E3 impressions

Here are some random thoughts of what we’ve seen so far. The Nintendo press conference was the weakest of the three main ones. Bar the 4-player Mario annoucement the atmosphere was fairly muted until near the end when Super Mario Galaxy 2 and, especially, Metroid bought the crowd to life. Things livened up on the show floor though, with Nintendo’s stand consistently busy. Queues forming for Wii Sports Resorts and Zelda Spirit Tracks (a free “feather” stylus giveaway was pulling the crowds for Zelda too) suggest that core gamers are still keeping the faith. And the new Super Mario Bros on the Wii was fantastic to play – the bigger TV you have the better though.

Sony’s conference was far brighter and felt like a back to basics occasion. Despite the impressive “glowing orb” motion controller the emphasis here was very much on the games – Uncharted 2 looked astonishing – with some interesting exclusives announced. Rockstar’s Agent and, particularly, The Last Guardian bought the house down. The latter is the third in the Ico “trilogy” and looks an essential play. Sony’s stand later was predictably busy with queues forming for the PSP Go. Initial impressions were good. The slide out controls felt comfortable and sturdy. If Sony can make the download experience as easy as iTunes and the app store then the Go could start fulfilling the undoubted potential of the PSP.

Elsewhere the new edition of Secret of Monkey Island looks as gorgeous as hoped for. The ability to play with the original graphics helps the nostalgia and I can’t wait for this one. Similarly the new episodic Monkey Island game looks promising too, with 5 episodes planned starting this July.

What else? Tiger Woods with the Wii Motion Plus felt scarily effective – Virtua Tennis 2009 less so. Grand Slam Tennis was somewhere in the middle, although it was hard to get the space needed to really swing. Wii Tennis-style wrist flicks just don’t cut it any more when you have the Plus attached.

Best of all though were Mass Effect 2, Modern Warfare 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction. All three were hugely impressive and look set to storm the charts later this year. The latter was the surprise of the show and looks fantastic. As does Mass Effect 2 (which also sounds brilliant, thanks to the early '80s synth sounds). Modern Warfare 2 was simply exhilarating, with a snow level shown that was full of ice hooks, blizzards and fast action. E3 is back and the games are looking good!