E3 2009 Nintendo Press Conference Impressions

Those that did not comment on my previous blog but still read it, I thank you very much. So once again, here I sit the day after E3 2009 Nintendo Press Conference to bring you my impressions, opinions, try to paint a picture to your minds for those of you that cannot even see E3 as I have. And also again, I thank G4TV for broadcasting E3 2009 Live which gives me the opportunity to my mind and personality to the world of gaming. Though many may not be following right now, but I've got to start somewhere right. So without further delay, here's what Nintendo had the pleasure of bringing to us at this year's E3 Press Conference.

Nintendo had a lot to live up to this year coming in from last year's press conference not only making a lot of hardcore gamers feel ousted, but also leaving Nintendo fans themselves with virtually nothing to look forward to. Granted Nintendo still presses on strong with sales figures baffling and amazing us month to month with the sheer amount of product movement since last year's E3, but many I've spoken to, from developers to just every day shoppers as well as Nintendo Fan Boys, the majority of users question what do they have to look forward to, or why do they bother to hold on to a system that doesn't deliver a title that really drives me to play it? It didn't help Nintendo either when The Nielson Company release their report, "The State of the

Video Gamer" in late 2008, where they stated that while Nintendo was the most highly sold system, it is also the least played of the current generation of consoles. Even I took it upon myself to really find a game that said to me that I must buy it for my Nintendo Wii in the late part of last summer, and though I do enjoy playing on the Wii Fit, I cannot seriously say that there has been one Wii title that urged me to buy it. This is not to say Nintendo hasn't brought enjoyable games to its audience. Animal Crossing, cute and enjoyed by many along with the Wii Speak, it wasn't a hook that reeled s in. Now there are other games that were played by many Wii owners over the past year such as Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Punch Out!, Boom Blox, and Rock Band 2, fans have been looking to Nintendo make them say, "Please don't make me think I bought this thing for nothing". Well, while not out of this world, actual kind of out of this world, Nintendo did bring some blockbusters that surely give us something to look forward to.

• Super Mario Bros. for Wii

Gamer roots are something a lot of us older generation gamers boast about. Playing on our Atari 2600's with nothing but a stick and only 1 button, dumping countless quarters into machines at our local arcades, perhaps even playing on our 14.4 bps modems (little love the movie "Hackers" there), one of the games that you'll always hear about when you think of gamer roots is the classic Super Mario Bros. After a bit of talk of numbers, kind of sounding like last year all over again, Nintendo quickly changes gears to bring us a look at one of Miyamoto's latest creations, Super Mario Bros. for the Wii. This newest edition to the Mario Library brings us to our grass roots of the original Super Mario Bros. From their presentation and live demo, it appears that the game will take players on a jour

ney through many of the gameplay elements we all enjoyed in so many of our side scrolling favorites of the Mario series over the Nintendo console years. The level they showed resembled the first level of the first Super Mario Bros. game on the NES with the brick breaking blocks, simple greenery on the ground, and of course, the pipes. But later on in the level, the landscape turns changes into much of what we saw in Super Mario World for the Super NES, and ended back with the classic flag pole and castle at the end of the level. All very cool and cute as it just makes you reflect and reminisce of your gaming days of old. But the hook in this game is the 4 player simultaneous play. This element of play allows up to 4 friends to gather together and play together as well as compete for coins to rack up high scores. Of course, Nintendo besides refined graphics and returning characters like Toad, they had to add little Wii remote motions to give us nice little gadgets such as the helicopter suit shown in the live demo where the play would swish around the Wii remote to rotate the propeller on the character's head and fly about.

There really wasn't much more in terms of show in the game, but there are a lot gameplay mechanics that pop up with a suit, a power-up, and so on that make you smile remember doing the same type of actions in other Mario games. Though one more feature which allows for cooperative moves such as throwing your partner to knock down some koopas was demonstrated which will bring good team aspects to gameplay. All things together just gave us a small sample of what the game will bring, but in my opinion, not enough that really entices me to buy it. So I guess that answers this question, will I buy it? Probably not. Over the years, maybe it's just easy to say that I've become a violent gamer enjoying too much things like chain sawing locust in Gears of War, rather than jumping around with a cute little character. Maybe with my niece or nephew, but I don't see this joining my Wii library. The other selling point that they did not clear up was if the 4 player gameplay would be available online, not just locally. We'll see when it releases later this year in the fall.

• Wii Fit Plus
  

If you don't know about the Wii Fit and you call yourself a gamer, just skip this section entirely. Unless you've been living under a rock or maybe a hardcore Amish with no television, you can't go much of anywhere without hearing about the Wii Fit. Now I have one, and I do enjoy it as it doesn't so much call to me to play it, but much more of a symbol to myself that there is more to life sometimes than just sitting on the edge of my seat and killing things with lightning in Infamous, or torque bowing a guy in the head in Gears of War 2, it definitely does its job in trying to help people be more active. Not a lot has changed here with this new expansion of Wii Fit with Wii Fit Plus. More workouts obviously come to this title, but something very nice is a more in-depth workout tracker, and a workout playlist allowing you to link workouts one after the other which lets you customize works with small rest breaks in between for a more fluid workout. New balance games in this like Perfect 10, skateboarding, and even a Mario-like game that has you walk the path Mario would in such a game like Super Mario Bros. for the Wii. Wii Fit Plus promises be just as much fun as the first and deliver more to its fans. And now the question, will I buy it? Umm, no. Least not right away. I waited for the Wii Fit and picked it up just when I happen to see it while looking for something else to buy, there was never any pressure from me to buy it, but I figure I'll get it eventually if the Natal doesn't get me first. Will Fit Plus comes bundled in future Wii Fit packages and as a standalone title for those who already own Wii Fit this fall.

• Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers

Appearing to look like a page from the Braver Fencer series, Crystal Bearers is a single player Action/RPG and looks good doing it. Though there was no live demo of the game, this still looks like a decent title for Wii owners that really enjoyed having the Final Fantasy series on the Nintendo system like the days of old. I'm sure many Nintendo faithful would of much rather seen the series stay with Nintendo, but alas, that's not the case, and this is what Nintendo fans are reduced to. I wasn't a big fan of the Crystal Chronicles game on the GameCube, and I really don't foresee myself buying this one, or better said, until I see a little more of the game, and even then, I don't think I'll purchase this one on its release. With no demo of what gameplay with the Wii remote would look like, though I'm sure some tried it at E3 themselves, it looks as though there is definite promise to its gameplay mechanics as many of the different aspects of the game itself look good for nice opportunities to use the Wii remote in different ways, one obviously being swordplay. Was this a mega hit for Nintendo, I really don't think so, but it was nice to see this first of 3rd party love for Nintendo. This title is exclusive to the Nintendo Wii, and why not.

• Kingdom Hearts by Square-Enix
  

Releasing September 29th is this relative classic; Kingdom Hearts makes its way to Nintendo Wii for the masses. Though Kingdom Hearts was a great game in itself, but this is one of the things that I get upset with Nintendo about, and it's this with a remake. Nintendo to me has geared a lot to the retro gamer, which is an audience that definitely should not be forgotten, but should not be the only catered to. Even the hardcore Nintendo followers cry out for new titles of their favorite lovable characters, not a look on how they can use the Wii remote. As a Nintendo Wii owner, I want to be marveled with revolutionary and intuitive ways to use the Wii remote with new titles and multiplayer, not another rehash on a game I've already played. The same case was with Okami released by Capcom on the PS2 first, then later on the Wii. Now the Wii version of Okami was great, but if I hadn't of bought on the PS2 already where it was fantastic too, I wasn't going to buy the game again just to try out some little motions on my Wii remote. For those that have never played Kingdom Hearts, this is a perfect game, but still, it's nothing new for many of us. I will not be buying this at all.

• Mario & Luigi's: Bowers' Inside Story DS
  

Here Nintendo moved to their DS titles which is obvious that Nintendo DS has claimed a strong percentage of the gaming market with record sales. And what kind of world would be in if Mario didn't somehow influence it. Miyamoto and his clever wit bring forth yet another Mario game with this one called Mario & Luigi's: Bowsers' Inside Story. This game takes the Mario brothers through a journey through just that, Bowser's insides. How the story comes about that Mario and Luigi somehow make their way into Bowser's body is unknown at this time, but with the trailer, the game looks to be very cunning in its use of the stylist and movement sensor in the DS recognized various motions with your fingertips on the first screen, and good use of tilt and pan movements causing the player to turn their DS around and around to complete different objectives. I myself am not very big into the handheld gaming because I usually don't have the time to play on my DS or PSP, but the game itself looks like a lot of fun and you can bet Mario sells games. He's a veteran and he knows what to do to get it done. But will I buy it? No, maybe presents for family, but not myself.

• Golden Sun DS
  

Golden Sun is one of the few RPG's from the Gameboy Advanced days that really stuck out in my head. With a solid story, nice characters, and good combat system, Golden Sun was a widely loved series on the GBA. The graphics were really impressive for a handheld title making full use of both screens on cinematics much like the Final Fantasy games on the DS; it's quite a beautiful piece of work. A nice surprise for DS lovers for this one, and even though the trailer game no idea of the timeline or story elements of the game, I can see this one being a really good seller for Nintendo DS players. Would I buy this one? You know, I just might, maybe not on release, but think it will be a good one for the collection.

• James Patterson's: Women's Murder Club - Games of Passion DS
  

Game's based on books? Nothing unheard of here. Here Nintendo began its turn in its conference to show how they are catering to the female gamer. Nintendo bombarded us with numbers at last year's conference, telling us how much the handheld market was starting to become dominated by female games. The female gaming audience has been targeted by games like the Sims, Brain Age, and Nintendogs. Interactive titles that focus on quick in and out gameplay for the most part, but also leaning on popular television show concepts like mystery and drama (Trauma Center anyone?) such as CSI to draw in the crowds of female gamers. Here we have James Patterson's: Women's Murder Club. No guys, it's not what you think. Just a simple mystery game of clues and who done it type stuff surround by a multitude of mini games. Games like this I usually can't get into and just must say aren't my style. I'm sure there are many that love these types of games such as the cellular gaming audience, but no I. It serves no justice really placing my take on the game but from the looks of it, it should fetch a decent return in sales for its target audience. Look for this title in October later this year.

• The C.O.P. DS by Ubisoft
  

Along with many others like Pets from developer Ubisoft, The C.O.P. is a action packed little game with decent graphics in relation to the movement and pace of the game, but once again, I'm not thrilled as this particular game doesn't cater to my style, but like other DS games and the support of Ubisoft itself, it will probably sell well regardless. Driving, running, shooting, and no explanation what the acronym stands for, it appears to do the job it was intended. No release date mentioned for this title, and no, I probably won't buy it.

• Style Savvy DS
  

Continuing with its female targeted audience, Style Savvy is another game of fun glamour and dress up for young girls across the world. Hair styles, make-up, shopping, runway shows, this game puts little girls in the driver's seat to be the top fashion model around. Games of this nature I can see doing better than most if it has a lot to offer in the customization department as well if it allowed for Wi-Fi connections or just connecting with friends wirelessly to compete and trade items. Like the previous game, I won't be buy this either, but look for this title probably this fall.

At this point in the conference, Reggie Fils-Aime exited conference and handed is back to Cammie Dunaway who began the conference. With last year, she went about with numbers and numbers and more numbers, and on and on, that it really just drove me batty and put me to sleep in many cases. But this time around, though she started off with the usual numbers giving credit to the soaring sales with the success of the Nintendo DSi selling 1 million units in its first month alone and 400,000 units of of the DS Lite since the DSi's release. Cammie continued on the theme that the roles of the DS Lite and DSi were about customization. Of how people placed gaming in their life, where they placed, and how it's joined so many people together.

• Flipnote Studio

Cammie rolled in from his numbers speech to the captivation that the DSi has induced into players all around the world. Expanding on this and the phenomenon of the DSi, Cammie introduced Flipnote Studio for DSi users. Playing off the successful use of the camera, Flipnote Studio allows for users to make their own sketch animated movies right on their DSi. Showing cool features in animation, brush strokes, and just photo editing, it really is a nice dynamic tool for the DSi. Since I don't have a DSi, I will not be able to enjoy this tool, but even if I did I wouldn't use it. Have my iPhone for that. Flipnote Studio will be available this summer to DSi users only.

• Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again DS
  

Are you sick of Mario yet? Well the world isn't. And as long as the world isn't, Miyamoto will continue to pump out Mario titles. Mario vs. Donkey Kong DS is all about bringing the retro style back much like its Wii big brother of Super Mario Bros. for Wii. More than just a platformer, jumping on koopas, collecting coins, and such, the trailer only showed a few brief elements of gameplay with the minis trying to march through levels much like in a Lemmings game, but the focus point here in this installment of the series is a new level design editor that puts the player in the position to make super complex levels and also upload them to the Internet for others to play and download other players levels. Looks cute and fun like other Mario games are, but I don't see think game joining my library at all. More importantly, it can't!! Why is that? Because you need a DSi as it will only be available as a download for DSi users. What is this to say about Nintendo? Playing favorites are they? Probably not, but since it doesn't need a camera, not sure why it's only for DSi users. Oh well.

• Wario Ware DIY (Do it yourself) DS
  

Honestly, I don't understand the fascination with this Wario Ware games, but they sell. When it came to the Wii, it was a great game that made use of the Wii remote. Quiky little motions making you shake, rattle, and roll in so many different ways it made it fun for so many. But now we return to the DS with Wario Ware: Do It Yourself. Another very short clip which at this time, kind of got annoying because these little trailers really didn't show enough in my opinion, but I'll get to that later. With Wario Ware: DIY, players take control of all those fun loving Wario games and make their own. Unlike Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, Cammie stated that players will be able to share and upload to other DIY owners but made no reference that your games could be loaded to the web which doesn't really make sense but who am I to question Miyamoto's greatness. Look for this one this fall, except me, because once again, I won't be getting it.

• Fackbook Uploads
  

Connecting with friends is something all three consoles are stressing more and more. Microsoft showed us on day one their partnership with Facebook, well what's to stop Nintendo from doing the same? Coming this fall, DSi owners will be able to upload right to Facebook with pictures they snap, edit, and alter on their DSi's for the entire world to see. Nintendo probably trying to continue its play to its female audience with this application and show the Facebook community that they don't need an iPhone to post so easily to Facebook on the go. Implement this feature to your DSi this fall.

• Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
  

Another famed character returns to life for Nintendo in the form of the Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The Zelda series has been one for me that has died down in the thrill factor for me, though Twilight Princess was highly enjoyable, but people have been enjoying Zelda for years and this one will probably not disappoint their audience with this one either. Though no trailer or teaser for this game at all, a little disappointing for fans but still something to look forward to.

Global Presidet, Mr. Satoru Iwata came to the stage starting off with the way Nintendo has made people really think about the way they play games. He went on to talk about how the age barrier of the gamer has been broken with the Wii that has had people that would never think about really playing games, now off the couches with their children, grand children, and so forth and bringing players from all ages together. To go on, Iwata talks about how not only are games to excite and thrill us, but to relax us as games are suppose to be fun, putting us in a state of mind to be free and release the day to day stresses of our normal everyday lives. With this, he introduces the following:

The Wii Vitality Sensor

This device does more than just track your pulse, but somehow track your mood and emotion through different readings it capture from your body. Not exactly sure what else its suppose to track but Iwata says that this peripheral will help players achieve greater states of relaxation to put them in a better state of mind. I would imagine that the Vitality Sensor would also be able to send its readings back to Nintendo for study into what types of people are playing their games and help develop future games to bring players to higher level of consciousness. Though no demonstration of the peripheral was shown, and you know, the first thing I thought to myself when I saw this was, "Great, another peripheral", the truth is that many people will still buy this thing. I would have to see some intuitive demos showing off some interesting uses for this thing before I'd buy it, but that goes for just about every smart shopper. But because Nintendo is Nintendo, and though it seems less people play the Wii more than Nintendo itself seems to believe they do, Nintendo has found the formula for marketing because despite what many can say about the library of games and lack of 3rd party support, they sell and they sell very well.

• Super Mario Galaxy 2
  

So what do you do now that you're Nintendo and you've just announced another peripheral? Why introduce another Mario game. But not just any Mario game, but the sequel to one of the bestselling titles of the Nintendo Wii which would be Super Mario Galaxy 2. Looks like more of the same type of play, and why not? The success of the first game would obviously bring back what players loved of the first game as the trailer they played clearly showed. Besides much of the same gameplay mechanics, not one new suit for Mario was shown, but there was one little surprise that people cheered for which was the appearance of Yoshi at the end of the clip. For myself, I don't own the first game, and I wouldn't mind but I just haven't brought myself to buy it because seriously, I'm playing other games, but my nephew really enjoyed the first one. Watching him play it, I was actually really impressed by its puzzle and platforming elements, clearly seeing how many could enjoy it. Once again, no live demo and no certain release date except to say 2010, will I buy it? It's pretty safe to say no. I'd like to buy the first one before I bought the second. But that probably won't happen any time soon either.

3rd Party Love Continues with the homage paid by Nintendo with 3 titles

• The Conduit by Sega
  
• Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles by Capcom
  
• Dead Space: Extraction
  

None of these games we show in live demos, probably because these 3 could all be played on the showroom floor, but also because neither of them were any big of a surprise, though I would have loved to have seen some live demos of Dead Space. I loved Dead Space but I'm very hazy on buying a rail shooter based off the game, but the story intrigues me and its really pushing me on possibly buying this game just to know what happens. The Conduit is an interesting futuristic shooter that has a lot of people buzzing about not just its story but the look and feel of it alone. Then there's Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, which like its similar game before it in the Umbrella Chronicles has us riding the train once again to find out more of the world of Resident Evil through plot points in Resident Evil 2, 3, and Code Veronica. All 3 of these games look great, but as I mentioned, I'll probably just by Dead Space, and again Nintendo's recognition to its 3rd party developers with titles such as these was good to see instead of being absent from last year's conference.

