Gaming

I have finally gotten around to posting all 4 of my reviews for last years E3. It was a great show and one of my personal dreams to attend. I will probably not make it to E3 this year because my application was rejected with their new standards even though I used the same information from last year. Oh well, that is how the ball joystick jerks you sometimes but I still have the memories and choppy video from last year. Here is a link to all four reviews for easy access:
Four Part Review:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Day 3: Today I was on a mission because there was so much I still had not seen and played and this was the last day! This was the first time in my life I wish I had a PDA because in my mind I had a long list of what I wanted to do. My first priority was to see the PS3 and I thought it would be better to go to it immediately because of the long line from the day before. Wrong, other people had the same idea and I was still buried in the back, so out comes the PSP. Again other people had the same idea and pull theirs out. Don’t know why we didn’t have huge wi-fi battles but I think we all were more concerned with our position in line. Finally the doors open and I am in a dark room with some plasma televisions on the wall talking about how the PS3 will take gaming and entertainment to the next level. Just then another set of doors open up and we are in a darker theater room with a large screen. The video demo starts and they show how the cell processor will make it easier for developers to make more realistic elements and environments. The demonstration had one ducky in a bathtub being rained on by a barrage of duckys. Next up was a city environment with people walking around with people looking and acting unlike anything I have ever seen on a console or pc. From there it goes into a war scene with soldiers on a modern terrain with hi-tech weapons. Every single preview just kept building up my excitement for this console and it’s potential. The excitement contributed to another outburst of guys turning into raving schoolgirls with anticipation. The doors open and their in a shiny display are three PS3s with different colors from white, silver to black. With the futuristic looking controller now being called the “Boomerang” by some gamers. I had no time to sit there and take it in, so I walked to the next room to get a ticket for the Square Enix movie. I got a ticket for a later showing so I had time to go wait in line for the New Legend of Zelda game. The line was huge as expected so again out comes my PSP. In this line I actually spotted some Nintendo DSes but the Sony PSP was still there because at that time it had just came out. But to be honest I did not see that many playing the PSP probably due us being in a Nintendo line. Of course I was a rebel and had my Ridge Racer out for the world to see. So the line moves and I am still not even half way there so I get back to my game. All of a sudden a lady says excuse me and I look up and standing there is a lady with an official looking Nintendo shirt. Here we go I think to myself, because I thought the Nintendo employee would ask me to put my PSP away or some other type of drama. Instead she asks me a simple question, “What would it take for you to put that away?” pointing to my PSP. So a simple answer pops in my hand and I say, “It would take getting to the front of this long line”. She says okay and I follow her to the front of the line. So with a smile and handshake I am in to play Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (thanks to my PSP) way faster than I would have imagined. The first part of Zelda that I played was getting Link on to a horse and fighting monsters on horseback. The graphics were beautiful and rich to be running on a Gamecube. The next room featured a mechanical wolf with a sinister looking moon that gave way to a video demo of Zelda. The next level available to play was Link fighting a spider type creature. The mix of story and adventures drew me into the game and seeing a mature Link in full 3D was mind-blowing. With no time to waste I dart to the Square Enix show with ticket in hand to wait in a line with a ton of RPG fanatics. The previews shown were all beautiful but the one I was personally there for was Advent Children because at the time I was lead to believe it was a PSP movie exclusive. Cloud is shown with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within graphics bouncing on screen with his huge sword in hand. I still can’t wait for this one, which has since release in Japan. The last thing for me to do was to play the Xbox 360 and take in as much as I could since it would be and has been released this year. The games that I played for the Xbox 360 was Full Auto, Condemned: Criminal Origins and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The most impressive game of all three at that time was Need for Speed because of the graphics, game play and speed of the game. Condemned did not interest me because I was not into FPS at the time and with a controller it did not make me walk away a fan. Full Auto compared to Need for Speed could not hold up and the demo was running so slow that the weapons and driving did not make it that memorable. The Xbox 360 did not make me feel like it was next generation in my opinion like the PS3 video demonstration even though I had no game play with the PS3. This was my final day at E3 and even now I can close my eyes and still feel the sensation of the event. It had a huge impact on me and I will try to attend every year if I can.

