For many months, the 1998 E3 show was hyped and advertised. After many long months of waiting, the show finally arrived. Over 35 football fields of floor space were densely covered with game companies new titles, new hardware, and key employees. The show floor itself was open for a total of 24 hours, over 3 days. With so many games to see and people to talk to, you need every minute of that time. Time management is by far the most important ingredient when attending the show. This year there was not a lot of new hardware, or new game genres to be discovered, but the perfection of existing genres and 3D gaming at its finest was able to be seen about everywhere. There was a more frantic atmosphere at the 1998 E3. Just about every company had quality titles to show, and was willing to do whatever it took to get you in their booth to see it. 3Dfx expanded on their surprise attack last year, by having a complete monopoly on all 3D accelerated games this year. There were so many impressive things to cover that I will have to break down the titles by developer.

Listed below are the Technodynamics "Top Picks" of the show (in no particular order). Over 45 games have been previewed in the company standout section. Simply select the game companies name on the list, and read what standout games they had to offer at the 1998 E3 show. Sit back, and enjoy the future of gaming.

Top Picks

	Westwood and Blizzard have been the two of the top companies in fierce competition to bring gamers the best real time strategy games. With the semi-recent release of StarCraft, one would wonder what could be better. Adam Isgreen, lead designer of Red Alert and designer of "Tiberian Sun" (Command and Conquer 2) shares some time with Technodynamics at E3 to explain why "Tiberian Sun" will retake the lead as the best real time strategy game. For starters, Tiberian Sun will feature a fully 3D terrain. Units take longer to go uphill, and move faster as they descend. The terrain itself is deformable; meaning explosions can actually change the shape of the terrain. In some missions, ice will form on lakes, and units can cross them. If too many units cross, cracks will form. If you leave the ice alone, it will heal, if you continue to cross, units may break through. There are many new features that have been explained in detail. Look for an updated preview on this game in the near future.
	Microprose acquired the rights to FASA's Battletech Universe away from Activision. Activision did such a fantastic job with Mech Warrior 2 and its add-ons that many were skeptical as to whether Microprose could out do Activision in creating a new game. After what seems to be an eternity, a running version of "Mech Warrior 3" was finally seen. Michael Mancuso, senior producer at Microprose, was at E3 to demo the visually breathtaking game. The game was running in a direct 3D mode, and looked awesome. New features were invented for this game, like the ability to look through your mech and sight targets while in 3rd person camera angles. Missiles left craters in the landscape, and machine gun fire was highly detailed as it ripped through enemy mechs. The game was only 2/5 complete at E3, but it appeared as if the games 3D engine was complete. Be sure to look in the Technodynamic preview area in the future for further updates to this game.
	Bungie created a niche in the gaming market for themselves by creating a Technodynamic favorite, "Myth The Fallen Lords." Wasting no time, Bungie was back in full force promoting their new product "Myth 2 Soulblighter." The new game features twice as many animation frames for the characters, new control features like the ability to rotate units in a pinwheel like manner (creating new defense tactics). Many new units, indoor battles, moving 3D landscapes - like drawbridges and wind mills, flaming arrows, and animal life have all been added the game. The inclusion of Creative Labs "Environmental Audio" API was added as well, adding a more realistic ambiance to the game. Original Myth was great, but Myth 2 is shaping up to be much better (scary, isn't it). This game will be available for the 1998 Christmas season.
	Upon first glance, one may be fooled into thinking that "Colony Wars: Vengeance" was a 3D accelerated PC game. Actually, it is perhaps the most visually impressive Playstation game to date. The original Colony Wars had awesome graphics as well, but its sequel has seemed to take it even further. Frame rate is high, and the weapon effects are lifelike. The playable demo had you defending a fleet of battle ships, and fans of the original will be familiar with the combat system, which requires you to first take down the enemy shields before damaging the hull of the enemy vessel. Technodynamics believes that beautiful graphics is secondary to only one thing... gameplay. And so far, "Colony Wars: Vengeance" seems to have both. Keep your eyes peeled this November for a final review and retail release of this game.
	Shown behind closed doors for the first time to gaming media, was game screens and a cinema of Final Fantasy 8 (FF8) which would capture any Role-Playing fan. Like other Final Fantasy games, the plot and characters are completely original. Tomoyuki Takechi, President of Square Co., Ltd. was there to answer questions about FF8. FF8 will feature characters of accurate proportion (like Resident Evil), rather than the cartoony look of FF7. When moving about the landscape of the FF8 world, all members of your party can be seen (instead of just the lead character). The game is very early in development at this point, but is on track for a 4th quarter release in Japan, and a winter 1999 release in North America. Hardcore fans can look forward to a playable demo in Squaresoft's "Brave Fencer", which is slated for release in November 1998.
