The UK is yet to have its own E3 or gamescom, and it's unlikely that we'll see a trade show that attracts an international focus for some time. But the Eurogamer Expo is a step in the right direction, allowing the public to play over 40 titles, some previously unplayable on our shores, and attracting developers from all over the world including the likes of Valve and Quantic Dream.

With two venues in London and Leeds across four days and around 10,000 attendees between them, it's become a shining beacon in an otherwise desolate landscape of our nation's open public shows. We took a visit to both camps to bring you a sample of the best games from the exhibition.

God Of War III

Taking control of anti-hero Kratos once again, players run the gauntlet against a horde of mythological abominations. From legions of undead soldiers led by a beefy centaur commander to a fiery giant the size of Mount Olympus, there are plenty of innovate foes to carve up with your Chaos Blades.

The demo is essentially one set piece after another with ample opportunity to get your hands dirty. Controls are intuitive, with light, medium and heavy attacks used to dispatch minions and hefty combos for taking down bosses. A gratifying battering ram attack is a welcome addition to the fold, allowing you to tear through a crowd of enemies using one of them as a riot shield, and the gore metre has been cranked into overdrive. One of the many crowd-pleasers on show, be sure to look out for this when it arrives in March 2010 for the PS3.

> Read our full hands-on preview here

New Super Mario Bros Wii

It's not often you come away from a game grinning like a Cheshire cat, but you simply can't help it with New Super Mario Bros Wii. It's certainly Mario as you've always known it, retaining its timeless side-scrolling gameplay and that charismatic and irresistible charm that we would expect from any of his adventures. At the same time though, it's Mario like you've never seen it before, with up to four players scarpering around the stage and battling for each prized power-up - and it's with others where the game shines.

Between levels you can pause to add or drop others at any time, with Luigi and two coloured Toads taking the role of additional players. Expect whole new suits, the return of Yoshi and the Koopa Kids, ice flower power-ups and Star Coins crammed into hidden crevices. The level design is far more devious, with a 'walkthrough' button that guides you through the stage automatically for the less-skilled to compensate. While it will be entirely possible to play alone, you'll be missing out on what looks to be yet another essential multiplayer title for the system.

> Read our full hands-on preview here

Assassin's Creed II

It's clear from the off that Assassin's Creed II has made significant gains over the original. As you might expect, it's been given quite the graphical overhaul and a number of stylistic refinements have been applied. Switching the action from the dust-coated towns of old Jerusalem to renaissance-era Italy gives the game a more vibrant feel than its predecessor, and the aesthetic enhancement extends to more nimble and fluid animation.

Combat remains largely unaltered, although a greater array of weapons gives it a grander feel, and it's still heavily dependent on split-second counterstrokes and combos. A lot of time and creativity has gone into fleshing out its gameplay. Gone is the linear mission structure, leaving the player to integrate themselves in the immersive recreation of 15th century Italy, and there is now a greater emphasis on role-playing elements. It appears that Ubisoft has avoided the pitfalls that the first game landed in and delivered what could potentially be one of the games of the year.

> Read our full hands-on preview here

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is Quantic Dream's second chance at mature storytelling, and one that presents the same daring ideas from spiritual successor Fahrenheit, but from a different angle. The adventuring elements within preset episodes are still present, whether it is investigating the environment or the people around you, but an overhaul in controls and a greater range of choice - and consequences - leads to a more involving and emotional experience.

Our favourite part of the demo was in a regular convenience store, playing as an investigator who happens to be present during a hold-up. Do you try and go out the back through the fire escape, or do you pick up a frying pan and take him down, or approach the situation from a cool head and convince him it's a bad idea? From getting into a fist fight to getting shot at, the range of choices and consequences available from this short sample alone had us incredibly intrigued, especially with its almost uncanny visuals.

> Read our full hands-on preview here

Left 4 Dead 2

Although the teaser only covers a handful of stages and modes, you can instantly recognise the numerous changes Valve has made in Left 4 Dead 2, all of which adjust the way you play, yet effortlessly slot into the existing template established in the first game. The most obvious addition is the new special infected, from the powerful brute-force Charger, to the manipulative Jockey and the acid-throwing Spitter. The original gang return largely untouched, apart from the Witch – she can now walk around in daytime.

Another addition is the melee weapon type, where frying pans, electric guitars and machetes can be found alongside the standard ammo caches. While you'd think they'd have nothing on using a semi-automatic rifle, a swing at a swarming horde does a much better job than manically firing into a crowd. It also removes the points where you defend an area as the hordes swarm in, instead having you run to a certain point to switch off an alarm while fighting off countless infected, with a devious AI planting the new specials every step of the way. With five new campaigns, four modes and a host of changes, what's all this controversy over an early sequel about?

> Read our full hands-on preview here

Alien Breed Evolution

It's been almost two decades since Team17's acclaimed sci-fi horror Alien Breed blasted its way onto the Commodore Amiga. And despite the time gap, it appears to be little more than a graphically-enhanced version of its predecessor, which is fine by us. Like its forefather, the action is viewed from a top-down perspective and gameplay is devilishly simple. The left analogue stick moves your character, while the right is used for aiming weapons, and it's this level of minimalistic fun that makes the game every inch an Alien Breed title.

Survival horror aspects have also been incorporated. When your health bar is almost depleted, your character picks up a limp and becomes easy prey. Power-ups also appear to be something of a rarity, so being economical with resources is essential to your survival. Expect some co-operative play and the game to be released over three downloadable episodes for Xbox Live, PSN and Steam, all linked through a narrative arc.

> Read our full hands-on preview here
> Read our interview with design manager John Dennis here

Split/Second

Our surprise of the show, Split/Second somehow manages to carve out an interesting niche in an already saturated racing genre. Instead of boosters and rewinds, your power-ups will cause explosions to rip through the environment, bringing down towers of rubble into the competition. Drifts, jumps and slip-streaming behind other cars will build up your meter, and a jam-packed power bar can cause entire bridges to collapse.

While the most powerful explosions were restricted to certain points, that didn't stop their devastating impact, with our airport teaser seeing an entire air traffic control tower crumbling to the side and flattering the opposition. It's surprisingly addictive, and comes with a blistering frame-rate and some of the most convincing explosions we've seen in a game. Certainly one to watch.

Joe Danger

Tucked away in the corner of the Indie Arcade section, Joe Danger has the promise of following Trials HD as Xbox Live's next compulsive arcade racer. While RedLynx's chart-topping effort has a murky, dirty tone and a crushing difficulty to match, Joe Danger isn't afraid to be fleshed out with blinding colours and filled with a series of fun and whimsical events.

With the aim to be the best stuntman in the world, Joe's career sees him perform simple tricks to raise his score, use spring pads to grab the letters from the air, or his air brake to stop (and reverse) in order to land on targets. Most interestingly was a puzzle mode that had you adjust ramps and obstacles on the fly to reach floating letters, and a full editing suite to create levels and share with others online. Developer Hello Games aims to try and achieve open sharing to all online users, at least on PlayStation Network, giving us a LittleBigPlanet-style community to go along with the racing-cum-platform action. And of course there's split-screen racing with fisticuffs in there, too.