This August, I had the distinct pleasure of being asked to attend Microsoft’s X’11 Holiday Preview Event. It was where I went hands-on with RAGE. However, that wasn’t the only game Bethesda Softworks had available for preview. The company’s other offering was another one of the floor’s hottest titles: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Ubisoft had a lot up its sleeve at Microsoft’s X’11 Preview Event last month in Toronto, with heavy-hitter Assassin’s Creed: Revelations being their game of show. The twenty minute presentation I witnessed was interesting, immersive and impressive. It was demoed by a member of the development team at Ubisoft Montreal and did dual work showing off both Ezio and Altair at different points in the game. Certainly, as you know, this game is set to conclude the individual storylines of both of the heroic yet shadow-lurking assassins.

Ever since its engine was first unveiled, id Software’s upcoming wasteland shooter, RAGE, has been one of my most anticipated titles. Getting a chance to sit down and demo it for a little while at Microsoft’s X’11 Preview Event was like a gamer’s dream come true. My inner gamer, that is. Luckily, it was one of the playable demos on the floor, whereas The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was not.

The game with the largest presence at Microsoft’s X’11 Event was certainly the latest title from Epic Games: Gears of War 3. It took over a large part of the back of the main wing and also made its presence known in the entryway, with a television set up for some bloody chainsawing. The large bank of televisions in the back quadrant of the main wing however, was necessary to allow for team-based horde and beast mode gameplay. The goal was to get the press community involved in some co-operative gameplay, which seemed to work out quite well as the game was almost always in high demand with hooting and hollering combatants.

One of the first games that I played when I arrived at Microsoft’s X’11 Preview Event was EA Sports’ upcoming hockey title, NHL ’12. As a huge fan of the National Hockey League and its Toronto Maple Leafs, I’ve been addicted to the series since its 1993 iteration. Additionally, the last entry in this fast-paced, hit-filled series, was one of the best sports games I’ve ever personally played. Due to those reasons, I was extremely interested to see just how much better this outing would be, given its new additions and tweaks.

You’ve probably read our reviews of Warhammer 40K: Kill Team – the downloadable twin-stick shooter based in the popular fantasy universe. What you may not know is that title was a marketing device used to stir up interest in a much larger outing: Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. A retail disc which is set to hit stores on September 6, bringing with it some arcade, third-person action. Explosive action, that is. Though, perhaps the word action is an understatement considering how chaotic this game can get.

One of the best examples of video game advertising striking it rich is Dead Island. Developed in Poland at Techland’s studio, it’s a game that many people were not aware of until a beautifully done teaser trailer hit the internet. Playing backwards, it showed the end result of a zombie outbreak at a lush, tropical resort. One that didn’t end very well for a poor family who did their best to save themselves and those around them. With that video, the interest in this game skyrocketed and many gamers rushed to put their money down on yet another zombie-filled romp in virtual space. Though, this time, it’s at a pretty unique location.

The curtained off area containing Master Chief was well hidden in the back of the venue and, getting inside required a fair bit of waiting after an appointment was set. Though, the wait was well-worth it, once I got a chance to sit down on the couch in front of the large television where two members of the title’s development team gave us a ten minute preview of their hard work and effort. To say that it was really cool and a Halo fan’s dream would be an understatement. Fans of the universe and first-person shooters themselves will be in love when this one hits on November 15.