5 Coolest Things at Gamescom (Video)

Cologne, Germany – Gamescom, Europe’s largest gaming confab wrapped up Sunday. Here are the titles, tech and trends that have the business buzzing.

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1. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)
EA’s modern-day combat game, a frontal attack on Activison’s Call of Duty franchise, wowed with its hyper-realistic graphics and gameplay so intense it could induce PTSD. Winner of Gamescom’s best of show honor and the unanimous favorite among virtual grunts.

2. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (Sony)
The 3D title from Sony-owned studio Naughty Dog may do for games what Avatar did for movies: drive the market for 3D content, not to mention the sale of Sony-made 3D TV sets. Uncharted 3 plays like a fully interactive action film, with you as rugged adventurer Drake. With gaming this intense, who needs Jerry Bruckheimer?

3. Star Trek: Infinite Space (Gameforge)
Another gaming milestone, this time for online, free-to-play titles. Star Trek: Infinite Spacefrom Germany’s Gameforge raises the bar for casual games, with sharp, 3D graphics and the long-arc storytelling till now only found in pricey packaged titles. This fall, Star Trek: IS is set to boldly go where no one has gone before. Trekkies will never have to leave their parents’ basements again.

4. PlayStation Vita (Sony)
Sony’s new handheld gaming device could mark the end of console gaming as we know it. The Internet and mobile capable PS Vita comes with apps for Facebook, Skype, Twitter and Foursquare, making it as much an iPhone as a smaller PlayStation 3. Sony has cut the price of the PS3 to match that of Vita, suggesting it sees its future in mobile, always on gaming.

5. The Sims Social (Electronic Arts)
A collaboration with Playfish, the casual gaming group EA bought two years ago, the Facebook version of EA’s top selling simulation game will be a test of whether big traditional studios can move their top properties into the lucrative free-to-play gaming space. The initial signs are good. More than 4.8 million Facebook users signed up for the beta phase of Sims Social. If those figures hold up, you and all your friends are about to waste a lot more time.