• Metroid M
  

Well what would a Nintendo conference be without a surprise ending. Nintendo unveils before us a beautiful trailer for Metroid M. I had the idea that they would show Metroid Trilogy which was announced a few months ago, but this was a great surprised. Better still with the announcement was the collaboration of the game being done incorporation with Team Ninja which brought us the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series would be the key engineers of this new chapter in the Metroid series. Taking us away from the first person view, this game while absolutely beautiful, show Samus in a whole new light with vicious attacks and a somewhat brutal nature as I saw in one scene Samus jumping on an enemy, shoving her hand cannon into its mouth, and detonating a laser bomb into its mouth. Blistering stuff I must say. That alone has given me the greatest incentive to really declare that this is finally the Wii game that makes me tell myself that I have to buy it. No release date except to say 2010, but I can't wait to play it.

Final Thoughts

As I said, Nintendo had a lot to live up to, to bring a great show this year and helping us forget last year's sandbag conference. While Nintendo will never admit and firmly believe that last year's conference was solid if not just as great as this year's, I could only describe last year's conference as bland. As a more mature game myself, not meaning I don't enjoy games directed to the younger audience, but just that my own gameplaying habits have just grown with the business as I have in my choice of TV shows, movies, and music. I feel I probably don't enjoy Nintendo games as much as maybe I should with games like MAG, God of War, Gears of War, and Prototype really draw me in then Mario does, but don't be fooled, Nintendo's show this year was a incredible improvement from last year's in my opinion and they definitely brought something for everyone. Though they didn't achieve their promise of bringing the Wii Motion Plus as they said they would, with games like Rabbids Go Home, Red Steel 2, Super Mario Bros. for Wii, Tiger Woods Golf, Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers, and Metroid M, Nintendo delivered a great show and I believe they have finally the heard the fans call for a different level of quality. I don't think Nintendo ever understood that going into last year, trying too hard to capture the faith of their system. Nintendo should have just had the firm belief that they would know that the fans are standing by their side, but they want something to show for it. Nintendo is greatly known for being super secretive as well as not ever pushing a product that they don't feel is a 100% complete, but I think that they should realize that gamers have accepted that there will be flaws, but that it's not that we as gamers will run at the sight of a single flaw, but that as long as the support is there, we will be there, ready and willing to play.

I haven't played a Nintendo Wii game obsessively for a very long time, but I feel Metroid M will bring back that feeling in my heart and give me something to put my faith back into their console while remembering where some of my roots came from growing up with Nintendo. Because I can't lie here, Nintendo has fed my passion for games for a long time, and to deny that would be like turning my back on my father. But to give a final reflection on the conference, I did enjoy the conference. Starting off okay, then getting better with Super Mario Bros. for the Wii and the Wii Motion Plus demos, taking a dip a bit for me hitting all those DS games, but then picking right back up with Mario Galaxy 2 and 3rd party love, but in the end I have to say that Microsoft's conference still stands tall against Nintendo, but I just hope that Nintendo keeps the energy going that fuels my appreciation for Nintendo and its innovation. Round of applause for Nintendo everyone.

Photos taken from G4tv.com, great coverage guys. Check out the full conference right there.

E3 Microsoft Press Conference 2009 Impressions

Since I am only fortunate in being able to watch E3 footage on my DVR instead of actually being there, I know I can't fully appreciate the thrill of being at E3 in person, something I hope to do one day, but thanks to G4TV, I give them my personal thanks to broadcasting it for the masses. So here I sit at home watching this great coverage, and allow me to first thank you for reading my opinions of the E3 Microsoft 2009 Press Conference.

• Rock Band: The Beatles

Opening with Rock Band Beatles was nice. Not mind blowing in my opinion but nice. Obviously, many of us who follow the business already knew of this one coming. Who knows if many will be able to appreciate the great music of the Beatles, but since the dawning of the music game with Guitar Hero (even though Guitar Freaks came out way before GH), I'm sure this will be enjoyed by so many. Even though our friendly neighbors across the ocean in England probably still cringe at the idea that John Lennon actually married Yoko Ono, it was still very impressive that not only Yoko came out to endorse the game, but Ringo Star and Paul McCartney as well. Ringo and Paul I must say were kind of lame in my opinion, but then again, I don't imagine them to be big into games. I was kind of hoping they would be enthusiastic like the guys in Metallica were with their interviews on dozens of other sites and specials, but I guess we can't have it all. I certainl3y hope there are nice goodies like interviews, commentary, and revealing videos. The biggest positive I saw in it was the harmonization of multiple singers in one song. I look forward to this technology being brought into future Rock Band games. I'll probably end up buying it because I'm a big fan of the music game genre. Rock Band: The Beatles rocks out in homes in September later this year.

• Tony Hawk Ride

Now I haven't been a fan of the Tony Hawk series since the first Tony Hawk Underground which I felt had a cool story despite that the gameplay itself particularly mirrored its predecessors. As far as skateboarding games goes, I'm thoroughly enjoy on EA's Skate. I feel Skate brought the genre into a nice, fluid, and definitely realistic feel of the sport itself. Skate 2 moved us off the board like the Tony Hawk series did later on in its saga, but it didn't dazzle me as it did in the Tony Hawk series when they first did it. But now with the debut of Tony Hawk Ride, the peripheral itself I thought would be kind of a flimsy joke, but seeing how the real skaters twisted and turns on it was pretty amazing. In the presentation, I must say it was great to see Christian Hosoi appear once again with greatness as he did when the sport first took off. The graphics themselves look nice, and the motion recognition seemed easy and fun. Anyone getting this better have the room to move around in as it’s not just leaning your body and wiggling your hands around, being able to actually turn and twist the board with your feet and hands was really impressive. It will be interesting if kids will hurt themselves using this, which will probably spark a rise in parents much like they did when the Nintendo 64 came out with Mario Party when kids were hurting their hands spinning the center stick with the palm of their hands, causing Nintendo to include a padded glove with the game in later releases of the game. Who knows for sure? But will I buy this one? Probably not just because I really don't have the room to incorporate the range of motion to fully experience the game, but who knows, maybe I will. Tony Hawk Ride kickflips into your living room in October of this year.

