What does Nintendo have up their sleeve? - We know roughly what we'll see from Microsoft (Fable 2, Halo Wars, Too Human) and Sony (Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, Killzone 2) but I have no clue what we'll see from Nintendo. Outside of a lot of self-congratulatory slides I think we'll get the Kid Icarus game that's making the rumor rounds and another iteration from a classic Nintendo franchise (although I pray for a new IP).
Will "core" gamers get thrown a bone this year? - Last year was dominated by "casual" games and while I guess we'll have that phrase beaten into our skulls this year I'm starting to wonder if the gaming companies are going to remember the fans that got them where they are today. Nintendo is supposed to have a few bones for their core fans and I'm hoping that we'll get some depth this year instead of wave after wave of mini-game collections.
Can Dead Space impress in person? - I've warmed up to Dead Space over the last few months as the game looks like it's going to be a winner. Outside of the fantastic visuals and atmosphere the game's "selective dismemberment" is a nice twist on the standard third person shooter genre. I'm booked to check out the game at E3 and I'm hoping this game doesn't let me down.
Will Little Big Planet continue to win praise? - "That's soo cute" was the reaction from my girlfriend (very non-gamer) had to the new PlayStation 3 ad with the Little Big Planet footage. OK, maybe I re-wound the ad and watched it again for her benefit but the appeal of the game is hard to ignore but with the hype meter for the game pegged I'm hoping that there's not a backlash against the title as it's starting to hit that point of hype critical mass.
Is PC Gaming going to be represented at all? - With Microsoft deciding to punt on Games for Windows at E3 this year (they held a smaller event a few weeks ago for select press) who will be showing off PC games at E3 this year? Toshiba is showing off their fancy new gaming laptop and EA has a new Crysis game to demo but outside of that and a few stragglers here and there the show is once again going to be dominated by consoles. I'm holding out hope that I've overlooked a few games but I'm not holding my breath.
Will Fallout 3 and Resistance 2 live up to expectations? - Outside of Little Big Planet, the two games I'm most interested in seeing at E3 are Fallout 3 and Resistance: Fall of Man 2. John and I were blown away at
last year's show and with the game close to release I'm guessing we'll see even more of the game than last year. I've been geeked on Resistance 2 since the details on the game were announced a last year. How can you beat the 60 person multi-player, 8 person co-op, and all the great weapons? I'm not sure and I don't think Gears of War 2 is going to have the answer either.
Is this the best E3 for total number of quality games?- I'm not sure I can remember an E3 when there were so many great games to check out. Gears of War 2, Resistance Fall of Man 2, Street Fighter IV, Mercenaries 2, Killzone 2, Little Big Planet, Dead Space, Resident Evil 5, and whatever Nintendo announces will all be on display and I know I'm missing a host of other great games. We've had good years before but this may be the zenith for the industry in terms of the overall number of high quality games.
Will there be any big announcements or is this the last gasp of E3? - As far as big announcements go last year's E3 was a bit of a let down. Sure there were a few good announcements (Wii Fit) but nothing really earth shattering. This year should be different as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all rumored to have big announcements. That said this could be the last hurrah for E3 as we could see more companies leaving the ESA after the show is over and the event, while important, doesn't carry the weight it used to. It's also worth noting that PAX features almost twice as many exhibitors as E3 does this year and the convention is much better organized and run.
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