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Best of E3 2004 |
by Chad
5/19/2004 |
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Each year the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) brings several new games and products to the forefront of the gaming world. With this annual event comes the pilgrimage of “industry professionals” dying to get their hands on the latest build of Halo 2, catch a glimpse of new playbooks in Madden and stare at the hundreds of booth babes on hand. This year was no different, with the Los Angeles Convention Center selling out of all available passes for the three day event. We were there, in full force, taking the spectacle in first hand, and returning with the best of the best.
Best of Show
Two sequels seemed to captivate the crowd and draw the most interest in the halls – Half Life 2 and Halo 2. Halo 2 is far and away the most anticipated Xbox title ever, and Microsoft finally has a hard release date for the title – November 9, 2004. The Halo 2 multiplayer was demonstrated, and it did not disappoint. Tracer rockets, progressive vehicle destruction and character customization where the highlight of the presentation, and the crowd went crazy when Master Chief picked up two guns and fired each individually – that’s right, dual wielded weapons with independent triggers.
 
As much fun as it was to see Halo 2, Half Life 2 actually left people awestruck at its beauty. Half Life 2 will be the new standard in gaming development. The transition from cut-scene to gameplay was almost non-existent, and the environments were the most beautiful I had ever seen. The demonstration was intense, fast paced and exciting. The world that Valve has created was truly enveloping and left me awestruck. The icing on the cake was the inclusion of a Counter-Strike demonstration with the new Half Life 2 engine. The crowds were mesmerized as they left the demonstration, making this the game of the show and maybe the most anticipated title ever.
Best Handheld
Handheld gaming is becoming the new frontier, with several companies throwing their hat into the ring. At E3, several new models were shown, including the Sony PSP, Nintendo DS, Tapwave Zodiac, N-Gage QD, and the forthcoming Gizmondo. Based on pure beauty and features, the clear winner is the Sony PSP. The Playstation portable will essential be a portable Playstation 2 that plays proprietary game discs. The major question surrounding the device is battery life, and I’m sure Sony is doing everything in their power to squeeze every ounce out of the battery they can. The most compelling aspect of the new PSP is the sheer beauty of the device. It is an amazingly slick looking machine, and walking through the demo while watching movies play in 16:9 widescreen format next to games being rendered in 3 dimensions was something special. I walked out of the Sony demonstration knowing that I had to own one of these. I couldn’t say the same for the DS. While it was impressive, and the new 3D graphics were well demonstrated with Metroid Prime: Hunters, the new interface left me with more questions than answers – Will the dual screens be adopted by third parties? Will gamers actually change the way they play handhelds? The movement and firing were controlled by a stylus and touchpad, which is not my ideal gaming environment. The only question I had about the PSP was “When can I get one?”
Least Surprising Announcement
Electronic Arts and Microsoft have kissed and made up, and EA will invade Xbox Live in full force. The first title to appear on Xbox Live will be NCAA Football, which will be released in July, as it is every year. Fourteen more titles will follow, including Madden NFL Football, the most popular sports game of all time. By Christmas EA will be all over Xbox Live, and no one will remember the two year battle the companies endured. This announcement was no surprise to anyone who watched as Microsoft cancelled their sports line-up, abandoned their XSN brand, and rolled out the red carpet for an Electronic Arts invasion. In the end, EA and Microsoft found a mutually beneficial revenue model that made both sides happy, it’s as simple as that. With 25% of the video game software sales in the US, EA had ample power to force Microsoft’s hand, and in a bit of role reversal, Microsoft saw the light and made every effort to complete their Xbox Live library. This should create an influx of users into Xbox Live in the fall, as the new sports titles hit the shelves.
Best Western-Vampire-Cowboy Movie Set in the Late 1800’s
In a crowded first person shooter market, Sammy Studios has decided to create a completely unique experience based on an original character, Jericho Cross. Jericho was a gunslinger and train robber who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jericho decided to rob a train that contained none other than the Price of Darkness. Being an inquisitive train robber, Jericho opened the coffin contained the evil one and unleashed him on the world. In the process, Jericho took a couple of fangs in the neck and has become a member of the undead community himself. And that’s how the story begins. Jericho spends the rest of the game hunting vampires with an array of new weaponry. The game looks great, and it really has a chance to stand out in a rather crowded niche.
