6/10/2007

The Top Ten things I want to see at E3

Unfortunately, I was very burnt out from work during my last post and mistakenly thought E3 was starting this Monday, when in fact it starts one month from this Monday. But that's no reason to divert from my original plans (plus I cna't think of anything else to write about anyways):

E3 lives! While the ridiculous spectacle is gone, E3 is still a big deal, just in a much more business-like manner. Most of the major players from the industry are showing up and big things are expected from all 3. This probably won't have the huge surprises of last year since all the new consoles are out, but there will hopefully be plenty of stuff to get excited about, and here's the things I would most like to see, in no particular order:

1. MS announces retro points-This is easily the least likely thing (and actually it may not even be something that's possible), but it'd be pretty cool. Basically they would make free patches for backwards compatible Xbox titles that would give them achievement points. Not as much as 360 games of course, but maybe around 250 like most current Arcade titles have.

2. Nintendo is simplifying the friend code system-Again, probably not that reasonable an expectation, but seriously, Nintendo has screwed the pooch big time on their online, and it hasn't even started up yet. There is no reason whatsoever I should have to get some long ass code for every single online-enabled game I purchase for friends I already have registered. What makes this whole setup even more insane is that yes, you can still play random people, which this is supposed to prevent. And there's no webcam or voice chat as of yet, so even if your kid is playing with some creepy child molester, what exactly are they gonna do? There's no logic behind this system, no amount of great games (like Mario Strikers & Smash Bros.) will make people overlook this fact, and will probably make people forgo certain lower-profile titles because it's just not worth entering all new friend codes for the 20th or so time.

3. Mario Kart for Wii-Of course the one title that will make me say it's all worthwhile is a Wii version of the best racing series in history. Mario Kart for DS is still probably my favorite game for the system, and I still play Duble Dash & 64 on a regular basis. If they announced it and it was coming out this year with online play, it would pretty much be the best year for Nintendo fans ever when you add in the other 3 big Nintendo titles. I'd put this in the realm of probably showing up, but most likely slated for a '08 release.

4. Super Smash Bros. Dojo in near-finished form-Save a few characters for a surprise when the game gets close to actual release, but if Hideo Kojima claimed a few weeks ago that they could release it then and sell a million copies, it better damn well be near finished by the time E3 rolls around. I want to see a bunch of new videos, a decent amount of the roster and hopefully a certain blue speedster that everyone wants in the game.

5. "Home" in all it's "glory"-Sure, when we first saw video of Sony's "home" system it seemed pretty cool. But it wasn't till after the GDC that we started asking questions about how it would all work. And Sony has remained suspiciously silent. This could be the greatest gamer community tool to date, but signs point more to it being an over-glorified flashy pain that requires lots of "walking" and with more flashing lights & ads than Vegas & Times Square combined. Odds are it'll be somewhere in-between the two, but if Sony remains mostly mum on any real specifics at this year's show, be worried.

6. KOTOR III-I don't care what this is on. If it's an exclusive to something I don't have, I will buy that system. If it's going to be a PC exclusive, I will upgrade, but ye gods, Bioware GIVE US SOMETHING ON THIS GAME!

7. A new Wii Remote-function. It's more or less been heavily rumored that the Wii remote has at least one more secret, reportedly something to do with the fact that even though no games have been programmed for it yet, it can pick up sound, which could lead to some very interesting gameplay functions. The Wii remote having an as of yet unrevealed function is almost a lock, but odds are it won't be something too groundbreaking, so don't get your hopes up too high.

8. Better "casual" games-Whether it's Wii (ok, it's only Wii but given the success they are bound to at least try some casual games on the other consoles) or some other console, these "simple and fun" titles meant for the more mainstream crowd are all way too similar. Do we really need a bunch of party mini-games? Casual games are fine, but come up with some new freaking ideas for them. If I never have a reason to get anything in this genre besides Rayman & Wario Ware, I'm not going too, and most people will have that same reasoning.

9. A re-commitment for Xbox live Arcade-Live arcade is a joke, plain & simple. The most popular titles are card games, the original titles stink, and most of the revamped classics are horribly butchered. Arcade should be one of the top reasons to get the 360, instead, it's obviously treated as an afterthought. Ok, so the original titles stink, but how in the hell do you fuck up Double Dragon? I mean, seriously, if they fuck up Bomberman, I'm pretty much done with that part of the 360.

10. Killzone 2-I think people will be shocked if this shows up before Duke Nukem Forever considering we haven't heard anything since that eye-popping but suspicious video over two years ago. Sony has claimed it's in the works, but we've really heard nothing more. Considering this is what got many people excited about the PS3, this may be Sony's last real chance to make some sort of impact. If there's not even a mention of it here, consider it and most of Sony's hopes done for.


Free game of the week: Skies of War

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