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By the Editors of GameSpot

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Plenty of impressive games were on display at the eighth annual E3.
The eighth Electronic Entertainment Expo is behind us, but it left us looking forward to dozens of different games across a number of different gaming platforms. Expectations always run high going into E3. There are certain games we expect to see looking great. There are certain games we're anxious to see for the first time. There are certain surprises we brace ourselves for. Simply put, this is as important of an event as they come in the gaming industry, and this year's E3 definitely lived up to that reputation. It was here that we were fortunate enough to see, firsthand, perhaps for the first time, the games we'll be talking about for weeks, months, or more. And while countless games at E3 looked promising, we wish to acknowledge the very best of the best in GameSpot's sixth annual Top Games of E3 awards.

E3 is perhaps the only time of the year when it is acceptable to pass judgment on unfinished games. In selecting our top games of E3, we acknowledge that our decisions involved some educated guesswork--our choices were based mostly on what we had seen and played for ourselves, but also to some extent what we had heard and what we already knew. Some publishers and developers go out of their way to create extraordinary-looking demonstrations and trailers specifically for the E3 masses. These demonstrations sometimes have little or no bearing on the actual gameplay of the product being shown, and our rule is to overlook these sorts of spectacles in favor of more concrete, more finished-looking displays. We also acknowledge that some of the games we selected are much closer to being finished than others are, yet in every case, we have tried to predict what sort of impact the game will finally have when it is completed.

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Our editors worked feverishly all week long.
It is this potential for having a real impact that most interests us. In selecting the following games, we sought out the games featuring the biggest achievements in gameplay and technical innovation, but also the games that were the most fun. Some games weigh more heavily in one of these aspects than the others. The very best exhibit all these traits in equal portions. Ultimately, the following are the games that we are looking forward to the most. Thus, we extend our congratulations and well wishes to their publishers and developers and offer our readers another opportunity to get the latest word on some of the most promising games currently in production.

GameSpot's Top Games of E3 2002 is structured by platform: You'll find countdowns for the top E3 games on the PC, the Xbox, the GameCube, the PlayStation 2, and the Game Boy Advance. Finally, you'll find a combined Best in Show list, in which we bring you a countdown of what we believe to be the 10 biggest, most promising games of E3 2002 overall on any platform. Thank you for joining us--now let's dive in without further ado.
 

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