Best Celebrity Appearance - Male
Vin Diesel graced the E3 crowd with his presence at the Vivendi Universal booth on Thursday, sending the throngs of onlookers into a frenzy of flash bulbs and screams of “Vin!” Mr. Diesel was on hand to promote The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, the game that will coincide with the release of the movie by the same name. The Chronicles of Riddick will be a first person shooter/adventure game that will allow gamers to be thrust into the story surrounding the movie.
Best Celebrity Appearance - Female
The folks at Microsoft decided to bring in some high profile eye candy for the mostly male crowd that treks to E3 every year and bring in Jenny McCarthy. Ms. McCarthy appeared at the Xbox press conference, took pictures with gawking game geeks, and helped J Allard demonstrate some of the new features found in Xbox Live. Ms. McCarthy also made an appearance at the expo, filming some spots for Microsoft in the Xbox booth.
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XBOX365 Says
Good stuff at the show. We'll post pictures of all of the action, and all of the booth babes, soon.
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Related News, Images & Links
Features & Interviews
News
» Electronic Arts E3 Lineup on Friday, May 7 2004
» Vivendi Universal E3 Lineup on Friday, May 7 2004
» SEGA Announces E3 Lineup on Friday, May 7 2004
» THQ E3 Lineup on Wednesday, May 5 2004
» Namco E3 Lineup on Wednesday, May 5 2004
» Activision E3 Lineup on Wednesday, May 5 2004
» LucasArts E3 Lineup on Tuesday, May 4 2004
[ -]
» Sammy Studios E3 2004 Line-Up on Monday, April 19 2004
Also See
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Weapon X
X365 Member
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Halo 2 is mouth watering and made my eyes bleed! CAN'T WAIT! :)
Half Life 2 is going to rock! When will it be out on Xbox?
I'll pass on the PSP! F..K Sony!
EA on LIVE, blew me away! EVERYTHING I ever read in ANY magazine allways said MAYBE in 2005! It is still not going to make me buy thier LAZY games! Untill they put more inovation in their games I will pass. Just adding LIVE does NOT clear up all the problems with EA games! #1 is makeing games for the LESSER of the 3 next gen. consoles and told to enjoy! Hear is an idea EA, try makeing a "ONLY ON XBOX" game from the ground up and then I will look your way!
Best Western-Vampire-Cowboy Movie Set in the Late 1800’s = ???????????? Time will tell!
Bring on the game, The Chronicles of Riddick! The demo on the June issue of OXM was enough for me to want this game! It should help hold me over till HALO 2! ;)
BRING ON ALL THE BOOTH BABES!!!!!!!!!!!
ONLY ON XBOX! ;)
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J Sizzle
X365 Member
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If ur eyes are bleeding i think u need to see a doc right away....just a little suggestion
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wdx
Heckler
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I,m really not that psyched about riddick ,it looks to good to be actually good. Meaning, it may be too short for my tastes ...I must wait for reviews. EA must prove themselves worthy sony, well.....you know. And I think a vampire / western sounds silly but fun. half life 2 ....still waiting, it better be worth it!!
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Wassup
Heckler
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I really disagree with the best handheld award going to the PSP. I think that the PSP just isn't a worthy handheld! People will be too buisy watching the PSP's little movies to play it's crappy games (who can blame them)! I think that the whole thing should have gone to the Nintendo DS because it just rocks! That's all there is to it!
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Videogames Arethefuture.
Heckler
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As far as I am concerned, the only game I'm looking foward to (even though I own an Xbox) is the new LEGEND OF ZELDA game! The thing looks totally jaw-dropping!
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bigzz4
Heckler
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I think the psp was awesome and deserved to win the the best hanheld. ok look at gameboy ds or w/e this is their wat 10th version of the gameboy or sumptin. nintendo really needs to stop with the gameboy thing and start makin their cconsoles better. The graphics look awesome on the psp and ds has 2 screens "OMG" and it also has a touch screen! woah lets turn our gameboy into palm pilots and trick them out to make them look cool when they are really crap.
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bigzz4
Heckler
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o...and the sims 2 looked awesome too....i can't wait!
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xboxzilla
X365 Member
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ah, E3. Now stop delaying all the damm games already>:(
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Posts: 146
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Xbox360 and PS3 in my future (sorry Nintendo)
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haloguy
X365 Member
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e3 seemed important, really cool stuff learned
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