Eyes-on at E3 2008
Games that made me cry, stuff that opened my third eye, and a few that got away.
7/25/2008 10:38 PM | 3 Comments | Page 2 of 2
The Ones That Got Away
I'm kicking myself for not taking a moment to go hands-on with
PixelJunk Eden. I absolutely adored
PixelJunk Monsters, the tower defense-style strategy game that Q-Games launched for the PlayStation 3 earlier this year. I'm still not terribly clear how this quirky, verdant download works, but at this point my trust in Dylan Cuthbert is nearly implicit.
I may have scored a ticket to see The Who at Harmonix's awesome
Rock Band 2 party, but I didn't have the juice to make the list for the exclusive, celebrity-studded
Gears of War 2 party. I regret missing out for two reasons. Lucky attendees were able to try out the game's new Horde multiplayer mode. More importantly, John DiMaggio, the voice actor who portrays Gears of War protagonist Marcus Fenix and Bender from "Futurama," was at the soirée. I would pay real money to hear him tell me to "bite his shiny metal ass."
My appointment schedule took me nowhere near Sega's booth, so I missed getting a glimpse of
Mad World -- the game I predict will be 2009's
No More Heroes. The Wii certainly needs more off-beat, hardcore-skewing games like this one. Because cel-shaded blood and gore is really the only thing that will wash the bad taste of
Wii Music out of this gamer's mouth.
Clear Vision
If you read any amount of E3 coverage you've probably heard the gaming press complain about the new, smaller convention. Yes, E3 is a little more dull. It wasn't half as crowded as it's ever been. And honest-to-god spectacle was hard to come by. I don't really miss the shellshock one used to feel after attending the show. The deafening show floor and the eye-popping video displays weren't conducive to rational thought. So if there's anything positive to say about this year's smaller, low-key E3 it's this -- I didn't just glance at games. When I chose to, I had the opportunity to really take a long, hard look at most stuff on display. However E3 changes in the coming years, I hope this detail survives.
