G-pinions

I'm quite psyched. It's a big year, and as fun as last year was, this E3 should be utterly legendary. Tom and I are both attending the Microsoft conference, I will be at Sony's, and Tom will be at Nintendo's. We have appointments with EA, Konami, Namco/Bandai, Activision/id, Red Octane, Bioware, Midway, Bethesda, Atlus, 2K and Sega. As well as some private showings of Microsoft's entire first-party lineup. I've been busting my ass for the last month making sure we get to see anything remotely cool, and I'm looking forward to the payoff. That said, what I am expecting, and what am I anticipating? Something like this...

Sony

I think Sony is going to have a great show. As many ups and downs as the PS3 has had in the media, I think it's unveiling is going to be grand. I'm sure we'll get dozens more Killzone 2 type tech demos and teasers, but I believe the in-game stuff is going to be almost as stunning. It's also important for them to get two other things right - the controller and online functionality. The 360 does both of those things perfectly, and I would much rather pay for a great online service than struggle through an awkward free one. I can't really see how they can improve on Live, so I'm hoping they just ape it in every way and make it free. I can't possibly imagine that they would botch the controller, but after a promised redesign I'm hoping it at least received some deeper functionality than they've led on. Dual Shock 3 would be dandy, but throw some triggers and maybe an LCD or something on there and I'm all yours.

I'm also really excited about their potential games - Naughty Dog has yet to reveal their current project, and that's something that could easily be a killer app for launch. Warhawk will undoubtedly look better than ever, and I have complete faith that Resistance will be pure fun as well. Then there's this Ice Engine that everyone badass at Sony has been collaborating on, so if they should anything that uses it I'm sure it will be a pants-wetting frenzy. I'd say there's a good chance we'll see a teaser of a proper FF7 PS3 remake, and a next-gen God of War (as excited as I am about the second one). I fully expect a PSP redesign, and the PS1 emulator to be top notch. Speaking of which, Jaffe's PSP entry will most certainly be mind-blowing, whatever it is. As you can see, I'm pretty positive about Sony at the moment. It's their race to lose, and with their backs against the wall I think we'll see their best lineup yet. I'm sure there will be plenty of promises and 4D videos that never come to pass, but that doesn't bother me as long as their games continue to be damn fantastic.

Nintendo

A couple of weeks ago I would have said that the Wii will make or break Nintendo, putting them firmly back in the race or relegating them to eventual third party status. After seeing all of the great third party support emerge recently, I'm completely confident that they're back in it. While still the biggest X factor obviously, they have all the momentum and media attention they need to blow the show out of the water. There are certain inevitables, like Shiggs swinging his wiimote on stage to make Link swing his sword, but once they actual happen it will be all the more memorable. While Nintendo seems to have quite a few games lined up for launch themselves, I have a feeling a new Mario will be nowhere to be found. Smash Bros? Check. Warioware? Check. Pikmin? Hopefully check. And as good as Twilight Princess will be, I think the real stars of the show will be their new IPs, fully utilizing the Wii's talents and cementing their game design philosophies in the heads of the mainstream media.

It's interesting to see companies like EA deciding not to do a straight Madden port and instead make an exclusive version for the Wii; if they're thinking creatively, it bodes well for the riskier developers (i.e. everyone else). The DS also seems to have a ton of support going for it around the board, thanks to it's insane worldwide success. Ultimately I don't think it will be a huge show for the system outside of Phantom Hourglass and a new Metroid, but I could be wrong. Though it's not the type of thing I'd get too excited about beforehand, I'm sure I'll find some gems at the show (as last time I basically passed up Phoenix Wright assuming there was no way it could be good).

Microsoft

No surprises here. Amazing Halo 3 teaser, really solid first-party line-up. It's really all they need to keep things going. Actually, I think Bungie will have a new game out this fall, and then Halo 3 for fall 2007. That way Microsoft can spread out their five first party titles in between and take as long as they need. I also think that while Sony and Nintendo will have more 'exciting' titles by and large, 360 will provide the most fun gaming experiences at the show, and probably the most rounded lineup. They don't really need to be doing much at the moment - just make the Live support during E3 fantastic, put a great Halo 3 teaser out there, and maybe hint at a price drop right around when the PS3 hits. And considering so many damn Live Arcade games are in the works, give us a firm calendar or at least a couple of release dates. The camera peripheral could be cool, but more of a social Live tool than any sort of properly supported peripheral I would imagine. I guess Microsoft only gets one paragraph of preview for now since they're utterly predictable and about as mysterious as a doorknob, but again, I think that they will be providing many of the more solid gaming experiences of the show.

Other random things I'm excited about

Army of Two - Tom and I agree that EA are going to make a comeback of sorts this generation, at least in terms of being a respectable company who makes good games. Army of Two is their first new internally developed IP in....well, a damn long time. Putting gamers in "scenarios taken from current day headlines" doesn't exactly rev my engine, but the game is built entirely around the co-op play, with a real buddy or an apparently brilliant AI partner. They haven't said a whole lot else, but it's been in development for a year, and it's co-op. That's all I really need to get excited.

Assassin's Creed - It's the Sands of Time team, making a great-looking apparently stealth game from the ground up. Everything I've read about the project over the past year has been completely tantalizing, and the physical interaction of your character with the world sounds like it will be something truly new and dynamic. Great setting too. Though they should have kept the "Project Assassin" codename - much cooler.

Turok 3 - Turok. Dinosaurs. Unreal Engine 3. Cerebral Bore. I really wish Buena Vista would have gotten back to me about an appointment - looks like we'll be roughing up their booth personnel.

Elebits - Great name, very cool artwork from what's been circulating so far. It's an exclusive Wii game from Konami that sounds a bit like Pikmin where you actually 'touch' the creatures - plenty to get excited about.

MERCENARIES 2: WORLD IN FLAMES - Pandemic has been hinting at this strongly for the last couple of weeks, and confirmed it today. And this is IMMEDIATELY my most-looked forward to game that I know exists. The original was brilliant, concept to execution done to perfection; also probably the most gratifying, weighty engine next to Halo's. And it was a gorgeous game, I can't even imagine how the new one will look.

Phew, this is exhausting and I'm getting myself way too excited. More tomorrow.