1 E3 '09: aReview

There has been a lot of press coverage of E3 09, and so I will not bore everyone with every single detail. However, there are some big things happening in the gaming industry, and I think it is important to point out the upcoming titles and technology announced at this years biggest gaming expo. E3 09 has been called the best E3 in a long time, and rightfully so.

First of all, everyone, including Nintendo (although their presentation was still lackluster), presented very impressive stuff in their respective press conferences. Here is aBreakdown of the cool crap coming from the three big companies, and then some independent news.

Nintendo:

The (not-so-secret) announcement of Wii MotionPlus, revised after last year's reveal.

Wii Vitality Sensor

New Super Mario Bros.- on the Wii

Super Mario Galaxy 2- with Yoshi, admittedly really a Super Mario Galaxy 1.5 (kind of an expansion)

Wii Speak- finally incorporate a microphone in online play. Way to get on board with the rest of the gaming world, finally...

Wii Fit Plus- Wii Fit with MotionPlus...?
Wii Sports Resort- looks to showcase Wii MotionPlus with the old games plus Ping Pong and others


Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles

The Conduit- nice graphics, looks to finally compete with the only other good FPS on the Wii, Metroid

Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers

Metroid: Other M- a mix of 3D and 2D third-person gameplay, developed in part by the guys behind Ninja Gaiden. It was a big hit at E3.

Scribblenauts- DS, very cool game where you write a word and your character will interact with obsticles according to your input

Microsoft:

Project Natal (pronounced Nah-TAHL, apparently)- including Milo and all the rest

Last.fm- free for Xbox Live Gold users this year

Facebook- new download to integrate Xbox Live and Facebook, as well as post challenges, etc.
from within games

Mass Effect 2- made everyone giddy, and I wish it was coming to the PS3

Alan Wake- finally made a gameplay appearance, but didn't wow more than any other game

Shadow Complex- XBLA Unreal Engine-based side scroller arcade game that looks very cool, although it glitched during their demo

Joy Ride

Splinter Cell: Conviction- officially a 360 exclusive, for now...

Crackdown 2

Left 4 Dead 2- now with melee weapons!

Forza 3- an amazing continuation of the excellent driver simulation, Forza Motorsport

Halo ODST/Reach- if you care, you already know


Sony:

Sony Motion Control- winner, in my opinion, for its deadly accuracy

PSP Go- a smaller screen, eliminated UMD's, and a 16 GB storage capacity all for a sizable $250

Heavy Rain- crazy game, you have to look it up to understand it. Check out some gameplay footage on GameTrailers.com.

The Last Guardian- very moving trailer, all in-game rendering

God of War 3- actual gameplay footage. It's looking amazing, naturally.

MAG - 256 player online first-person shooter with squads and rewards/perks

Probably-Not-Exclusive Final Fantasy XIV Online- many sites have said that this game is likely to come to the 360

Gran Turismo 5

Agent- published by Rockstar

ModNation- same vein as LittleBigPlanet, with user-created levels and character designs

LittleBigPlanet- PSP

Gran Turismo- PSP, with something crazy like 800 or 900 cars available

Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny- PSP, guest character: Kratos from God of War


Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker- PSP

Resident Evil Portable- PSP

Independent:
Assassin's Creed 2- 360, PS3, PSP. It is very nice to look at, the attention to detail isastounding, and hang glider (and other Da Vinci devices) gameplay looks fun (let's hope it isn't so repetitive as the original).
Tony Hawk Skate Board Controller for Tony Hawk Ride- supposedly very realistic and immersive, appears to be a direct response to Skate 1 and 2's realistic approach. New Direction for the Tony Hawk franchise.

OnLive- not the first time we've seen it, but it was present handing out merchandise and keeping mum on its prices, etc.

The Beatles Rock Band- finally we get some Beatles songs! Take a look at the trailer if you haven't seen it... it's awesome!

The Old Republic- Bioware MMO for the consoles and PC. It had the SICKEST trailer at E3, definitely worth watching.

DJ Hero- I had my doubts, but it looks pretty sick! Scratch: The Ultimate DJ is its competitor, and there have been quite the legal proceeding surrounding these two titles... check it out here!

Check back soon for a new post on aMotion Control War!