E3 2005: Kyle's E3 Blog @ Gaming Target

Written by Kyle Williams on May 19, 2005

Blogs: Kyle is spent after blogging E3.

Thursday, May 19, 2005 @ 11:00 PM PT
I'm spent.

Not only have we been experiencing sensory overload at E3 but this morning (at three-friggin'thirty) we went to see Revenge of the Sith and the Sonics just lost a HUGE two-point 6th game in the playoffs to the Spurs. Talk about spending all of your emotions while you were already exhausted. It's cool that they made it a great game but I would personally have preferred it not being close. I just can't handle the suspense.

Oh, well. At least our Seattle Storm are getting ready to defend their championship.

Going back to Revenge of the Sith, the movie was absolutely great. It felt a lot more fluid, from start to finish, than the other two Star Wars prequels and is the first of the Star Wars films that elicited an emotional response from me. No, I didn't cry. I felt betrayed by the Clone Troopers. You'll know why when you see the film. And this movie, you will see.

Back to the topic. (Remember that we are technically here to talk about E3?) The show itself got off to a unique start with a power outage cutting down the lights in the main lobby. There was no real effect to the main exhibits, but it was amusing to speculate that the whole show would be dark.

As far as the show goes, it has been ridiculously crowded. People, people everywhereЕ Lots of people, lots of games, and lots of half nekkid women trying to get your attention drawn to their games. It is interesting to see the way that some of these guys react to the models. I'd assume that their girlfriends would slap most of them if the girlfriend knew that they were ogling the booth babes. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit in assuming they have girlfriends. Either way, the gals are another way that E3 is a spectacle.

I'm going to admit something about the next generation of videogames; What I've seen so far isn't impressing me that much. Now, let me explain before you try to stone me. The games are gorgeous. I spent a good 15-20 minutes with Sega's Condemned (coming this fall for the Xbox 360) and I have never played a console game that looks so good. The character models and animations are amazing. The amount of УstuffФ (litter & debris) floating around the alleyways is impressive and the melee combat is utterly visceral. The game plays well, too. So what is my complaint? It doesn't feel like the leap forward that I was expectingЕmaybe even hopingЕfor. Does it mean I won't get an Xbox 360? No. That will be a function of available funds. I'm just sayingЕ

As far as games to keep an eye on? I recommend the following list of titles you may have missed:
- Odama; Nintendo for GC
- The Movies; Activision for PC
- Civ IV; 2K Games for PC
- Sniper Elite; Namco for Xbox & PS2

I'll check in with you one more time before I head back to work on Monday.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 @ 9:36 PM PT
For the record, Matt is making me write this blog. If you don't care about this stuff, or take offence to any of it, piss off. It isn't my fault it is even published.

I have to admit that this year's E3 adventure didn't start out on the right foot. First, I had to go into work (my other job) on Sunday because no other technicians were available. Second, I woke up at about 5:10am for a flight that was scheduled to board at 5:40am. Finally, after I busted my butt to make the flight and got into line just before the second-to-last person boarded the plane, my flight was delayed for two and a half hours due to a Уco-pilot chair malfunction.Ф I mean seriously, the friggin' rail that makes the seat move back and forth wore out?

Anyway, after touching down in Los Angeles at 11:30am I realized that I was not going to make the Square-Enix press conference. Add that to an overbooked Sony press event and the only real good things about Monday were that I wasn't in the office and Glenn & I picked up a couple of midday beers at a little sports bar (the Backstage if you must know) behind the Sony Pictures lot.

Unfortunately, Tuesday got off to about the same start with a minor luggage snafu; My hair gel exploded somewhere in transit. This wasn't a major emergency but, bizarrely, every pair of my boxers had a huge dollop of product right in the crotch.

So, after a little early morning laundry we actually set out and did some actual reporting. The four of us (Chris, Glenn, Matt & I) took a brisk walk down to the Metro Rail Station and caught the red-line train up to the Hollywood and Highland complex where Nintendo was holding their press conference. In general, the press conference was good but way overcrowded and the line, noЕherdЕ, to get in and out could stand for some more organization. On the upside, lunch at Burger King yielded two free УBrkfstФ Sandwiches or Original Whoppersо from their Choose your Destiny scratch and win game. The force must be with me.

E3 registration was relatively painless this afternoon and the hall outside the exhibit doors is coming together well. Sony is pushing a new slogan, Welcome Change, with tons of huge, yet simple, banners all over the convention center, UGO has a monster setup just up the lobby steps, and Midway's Unreal Tournament 2007 banner is impossible to miss. Looking at that last title, I think that I need to get Midway a calendar for Christmas. C'mon, 2007 is still 18 MONTHS AWAY! I suppose that the title will make more sense if the game actually comes out in 2007 but I always get soooooo confused with the model year not actually matching the calendar year.

Also, I grabbed a few pictures of the new Batman Begins Batmobile, which EA has onsite to promote their videogame of the same name. More like a tank than a sports car, I am interested to see how it performs in the movie. Some of the stuff that people tote in for this show is just too darn cool for anyone's good.

Well, with that you will hear from me tomorrow with random thoughts from the show floor.