The Game: Like Tomb Raider, this is an origin-story reboot that stars a considerably younger Dante. Once again, Dante — the child of a demon father and human mother — is out killing demons and other gruesome monstrosities. But this time he’s doing so in Limbo City, a distorted mirror image of our own world. The player’s objective, as has been the case throughout the 11-year-old Devil May Cry series, is to tally combo moves by alternating among a variety of weapons. (Available Jan. 15, 2013, for Xbox 360 and PS3)

What We Played: There were two single-player demos at Capcom’s booth. The first, called “Underwatch,” was a training tutorial set in Limbo City that took you through all of Dante’s primary moves. The second, called “The Secret Ingredient,” was a boss battle against Poison — a demon that can most accurately be described as, well, a giant intestine with a face and arms. READ FULL STORY »

The Game: This is an origin-story reboot for the adventure-seeking archaeologist Lara Croft. Fresh out of college, our 21-year-old heroine boards a ship called the Endurance to “make her mark” in the world. But the ship is destroyed in a storm, stranding Lara and her colleagues on a tropical island near Japan. And like any good tropical island in a videogame, this one contains a pack of deadly mercenaries. Lara must quickly learn how to survive in this environment, even if that means resorting to killing other humans. (Available March 5, 2013, for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC)

What We Played: My single-player demo started about 45 minutes into the game. Lara has escaped the cave we saw from last year’s E3, and now finds herself in a mysterious forest. First, she must find food. I grabbed a bow and arrow from a corpse hanging from a tree, and did my best Katniss impression while shooting a deer. Later in the demo, my foot got caught in a bear trap as hungry wolves approached. Still armed with the bow, I watched the surrounding bushes for any signs of movement, and sure enough three wolves attacked me — one by one. Each was killed via a quick arrow to the head. READ FULL STORY »

The Game: In this genre-mixing first-person action-stealth game, you play Corvo, a bodyguard-turned-assassin who’s seeking revenge after he was framed for murdering the city’s empress. The city in question is called Dunwall, a steampunk metropolis that draws inspiration from 17th-century London but also contains such futuristic elements as policemen patrolling the area on two-story-tall robotic stilts (pictured above). In addition to being highly trained with weapons, Corvo has 10 supernatural powers that were bestowed upon him by a half-god, half-devil figure known as the Outsider. These powers include the ability to “blink” — or quickly teleport — to nearby areas, the ability to take possession of people and animals, and the ability to slow time down. (Available Oct. 9 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.) READ FULL STORY »