• Modern Warfare 2

Okay, if you didn't like the first Modern Warfare, you either hate shooters, or you just sucked at them. But if you did like the first Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward definitely appears to have hit another homerun hit. Many probably don't really care about the story of the first Modern Warfare as multi-player is definitely what has kept people playing the game to this day, but it sure does look interesting as I feel a game definitely should have a great offline experience as it does an online experience. The graphics look fantastic, reloading seemed a little faster than it really should be if they are shooting for realism, but then again, I've never reloaded an assault rifle, and I was really impressed with the visual effects of the snow blinding vision and movement. Riding on the snowmobile looked sweet. Nothing says fun like capping a terrorist from your snowmobile. As an added incentive, Infinity Ward will release exclusive maps on Xbox 360. Will I buy this one? You can bet on. Modern Warfare 2 brings it assault to 360 November 10th later this year.

• Final Fantasy XIII

Those that saw E3 last year, were pretty amazed that the Final Fantasy series would finally make its debut on the Xbox 360. It was kind of inevitable that Final Fantasy would jump on ride as well. Square-Enix's premiere gameplay debut was nice. I wasn't expecting the appearance of Odin, which was awesome, and I'm glad to see that they've now included fighting alongside of your Summon's like in Final Fantasy XII but just improved on it with the system that it sort of started with in Final Fantasy X. Will I buy this one? I'm not sure. I probably will as the gamer in me does, but these days playing Final Fantasy games to the fullest can be so time consuming, and with so many games to enjoy, it may end up in the back log of so many games I already have.

• Shadow Complex

When Epic took the stage, everyone was probably hoping to see gameplay of the new campaign expansion for Gears of War 2: Dark Corners. But no, instead, they decided to debut their newest creation, Shadow Complex. If you played Bionic Commando Rearmed, this will fit you like a glove. There wasn't a whole lot to the demo, but with the gameplay they showed, I can see the potential of good multiplayer combat in it. For those of you PS3 owners, it kind of resembles a more sophisticated and darker version of the PSN game, Crash Commandos. Weapons and enemies look pretty sweet and clean, plus the slight camera changes are nice as well. Bottom line, it looks like a lot of fun. Will I buy this game? Honestly I probably won't. I'll get the demo if anything, but once again, so many other games will probably be taking up my time. Shadow Complex comes to Live later on this summer.

• Joy Ride

In a word, it’s cute. Very cute. I definitely think this little arcade driving game will draw in a nice group of players that really enjoy and have been wanting a little more use of their Xbox Live Avatars. Those of you that enjoyed Re-Volt (a little RC Car racer quite some time ago) will probably enjoy this title. With good use of Avatar movement and silliness, it’s a nice little title to real just kick back with. But if the game doesn't offer a good amount of content, I think gamers will feel jaded buying it if it doesn't have a something to keep you coming back to. Will I buy it? Probably not. Unless a lot of my Live Friend's are playing, don't think this will grace my Xbox Live Arcade library.

• Crackdown 2

Alright, I've been waiting for this game for quite some time now. Now I didn't get to enjoy the first title until the game had a slight price drop to $20.00 about 3 weeks before the Halo 3 multiplayer beta ended, and I will have to admit that I got suckered into buying it as so many of my Live Friend's were playing the Halo 3 beta instead of enjoying the game that when it finally did end, I found the greatness that is Crackdown. Lots of action, explosions, firefights, leaping tall buildings in a single bound, and not to mention super fun multiplayer, if you haven't played the first game, I urge you go find it and buy it. You probably can get it used for 10 bucks in places now, so it’s definitely a nice cheap recommendation in my opinion. Now even though Crackdown 2 was only a trailer, I still can't wait to buy it. The only question one may ask about this title is will it be as fun as the first one was since the original studio team Real-Time Studios is not at the helm? No one knows, but I look forward to this title when it’s finally released.

• Left 4 Dead 2

This was yet another game that was just a trailer. And even though Capcom's Dead Rising was the first title in quite some time to really send a lightning bolt through my system taking my zombie killing enjoyment to a whole new level than Resident Evil had (I also eagerly await Dead Rising 2), Left 4 Dead brought us those zombies like in the remade movie of Dawn of the Dead that really would scare the hell out of me. Those zombies were like Olympic sprinters. Night of the Living Dead zombies, you could just poke them with a stick to push them away. Granted you wouldn't want to run into 30 of them packed in against you in an alley, but I'll take my chances with Night of the Living Dead zombies, than Dawn of the Dead zombies any day. I really had a lot of fun with Left 4 Dead, and with the addition of melee weapons into Left 4 Dead 2 will just make it all the more fun. Who doesn't love chainsaws? If you're a tree, then you probably hate them, but it looks glorious. The only problem with this game, as much fun as I've had with Left 4 Dead, I can't help but feel like it should be a download content of some kind. It would probably difficult in that aspect to introduce it as a DLC merely because of the introduction of the melee weapon mechanics. I can only hope that they include a bit more of in-depth campaigns as I felt the campaigns in the first one were rather short, but the fun of Left 4 Dead comes from its multiplayer co-op and versus play, and not to be forgotten, hundreds of zombies running at you from every corner. Will I buy it? Probably yes. I love killing zombies.

• Splinter Cell Conviction

The Splinter Cell saga has undergone some changes over the years, and I have to say that the saga has lost my interest over the years, even though Splinter Cell has a great story, it didn't really do a lot for me in the innovation department to make me jump into my car racing to my local game store to purchase it. But this installment of the game really peaks my interest with the introduction of the mark system like in the Rainbow Six series. The mark system just doesn't seem to let you know where people are going into the room you're about to break into, but leads you into quick movements like CQC in Metal Gear Solid, but also exciting gunfights. What I also enjoyed in the demo was the balance of stealth and full on-assault combat. Using objects for cover, meat shields, and fun and brutal interrogation techniques like smashing a guy's head into a mirror or urinal looks like a lot of fun. Very reminiscent of the Punisher game released on the PS2 and original Xbox which was a blast to burn a criminal's face on a stove and slam his head into a wall like in this new expansion of the Splinter Cell series. Will I buy this one? I'm thinking yes, but then again, may get stashed to the back log.

