Electronic Entertainment Expo
2001 E3 Coverage and Reviews
Well, there is goes. Another E3 has come and gone. The 2001 Expo is ISDA's 7th overall show, and my 5th straight show. For most show attendees, this year was something special, as it was the first US view of the Microsoft X-Box and the Nintendo Gamecube. New console systems are always exciting to see, because often times we get to see new games for the first time, and nothing is more fun than a good surprise (which seems to be rare in this industry).
With all the potential at this year's show, I was primed and pumped to enter the starting gate on the first day. Minutes after the gates opened, I was working my way straight to the Nintendo booth. The kid in me was hoping to see something great with their next generation of hardware. Upon entering the Nintendo booth, I quickly realized that a lot of others had the same exact idea. The Nintendo booth was the busiest I have ever seen a booth at E3. I was barely able to move around their area, and actually playing a game was near impossible because of the lines.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Nintendo hardware was not exactly jaw dropping. It wasn't bad, but from what I saw, there was no advantage to having this system over the nearly 1 year old PS2 system. Many of the games had that classic Nintendo flavor. Star Fox Adventures for example looked like the N64 Zelda game, with a little more resolution, no more blur, and more colorful textures. Clearly the same design teams made the game though, as the character animations and camera movements looked like a cookie cut of a N64 game. A colleague of mine referred to some of the games as "N65" like, which oddly enough was a fair way to describe some of them. Luigi's Mansion was my personal favorite game Nintendo had to offer. Better graphics than the other games (IMO), but gameplay seemed to get repetitive after a short while. Essentially, it was a 3D Dig dug game, where you catch ghosts with a Ghostbusters machine. with only five or so playable titles at the Nintendo booth, I was left a little disappointed.
Microsoft had a good showing with their new X-Box. They had about a dozen or so Microsoft developed titles, including the long awaited Halo, first developed by a small yet elite company called Bungie. Bungie has now been absorbed by Microsoft so that they would be able to release Halo as an X-Box exclusive... smart move. Unfortunately this means no PC version in the near future, so my dreams of cyber warfare Halo style with 60 or so online comrades will not happen. Instead a toned down 4 player max (Split screen with 2 X-Box's connected) will have to do. This game also would look better on a 1280 X 1024 PC screen, but I'll have to do with standard TVs for just a few more years until HDTV becomes our new standard. I admit it, I am ultra hardcore when it comes to games and technology. I want the best, and I expect the best, so anything less often gets me a little grumpy. Don't get me wrong, for a console, Halo is awesome, and will be a must buy. Overall, X-Box was the clear winner of the new consoles of the show. I should also mention that the X-Box controller is great, and fits the average adults hand perfectly, it was not designed for pre-teen Japanese kids!
Sony and their PS2 had a very solid showing, with several gorgeous titles and a host of other very solid games. You kind of got what you were expecting at the show with a lot of games, sequels to previously hot games, new hardware offers neat lighting effects, and the games are a little higher resolution. Sony is here to stay with PS2, whether Microsoft or Nintendo can pass their lead remains to be seen, but competition is really tight, so this can only benefit the guy at the top of the food chain, the customer.
PC games left a lot to be desired. There were a handful of hot titles, but overall things looked a bit slimmer this year. Basically there was just not that many titles to go and find compared to previous years. Castle Wolfenstein sticks out in my mind as one of the (if not the) best PC game of the show. Interplay had a another good showing this year with Neverwinter Nights, Blizzard had WarCraft 3, which still looked good, but I was wondering what was developed over the last year. Microsoft's Freelancer was gorgeous also, filling the void for space combat on the PC. Westwood's Renegade is finally looking top notch, capturing that classic command and conquer flavor. Other than a few titles, the PC is looking to have a mild drought this fall.
That's about it. There was a lot of solid titles, but very few jaw dropping surprises, which is what I was expecting, considering two new consoles are coming out this fall and that 3D technology on the PC is where it is. I am pretty sure the X-Box will be the console to get this fall, and if you have a nice zippy computer system, games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein will knock your socks off.
