Luke's E3 Wrap-up

I learned that E3 is 75 miles from my current residence, one way. I also learned that driving to and from E3 each day is pure insanity. Next year, a hotel will be required, without a doubt. Even as a local, I have to say that the driving habits of Los Angeles drivers are absolutely insane, and are not conducive to the flow of traffic.

Sony's pre-E3 press conference was said to be lacking somehow, but I was excited the whole time. Gran Turismo 4 looks spectacular, and if the videos are any indicator, the awesome-but-too-short Rally Mode from GT3 will be expanded in this new installment. The Eye Toy will probably get poor press coverage, but it is a remarkable piece of hardware.

Other things of note:
- I give better powerpoint presentations than Kaz Hirai.
- EGM's John Ricciardi apparently dislikes me for no good reason, as he shot several dirty looks my way. At least Shoe was nice, though.

E3 itself was pretty packed. Tons of press people, tons of really nice company reps, and tons of hired women peddling wares in various booths. Lots of walking, but you don't really notice it until the day's end. A cool way to spend three days, and it makes me wish E3 was a week-long show.

Best of show - Pirate of the Carribean (Xbox, Akella/Bethesda)
Others may scoff at my choice, but I've got to go with Bethesda's Pirates of the Carribean for Xbox. Akella has really done their homework with this title. The game is gorgeous graphically; ships show hull damage and sail damage, insane storms are present, and excellent water effects are all small touches that add to the overall package. The ability to recruit officers for backup and the use of pistols adds depth to the land combat, and the different reload times for different cannon ammunition adds strategy to the ship combat. The experience system is set up to reward you for not having the biggest and baddest war galleons as soon as possible (after all, some pirates made due with the same sloop for years), and the ability to access hostile ports by way of secret entrances from other beaches on the same island allows players to be sneaky if need be. The clincher for me was the open-ended gameplay, which some will say is like Grand Theft Auto, but appears to be more like Sid Meier's Pirates!... a story can be completed, but you're not required to adhere to it, and you can choose to be a "nice" pirate who trades at open ports, or you can be a nefarious swashbuckler and pillage everything in sight. It's all up to you, and Akella's packed a ton of playability into this gem.

Runner-up: Toontown Online (PC)
Disney Interactive's MMORPG for kids may seem like a lame idea, but this is a fun game. Players make their own toon (sorry, you can't be any of the main characters), and then roam around Toontown in a quest to vanquish the Cogs, evil robots that were inadvertenly activated by Scrooge McDuck. It's a non-violent game, with standard weapons being replaced by gags such as banana peels, seltzer bottles, and other gag devices. Hit points are replaced by Smile Points, and if you lose your smile, you cannot continue. The game is set up in a way so that characters do not die, but are returned to the Tootown Playground when they lose their smile, and upon regaining their smile, they can then return to the streets of Toontown to fight the Cogs. There are also minigames that can be played, and the whole focus is on fun rather than competition. However, like all MMORPGs, stats are upped very slowly, so this may turn off younger players. Graphically, this game will not tax your graphics card, but it still manages to look nice while being accessible to older hardware setups. Upon returning home from E3, I downloaded the Toontown Online software, and after installing it I played for six hours straight without realizing it. Any game that addicting deserves a nod.

Sleeper of the show - Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2: Chaos Bleeds (Xbox, PS2, GC)
The sequel to perhaps THE sleeper of 2002, Buffy 2 looks to have everything the original had, and more of it. More characters, more weapons, and more levels. While The Collective may not be developing this one, Eurocom appears to have followed the lead set by The Collective, so if the past is any indicator, this is the choice for 3D beat 'em up action in 2003.

Runner-up (tie) - Breakdown (PS2, Namco)/Firefighter FD18 (PS2, Konami)
These two were shown on video only, but looked interesting.

Breakdown is a first-person beat 'em up that has some insane graphics, and appears to have a very tripped-out apocalyptic-future type of storyline. Lots of cool enemies and character designs were present here, so hopefully the gameplay matches it.

Firefighter FD18 is a 3D firefighter action game, and this is a subject that hasn't been focused on in enough games. Jaleco had The Ignition Factor for the SNES was back in 93, but we haven't really seen a realistic firefighting since that time. The graphics looked nice in the video, which showed footage of a man rescuing people from a burning building while managing the level of his water meter. 3D action that requires a bit of strategy? Sign me up.

