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E3

Let Me Know When It’s Over

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While Tony will be writing about E3, I’ll be the devil’s advocate. As gamers we gut FUD all year long. For events like E3, it just goes over the top.

Bill Harris says it much better than I can.

In a sense, to me, it’s all epic fail. All I know is that Nintendo prints money and really wants to get into the controller business (for each individual game), Microsoft overprices hard drives (is it up? down? a new size? a phased out kit? wha…?), and Sony still appears to be in denial (everything else is just niche) .

Geesh.

Twitterers you should be following this E3

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E3 08 is upon us.

And I have neither the manpower, firepower nor willpower to keep up with all the news, announcements and megatons that are sure to result from E3. That being said, I still try to stay abreast of the happenings and what-not of the event. This year, I’ll mostly be following the news via a few select Twitterers. Here are my “must follows” to get your E3 fix, if you use Twitter:

Major Nelson (of Xbox’s Major Nelson) – Because duh!
Zonk (of Massively and MMOGNation) – Because I need my MMO fix.
FalconGN (of Gaming Nexus) – Because us Ohio Boys gotta stick together.
Godfree (of Gamertag Radio) – Because between him and Major Nelson, you’ve got your Xbox 360 bases covered.
Chris Paladino (of the Gamerscore Blog) – Because, two’s company, three’s a trend?
bapenguin (of Evil Avatar and Co Optimus) – Because we all need a less corporate, more gamer take on E3.
multiplayer (of the MTV Multiplayer Blog) – Because variety is the spice of life.
N’Gai Croal (of Level Up) – Because the guy seems like a pretty cool dude and he gets all the scoops.
Chris Grant (of Joystiq) – Because I need all around coverage.
Garnett Lee (of 1UP Yours, 1UP.com) – Because I like the cut of his jib.

Phew, that’s a full time job just following these guys. Anyway, that’s how I’ll be following most of the E3 news. Am I missing anyone?

E3 musings (day 2)

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A few thoughts on what I’ve seen talked about throughout the game-o-sphere:

It seems like most people’s reactions to Nintendo’s conference was a big shrug of the shoulders. Everyone seemed interested in WiiFit, but not much else. I can’t blame them. The Nintendo’s stable of games is being replenished by old stand-bys (Mario Kart, Super Mario, Metroid [so purty!]) but other than that, not a whole lot. I’m not that interested in WiiFit, personally. I see what they’re doing and I guess they should be commended for it, but I’d rather go to the actual gym and pump some iron. I’m also a bigger guy, so the thought of me getting on that balance board thingie is laughable. I’d snap that thing in two in two seconds flat.

Fracture for the 360 looks interesting.

I didn’t play the original Fallout games but I know its pedigree. Fallout 3 on the 360 has me very intrigued. bethesda

On the other hand, Fable 2 does not interest me in the least. Fool me once and all that.

Finally, I know I’m in a tiny minority here (made up of probably myself and a couple teenage girls) but I still don’t see the allure of Guitar Hero. Now even Nintendo is getting in on the GH action with the Wii. I’m still not swayed.

(Gametrailers is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites. All this media to consume!)

E3 musings (day 1)

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By now you’ve hopefully read all that Microsoft had to offer up at their press conference. I can’t comment on everything that was announced (Aeropause has a good summary) but I would like to point out a couple things that me likey very much.

The Halo 3 Xbox. I’m a sucker for these kind of things, and it sure is purty.

Halo 3 Xbox 360

I was suprised that it’s not the Elite version of the system. If they’re going to fleece us over and over, at least be committed to the fleecing!

I mentioned earlier I wanted something about Resident Evil 5. A teaser is what we got. It doesn’t reveal much (and being set in Africa, I doubt I’ll be able to do a translation page like RE4) but unbridled excitement doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about this game:

There is more, almost too much. The 360 Fall lineup is outta sight. My wallet (and my family) are already cringing. It will be NCAA 2008 around here for a while, then it’s going to get thick with games. Mass Effect, Halo 3, Two Worlds. Crazy!

E3 and me

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Since I don’t have the extra time or intenstinal fortitude, I’ve never covered anything in-depth, with regard to E3, here on the blog. It’s usually a week-long overload of information, with heaping spoonfuls of marketing and PR fluff and I can’t process it as fast as it comes out.

