2004 E3 shows promise on all home-console fronts

By: Tom Bennett

Posted: 5/21/04

Every May, the gaming industry releases a fury of items for gamers to drool over at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly referred to as E3. The event, which is only open to members of the gaming industry, officially started May 11 with company conferences, and the expo itself was May 12-15. Four years ago, the current wave of consoles - Sony's Playstation 2, Nintendo's Gamecube and Microsoft's Xbox - appeared and took over the home gaming scene. That was four years ago, however, and the game scene usually would be slowing down as the public awaits the next wave of consoles, which should be available next year. That was not entirely the case, however, as some of the most beautiful sequels to ever grace E3 were on display last week.

Nintendo

Moments before the end of their conference, Nintendo announced they had one more game to show. This game promptly called all of those eager members of the press back to their seats, as some familiar music hit the speakers. The announced sequel to the acclaimed Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker was shown to the public, and the old cartoonist feel of the Zelda series is gone. As Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Zelda games, stated, Link has grown up and is similar to the demo shown at Space World 2000. The video shown at the conference showcased Link attacking enemies with his sword while both Link and his enemies were on horseback. The next chapter in the Legend of Zelda is set to come out next year on the Gamecube.

Nintendo also had on display the curious Nintendo DS, set to be released this fall. The new handheld, which seems to have an initial price of around $200, will feature dual screens, built-in wireless, voice recognition, backwards compatibility with Game Boy games, a rechargeable battery and a slightly better processor than the Nintendo 64. One of the two screens will also be touch sensitive, much like a PDA, of which it much have some functions. Wow, Nintendo, wow.

Meanwhile, Nintendo announced that Majesco will be making off-the-shelf video cartridges for the Game Boy Advance.

Sony

Sony finally displayed its upcoming portable, the Playstation Portable, also know as the PSP, to the public at E3. The device will feature graphics quality similar to the PS2 along with 802.11b wireless, USB 2.0, Sony Memory Stick input and a 4.3-inch screen.

The PSP will also come equipped with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and last for about 10 hours of continuous play. Among the titles shown were a new Metal Gear game named Metal Gear Acid and a portable version of Gran Turismo 4.

Sony also reduced the price for the Playstation 2 to $149.99, following Microsoft's price reduction to the same price just a few weeks prior. Meanwhile, even though Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the next game in the GTA series, wasn't on the show floor, it should be out this October. Capcom officially announced Devil May Cry 3, a prequel to the first Devil May Cry and also more similar in style to the original. The story will focus on Dante and his twin brother Virgil, who Dante must battle in the game. A new feature of the game called "My Dante" will allow the player to customize the way Dante gains new abilities and disciplines. Look for the newest installment this winter.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was playable at E3, and even though nothing new was really announced, it still was pretty impressive. The new MGS game will take place in 1960, and it looks as if the main character will actually be Big Boss. The game will require you to infiltrate a Russian base to obtain info on the first Metal Gear and will focus on survival, as you must hunt food to keep up stamina while staying out of sight utilizing camouflage and face paint. Metal Gear Solid 3 comes out November 1.

Interestingly enough, two guys made off with a Snake Eater demo at E3 by simply leaning over the case and pushing the eject button. Konami of America and the LAPD were looking for two 19-20-year-old males as of May 13. Meanwhile, I urge these two fellows to let me play it.

Microsoft

Microsoft announced some small revisions to its popular Xbox Live! Service, including MSN Messenger integration, voice messaging with friend requests, title managed online storage, teams and competitions. Also joining Xbox Live! will be upcoming EA Sports titles, finally allowing people other than PS2 owners to play Madden online.

Bungie has finally given Halo 2 a release date. Look for the return of the Master Chief on November 9 along with the chance to play as members of the Covenant and wield two weapons at the same time.

Ubisoft also announced Splinter Cell 3, which will introduce weather effects which impact the A.I., new moves for the main character, Sam Fisher and a new multiplayer co-op mode requiring players to use real teamwork to complete missions.

PC

Both id's Doom III and Sierra's Half-life 2 have received release dates - finally. Look for these awesome games this summer.

Sierra also announced they were porting the original Half-Life, Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat, to use Source, the Half-Life 2 engine.

Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines is also using the Source engine, and it is indeed looking to be quite a game. The first-person role playing game will once again allow gamers to create their own vampire based on one of the seven vampire archetypes. It will feature multiplayer game play and should be out by the end of the year.

Phantom

Infinium Labs finally unveiled its Phantom console, which will allow users to play PC games on a television. The console will not use removable media but will instead allow gamers to download a set number of titles for rental or purchase through the Phantom Gaming Service.

The console comes out in November - like you really cared anyway.