Infinite Et Cetera: David @ E3: Put Your Power Gloves On

David's back from E3 and is ready to share his experience with all IEC readers. There was minimal editing done on my part as David's typing skills have improved ten fold. I will add that he did not submit the picture he took with a guy in a Sonic costume most likely because it's just funnier if you picture it for yourself. Away we go:

Another E3 has come and gone at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Between the 40,000 people attending and the outside protesters of Electronic Arts DANTE'S INFERNO, it's safe to say the E3 that matters in the world of entertainment is back. You've more than likely already heard the "Big" announcements, so IEC will bring you the rest. We'll rate the big three companies, girls in outfits their parents told them was a bad idea and people who aren't paid enough to be in those character costumes. If you've driven through downtown LA this week, you've no doubt seen all the ominous banners outside the convention center not commemorating championships. (T Ariza can take care of that) From the minute the show floor opened on Tuesday, it was a non stop bonanza of free T-Shirts and light shows not meant for the seizure prone. I wonder if that guy notices the giant marshmallow man behind him

Nintendo-

The best games announced by nintendo were no where to be found. Mario Galaxies 2 and Metroid alone would have given them a much needed boost against Xbox and Playstation. Not faring well among it's competition, Nintendo still managed to show a few unexpected supriseses.

Scribblenauts (nintendo DS)

First, the concept for those who haven't been following the game: players control the game's character Maxwell whose task is simple: collect a star within the specific level. By himself he just doesn't have the means to acquire the star because they're placed in locations that are juuuuuust out of reach. So he needs help. Your help. Using your vast vocabulary of nouns, drop items in the area to help him get to that star. If there's a dirt wall in the way, call up a shovel. Need to get to higher ground? give him a set of wings. This was awesome!

Wii Resort

This update to the sports pack that came with the Wii system is a great expansion. Making use of the new wii motion plus technology, the game opens up sports that weren't possible during the Wii launch. I got to try basketball and it felt just like the machines we all never got prize tickets out of. Archery was also very impressive, if they can get the calibration right. The wiimote seemed to loose it's center after every round. Once it ships in September, I'll be getting my Wii out of the pawn shop.

Playstation-

2009 is not going to be sony's year, no GOD of WAR in 2009. They lost a big exclusive with Metal Gear and most multi platform games are developing content for microsoft. If not for two surprise titles, Sony would have had a worse outing than nintendo.

Tekken 6

Since I had no idea there was a Tekken 5, it's a big step up. It looks awesome and will definitely slow down work place production everywhere.

Uncharted 2

I never played the first game, but the sequel hitting retail this fall may make that irrelevant. The game not only packs a 16-20 hr single player campaign, but it also has a multiplayer vs mode and a co-op story mode. Uncharted 2 definitely caught me off guard as one of the best games of the show. If you've never heard of this franchise, picture national treasure with 30x the action and better acting.

Xbox360- You know about Halo and Gears of War, we'll talk about what you don't know, NATAL. After the press conference video, I imagined it as just another gimmick like the playstation eyetoy. I was wrong...

While not on the show floor, on Tuesday night at a hotel in Los Angeles, thanks to a dear friend of mine we attended an exclusive no pictures or video media event. I got to test Microsoft's next evolutionary step. All in all, I found Project Natal to be quite refreshing. It's nowhere near the gimmicky device I originally took it for and the fact that it works already on a retail Xbox 360 (Burnout was running on an "out of the store" model, no debugs or special systems required) says a lot about its current stage of development. To say that I'm anxious to see where Microsoft, and it's horde of third party developers, takes his next is an understatement. I'm a bit sad that I didn't get to meet Milo though.

Forza Motorsport 3 on the show floor I got beat : ( To bad she can't drive in real life hahaha

OVERALL SHOW BEST- ROCKBAND: THE BEATLES

This thing was amazing, playing in Abbey Road studios to the rooftop concert every Beatles moment recreated. The new instruments are all authentic 1:2 scaled versions of what the band played. I cant say enough good things about this, especially when I was getting tired of music games as a whole.

Development team rocks behind closed doors

WHAT I CAN'T WAIT FOR-

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 While the game was shown behind closed doors, no camera or video allowed. I got to see the live demo. New maps, new weapons, more story, better everything! Overall Best of Show.

FAVORITE QUOTES-

There were protesters outside of the convention center, angry at Electronic Arts for make the Dante's Inferno game. Chant's of "trade your playstation for a praystation" rang out. They also call EA, "Electronic Antichrist". I'm sure many a japanese tourist were given a free show in democracy.

Best Booth-

Batman Arkham Asylum (it's also the best game you will play in the next 30 days) sick!

Worst TV-

While most of the booths were running on panasonic or Vizio TV's, one lone booth made a stand for price over quality.

Character costumes-

I'm a sucker for classics, Sonic stopped for a quick picture

Raphael was the only one looking at my camera

Stuff We All Get-

This was the part of the show that needs to pick up again. In the years past this pile would have been easily 7x bigger. Three pairs of aviator glasses and free batteries aint gonna cut it.

I even met loyal IEC readers there, waldo wants his corolla back Mike.

Celebrity Sightings-

Missed Mickey Rourke on Tuesday, but I did catch a few sights.

That African American woman is too happy to meet Eliza Dushku.

DJ Ztrip and DJ Hero( not on my top list)

Future Ex Wives

The return of the big show marked the return of the women who moved to LA with dreams of being an actress. I asked what strip club she'd be at tonight