E3 Absolutely Rocked! Back to Reality

[Eco-Logic]

What an awesome time I had at E3.  I can't even believe how cool it was.  And LA was awesome as well!

I went to the convention on Wed - Fri, for the entire time it was open.  CG did a great job with their converage so I won't go into every little detail other than to share with you my personal top five favorites (games) of the show.

First of all my favorite booth was the Microsoft booth, hands down.  Fable, Doom 3, Mech Assault 2, Conkers, Ghost Recon 2, Men of Valor, and so much more all in one area.  2 of my top Five games of the show were in there as well, ESPN Football 2K5 and Burnout 3.

Onto the rest of my list:

(1)  The most amazing game I saw at the show was hands down Brother in Arms.  http://www.brothersinarmsgame.com/d-0.asp

I sat through the 15 minute presentation and I must say my jaw was on the floor the entire time.  It was flat out awesome and is now honestly my most anticipated game, PERIOD.  I could go on but I better get onto #2

(2)  ESPN Football 2K5.  It would have normally been number 1 but BIA is that special.  ESPN Football is my favorite football game of all time and I am convinced the changes made were for the better.  Everything about the game looks better.  The graphics were incredible, the gameplay changes (running game etc.) were awesome.  The presentation is even better this year.  You have to see it to believe it.  I actually played 6 entire games during my 3 days at the convention (3 minute quarters).

(3)  Burnout 3.  An EA game in my top 5?  A racing game in my top 5 (not typically into racing)?  I loved Burnout 2, mainly for the crash mode.  Burnout 3 combines it all into one of the most exciting, intense racing experiences I have ever had.  The AI of the other drivers is great.  You're rewarded for taking them out and shown a slow motion view of the accident seamlessly in the middle of the race.  It took me a race to get used to the sudden stop in the action but after a while I was completely enthralled into the game.  The fact that it is going to be on Live tops it off.  I can't imagine how much fun it will be playing with 15 other people on Live!

(4)  STALKER:  I sat through a 15 minute presentation of it as well and was completely impressed.  I also played it for about 10 minutes and am ready to updgrade my computer so I can play it on max settings and will probably go ahead and prebuy it this week.

(5) Resident Evil 4.  A Gamecube game, and I don't even own one (till RE4 comes out at least).  I always liked RE, but thought the control was cumbersome and never cared to play any of the games past the first one.  RE4 seems to have done away with the awkward control scheme.  i only played it for about 5 minutes, before I was killed with a rusty pitchfork (control was on invert and I can't handle that).  5 completely enjoyable, amazing minutes though.  Just watch a video of it and keep in mind that it controls way better than the other games and you''ll have an idea what to expect.



Conkers,  Ghost Recon 2, Men of Valor, Starcraft Ghost, Thief 2, X-Men Legands and so much more.  I was in a freaking dream world.  

Anyway for those of you who went I hope you had as great a time as my friends and I did.  Feel free to ask any question on the games mentioned.  

ESPN Football 2K5

[Devil]

Glad you had fun - Thanks for all the info!!!

[Lockdown]

Eco -

Thanks for the post.  The positive impressions of NFL 2K5 are very very very welcome, indeed !!!!

Btw - I am claiming the Dolphins for our pseudo-league!  I thought I should claim them early as I can see the flocks and flocks of people rushing to them now that A.J. Feely is the starting QB.  (please insert as much sarcasm as is humanly possible into that last sentence to even get a glimpse of how I feel about this upcoming season).

Brothers in Arms huh?  Sounds Great!

LD

[Knightshade Dragon]

I'll have to Echo...er...Eco on the Brothers in Arms thing.  That presentation was fantastic.  In my mind it was a great E3 with a whole slew of great titles both this year and early next.

[whiteboyskim]

So what was the word on The Phantom? Out of sheer morbid curiosity, that's what I'm curious about.

[Eco-Logic]

Well, The Phantom booth was setup pretty nice.  They gave away T-Shirts as  well that say "I believe or It's real or something like that on the back.  Think 4 or 5 living room style setups with a Phantom hooked up to a plasma TV in each room (not actual rooms just setup that way).  I'm sure you've seen the pictures of the Phantom by now, if not let me know though.  It's pretty slick looking in my opinion.  The Keyboard/mouse setup is nice as well.  I can't believe it isn't wireless though.  If Logitech or some other company came out with a wireless product similar to the kb/mouse setup for the Phantom I would buy one in a second.  Perfect for browsing or playing games from your couch.  The VC inside the Phantom is a Geforce 5600, don't quote me on the 5600, that is what a Phantom worker told my friend  when he was interviewing her though.  It's definitely nVidia though, we confirmed that at both Ininiti labs booth and nVidias booth.  I watched someone play UT2K4 on it and it ran beautifully.  

At $29.99 / month, I just don't see it succeeding though.  Even though they're giving the hardware away, I don't see people interested in computer games going with the phantom.  Most people who play computer games would already have a computer so why dish out $29.99 per month.  Overall, I was impressed with the design though, and the employees were nice and willing to answer any questions.  I actually hope it succeeds.  Time will tell.