Most Unfairly Bashed Game - Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (PS2)
This game may have been delayed several times, but the delays appear to have been for the better. Lara looks great, as do the environments she goes tromping through. Rooms are meticulously detailed, and the lighting is excellent. As one would expect with any new Tomb Raider, the core gameplay is the same, but a few new tricks have been thrown into the mix. This should be a solid title that was worth the wait, despite what the naysayers would have you believe.

Best Way to Burn Calories (tie) - DDRMAX2 (PS2)/ DDR Ultramix (Xbox)
Konami's Bemani gem returns to the PS2 and hits the Xbox for the first time. Both installments appear to be packed with tons of play modes and a slew of songs that will have you dancing your ass off. Konami's Xbox dancepad was perfect, registering all steps, as was the PS2 dancepad. If these peripherals were just easier to find...

Best Way to Embarass Yourself - Karaoke Revolution (PS2)
Karaoke Revolution? You mean, I sing along with a game? And I do it on purpose? Well, I have no shame, so I will be there, but it will be interesting to see how this one sells through in the US. Note to Konami: where the hell is my Beatmania, already?

Best Use of Patio Furniture - Backyard Wrestling (PS2)
Eidos has their wrestling title ready to go, and the negative press is inevitable. Not only can you batter opponents with typical wrestling weaponry such as chairs and bats, you can also use patio chairs, pipes, and whatever else isn't nailed down! Cool, huh? If that's not incentive enough, you can also take pleasure in maiming the members of Insane Clown Posse, which is actually BETTER than being able to crush Fred Durst in Smackdown!

Best Return from Obscurity - TMNT (PS2, Xbox, GC)
The heroes in a half-shell are back with a venegence. This game plays just like the excellent TMNT titles of the 16-bit era, but a few new tricks are thrown into the mix to keep things fresh. Also, the slick use of cel-shading makes these boys in green look new all over again. This one should sell a boatload, and judging from the way it plays, it deserves to. Much kudos to Konami for resurrecting a franchise without destroying it.

Best Wrestling Game - Ultimate Muscle (GC)
As much as it pains me to deny Hulk and the boys, Ultimate Muscle is just where it's at this year. UM plays like the awesome WWF No Mercy, but with slightly sped-up gameplay, which basically makes it... perfect! If we're talking "real" wrestling games, then WM XIX gets the mod out of the WWE games, but UM is the one to check out this summer.

Best Way to Botch a Control Setup - MGS: Twin Snakes (GC)
Okay, so I just crawl under this thing, and then stick to this wall, and I snap this guy's... what the hell? Why am I crawling again? How do I equip my gun? I'm dead? Is there a PSX controller adapter bundled with this game? Please say yes.

Weirdest Game - Kero Kero King DX (GC)
So... it's a golf game, but I hit frogs around instead of golf balls... and everything is super deformed and really really cutesy? Kick ass! Someone should have made this one sooner!

Most Overhyped Game - Bill Hatcher (GC)
Let's see... you roll this egg around and kill stuff. Then the egg hatches and you kill more stuff? Why does this game feel like Sonic? Oh, because Sonic Team made it? But if this guy wasn't in a chicken suit, he would be Sonic! Why the hell is this getting more attention than PSO III?

Most In Need of a Great Last 70% - PSO III (GC)
This PSO card-game was slow, unresponsive and just generally lacked polish. However, it was also at a mere 30% complete, so that's to be expected, and what was there did show a great deal of promise. If the past PSOs are any proof, this game will end up sucking months of your life away, and you'll be glad it did. If this ends up playing anything like Cardfighter's Clash, you will never see me again... I'll be card battling.

Best Booth (tie) - Sega/Nintendo/Konami

Sega's booth was small, but they showed a bunch of great stuff. The Altered Beast video was short, but it looks to do the original a fair amount of justice. Billy Hatcher should also win the award for most confusing game, but people were always playing it, so it must have some appeal to it. PSO III got good attention, as did Vitrual On:Marz, Vectorman, Otogi, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution, Sonic Adventure DX, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Battle, and Sonic Pinball Party. I was unable to find anything about Space Channel 5 for the GBA, and Kier Kirby simply refused to comment.