	Where has Sierra been lately? They seemed to release fewer and fewer titles, but their 1998 E3 showing was simply jaw dropping! They had so many new titles to show, that you'd think that they where on creative steroids! Topping their list of new games was "StarSiege", and a related product called "Tribes." A new 3D graphics engine was developed and implemented by both of these games. Playable networked demos where shown at E3, and these games are not "me-too" types of games. StarSeige is a mech Warrior style game that has realistic terrain that is smooth and seamless. The same terrain, shown in a Quake style game in "Tribes" showed its true beauty when showing the battlefields depth. Some weapons took time to get to their target, and watching missiles streak their way to far away targets must be seen to be appreciated. "Tribes" is no ordinary shooter either. Finally a 1st person shooter game that has an added strategy element. Players can join teams in multi player games, and must defend refueling stations in their base. 1998 Christmas season should prove to be a successful one for Sierra.
	Konami has spent a lot of time preparing "Metal Gear Solid." Sony is so sure that it is going to be a best seller, that it has agreed to share part of the marketing costs to help promote the Playstation game console. "Metal Gear Solid" is the sequel to the Nintendo 8-bit classic Metal Gear and Snakes Revenge. Imagine a cross between a James Bond movie and a military special forces game, and you get "Metal Gear Solid." The game features totally 3D environments, and ultra realistic graphics that have a dark and mysterious mood. The "Metal Gear Solid" is an action/ adventure game that promises gamers an emmersive story that involves espionage, friendship, betrayal, and even some romance. Where most games focus on massive explosions and intense combat, "Metal Gear Solid" emphasizes the use of stealth with your character as you get to use over 30 different weapons to achieve victory. Look for this game during the 1998 Christmas season, and be sure to pre-buy this soon to be "best seller."
	After countless years of the release of the popular "Zelda, A Link to the Past", Nintendo is finally almost ready to release the next game in the series, "The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time" (Zelda: OT). Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the most respected game designers in the industry has been at the helm during the entire journey of development of "Zelda: OT." Using over 256-megabits of memory, "Zelda: OT" is the largest game ever created for any Nintendo system. Excellent use of color and beautiful level design make the "Zelda: OT" universe simply breathtaking. The game control is similar to "Mario 64", but many new features have been added to aid you in your quest. One of them is a "lock on target" feature that allows you to maneuver in the 3D world without loosing sight of your enemy. This game should be the one game this winter that is a no-brainer purchase. Previous Zelda fans can and new gamers alike should be in gaming heaven as this 3D adventure will prove to be Miyamoto's best game to date.
	In early 1998, Blizzard released "Diablo", which was accepted with open arms by gamers around the world. It offered unique gameplay, co-op multi player gaming, tons of weapons, armor, and enemies to fight. It is hard to pinpoint the exact recipe that made "Diablo" so popular, but it is a fact that it kept the editor of Technodynamics up until the wee hours of the morning, loosing valuable sleep. "Diablo 2" gives players more of what was great about "Diablo 1" and adds new character classes and adds more areas to explore (outdoors, indoors, and dungeons). The ability to run, and wear new armor (boots, and possibly leg armor), and move in a true 360 degree radius give players better control and deeper gameplay. 4 new towns and the ability to play as monsters in multi player games are just some of the new features that are being added to "Diablo 2." Although there is still a lot of work to do, "Diablo 2" is shaping up to be a fine sequel.
	Most expansion packs for games offer addition levels and perhaps more maps for single and multi player games. The StarCraft expansion pack, "Brood Wars" is 50% complete, and is looking to be almost a sequel in terms of its depth and quality. 7 new units have been added to the game, giving it a new feel and new strategies. To be fair, Battle.Net (Blizzard's free online multi player system) will be offering 2 area's to gamers. One area will be for those with the expansion and will offer games with the newly added units, and the original areas will be left for gamers without the expansion pack. In addition, the single player games will continue where it left off in original "StarCraft", and many new and visually stunning cinemas have been added to enhance the story line. Over 100 multiplayer and ladder maps will also be added to give gamers an extremely large library of maps to play from. If you enjoyed StarCraft at all, you will not be disappointed with the many features that "Brood Wars" has to offer. Look in the preview section in the near future for a preview on this game.
	The "Need for Speed" series has been a fairly popular product for Electronic Arts since its advent on the 3DO game system. Now days, 3D accelerated driving simulators can be found in abundance on the PC. "Need for Speed 3" (NFS 3) really does stand out when compared to its competition. "NFS 3" is the most realistic looking driving game to date. Terrain looks photo realistic and the weather effects just add more realism to a visual perfect game. Computer AI police cars have been added with several different modes of aggression. Night driving with headlights (low and high beam), over 40 different vehicles to chose from, plus additional downloadable cars from EA's website, and 8 real world driving courses grace this games feature list. This is the best looking driving game to be shown at E3, and will be available mid-summer 1998.
	A blend of Quake 2 and Tomb Raider, "Heretic 2" looks to be the next big thing for Activision. "Heretic 2" is powered by a modified Quake 2 engine, and is graphically amazing. You control your character from a 3rd person perspective and maneuver through out the rich 3D world like most other 3D games... but, now you will be adventuring across rooftops, through dungeons, swamps, towns, and canyons. The animation of the main character has been taken to a new level as well. When you stand on a step, one leg stands straight on the lower step, and the leading leg bends to conform to the higher level of the step. Effects like these make "Heretic 2" more convincing to real life. More than just shooting, you will have to master skills like swimming, climbing, and acrobatics to win this game. Look for this title during 4th quarter 1998.