Before heading down to E3, I have compiled a list of games that I am looking forward to seeing at the show, just to make sure that I don’t miss anything in all the activity on the show floor. I compiled my list somewhat haphazardly, so it is not complete. For your own edification, here is a partial list of what I am hoping to see, somewhat in order of priority:
Nintendo DS: You may not have heard the controversy over Nintendo’s upcoming portable. The DS stands for Dual Screen. The confusing part is that it’s not a successor to the Game Boy Advance, according to Nintendo. There are also questions about the battery life with two screens, not to mention whether there is a place in the videogame market for a competing portable from the same company. Which one will developers choose? All I know is that if it’s from Nintendo, it should be slick. Of course, there is always the Virtual Boy….
Sony PSP: And Sony’s foray into the portable market is the PSP, which is supposed to have equivalent or better graphics than the PS2, which is reasonable given the smaller screen resolution of a handheld device. It may nab the more high-end gamer market. Hopefully the device looks good as well. It is supposed to have an analog joystick, but I have no idea how that will work on a portable.
Halo 2: The successor to Halo. Multiplayer online matches. Immersive gameplay.
From Sony: Rise of the Kasai (the sequel to The Mark of Kri; I just saw a preview of this, and it looks incredible! The highlight is online collaborative multiplayer, when two different people can play through the game together online), Killzone (Sony’s supposed Halo-killer), God of War (from the Twisted Metal Black team), Dark Cloud 3, Phantom Brave (from the people who made Disgaea), NICO (the sequel to Ico), Ratchet & Clank 3 (sensing a trend here?), Sly Cooper 2
From EA: TimeSplitters Future Perfect (a first-person shooter where you can play alongside future and past versions of your character), Lord of the Rings Third Age (a huge RPG), Def Jam Fight for N.Y. (sequel to Def Jam Vendetta)
Sega: EyeToy versions of Sonic, Virtua Fighter, and Samba de Amigo
Ubisoft: Prince of Persia 2 (the first one was Game of the Year according to almost everyone), Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (hopefully the PS2 version is as good as the Xbox version)
Activision: Second Sight (a new game from the original TimeSplitters team), Spider-Man 2 (I played this one last year; unlike the previous game, it actually feels like you are in the movie. Webs shoot out and stick to buildings, and you swing with realistic physics, as opposed to the previous game where webs just shot vaguely up into the air. I played it for probably twenty minutes last year, and all I did was swing on webs. It’s that much fun)
Rockstar: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (I shouldn’t need to say anything else about this one.)
Square Enix: Kingdom Hearts II (the sequel to the RPG where you enter numerous Disney worlds and interact with characters like Jack Skellington and Winnie the Pooh)
Konami: Metal Gear Solid 3
Capcom: Monster Hunter
SNK: Metal Slug 3
Buena Vista Interactive: TRON 2.0: Killer App
Bioware: Jade Empire
Blizzard: World of Warcraft (MMORPG (Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) for Mac and PC. It’s supposed to be excellent, according to Penny Arcade.)
So that’s it for now! I hope to have reports about all these games, and maybe some surprises, in just a few days! Please try to contain your anticipation until then.
