E3 '09 Impressions

"By the horse of Odin, my finger smells awful!"

This year's E3 was getting the convention back into the mass powerhouse that it wasn't in the previous two years. While it was big, it didn't seem as big as the previous E3s I had attended. I'm sure next year will be bigger as companies get back into the swing of things. I'll be expecting many more booth babes next year, too. Above all, there are too many great games coming out, especially if you own every console. Here are, in no particular order, some quick impressions from E3 2009.

The Last Guardian: The official name of Project Trico, the third game to go with Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, is called The Last Guardian. This is probably my most anticipated title. Who wouldn't want a feathered kitty-dragon thing?

Final Fantasy XIII: Final Fantasy XIII will be game of the year when it finally gets released. It should be out in 2010. Although the game will be on the Xbox 360, only the PS3 will have the "full" FFXIII experience.

Final Fantasy XIV: Disappointingly, FFXIV will be another MMO. I still have never played an MMO and have never felt the need to. At least this looks more appealing than FFXI. This will be exclusive to the PS3, but for how long?

Halo 3: ODST: ODST adds two sound suppressed weapons, a low-light visor, and a pistol like the one in the first Halo. The playable flashbacks into other ODSTs to solve the mystery of what the frak happened will make this a unique FPS story-wise.

Halo: Reach: Awesome. This will be out in 2010. Anyone who purchases Halo 3 ODST will be able to get in to the Reach beta.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: A Castlevania game that involves Hideo Kojima and Patrick Stewart? Wow, I can't wait.

Project Cube: In this omni-directional shooter from Square-Enix, you're a robot shooting cubes that explode in a shower of blood. It's awesome. It's coming to XBLA, but hopefully also PSN.

Alien Vs. Predator: I watched the live Predator demo for this at the show and was impressed. The Predator can jump effortlessly, has all his signature weapons, and the gore factor is very high.

PSP Go: The worst kept secret of E3 was officially unveiled with slide-out controls, Bluetooth, and a 16 Gig hard drive. It's for those with a digital lifestyle. It's certainly cool, but $250 seems a little much.

This is just what the fans wanted: Cyborg Raiden's lightning bolt action.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising: This MGS game starring Raiden will be on PS3 and Xbox 360. Xbox 360 owners can stop whining, they are getting a Metal Gear; too bad it's only one. But hey, more Metal Gear for all.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker: This new MGS for the PSP takes place in the 1970s and is the missing story of Big Boss.

Metal Gear Arcade: It's Metal Gear Online built for an arcade. I kind of doubt this will go to places other then Japan, though.

Splinter Cell Conviction: I never really got into the Splinter Cell games, but the live demo for this looked damn good. Sam Fisher is on his own, trying to find who murdered his daughter. I can just smell the conspiracy. This is exclusive to the Xbox 360, for now at least.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: Rachel was revealed as another playable character. That's now one Ryu Hayabusa and three playable females.

Left 4 Dead 2: A sequel already? Seems way too soon. New melee weapons and four new characters fight the zombie menace in New Orleans.

Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Man, I wish this was coming out for other consoles than just the Wii. This is one title that deserves to be multiplatform.

Forza Motorsport 3: Ok, I know the game is going to be great, but "the definitive racing game of this generation" will be Gran Turismo 5, not Forza Motorsport 3. Sorry, Forza guy. What's with all the silly car dancing?

Gran Turismo 5: GT5 will be the definitive racing game of this generation.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves: The multiplayer beta is so great and the campaign looks simply amazing.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade: Muramasa is one of the most gorgeous games on the Wii. Hopefully this will also come to another platform.

Fat Princess: I didn't realize there was so much blood in Fat Princess. A seriously fun PSN title.

PixelJunk Shooter: PixelJunk Shooter is not a traditional shooter, but is traditionally awesome.

I see Samus has had some ninja training since the last mission.

