E3 2005: the end of the first day (and the only day I’ll be attending). Got there by carpool just after 9am and parking was no trouble. We got into one of the South Hall parking structures. $10 for the day is very cheap downtown parking between 4! Badge pickup was also quick – just a 5 minute queue. Which meant that I was there at doors open, 10am.<\/p>\n
Overall impressions: plenty of shooters, as usual. Also there seemed to be a lot of cel-shaded anime style games: RPGs, beat-em-ups, what have you. It’s the in thing at the moment. Nintendo seems to be innovating. EA has a nice lineup with a mix of driving, action and sports. Square-Enix are still inexplicably stopping people from photographing their screens (so we just go to the Nintendo\/Sony\/MS stands and photo the Square-Enix games there).<\/p>\n
My standouts of the show: Stuff which I couldn’t be bothered to queue for: General good stuff: Disappointment of the show: “It should have come out already” awards to: Japanese stuff that piqued my interest: Best Babes: The ones in the white tops and tartan skirts were nice. As were the THQ ones.<\/p>\n Worst Babes: Well, I won’t say worst. But Nyko babes were scary this year. And special mention goes out to Ryl, the also-ran MMORPG tucked away in the Kentia Hall (home of wacky peripherals, retro game exhibition, media manufacturers and games that can’t make it to the other halls). I think they overcompensated a bit for the inadequacy of the game – they must have had 8 or 10 babes in skimpy medieval-type garb, who at one stage were all flaked out on the ground outside the Kentia Hall.<\/p>\n
\nGhost Recon 3<\/em> – for great use of HDR, decent HUD touches and just a well-polished feel.
\nGameboy Micro<\/em> – how small can it get? This is quite shiny.
\nBurnout Revenge<\/em> – great fun; it’s a definite for me.
\nGeorge A. Romero’s City of the Dead<\/em> – probably the best blend of Havok physics & animation.<\/p>\n
\nPS3<\/em> – saw the vids. Awesome, and not just graphically better.
\nThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess<\/em> – Link turns into a werewolf; has somewhat of the Ocarina of Time vibe.<\/p>\n
\nWe Love Katamari<\/em> – more of the same, new 2-player co-op mode, hope it’s still $20.
\nDDR Mario Mix<\/em> – DDR for kids!
\nNintendogs<\/em> & Animal Crossing DS<\/em> – DS is looking like it’s on my list now.<\/p>\n
\nXBox 360<\/em> – half a dozen titles which look about as good as PC games can now. Hum. And what were they thinking with the white controllers?<\/p>\n
\nGeist
\nBattalion Wars
\nOdama<\/em>
\n(all of which were at last year’s E3 and at least halfway complete then)<\/p>\n
\nShadow of the Colossus<\/em> – the followup to Ico.
\nOgami<\/em> – very interesting brushwork-on-parchment look.
\nAny one of a half-dozen RPGs (mostly cel-shaded).<\/p>\n