E3, the largest gaming exhibition in the world. And that is not an understatement.
Everything is so large, so loud and done on such an enormous scale. The money that
many of the game developers must put into this event is astonishing. The exhibits
are impressive, for a booth must be more than just a few demo consoles in order
to be noticed.
Games and Booths that Impressed
Square-Enix: Of course this is to be expected. I will be posting a full
report on the Square-Enix booth tomorrow. Square-Enix's booth didn't have any fancy
props to it, just a really futuristic look and feel about it. The entrance was a
giant video wall, or arch which advertised the titles that were being displayed.
In the center was a theatre and down each side were demo consoles where you could
play all of the latest titles. A full report on the Square-Enix games will be given
on the last day of E3.
Sammy Studios: Sammy's latest title is a game by the name of Darkwatch.
Darkwatch is a first person shooter which mixes in horror and a western theme. Some
of the developers are ex-Oddworld Inhabitants including Paul O'Connor and Farzad.
I had a chat to some of the guys there about the title and although I am not usually
a fan of FPS games, this one seems like a good one. There will be a lot to do other
than just shooting and the game will take a different courses of action depending
on what you choose to do. Their booth was also very impressive as it consisted of
a gothic building and had an overall dark atmosphere about it. A visit to the Darkwatch
theatre also showed some impressive graphics running on the PS2.
Konami: Konami's booth was sectioned into different displays for each
of the games they were showing. The two displays that impressed me the most were
Silent Hill 4: The Room and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater. Although I didn't play
MGS, as that isn't my kind of game, the display was really cool as you went into
an area which was just like being in a thick jungle. The Silent Hill 4 display had
demo consoles placed in apartment like areas such as a kitchen, lounge, etc. Someone
even commented that they got the couch from the side of the road! A door was also
in the display held by chains to represent the locked door of "The Room". I did
play one level of the SH4 demo. Enemies appear to be much more difficult and in
one place you couldn't even run from them, as you were outside and couldn't run
because of a snowstorm, with enemies in pursuit [and they were much faster than
you]. The demo level contained only minor puzzle solving.
Blizzard: Blizzard had two main games on display, Starcraft Ghost
and World of Warcraft. Their display was futuristic, much like what you would expect
from Starcraft architecture. A large overhead screen displayed trailers and a Warcraft
statue greeted visitors at the entrance. An second tier allowed for more demo stations
to be included. Some concept art was also included in this booth. I did play Starcraft
Ghost, but wasn't very good at it, so I'll leave it at there!
Sony PSP: As mentioned in my Advent Children report, I was very impressed
with the PSP. A system which has the clarity of a digital television with such a
small size. The booth was nothing fancy, just some demo stations showing the different
media that the PSP could display [i.e. movies, games]. There was also some information
on the media the system will use [Universal Media Disc] and PSP development/promotion
in different areas of the world. The booth didn't need to be fancy however, as it
was a very effective display.
Highlight of the Day
The highlight of the day would have to be the Square-Enix presentation. This
of course allowed me to see the Advent Children trailer in all of it's glory. For
more see, the Advent Children report, or tomorrow's
Square-Enix report.
Lowlight of the Day
The long registration queue. Although the sign said "express registration, the
queue was the longest queue I had ever been in, and the wait time was well over
an hour. If I attend in future years, I will be sure to get there very early!
Overall Impressions
E3 is something that needs to be seen to be believed. Or seen to be correctly
experienced. Writing up a report on a website hardly does the entire show justice.
Thousands of gamers all in one place to see all of the latest games. Loud noises,
lights, excitement everywhere you go. Wherever you walk, there is always something
to see or something to play, depending on how you look at it. There were two main
halls where everything was shown [and some smaller halls] with the South Hall being
the main hall and was where all the real action was. The West hall was mainly taken
up by Sony and Nintendo.
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