Day 2: Walking towards the convention to E3, Atari had their logo Matrixized with the then unreleased Matrix Online. That was cool but while I am looking up at Matrixed Atari logo out of the corner of my eye I see people falling from the sky. What is going on here I think to myself and see that it is the army doing a demonstration for the American Army games. This is day two for me so I take time to stop and pick up some swag and magazines in the entrance. On day one I just wanted to get inside and see the games and it was everything I expected and more. I picked up the official E3 magazine that details the events of the day. I flip a couple of pages and come to a map of the convention. Don’t laugh because this was my first time but there were more rooms and sections that I did not know existed. On day one I thought it was odd because I didn’t see the official Nintendo or Sony booths and just thought maybe they were not there because there next-gen systems were not ready. I completely overlooked the first room and directly headed to these new found areas. I went to the Sony’s booths first, wait before I continue I have to explain when I say booths I don’t mean like a hot dog like stand. Their booth likeness is closer to small communities with mascots, outrageous displays and games all over. Sony had a strong showing with tons of demos for the PS2 and for my new shiny PSP, all the upcoming games that I am now feeding it. The line for the PS3 was insane with people wrapping around the whole building. I had to pass on that for now to see Nintendo’s showing. Before I say anything good I was disappointed that they were not showing the Revolution to the regular E3 attendants and only to the press. Maybe this is why I was not impressed with their setup. They had the Gameboy Micros on display and for playing, if I remember right but all I could think was why would people buy that with the DS and PSP out(guess I was right on that prediction). Nintendo’s only saving point for me was the new Legend of Zelda game that was being shown. The line for this game was almost as long as the PS3 line and again I had to pass for more games. Day two finished up with me buying a hot dog wrapped in bacon and just taking in everything I had just seen.

Day 1: I walk in and my senses went into overload from all the lights, sounds and people. I can honestly say I have never been to any event quite like this. E3 goes all out, with displays, statues and booths with your favorite video game characters and trailers towering over you. The first one I see is a huge Mickey Mouse in a black suit holding a weapon. If I had no sense of dignity I would have ran up to it screaming like a little school girl but I played it cool and walked up to the kiosk to see people playing Kingdom Hearts II. This is my favorite RPG hands down besides Mushashi for the Playstation I and I have been waiting so long for a sequel. Next up was the Sega’s booth with too many games to mention. Then I stumbled upon the Square Enix’s booths and tried to get into the preview movie but all the tickets were gone. I stopped by the PC section to see games like Starship Troopers and Terra Firma from an independent publisher that has a game that allows the player to switch between third and first person shooter action. At this time I was not into PC games like I am now so I missed a lot of current and future titles. EA being the biggest company in the game market made sure you felt their presence at E3. EA’s setup lets you walk into this large circular room with games like Need for Speed for the Xbox 360 but that was not why everyone was there. Looking directly up you see that the upper wall is a huge 360 screen. The presentation (if I remember correctly) starts with a familiar song from the Godfather followed by a couple of scenes from the game making you crave more and they deliver with the next big game the Sims 2. The Sims 2 had different scenes happening on the circular screen so you had to turn around to see the different scenarios. Just as that finishes a car burns rubber and a cop car with sirens a blazing chase it to introduce Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The sound was incredible in this room; it almost drowned out the sound from the convention. The next huge game that demonstrated the sound system the most was Fight Night because they have two guys sparring in a ring. You can hear every punch with the occasional nearby gamer saying, “Oh no!” Believe me, it was that realistically looking and for the grand finale one of the boxers throw the finishing punch and his opponent’s face ripples from the punch but at the same time the floor shakes as if you were the one getting hit. Remember my school girl reference earlier well there were people who had no hang ups and let out there screams and dances. I even broken my calm demeanor and had to applause for that presentation. This wrapped up day one for me. I made a mental note of where to resume on day two.