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!

E3 2009

I'll be at E3 tomorrow and Wednesday. I'll mostly be wandering around but I might be found at the THQ booth as well. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the following:

• Mass Effect 2
• DJ Hero
• Bioshock 2
• Assassin's Creed 2
  
• The Saboteur
  
• Muramasa
• Brutal Legend
• God of War 3
  
• Whatever Nintendo/Sony announce tomorrow morning

See you there!

Fun Friday: E3 Edition

I didn't get to go this year, but I don't feel like I missed much. I am excited for the the new Xbox360 dashboard with Netflix and avatars. I even more excited for Fable 2 and Fallout 3. Fortunately, we have Penny Arcade to summarize what we missed for those who didn't get to attend the big press conferences.

Nintendo Must Be Stopped

When I saw the Wii Remote "Motion Plus" announcement first thing Monday morning boasting "more comprehensive tracking of a player's arm position and orientation.", I was angry. Then, as more information rolled out today, I became sick. This is why Nintendo is losing my favor. They are releasing peripheral after peripheral, packed in with "casual" games and making a killing. Not only should the Wii Remote have been doing this from the start, but not even Nintendo themselves have proven motion controls to be a reliable substitute for a standard controller. It did not improve Twilight Princess nor Super Mario Galaxy; the GameCube controller is better suited for Smash Brothers and Mario Kart Wii.

I see Wii Remote motion controls everyday, all day long, and have yet thought, "wow, I think we've finally got it." Motion controllers are a case of just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. If anything, more sensitive equals more programming headaches, as the developers are going to take all kinds of flailing about into account when they program what motion they hope their player will perform.

Then again, maybe I'm just bitter that they didn't announce Kid Icarus Wii.

Owning Up to Your Shortcomings

It looks like the big boys had some things to get off of their chest and clear their conscious before making us forget by flashing pretty images at us from the new and improved E3.

Microsoft made the first move early last week with an open letter to the consumers concerning the ring of death phenomenon. Effectively admitting to a problem and then attempting to make amends by upping the current warranty from one to three years and reimbursing any who have been charged for repairs. I have been fortunate to have a perfectly working 360 from March of '06 but I appear to more of an exception than the rule if we are to believe the outcry that has come from the Internet. Either way, I applaud their efforts.

Then, later in the week, after some rumor rumblings, Sony came out and announced a $100 price cut for the PS3. The price of Sony's console has been a hotly debated controversy since its announcement at last year's E3. Despite their being extremely adamant about its value, it has always seemed way to high for me. I must not be the only one. Sales of the console have been lackluster at best and this may be the injection they need. I, however, will still need some games before I jump on board.

Where has been Nintendo been while the dust was settling on these two bombs? They've mostly been quiet on the damage control front except for the minor hiccup in the Nintendo machine and announced that Metroid would ship a week late.

Gamers Day: E3, only all over the country

I believe May 9th was the one year anniversary since the last, by which I mean final, E3. It was the only one I was able to go, demoing our Nickelodeon titles to the press and anyone who was passing by. While it was a blast, it was murder on the feet. I won't say that I'll miss it except for meeting people from other companies but I guess that is what other conventions are for.

However, looking back over the news the last couple of weeks and I seem to see a trend. While there was not one single location for publishers to make announcements and show off their products, there seems to be the rise of the 'Gamers Day.' Publishers, such as Sony, EA, Microsoft, SquareEnix, Sega and Capcom, were hosting events in there corners of the globe. It's as if everyone decided that now is the best time of the year to announce and demo something, E3 or not.

My only problem with this is that it seems that after these events and then whatever money is spent on the Min-E3 and E for All Expo events, that it would be somewhat equivalent to one E3. I could be way wrong, but it seems silly. At least from a journalists perspective, it would save them from having to travel all over the country to get the latest scoops.