The Morning After

Well, I guess it's actually the night of the last day, but you understand where I'm going, right? This is my second time going to E3 and I think I'm detecting a pattern in how I feel about the whole thing. I think I like the "idea" of Es rather than the actual thing. The idea is that there is giant spectacle, with thumping music and booth babes. It's Christmas in June for gamers, as we get our hands on all the products that make us giddy before they're released. Then we actually get there and there are lines to play demos or to get a small piece of plastic. (Stupid Spirit Tracks stylus!) And end of it our feet hurt and you're left thinking, "That's it?" You lament all the things you didn't get to play with and what you may have missed out on. It's kind of like actual Christmas, isn't.

That being said, I can't wait for next year!

In the end, I did have a lot of fun. It's always great hanging out with a bunch of people you know in the industry and meeting new people. Speaking of meeting people; there were two people of note that I met. Firstly, I met Jeremiah Slaczka, lead designer at 5th Cell who is responsible for titles such as Drawn To Life, Lock's Quest and Scribblenauts. Secondly, I ran the man himself, Reggie Fils-Amie, president of Nintendo of America.


But the important thing is what I thought about the games I actually got my hands. Disappointingly, most of the games I was interested in were only being shown behind closed doors; Assassin's Creed 2, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2 and DJ Hero. I did, however get my hands on some other stuff.

I played two games that used the Wii Motion Plus, and, sadly, I think it's a useless piece of plastic and circuitry. Both Red Steel 2 and Wii Sports Resort (sword dueling game) disappointed. Neither seemed to offer the precision that they suggested they would. In both, I still felt as though I was just wildly flailing my arms. They both also try to sense that how hard the player swings the Wii Remote in order to replicate a harder in hit in game but it just led to a sore shoulder.

Tony Hawk Ride was a mixed bag. I enjoyed the skateboard controller while street skating even if I think it will take time to get used to but Vert was a pain. Pulling off grabs really forces the player to squat down, something I noticed was very hard for most gamers. I think the real reason behind the peripheral is Activision seeing how far gamers will go beyond playing a toy guitar to embarrass themselves.

I enjoyed my time with Scibblenauts, Overlord 2 and even the Aragorn Wii game at the Warner Brothers booth. The new Super Mario Bros. Wii was fun but I wish there was some cooperation elements to contrast with the competitive aspect of the game. Both God of War 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks were solid successors to their previous entries. And while the train bits of Spirit Tracks was not very fun, at least I wouldn't have to pick up a $500 dollar system to play it.

From oer peoples' shoulders I saw Brutal Legend, Prototype, Arkham Asylum, Conviction and Halo: ODST. All of these impressed visually but I will wait patiently for demos on Live before making any purchase decisions.

And so, I guess the count down to next year has already begun. In fact there have already been an announcement for what will be announced next year. I can't wait!