[E3 community blogging contest winner: atheistium talks about the new Xbox 360 Dashboard and new focus on casual games from all three major companies.]

Now that most of the 'important' E3 stuff is out of the way, I can look back at what really excited and impressed me about E3. Let me see, apart from a mini clip of Lara Croft swimming around (rather than the promised trailer you bastards), I can say that E3 was one big epic fail.

While a lot of the games looked fantastic, I already knew about them from my previous research into the titles so my main focus was on the consoles. Xbox has a new dashboard that has upset a large number of it's fan base, including myself. Nintendo thought that telling us that they are printing money and a bunch of shitty games would be worth our time (err, no). Sony decided to finally catch up on console features competitors already had as well as have no come back for the Final Fantasy XIII announcement. 

I sat at my computer, pondering that question. People tell me Tomb Raider is old and boring and nothing new happens. Yeah well I was nearly peeing my pants when in Chronicles they introduced corner shimmying! Yes, I did find that amazing. I have always been a huge TR fan and every time Lara can do something basic and new, I wet myself.

People are starting to become uneasy with Grand Theft Auto and the fact that it could very well be the same as it's predecessors but just prettier. So you could say the same about any other series that repeats the same character in the basically same setting with a slight story line change.

Now before I get the onslaught of "OMFG U H8 MARIO!!11 u sux", I don't. I enjoy Mario. I like Mario games. I'm just potentially getting bored of them. I also understand that Mario will never really go further than what it really is. Miyamoto has made a game for all ages in mind. All ages usually means markets its self to the more casual of gamers, who want that 3-hit kill boss and want that basic "save the princess" story line. They want simplicity, fun and it to be short.

As gaming becomes more mainstream and gamers become more hardcore, can Mario still stand up in a sea of deep games with more than just mushrooms and stars to their look. Gaming is ultimately about fun, which Mario is. We all complain about games repeating the same thing. We all complain about franchises getting old. So ...

After a long waiting period of new game names, rumors, and trademarks we finally get a peak into Tomb Raider:Underworld - a continuation of Legend (finally!) which is supported by a brand new engine. Update: I've been digging some more and found this thread which contains more details and facts about the game. Play Magazine has the exclusive:

"In the level where Lara explores Southern Mexico, she leaves footprints in the mud, but it's raining so they wash away. The bodies she leaves behind in combat encounters will stay, however, as will the debris from any destruction she causes,"

Lara looks amazing.  I've uploaded a few of the images released and the Play article for your viewing. I'm such a huge fan of the franchise and waiting for the 8th installment is painful!  If you 'd like to see the interview with developer Eric Lindstrom you can download your copy of the magazine. I cannot wait!

[Editor's note: If you've also been living under a rock like me this is probably the first time you're seeing these images. Luckily, Lauren is a big fan of the series and graced our c-blogs with the scoop. Great find! Hit the jump for some copy pasta.  -Niero]

[Watch out! The Britcepticons are attacking! Today, we have Lauren's hands-on with Assassin's Creed, along with some swag that she's giving out. Isn't she so nice? -- DMV]

Today I headed down to the "Crypt", a small church near Chancery Lane. Cut off from the busy London roads, the venue was an ideal spot for a demo of the game. I was surprised by the perfect atmosphere the church radiated -- I couldn't wait to play! The event ran for about 5 hours and I arrived early nabbing some nice pictures of the setup before a small group of pre-registered press/community members arrived. Not only did I get to selfishly play Assassin's Creed for 5 hours, I did manage to get t-shirts for you guys! Keep your eyes glued to future posts on how to win some!

Of course, I wasn't playing the final build of the game. Ubisoft presented us the the unseen UK trailer and a general demo of the game. After a brief control explanation, we started off in a mission that was mid-way through, giving us access to five maps or so. The main objective was to meet up with other assassins' guilds and do what needs to be done: assassinate.