So impressive, in fact, that it was difficult to spend any protracted amount of time with the games in question, though I did manage to grab a go on a few and watch over a few other people's shoulders. The others will be on the show floor over the next few days for the public to get their hands on, for this was a trade and media only event.
Forza 4 certainly looked good on the big triple display, but fundamentally it still looked very Forza-ish. If you're into your cars it will make you very happy indeed. If you just like smashing expensive-looking cars up you might get tired by the fact that after 20 hours play you've barely completed 10% of the game, as in its predecessors.
Star Wars Kinect was on show, too, and there was also an actual working R2-D2 unit trundling around attempting to distract people from the fact that Star Wars Kinect really doesn't look very good at all. Motion detection is seriously iffy and it had a big problem with people standing behind the player watching.
Dance Central 2, which sat next to Star Wars Kinect, made it look a bit silly, with excellent motion detection, even in multiplayer.
Kinectimals With Bears showed off its bears -- specifically in this case a panda. It was otherwise business as usual, with the player being invited to do increasingly ridiculous things in order to teach their new friend tricks.
Then came Age of Empires Online which, if you didn't know, . The game is completely free to play but offers a variety of addon content for those who want to extend their experience. Addon civilizations are available for $20 each, "booster" packs with new game mechanics are available for $10 each and there's a "Season Pass" giving players access to all content for the next 6 months at 30% off the usual price. "Don't take this option if you're not single," said Microsoft's PR representative, warning players of the dangers of getting too involved in a game without making an effort to get their partner hooked too.
Halo Anniversary was on show but in the limited time available I couldn't get near it -- and the same was true for Gears of War 3.
I did, however, get the chance to try an interesting upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game known as Orcs Must Die! Casting the player in the role of a heroic figure who must defend a crystal from incoming -- you guessed it -- orcs, the game blends tower defense, shooter and action combat together into a satisfying whole. It's a little uncomfortably similar to Trendy Entertainment's , but Orcs' single player focus and lack of more traditional RPG elements makes it a more different game than may appear at first glance.
Microsoft, then, certainly has plenty of great titles in the pipeline, and looks set to have a very good holiday season. Most of the games on show aren't available as yet, but you can play Age of Empires Online -- and if you read a while back, you'll know that might be a good idea.
This article originally appeared on GamePro.com as