• Forza Motorsport 3

If the game handles as great as this demo showed, this will be the pinnacle of driving game simulation. Stunning graphics, fabulous car damage, and probably one of my favorite features, a great representation of the in-car view. A view I've missed dearly and in my opinion, not very well done since Need for Speed on the Panasonic 3DO. The easy to jump in and play aspect of the game seems to be enjoyable to not just racing sim fans, but arcade style racing fans. But I can't stop there though. The most amazing feature is the customization of the cars with the paint shop. The previous installment had a nice paint shop in it already, but this one appears to have improved on it in dramatic fashion. The demonstration of the beautiful paint jobs gamers will be able to make in the game. You can even import your own pictures to lay them down as vinyl or stickers on your cars. Now, the only thing that can ruin this would be some jerk trying to post a porno picture on their car only to have Microsoft restrict the images we can use. You can bet someone will try. Let's hope they have a good way of filtering that kind of stuff so real players that love the game truly enjoy this game. Will I buy this one? I haven't been much into racing sims these days, but this one is making think again. I might just have to get this one, maybe not at launch, but I think I will get it eventually.

• Halo 3: ODST

First and foremost, I love that they've brought back the pistol from the first Halo game. Pistol zoom returns in all its glory. The story? Try stories!!! I love a good story, but this installment has multiple stories from various shock troopers in the Halo world before the timeline introduction of the actual Halo 3 game. The weapons return with full force, the graphics look great, and you know the multiplayer will obviously be there. I think Halo really does speak for itself for the most part and I'll more than likely buy this on launch day in September later this year.

• Halo: Reach

Okay there isn't much to say about Halo: Reach since it was only a teaser, but once again, I love a good story and Halo definitely has a great story though many can argue the loopholes, especially with the way Halo 2 ended. It's a prequel first of all, and it makes me wonder at all if it will follow or take some of the story elements from the Halo novels that told some of the story before the very first Halo game. As a little bonus to those that pre-order Halo: ODST, players will get special invites to the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta. Halo: Reach, reaches out to us in 2010.

• Alan Wake

This is game that has been one in development for quite some time now. It's got what seems to be an amazing story with great survival horror elements. The use of the common ideas in the gameplay looked interesting and intuitive such as the flashlight that seems to repel these paranormal events and other things what appears to be monsters. Not only the flashlight, but a flare gun and a simple road flare as well. The camera and lighting effects look top notch, and has a nice eerie environment to spice up giving us that intense fear factor. Will I buy this game? Too soon to tell as the game won't be out until 2010, but I probably will.

The Xbox Live Experience

• Last.FM

FREE!!!!!!!! Yes, free, to Xbox Live Gold members that is. Sorry Silver members. Stream music right to your entertainment system with millions of songs at your disposal. Now I don't think of playing music on my Xbox much, but I can see it being a nice freebie to the whole Xbox Live Experience.

• Netflix

Dashboard Instant Queue browser, much needed, will be given to users coming this fall. Thank god. Not that I minded it much, but still was very much needed. Instant play from the title image, not that I thought it really needed much more instant play than what it already has, but it’s not a bad added bonus. The U.K. and Ireland will also be added to those that will enjoy Netflix as we have here in the U.S.A. Not only that though, if you love Futbol, or Soccer as we call it here in the U.S.A., SkyNews will join Xbox Live allowing for live streaming of broadcasting or news and World Premiership Futbol right over Xbox Live. My father doesn't play video games, but this may just make him very interested in an Xbox.

• Xbox Live Movie Library

Microsoft will now provide all of its movies available on Xbox Live in full 1080p, seamless streaming, and expanding its broadcasting up to 18 countries worldwide. PS3 has been displaying movies in full 1080p already, which makes you wonder why things are in reserve from the two companies. I mean, Xbox 360 could display movies in full 1080p, but the majority of games display in 1080p. And PS3 movies have been in 1080p, but yet the good majority of games only display in a max of 720p. Very odd indeed. Anyhow, for those of you that dumped your DVD libraries for Xbox live streamed movies, your movies will now be fuller, richer, and smoother. Now the one feature that was announced at last year's E3 with watching movies on Xbox Live I was looking forward to was the Movie Party feature where we were told that we would be able to form parties from all around the States and stream movies not just to our homes, but to those in our party. Well, that has not yet made its debut, but supposedly will make it’s appear this fall in an update. As happy I am to hear that, I have a question once again. Originally it was suppose to be a part of the Netflix integration, but they didn't mention if this feature would be only a part of Netflix, Xbox Live Movie Library, or both. Both would be great, but we'll have to see what it will really do for us.

In Microsoft's attempts to reach out to new users, Microsoft now brings us a new way of connecting to friends with Facebook Connect. Social Networking sites are hard to avoid this days, and Facebook appearing on iPhones, Blackeberry's, and such, perhaps it was just a matter of time. Honestly I kind of thought Microsoft would kind of do their own thing linking user profiles to a sort of gamertag site using www.xbox.com, but this is one better because in this case, Facebook has done the work for you. Facebook already their application to display achievements you gain while on Xbox Live, updated right to your Facebook account. Now people love taking pictures these days with cameras getting better and better so fast, they become almost obsolete as fast as computers do. But with Facebook Connect, you will be able to snap screenshots right to your Facebook for all your friends to see. As much as I come to use Facebook these days, I'm not sold on the idea that it will draw a new audience from Facebook users, though Felicia Day (creator and star of the online comedy show, "The Guild") is very cute in my opinion, makes me want to friend just to keep up on the developments and news of "The Guild". Most Facebook users are into it seems with updating their status, pictures of family or funny moments, and just chatting and messaging like other social networking sites. Will I use this? More than likely.

Along with Facebook Connect for more networking connectivity, why wouldn't Twitter join gaming consoles as well? I myself have only begun to use Twitter just recently, and as much as I didn't want to like it, I definitely find it useful and entertaining. While my growing appreciation of Twitter increases, meanwhile my gaming doesn't seem like it will ever stop, seeing Twitter on my Xbox Live will definitely bring my connection to friends both old and new, right from my Dashboard. Both Facebook Connect and Twitter come to Xbox Live this fall.