Metroid: Other M: In an unheard of move, Nintendo is letting a third party develop a new Metroid game. That developer is the one and only Team Ninja. This looks like the most hardcore Metroid game ever. The Ninja Gaiden influences in the trailer are obvious with first and third person perspectives. Other M is going to rule.

Tekken 6: Tekken 6 has a huge cast of characters, tons of customization, and a co-op beat-em-up mode where you can use guns and fight mechs. Awesome.

Brutal Legend: This is so metal.

Project Natal: The Xbox 360's motion controller, Natal, will bring gaming without a controller, kind of like a more advanced Eye Toy, I guess. Those kids in the promo fluff video need to get a haircut. My interest in this is amazingly low. Did I ever wonder what the bottom of an avatar's shoe looked like? No, I hate avatars.

PlayStation Motion Controller: This uses the Eye Toy, but you get to hold a wand or two because gamers like to have physical objects in their hands, like a Wii-mote. The smooth transition to first-person shooter mode actually looked really cool. I'm still not into motion controllers, but I thought this looked better than just waving your body about.

Modern Warfare 2: Sequel names can be weird sometimes. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is generally known as COD4, not Modern Warfare, yet everything I see for the sequel is just Modern Warfare 2, not COD6: MW2. Is the Call of Duty name just being dropped entirely or will the final game have it? Regardless, the game is going to be huge. The map packs are coming to the Xbox 360 first, but that's how it happened for the previous game, so it's not much of a surprise.

0 Day Attack on Earth: This looks to be one epic shooter from Square-Enix. It will be on XBLA, but how about PSN?

Shadow Complex: This XBLA exclusive from Epic Games is a 2.5D run'n'gun shooter style game like Contra. This looks very cool.

Lost Planet 2: Four player co-op and more environments than just snow. This is going to be great.

Wii Motion Plus: It makes your Wii motions more precise. And you want your Wii motions to be as precise as possible. The Wii motion Plus sensor attaches to the bottom of the Wii remote and will be bundled with Wii Resort.

Black Wii: So far this is only for Japan, but Nintendo would be stupid not to release this in north America. I have not bought a Wii yet mainly because of the color of the system, and I know I'm not the only one.

Bringing the hammer down on the Hammer Brothers is better in fours.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Mario returns to classic side-scrolling platforming with "casual competitive" gameplay. Nintendo should bundle this with the black Wii.

Alan Wake: A manuscript holds the key to finding Alan's wife. It's too bad that an evil presence is terrorizing everyone that has a piece of it. It certainly looks creepy.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: The Game: At least this looks leaps and bounds better than the movie it's based on, so that's a plus.

Last.fm: Internet radio on the Xbox 306. Funny, the PS3 has an internet browser, so it can already do internet radio.

Facebook and Twitter on Xbox 360: Why are people making such a big deal about this? Maybe because it's customized for the 360. Well, the PS3 has an internet browser and can already do both sites.

Facebook on Nintendo DSi: Okay, this makes more sense than on Xbox 360 since the DSi is portable.

Mod Nation Racers: This is a cart racing game in the same play-create-share genre as LittleBigPlanet. A complete track level was created from scratch in only 5 minutes at the press conference. I'm not really into those urban vinyl types of characters, but this racer for the PS3 looks like it could be fun.

Joy Ride: You can drive your avatar around in a free cart racing game. I hate the Xbox avatars, so the less I have to do with them, the better. What if you don't have an Avatar? There is a way to not have one, as one of my friends has proven.

Dark Void: Jetpack gameplay and a Bear McCreary score make this full of win.

Katamari Forever: I love me some Katamari, so this is a no-brainer purchase.

God of War III: Hot damn, that's brutal.

Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny: It looks good, but that new guy with the fancy mustache creeps me out.

Gravity Crash: Bringing back the old gravity shooter, with lots of pretty colors.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy: Intense Final Fantasy fighting action.

Front Mission Evolved: A new Front Mission is always welcome, especially one for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Bayonetta: This looks to be one hairy adventure. Ha!

I'll be back soon with pictures form the show floor.

- Shawn - 6/6/09