Highlights from E3 2009

E3 is the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, held each spring in Los Angeles, and while it showcases a lot of different things, its biggest reputation is probably the one it has in the gaming world, as each year all the major players in the gaming industry show up at E3 to tout their flashiest upcoming releases and announce new innovations for the coming year.

While digesting the complete list of announcements from this year’s E3 would probably be more efficiently accomplished by visiting the full coverage on an actual gaming news site like GameSpot or the E3 site itself, there are a few geeky highlights that either have me excited or are simply worth mentioning. 

On the tech side of things, Sony unveiled the PSP Go, a sleek, updated version of the handheld PSP (and announced that the groudbreaking gamer darling Final Fantasy VII would finally be coming to the PlayStation Network and would be playable on PSP or PS3).  Motion Control technology seemed to be rather big this year.  With gamers demanding 1:1 movement matching, Nintendo demoed their improved Wii MotionPlus and Sony trotted out their own motion controller for the PS3.  Not to be outdone, Microsoft (with Steven Spielberg!) announced Project Natal, a motion control experience that doesn’t require a controller, but instead relies a camera setup to track players’ real-life motions and mirror them in-game. It really does look very cool (update: looks cool and, according to this first-time reaction from a member of the XBL community team, it works as well as the video says it does).

In addition to motion control, Microsoft revealed further developments in their continuing effort to transform the Xbox 360 from a mere gaming console to a household media center and hub for community connection.  Last year’s big E3 announcement included the addition of Netflix movie streaming; this year, they’ll be adding interface support for social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, as well as bringing Last.fm into the living room, allowing users to create and share customized internet radio stations and music playlists, then stream them throughout their houses via the 360 console.  They’re upping the ante in the movie area, too, with a new party viewing system that allows people in different locations to watch the same movie at the same time on separate consoles, as well as instant-streaming HD movies and television shows from the Zune library.  Also, for those (like my wife) who get really excited whenever a new set of clothing items is released for Xbox Experience avatars, there will soon be a variety of interactive props and premium clothing, as well as “prize items” given to players for in-game achievements.

Then there’s the actual game news.

• Assassin’s Creed II.  Personally, this is the thing I’m most excited about.  While the first Assassin’s Creed had its flaws, the level of detail in the game design (particularly in the environments) was a joy to experience, the gameplay itself was original and quite fun, and the plot — full of religious tension and historical intrigue — was (pardon the pun) well executed, despite the annoyance of Biblical revionism in the game’s climax.  Until Eidos finishes a new Thief game, Assassin’s Creed will be the next best thing for sneaky, semi-historical adventuring.  The gameplay preview shows some of the new elements added to the sequel, as does the official trailer, though in a much more incredibly-rendered fashion.  After stomping around the Crusade-era Holy Land in the original, I can’t wait to explore Renaissance Italy in ACII.  It’s due out this November.
• Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach.  Halo fans got a treat at E3 this year with more details about this fall’s Halo 3: ODST game as well as the official announcement of Halo: Reach, arriving in the fall of 2010.  ODST got its official release date of September 22nd, along with the revelation that those who purchase it will get advanced entry into the the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta.  Add to that several new videos of ODST, including a gameplay demo, a stage demo spotlighting some of the game’s new features, a new trailer, and the announcement of a new multiplayer mode called Firefight, any Halo fans who weren’t excited before have no excuse not to be by now.  Extra geeky fun: the ODST videos showcase the fact that Firefly alums Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and Adam Baldwin have returned again to voice more UNSC soldiers.  As for Halo: Reach, those familiar with the Halo mythos know what’s in store for that game’s story just from the title.  That doesn’t mean that the official trailer wasn’t just a little chilling anyway…
• Mass Effect 2.  The sequel to the original, wildly-popular action RPG from Bioware seems to promise more of what made the first Mass Effect so good: immersive storylines, detailed visuals, in-depth characterization, and tough choices.  While there’s not a whole lot of information out there just yet, there doesn’t need to be; the game isn’t due for almost another year, and the name itself is enough to pique the interest of series fans.  Plus, there’s this new trailer.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Spinning out of the award-winning Knights of the Old Republic RPGs, Bioware is also gearing up for an MMO Star Wars game set several hundred years after the original KOTOR games (and several thousand years before the movies).  While the game itself was announced last year and won’t be released until sometime in 2010, the cinematic debut trailer that premiered at E3 is so beautiful and cool that it deserves a mention on this list of highlights.
• Left 4 Dead 2.  While the announcement of a full sequel (rather than the previously-promised expansions) has some gamers irked, there’s little question that the next installment of Valve’s creepy collaborative zombie shooter will be a big seller.  While the teaser trailer is definitely not for the faint of heart, it does reveal a new cast of characters that will be arriving along with the game this November.
• The Beatles: Rock Band.  The British Invasion begins again as the Fab Four becomes the next band to lend their repertoire to the Rock Band series.  Announced at E3 by Paul and Ringo themselves, the game will be released this September.  Here’s the trailer.
• Final Fantasy XIII.  Lots of coverage for the latest in the juggernaut RPG series, making the most of the PS3′s hardware with plenty of video and a trailer.  Watch for it sometime in 2010.  They also announced that FFXIV will also (somehow) be coming next year, too.
• Mario.  Nintendo announced a slew of new Mario titles, including New Super Mario Bros Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2, with the former slated for the end of 2009, and the latter with a TBA release date.  Also, for the DS, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again.  Can you say “cash cow?”
• Metroid: Other M.  Nintendo also revealed the next Metroid game, coming sometime in 2010.  Other M‘s trailer seems to indicate that this will be a slightly different take on the franchise than previous games, with elements of both first-person shooting and third-person adventuring, plus a plot that’s fleshed-out more by cutscenes and cinematics than just in-game exploratory exposition.

Lastly, in what may for some may be an anticlimactic end to this post, Xbox Live’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb announced that the original N64 shooter Perfect Dark will be released for purchase and download via Xbox Live sometime this winter.  The nearly 10-year old game will be given an updated look with 1080p graphics and support for online play via Xbox Live.  I have fond memories of playing this game with roommates during and after college, so it’s nice to see it get some renewed attention!

That’s all for now, but if any more exciting news develops, we’ll post updates here!