• Metal Gear Solid Rising

Like last year when Square-Enix joined the gaming library of Xbox Live, we were graced with the lovely surprise that Konami will now bring the Metal Gear Solid series to Xbox Live. This is both shocking, and not so shocking at the same time. In the previous console war, Metal Gear was always to be thought to never cross the border between the two systems. But it was eye opening to hear that Konami would release Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - Substance on the original Xbox. It eventually made its way to the PS2 over time, but was still something many thought was not possible with Kojima's faithfulness to Sony. This is not to say Kojima is not have faith in Sony as he clearly expressed in interviews that he felt the PS3 was the quintessential system to truly show the Metal Gear story in the best way. Graphical differences are definitely seen here and there in various cross-platform titles, but I feel one can agree that both systems run neck and neck in the strength of their graphical performance. But as for this teaser in which Hideo Kojima himself came out to announced declaring Raiden being the star of the game, it will be nice to bring this new expanded story of the Metal Gear saga to Xbox 360. As it makes me excited to see this, at the same time, I don't feel I will purchase this on 360 but rather PS3 which was later confirmed after the press conference that it would make its appearance on not just 360, but PS3 and PC. Perhaps I'm just to use to playing it on my PS2 and PS3, but it’s just where I'm more comfortable playing the game. But we'll see.

• Xbox Natal

In the words of Darth Vader, "Most Impressive". When Nintendo came out with their motion sensitive controller upon the birth of the Nintendo Wii, and Sony delivering their Six-Axis controller to their audience, it was probably a matter of time before Microsoft would follow suit to create their own motion recognition device. Well at the close of their conference, they introduce Project Natal. An ingenious device, much like the Wii sensor bar that will rest on the top or base of your television, only with so much more. A camera, a sensor, and a microphone, but it’s not just that. If Skynet is anywhere close to realism, this would probably where it may originate. What's Microsoft headline with this? "You are the controller" is it. How does it work? The Natal is able to scan your body outline and therefore map it to your Xbox Live Avatar from which any time you sign in with your Xbox Live account, the Natal will automatically sign you with just standing in front it as soon as you turn on your Xbox 360. Your avatar itself will map to your body movements and can fully move with every measure of your body movement. As Kudo Tsunoda (Creative Director of Project Natal) demonstrated and said, "If you ever wondered what the bottom of an avatar's shoes looked like? Bam! There you have it." Fully body recognition, what can you say. No controller, navigate your dashboard with hand gestures, start games, and even play more intuitive avatar games. But this is not the end of it. With the use of the microphone, voice recognition is now capable. You will be able call up various parts, if not all, of the different aspects of dashboard by just saying something as simple as the word "Netflix", to initiate the application and others as well.

To go even deeper, I didn't think it was going to as far as they demonstrated. Kudo was great enough to show us a few more the ability of the Natal. First, he debuted the Avatar game, Ricochet, a fabulous reinterpretation of the simple breakout style games. His assistance, with her full body recognized avatar scope allowed her to not just maneuver her arms and legs, but every part of the body. Shaking her hips, squatting up and down, rotating her hands, even moving her head side to side, she was able to swat an onslaught of balls launched at her and return volleys to break the pieces in front of her. This looks not only like a good body workout moving about with virtually unlimited range of body motion, but a lot of fun. Kids will love it. The second item Kudo had demonstrated was Party Paint. A cute, fun family and friend’s party game. Imagine yourself 6 years-old, in front a huge canvas, with endless buckets of paint. Create colors just by asking for it. You want Brown, you got it. You want light blue, no problem. The demo had another of Kudo's associates virtually drenching his hands in virtual buckets of paint and just slapping hands full of paint to a canvas. Whether or not 2 users will be able to use the canvas as one time, remains to be seen, but in the demo, they demonstrated a cool tool called the stencil tool. Two or more users can join together to make shadow like stencil shapes to create cool new shapes or just about anything. Animals, trees, monsters, whatever. Just pose, say the word to freeze the stencil, then return to your canvas and place your newly created stencil. I can see a lot of family fun happening here, but like always, some fool will use it for some inappropriate purpose and probably get some politician get their underwear in bunches, but let's hope we can keep a happy medium on this.

These demos gave us a great insight into what the Natal can do, but also the trailer of the product itself showed game shows where a team of four, faced off against another team of four, and not just recognize which team was hitting their buzzer to answer the trivia question, but the person who rang the buzz, said their name, and responded as if talking to just another person sitting right next to them. More into the trailer we saw a skateboarding game that fully recognizes kick offs, jumps, grabs, kickflips, and grinds, without the use of a peripheral. Even more interesting was making use of the scanning feature allowing the young boy to scan his own skateboard deck imagine to use in the game. Also in the trailer, a driving game where a young girl grasps an invisible steering wheel and fully recognizing her movements to move her hand away from the virtual steering wheel and move the gear shift. Staying with the young girl in a later part of the reel, the girl initiates a video conference with a friend of hers where her friend states she found a great dress for her to try on. The young girl first interested wasn't sure what to think until her friend on the screen loaded up and imagine of the dress which allowed the young girl to map a makeshift imagine of the dress onto her person and displayed right on screen. How many of these trailer features are real? Only time will tell as it’s still too early to tell, but if it does function as it appears in the trailer, this will truly bring a new world of invention to the gaming industry.

The Natal truly amazed all audience members, but Microsoft had one more ace up their sleeve. Creator of the title Fable 2, Peter Molyneux came out to introduce his newest project, Milo. Milo is a fully interactive virtual child. Milo recognizes when you walk in front of the Natal, even calling you by name. He will not just recognize your voice, but the tone of your voice as well. Say something in a sad tone of voice, Milo looks concerned and begins to ask you questions like, "What's wrong?" Milo remembers things you tell him like birthdays of not just yours, but people you talk about. Milo makes use of the scanning feature in the demo, all this not live mind you, by having the user draw a picture in actual physical space, pass it forward to the Natal camera, and Milo will actually behave as if you are handing him a picture and you will see the piece of paper you just handed to him, watch him turn it around and show it to you just as you drew it. As a small but interest highlight on it, the paper wasn't just a stiff board, no. Milo was able to gently bend the picture with his hands and have it behave as it would the same way in your very hand. Whether or not Milo is something that will be available to the masses, it could be just a demonstration of the Natal's power.

