E3 has come and gone yet again, and in the wake of the sensory-overloading convention we are left with nothing but anticipation for the games to come over the course of the next year. Some games stood out more than others, though, and it is these games that we are celebrating with our Game of the Show awards. So without further ado, let's get right into it: These were our favorite strategy and simulation games at E3 2012. 

And the nominees are:

SimCity is rebooting the classic city-building franchise with a new engine, new disasters, and new structures to please the aspiring city planner in all of us. The most interesting part of this new reboot is the engine that powers it; the PR lingo that you'd hear being slung about on the show floor was "an engine with integrity." This basically translates to a new, heretofore impossible level of transparency relating to the systems that govern your city. If, for example, your city suffers from traffic problems, you will be able to see the congestion blocking the highways instead of having to hear about it all from a text blurb.

Pikmin 3 has been a long, long time coming, with the first announcement of the game having come years ago at this point. When the strategy-lite game finally debuted at this year's E3, it essentially looked like more Pikmin, which isn't necessarily a bad thing given that our last taste of the franchise was way back in 2004. I think it's safe to say that we're all looking forward to jumping back into the moon boots of Captain Olimar when the Wii U releases later this year.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown didn't exactly have a massive presence on the show floor. It didn't open a highly anticipated press conference like Pikmin did, and it didn't have an elaborate behind-closed-doors presentation like SimCity. What it did have was the pedigree of the greatest strategy franchise of all time backed by the experience of one of the most talented developers in the genre. What Enemy Unknown is bringing to the XCOM franchise is modernity; the sweeping and dramatic camera angles that highlight your actions during battle serve to bring just enough bravado to the proceedings that commanding your troops through ravaged cities should never get old. 

And the winner is...