Day one of E3 2012 brings no alarms, no surprises

We don’t even know what to say. This year’s E3 has been an utter disappointment for gamers. Very few new IP’s, a barrage of sequels and no now hardware surprises. Let’s dig into the highlights and lowlights of day one:

Some are winners

Splinter Cell: Blacklist seems to be one of the strongest sequels at the show. As with most sneaky-sneaky titles these days, it’s all about in your face sneaking and knife-throating.

And then there’s Halo 4. It will be nothing short of a money-spinner for Microsoft, who disappointed with one of the blandest press conferences in gaming history.

Sony saved the day slightly, with a decent trailer for The Last of Us.

And then, there was Watchdogs. What the hell, man? It’s incredible. The graphics are next-gen and the premise is original. Watch the eye-popping trailer now! This is the future of gaming.

Star Wars 1313 was another standout title. It’s a mature look at the Star Wars future and is literally coated in next-gen sheen.

Others fade away

Microsoft’s press conference couldn’t have disappointed gamers any harder. It was pure fluff, no substance. The slight saving grace was SmartGlass, but that alone can’t save Microsoft from the inevitable: that this is its last year with the Xbox 360. If there’s no next-gen console in 2013, it’s going to be bad times for the Big M. Watch the full, sleep-inducing conference below.

And is the PS Vita dead in the water? I think we saw a Call of Duty teaser for it at some point but besides that, nothing.

Xbox Music and Internet Explorer 10 for Xbox Live falls into the “too little, too late” category. Where was this on Xbox Live launch Microsoft? Where?!

Ascend: New Gods was the pits. It looked barely acceptable for a PS2 game, let alone an Xbox Arcade title. Let’s hope that today brings better games, better news and new hardware.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 left a whole where our hearts should be. Sure, it looks great but it’s just a different scenario with new guns. War never changes.