With my next point, you may trend noticing a trend of mine point out how people can take a good idea, and turn it in something just horrible. What I mean by this is that with the Natal and Milo in mind, we can only pray that it doesn't fall in the hands of some pervert that would just abuse this awesome display of power to an unmentionable and terrifying nightmare where it would be stripped away from us, the faithful, the honorable, and the most appreciative of users. I just hate seeing things ruin by those few and making experiences like the Natal a horrible and corrupt version of itself. I guess I can kind of define this as a form of cheating, and to clarify my version of cheating, I define it as playing and manipulating games in a version other than intended. I myself have cheated a cheater to defile their cheating and hopefully making the game just as unenjoyable as he or she makes others feel. I've only done that several times and I usually either just find a new game to join, or play another game altogether for the time being. But bottom line, I like enjoying a game for the way it was intended. Why buy a game for $50 or $60, only to cheat it and beat it in the same day you bought it. I'm all about getting the most out of your game. Getting back on topic, Milo looked amazing. I can see Milo being a great educational tool where you could possibly load up applications into Milo where he can assist in tutoring children in school subjects, maybe even college level students with more sophisticated subjects like calculus. Perhaps Milo can link to automated systems with other voice recognition devices, or even act a computer assistant where he would behave like a web browser and call up web pages and he would fetch them for you. These are all good ideas, and I feel you can understand where my analogy of Skynet truly can take shape with the introduction of Milo. Though they made no mention as to when we may be able to get our hands on Natal, but they did say that when released, it will be included with Xbox bundles when finally sold to the general public.

Final Thoughts

Microsoft really came out guns blazing with their promise not to talk about sales figures and just show us all what they are all about, and that being, the games. And as mouth watering it was to see the entire press conference, quite a number of these titles we've already known about. We've seen the teasers to Modern Warfare 2, Halo: ODST, Rock Band: The Beatles, and Final Fantasy XIII, long before E3. As for other games such as Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2 (still very excited to see it), and Tony Hawk Ride, though nothing has never really been seen referring to gameplay, and the rest of the conference, I don't feel the theme of the press conference was about new games, but new inventive gameplay techniques. We saw peripherals with Tony Hawk Ride. Nice new gameplay elements as in Alan Wake. Revitalizations of stories with games such as Splinter Cell: Conviction and Halo: ODST. Microsoft's trump card was definitely Project Natal with all these other titles really just showcasing the Xbox 360 itself.

Was I impression? Oh most definitely. Discussing with a number of friends of mine, Microsoft really didn't bedazzle us with new I.P.'s. Would I have loved to have seen gameplay of the new expansion of Gears of War 2: Dark Corners? Of course I would, but I don't have long to wait until I can get my very hands on in later this month. In my opinion, Microsoft just took their already well established and very refined Xbox Live Experience, and just made it better. This is all speculation as well since don't have clear release times of these Xbox Live features, but they did give us seasons. Some in the late summer, more in the fall, and probably most definitely more in the winter. The games will undoubtablely be there. If you've read this to its completion here, I hope you understand this from my point of view, Microsoft has cemented their foundation in the gaming industry. With more than 15 million Xbox Live users and supposedly more 25,000 users a month creating the largest most focused online gaming community, Microsoft is here to stay.

Much like Sony was rather laughed at when it unveiled its first Playstation, thinking what is an electronics manufacture doing getting into the gaming industry, Microsoft did virtually the same as they too were mocked, not only viewed as a monopolizing tyrant trying to take over another aspect of business, but also with the never-ending puns and jokes of creating a system that will probably just break. Perhaps it was karma that the red ring of death was not only quickly adopted to the original Xbox inheriting its name from the dreaded blue screen of death from regular Windows OS driven computers, but also passed onto the future with the Xbox 360. But for a system to carry so many problems that has even plagued me. I myself am on my 4th Xbox 360. But despite all of these problems, so many like me continue to come back to this system and just can't seem to stay away because not only are the games here, but the experience itself, connecting to friends, silly false sense of accomplishment with thousands of Xbox Live Achievements, intense heart pounding co-operative and brutally competitive games, Microsoft's Press Conference at this year's E3, definitely left me stunned, amazed, and as I said with just the Natal, impressed.

Is the Microsoft Press Conference the press conference to beat? We still have two more to go. So it’s not really fair to say right now. But I will say after Nintendo's rather showing last year, they have a lot to live up to with so many hardcore gamers feeling left out in the cold, I think it will take a lot for them to truly impress and out do Microsoft. As for Sony, I felt that last year’s press conference was shorter than they really wanted it to be with a lot of that rushed feeling. It was probably due to the lockdown that last year's E3 placed on the industry banning flashy presentations, higher booth costs, and even booth babes. We all loved seeing Little Big Planet, God of War 3 teaser, Resistance 2, and more, but Sony has definitely turned many of those felt let down by Sony when the PS3 was first release with the delay of Home and other games such as Killzone 2, developer issues with long installs and such, and so on, Sony I feel has won their audience back and more, and hopefully they continue as I own all systems and just really love games, I sure do hope they are dressed to impress, but Microsoft's Press Conference definitely has us looking very carefully to Nintendo and Sony for a great show.

Thanks for reading, and if you are looking for more E3 details and perhaps even more in-depth knowledge, please visit one of my favorite gaming news sites:

• www.kotaku.com

And for another great community of gamers collectively looking for great deals and trading, please visit:

• www.cheapassgamer.com

Another special thanks to G4TV for broadcasting E3 so I can bring this opinionative article. Please visit them at:

• www.g4tv.com

Thanks again for reading. I'll be back with impressions of both the Nintendo and Sony Press conferences, as well as developer conferences such as EA, Ubisoft, and Activison.