June 10, 2009 - The 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo has come and gone, but the games shown at the conference still loom large in
As the conference unfolded at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 2nd to the 4th, we kept a running tally of our favorite games on a big white board in our IGN E3 Command Center. When a new title blew us away, we wrote it down. When something surprised us, we wrote it down. When a behind-closed-doors demo made us want to get our wallets out and buy the game right then and there, we wrote it down.
The games on that list eventually became our nominees for the best games of IGN E3 2009 and from there we narrowed it down to pick our final favorites. These are the games that got the IGN editors talking last week and they haven't shut up since. So keep reading to find out which PSP games wowed us most at E3, and make sure to come back tomorrow, June 11th, for our Wii, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 awards. Then, on Friday, June 12th, we'll unveil our overall Games of the Show.
| Best Action Game
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake Release date: Fall 2009 Fat Princess brings all of the bright colors, cartoony graphics, and buckets of blood that fans are getting ready to play on the PS3 and shrinks the experience down to the PSP. Here, you'll have the same character hats and weapons, but you'll also be getting PSP exclusive maps as well as ad-hoc and infrastructure multiplayer. |
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Runners-Up |
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| Best Fighting Game
Dissidia Final Fantasy Release date: August 25, 2009 Surprisingly, the competition for Best Fighting Game on the PSP was fierce at this year's E3, but one game stood out: Dissidia Final Fantasy. This Square Enix title has tremendous potential, as it combines characters from across the Final Fantasy universe into one high-action, magic-filled brawler. This game is very likely to be one of the PSP's finest. |
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Runners-Up |
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| Best Music Rhythm Game
Rock Band Unplugged Release date: May 26, 2009 Packing 41 songs and just about every bell and whistle you'd expect from a console version of the franchise, Rock Band Unplugged drops the plastic instruments, keeps the bass, drum, vocal, and guitar tracks; and assigns the falling notes to your PSP's face buttons. Think playing "ABC" by the Jackson 5 is easy? Try doing it while switching tracks with the shoulder buttons and keeping your multiplier going. |
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| Best Platforming Game
LittleBigPlanet Portable Release date: TBA 2009 LittleBigPlanet was nothing short of a breakthrough title on the PlayStation 3 thanks to its incredible creation tools coupled with its physics-based gameplay. The PSP version looks to bring the same experience to Sony's handheld, featuring the same great, simple controls with inventive level design and tons of stickers and objects to collect. We're about to be hooked all over again. |
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Runners-Up |
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| Best Puzzle Game
Echochrono Release date: Winter 2009 If Echochrome didn't bend your brain enough, Echochrono is here to finish the job. You'll have a cast of wire mannequins that you need to move through some puzzling levels in a preset time limit. Instead of trying to get to the exit in one turn, you have to use your dummies so that when their ghosts pull off the same moves, it'll benefit the character you're currently playing as. Trippy. |
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| Best Racing Game
Gran Turismo PSP Release date: October 1, 2009 After more than a five-year gap between its first announcement and the first real showing (and hands-on) of the game, it was great to see the game looking in tip-top form. Running at 60fps, it drives smooth as silk. With more than 800 cars to be earned, the announcement of the sharing aspect was a great treat for fans. We can't wait to take it for a few (hundred) more laps. |
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Runners-Up |
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