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It's my favourite time of year: E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo – held annually in Los Angeles – is the biggest gaming event of the year, with developers showing off new software and hardware. And what a show it's been so far! In this update I'll be focusing mainly on the Nintendo Press Conference because it's the only one I've seen so far (and because I'm a huge Nintendo fan).
Simply put, it was amazing. The charismatic Reggie led most of the conference and did a very good job of it. Some of the highlights included Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (which received much applause) and Resident Evil 4. However, the main attraction was the Nintendo DS. The DS was unveiled for the first time ever and footage of a few of the many, many enthusiastic developers was shown. The DS, as many of you would know, has two screens. One of these is a touch screen. The DS also has a microphone for voice commands and chatting. That's right, chatting. The DS was a propriety wireless LAN for communication and play with up to 16 DS users in a 100 foot range. And on top of this, Nintendo have added Wi-Fi capabilities, to allow wireless online play across the world.
The first game seen running on the DS was Super Mario 64 x4, an impressive recreation of Super Mario 64. However, the most impressive game seen running on the DS at the press conference was Metroid Prime: Hunters, which also got huge applause from the pleasantly shocked audience. The game runs very smoothly and looks almost exactly like the GameCube game, Metroid Prime, which is impressive for a handheld which hasn't been touted as a 3D powerhouse. There are many more games that were shown on the show floor which make creative use of the DS' features. Metroid Prime: Hunters uses the top screen to constantly display the map, and the bottom touch screen can be tapped with the stylus to fire a shot, or you can hold the stylus down to charge a shot. Pac-Pix was another interesting idea. The player must draw PacMan with the stylus and direct him (by drawing walls) to eat the hand drawn ghosts. You have a limited amount of ‘ink' and can use it how you want, drawing many little PacMen, drawing one giant PacMan, whatever.
Then there was the BIG surprise. We all knew there'd be a new Zelda game on GameCube at E3, but no one expected this. A brand new Zelda game presented in an incredible looking ‘mature' graphical style. Remember before how I said I'm a huge Nintendo fan? Well I'm an even bigger Zelda fan. I love the series to death, and anyone who knows me will know how much I absolutely love the Legend of Zelda. The unveiling of the new Zelda game was the greatest thing that could've happened for me, and millions of other Zelda fans out there, at this E3. Now, I enjoyed Wind Waker a lot, and would've enjoyed a sequel with the same graphical style, but this…this is just…unbelievably awesome. After hearing about it I was unable to contain my excitement, and after seeing the images and watching the fantastic trailer I was speechless and ecstatic all at once. This is indeed a new day for Nintendo. Do yourself a favour and download the Legend of Zelda trailer right now. It's a must see.
Now, I better step away from Nintendo for a moment and tell you about what Sony and Microsoft had to offer. Well, the PSP and Halo 2 were the big things from these guys this year. I don't follow the X-Box much – despite the fact that my brother owns one, and I do play it – so I don't really have too much info on Microsoft's E3 happenings. However, Halo 2 looks even better than the original and journalists are loving its multiplayer. In Halo 2, the battle will be waged on our home sweet home: Earth.
The Sony PSP has very impressive specs and in most areas comes close to PS2 quality, and in a few areas it sometimes even bests the PS2. It's already got some potential killer apps such as Metal Gear: Acid and GT4, and with perfect 16:9 widescreen, USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi LAN connectors, a devoted ‘Media Engine' and the promise of some DVDs (such as the upcoming Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children) and music albums coming to UMD (the PSP's propriety media format), the PlayStation Portable is set to be a mighty impressive handheld entertainment unit, as long as they can get a good battery life going.
Well, there was much, much more to experience at E3, but those are some of the highlights. I said last week that we would be uploading our hands-on impressions of Star Wars: Battlefront, however that is not the case, due to technical problems. Fear not though, as it will be uploaded as soon as possible. We've also got a new setup going for the site. I'll be doing these front page text updates whenever there's something to talk about; sometimes once a week, sometimes more. However, the weekly comic may not be quite as weekly as we thought. But when there's a new comic uploaded, I'll have an update to inform you of it. So, no comic as of yet, but with all this E3 info, you've probably got enough to read.
Rejoice my friends; it's a great time to be a gamer.
- Lupin Schofield |
