungie Bumped from E3 - This is just a WTF screw-up by Microsoft. Something is definitely brewing in the Bungie Offices and I'm not sure it's in Microsoft's best interest...after all, they're not a Microsoft Owned Studio any longer. Bumping Bungie in favor of all the casual game stuff Microsoft showed seemed to be a mistake.

3. Rock Band 2 ...500 songs by 2009, Import RB1 tracks - While I am uber excited for Rock Band 2...I wasn't surprised about the announcement or seeing the game at E3. My excitement was taken to the next level when they announced 500 tracks for the game by the end of the year, 84 tracks for RB2, and the ability to import nearly all the songs from the RB1 disc over into the new game.

2. FFXIII for Xbox 360 - Microsoft's courtship of Square Enix was definitely a surprise, but it culminated in the Final Fantasy 13 announcement. How has Square Enix...long time Japanese Developer for Nintendo and then Sony jumped ship to Microsoft? Well, Sony is still getting FFXIII so they haven't jumped ship completely...but still surprising.

1. Mirror's Edge - Where did this game come from? Had anyone heard of it prior to E3? This game was not on my radar at all, but after it gained some pretty damn good momentum at E3 and the more I see of it, the more I think Mirror's Edge can really be an innovative and refreshing new title.