This is the story of a boy* – not a young boy, but a man-boy, with a beard, three days’ supply worth of natural energy bars and vitamins, and an itch. Here are some short excerpts from his brain one week later.
* this isn’t really a story, it’s more of a random musing guised as a story
The idea that I should be pissing my pants the whole time: I grew up during the golden age of the NES, and I’ve essentially followed the flow of the industry since the first issue of Nintendo Power. Even with that said, being at the center of the industry didn’t trigger the boyish sense of wonder and amazement that I thought it would – it was more of a heightened sense of curiosity. Instead of gazing with wide-open eyes filled with wonder and awe, I looked upon my surroundings with a wrinkled brow of intense scrutiny. Overwhelming excitement combined with the absence of one’s natural habitat (i.e. office, apartment, mother’s basement) is a surefire avenue to douchebaggery. I hope to return next year with a little more experience under my belt, a quicker mind, and a better overall feel for what I’m doing.
Something that didn’t quite sit right: I was completely underwhelmed by The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. My mind couldn’t escape the thought that this is what Zelda was supposed to be on the Wii to begin with. The emphasis was on the new, intuitive Wii MotionPlus based controls and not much else. We still didn’t have much of a clue about how much, if any, the standard Zelda formula is going to change in Skyward Sword. While relatively impressive, Zelda wasn’t top tier on this go around.
Something that tickled my fancy more than one would expect: Despite the 232,144th use of the subtitle “Uprising”, the return of Kid Icarus is what really got my blood boiling. The brief trailer shows promise in the realms of storytelling, presentation, and gameplay. There looks to be quite a bit of variety in gameplay — flying, aerial combat, ground combat, and probably more. I’d really like to see some sort of character progression system, an array of unique items and weapons, and perhaps even a semi-complex storyline. Everything about it looks invigorating and fresh; and combined with the power of the 3DS, it looks to be exactly what Nintendo needs to turn Kid Icarus into a flagship franchise / teen idol.
Proof that they’re still listening to us: The Marvel vs. Capcom 3 display was essentially a physical embodiment of the will of an entire community. The fans wanted it, and Capcom brought it. Capcom, more than any other publisher, tends to give fans exactly what they want — and they did it big. As seen in my initial impressions, I think MvC3 has lofty expectations (perhaps the biggest of any game shown at E3) to fulfill, but so far, it’s getting it right. The ultimate judgment will of course come from the hardcore fans and the fighting game community, something that I may try to explore more in-depth once the game is released.
An encounter with a totally overwhelmed, sweaty manchild: This guy absolutely could not get a hold of himself at the Nintendo press conference. If he and I were singled out and you had to guess which one was a first time E3-attendee, you would put your children’s entire college fund down on this guy. Dude had a “witty” remark for every single picture that appeared on Nintendo’s presentation screen, complete with a snide remark about every mention of a casual game like Wii Party. Face it, loser, casual gaming is moving the industry whether we like it or not.
What not to do when attempting to act like part of the media: With each mention of a return of a Nintendo core character, the aforementioned character became progressively more sweaty, high pitched, and teen girlish. I even think his beard was growing out loud. I also noted at least three times that he tried and failed to ignite an inappropriately placed round of applause at the mention of something that sparked his nerdcore. It was one of those moments where the awkwardness that should be felt by the perpetrator seems to leak out on to innocent bystanders. Note to future generations: don’t be that guy, ration your enthusiasm, and act like a human at a media event.
What not to do if you’d like to be considered a decent person: A kid told the young lady working at the Metroid: Other M display that he was backtracking in the demo to “get more play time” while 30+ people were waiting in line. To her credit, she was incredibly nice about it. I would’ve ripped his dook.
The best way to really pimp your game: Tell people that “this game will have everything needed and good in it.” Thanks, bro, that’s really going to help me write a descriptive article about your game. That actually happened.
Finding treasure regardless of the accuracy of the treasure map: Lost in Shadow by Hudson Soft was a hidden gem. I literally stumbled on to this one. My apologies go out to the large man with the large foot on which I nearly tripped over. This game didn’t get nearly the amount of buzz that it deserved, though it seems it may be picking up some steam now. I can’t help but kind of wish it was developed for the PS3, but regardless, it still looks great and gives off an artsy fartsy kind of feel to it. Impressions and video are featured on the main E3 page.
What I really didn’t expect: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the 3DS? The trailer/tech demo floored my jaw. There’s going to be something special about this little device, and if it inspires remakes of some of the greatest games ever, then I’m all for it. If Konami remade every single Metal Gear game on the 3DS, you’d bet I’d play it. Maybe we’ll finally get that Metal Gear 1 remake that allows both Snake and Big Boss’s perspectives? Hey, a boy can dream.
The most average game of the show: Mafia II felt like a Playstation 2 game. As a game promoting itself with the use of vintage girly mags, I don’t know why I was so surprised. It’s production value seem reasonable, and it felt like it did a pretty good job of capturing the time period, but I just couldn’t find any reason to like the gameplay. Many of us may complain about the serious influx of games for grandma and Facebook farming, but an attempt at an epic that turns out so dreadfully average is more akin to the devil. With some innovation and work, it might be a solid title, but it’s E3 build left a blank impression.
First person shooters: I should get into these. Nah. Maybe next year.
The human condition: Perhaps the most mind boggling thing I saw all week wasn’t even E3-related. I’m big hoops fan, and it was a thrill to be in the midst of an NBA championship, even if I was just watching it in a hotel room while writing about video games. The postgame Laker celebratory riots were a slight to behold. Mosh pits turned into fire, cars were ground pounded, and people suddenly started acting like they had the T-Virus. To have a firsthand view from the safety of the hotel room was an added treat. I felt like stealing Eric’s camera and going into the middle of the pits and try to get some good pics, Dead Rising style, but I suppressed the urge based on the fact I have no idea how to operate a camera or fight a zombie. Hopefully Steve will have some video for us one day soon.
There’s no moral or cohesion to this story, but as I replay it in my head, it was a good one.
