E3 2006 Notes
Posted by: j_john | From: May 15, 2006
I need to start off by declaring my complete bewilderment at Square-Enix for continuing to maintain a "no photos or video" policy. Just setting up a photo op of a Final Fantasy XII logo proved to be obnoxiously difficult. Come on, 95% of the exhibits allow and even encourage photography, and you still need to censor everyone's ability to share their interest and/or excitement in the products you're developing?! Lame.
Anyway, moving on to the company that has defined videogames for me for the past 20 years (and asked if I would like to take more photos of its awesome controller), Nintendo demoed their "revolutionary" Wii to the world, and my excitement and anticipation for the device has now been heightened to uncomfortable levels.
By now you've seen the remote controller a dozen times over, so I won't talk much about the obvious--but I will say that while watching the Super Mario Galaxy demo being played I thought to myself "hmmm, that doesn't really look that much better than Super Mario Sunshine for the Gamecube." Then it hit me--it didn't matter if it looked better, what mattered was if it played better, and surely it did, introducing entirely new play mechanics that just brought a smile to your face. Yep, I am officially convinced--the videogame revolution has begun.
Meanwhile, Sony thinks the world only wants something more powerful, and displayed their new PlayStation 3, with HD graphics and the same, decade-old controller, only this time it has basic motion sensor technology! Snore. Sure, the games looked real nice, especially the new Madden, but it felt too obvoius. The Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer caught my attention, but sadly there was no playable demo. Oh well, I know I'll buy a PS3 when it comes out, but there isn't nearly the same level of anticipation as the Wii--without a killer app I might even wait a bit and hope they lower the $600 price tag.
Now for my favorite titles of E3 2006.
Nintendo Wii:
WarioWare, Mario, Zelda, and Metroid were all there and are must-haves, but 3rd party support was pretty sparse. Spongebob, Bomberman, and Sonic? Uhh, no thanks. I did have lots of fun playing TurboGrafx 16 "Bonk" on the virutal console section with the new, SuperNES meets-dual shock controller.
Nintendo DS:
The Grasshopper studios (Killer 7) development of Nintendo DS RPG Contact looked great (they use the screens to display two distinct art styles), as did the new Zelda DS title, although I never felt like waiting to play it firsthand.
The new Castlevania game looked like more of the same, and I think I may be nearing the end of my allegiance to the franchise.
PS2:
Okami looked beautifully artistic, but many titles were expected sequels that looked like more of the same. Rogue Galaxy had a beautiful art style from the developers of Dragon Quest 8, and I'll probably pick up God of War II just to play another 16:9, progressive scan game, but not much else on the horizon excited me.
PSP:
There was a video for the upcoming Silent Hill Origins, a new game exclusively for the PSP that I was pretty into. Might actually convince me to dust off the machine.
PS3:
As mentioned, the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4 game looked fanatastic and could be the reason I eventually buy the console, but at this point I am unconvinced.
The Xbox360 had a few interesting titles, but it would be difficult to convince me to buy another console, and with the truly unique features on the upcoming Wii, I am content to wait it out.