Nintendo's booth is always PACKED, and with good reason. Nearly every title in the booth is stellar, and the list reads like a greatest hits list: Mario Kart Double Dash!. Rogue Squadron III, Wario World, F-Zero GX, Starfox, Pokemon Colosseum, Pokemon Channel, Kirby's Air Ride, 1080 Avalanche, Pikmin 2, Soul Calibur II (with Link as the GC exclusive character), Super Mario Advance 4, Pac-Man for GC, and all the third party games for the GC and GBA, as well as video of the new Metroid GBA game. Simply put, there was enough in Nintendo's booth to spend an entire day covering. However, the man dressed in the Wario Ware getup (complete with blue afro) needed to leave me alone. Also, learning that the voice of Mario is actually a really scary-looking happy old man was enough to give me nightmares. Every time he said, "It's-a me! Ha ha!", part of me died. The image is forever shattered...

Konami's booth was not great in the sense that they had a killer setup or some ubersexy booth girls or anything, but the games did all the talking. MGS, MGS3 (on video only), DDR MAX2, DDR Ultramix, Firefighter FD18, Gradius V, Boktai, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Bloody Roar 4, McFarlane's Evil Prophecy and the TMNT games all showed that Konami makes some kick-ass games, and they make no bones about it.

Worst Booth - Atari
Atari's booth was "appointment only", and upon making it past the first set of doors, you had to explain your appointment to a person at a counter. The counterperson would leave and then return to either deny entry, or to open the door for you. If you had an appointment, you had to go to a second counter inside Atari's actual booth area, explain your appointment details to another person, and then you would be granted access to the area where appointments were being held. It almost felt like playing Kung-Fu for the NES, because every time we made it past a barricade, another one would pop up and these secretaries were the area bosses. While we did get a good look at Horizons, we were denied access during the last day due to some scheduling confusing, by a woman who exclaimed "What? Do you think I have psychic powers?", so she wasn't going to let us in. Very unorganized. Oh well, maybe next year Atari. We do find it amusing that Atari had the most name branding throughout all of E3 and wouldn't let non-press in.

Nicest People - Bethesda
The Bethesda people were great. The receptionist was this girl with a British accent, and she took us right to our appointment without any hassle. The man showcasing Pirates of the Carribean took the time to show us all the ins and outs of the game, and all of the little touches that made it my pick for Game of Show. We also met the produced of Morrowind, who is a really cool guy, and he was visibly excited about Morrowind's expansion pack. A class act all the way around, and they had FREE PEPSI. But free Pepsi wouldn't have saved face for Atari, so let it be known that having my drink of choice present did not sway my opinion at all.

Most Overused Booth Theme - Military
There must've been twenty different booths that has men in full military getups, and they would march in formation and stuff. One man was supposed to be a pissed-off German soldier, and he looked at everyone with a sour frown on his face. The first time I passed him, he looked intimidating. When he did the same thing the next day, I told him that he had made the same face yesterday, and asked why he was still mad at me. He smiled, and probably got fired from breaking character, because he was not there the third day.

Lamest Booth Women - Tecmo
Tecmo hyped this Dead or Alive fashion show, but it was really just these women standing there. Then, when there was a "dance party", the women stood there some more and kind of twisted back and forth, but I have seen headless chickens move with more grace. Still, pretty girls equal attention, and their booth was packed accordingly. Runner-up goes to Nyko, whose Fembots had white dresses, fire-red hair, and were just generally scary.

Best Booth Woman - Tech TV
She is not a booth woman per se, but I happened to see Tech TV's Morgan Webb on day three of the show. Nuff said!

Hardest Game to Wait For - THUG (Tony Hawk's Underground) (PS2)
A Tony Hawk game that lets you get off the skateboard and climb on rooftops? You can steal cars? You can map your own face onto your character? You can play online on parks that other people created? You can create your own park to torture others with? This looks to be a killer game. Runner up goes to Pirates! II, simply for being a sequel to my all-time favorite game... but after sixteen years, what's another year or two?

Haven't I Seen This Before? - Bombastic (PS2)
In Capcom's booth, I saw Devil Dice, the old PSX game. Except now it is called Bombastic. Don't let the name fool you, this game is worth buying!

This Isn't Fast - Fast and The Furious (PS2)
If you've driven over 100 mph in real life, you know that the slightest touch of the steering wheel can mean trouble. But in this game, you can take corners at that speed, no problem! And it creeps along so slowly, it feels more like 10 mph, not 100... FIX THIS....please?