What impressed us at E3? We each picked our favorites. Here are Graham Russell’s picks. 

NBA Jam

What can I say? I still have a SNES store display set up in my living room with 1994’s Tournament Edition. I was incredibly skeptical about whether the new one would have the same feel, and it does. Oh, and I got to dunk on Trey Smith’s head, so that’s a moment I’ll remember for a while. (Note: Trey Smith is the game’s creative director. I realize that’s not information everyone knows.)

Nintendo 3DS

The screen must be seen to be believed, and even then, I have my doubts. That can’t really work, right? Well unless I’m totally crazy (and I can’t rule that out), it totally does. With the games they’ve announced, this is a must-have for everyone on Day One. You know, when we find out when Day One is.

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

At the conference, this was not what I was expecting to be excited about. Donkey Kong looked great, Zelda looked as solid as usual and I’m even a sucker for Mario sports games. But no, this was the one. The art style is just totally charming, and the gameplay seems like it’ll be nice and varied. This Kirby game won’t suck, in more ways than one.

Valkyria Chronicles II

You know Valkyria Chronicles, right? That amazing PS3 game most of you didn’t buy? Well the sequel’s on PSP, and I re-bought the system for it. The demo looked as good as I was hoping, and the bar was set pretty high. 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

It’s like River City Ransom, except 4-player and hilarious. I’m going to stop talking, because that sentence was enough for everyone to buy it.

Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes HD

The DS game was amazing, and if all this does is let me play it again, that’s fine with me. Capy knows gameplay, and when you mix in RPG elements, you’ve got a stew goin’.

Twisted Metal

It’s just what it was before. That doesn’t sound special, but it looks to have enough variety (like helicopters!) to keep things interesting. I’ll be interested to see how the single-player experience feels.

Fable III

In the demo, you got to track down a guy’s chickens. To do this, you had to dress up like a chicken and squawk at chickens like you’re their mama. Instant purchase.

Dance Central

At E3, it wasn’t that great, but that’s because exhaustion sets in pretty quickly. From the comfort and privacy of my own place, it’ll probably be lots of fun.

Civilization V

The team looks like it has focused on making non-military victories more interesting and complex. This is awesome. If I wanted to have to win with my military, I’d just go play an RTS. (Full preview next week.)