Nevertheless, I still follow as much as I can and leave the heavy lifting the big boys. As always, I have a list of titles I’m most interested in, and I follow the news to catch whatever tidbits there might be for my consumption. Here’s a short list of what I’m interested to see covered from this years E3 (keep in mind I don’t even know if anything will be mentioned, I’m just hoping):

Halo 3 (naturally)
Mercenaries 2 (please be as awesome as the original)
Sony’s new MMO-Spy game, The Agency
Mass Effect
Assassin’s Creed
Metroid Prime 3 (who needs online multiplayer? There can only be one Samus!)
Super Mario Galaxy (One of these two titles will finally push me over the edge to get a Wii. If they come out with months of each other, I’ll be in heaven)
Animal Crossing Wii (ditto)

These titles are just wishful thinking:
Dead Rising 2
Resident Evil 5

So that’s what I’m looking forward to (and probably what you’ll see linked here on the blog). What about you? What games are you most interested in? Anything not on my radar, that should be?

E3 glut

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Things are going to be somewhat quiet around here over the next week. With the forthcoming onslaught of information and booth babes that E3 brings with it, the signal-to-noise ratio goes way down, to almost imperceptible levels, rendering any discussion moot for a while. While I eat up all the information that accompanies the cacophony, I don’t buy in to much of the hype. I’m excited to see what Nintendo has to show off (starting this morning!) and all the new games make my inner-nerd twitter in anticipation, but I’ve always got my guard up, lest I be let down yet again.

All that being said, I’m anxious to see people’s reactions to the Wii controller. I certainly hope it lives up to its hype. I also hope Nintendo has some more concrete plans about their online gaming service. I’d love to see them offer something similar to Xbox Live with Gamerscores and the Live Arcade. There are so many possibilities that they could do with their download service. And will there be Wii/DS connectivity? I wouldn’t be surprised. I also wouldn’t be surprised if their presentation starts of with, “Wii were just kidding. It’s not called the Wii. It’s still the Revolution.” And I stand by my other prediction that Zelda will be a Wii-only release. That would be fine by me.

On the gaming front, I can still be found in the EVE-Online universe, ridding the galaxy of bad guys, one pirate at a time. I’m also very excited to see that the New Super Mario Bros. game is getting rave reviews. The return to 2D is very exciting. I think this will be my next pick up. I’ll be out of town this weekend, visiting with the in-laws, so that means lots of NCAA 2006. With details leaking out about 2007, I figure it’s time I get my money’s worth out of 2006.

So I won’t be commenting too much on the E3 happenings in real-time here. I’d suggest you check out Joystiq’s E3 coverage or Evil Avatar. That’s where I’ll be.

E3 this and that

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So as you may or may not know, I am not at E3. I’m perfectly okay with that, I have no desire to be around such a nerd herd that is the Expo. But I can’t deny how exciting it would be to see the press conferences, wander the floor in awe, meet cool people and play even cooler games. Alas, such is not my lot in life. But bloggers are there en masse and I am cool with that.

I would frequent Gamespy/IGN and Gamespot for my E3 fixes in years past. Not this year. I’m sticking to my fellow bloggers for my information. Funny how that works. They know what the gamers want and are covering the Expo with aplomb.

The major 3 consoles have held there press conferences and I have mixed feelings. Sony’s and Microsoft’s presentations sounded more like pissing contests while Nintendo was low-key and focused on the games. (I tip my hat in Joystiq’s direction, they have done a bang-up job on their coverage)

Nintendo seems to be catching a lot of flak for their presentation and their direction in general (although some people seemed to have enjoyed it). After last years trash-kicking (see: Reggie-lution) the bar was set unfavorably high for them. From what I’ve read, Nintendo did just fine. They avoided the muscle flexing and were more about the games. That works for me. I’d love to see Nintendo contend this generation (and I think they will) I just wish they’d get more respect. They’re not George Lucas, for crying out loud! The Micro this is a little weird, but come on! I can play games ON, not WITH an NES controller. Cool, if it costs 39 bucks or less.

Currently I’m torn between the Xbox 360 and the PS3. I will buy a Revolution, that much is clear. (hat tip to Kotaku for the great spec coverage and Top Of Cool has a great comparison of specs here) Now the question comes down to the other console (I don’t have the cash or desire to own all three). Halo 3 weighs heavily on the decision. The PS3 controller looks horrible in its present form but I’d like to feel it and see how well it flies when I’m tee-oh’ed. That bomerang shape may come in handy. Right now I could go either way with my 2nd console.

Of course, it comes down to the games and that’s my current beef. Outside of Gears of War, I’m not seeing anything original. What is this, Hollywood? Nevertheless, Nintendo could release a thousand Zelda games, I’d play them all and love every minute of it. I mean look at this stuff!

Wondering how the food at E3 is? Damned Machines has it covered!

I haven’t even mentioned PC games yet (which I admit that I don’t play as much as consoles) but I do love the Strategy genre and I am pumped about Age of Empires 3. Troy, at Portico, has a great list of E3 Strategy games here. I’d like to see what E3 holds in store for Guild Wars (and other MMOGs). On the shooter front, Quake 4 looks rock solid.