The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles got underway yesterday, but not without a few glitches. A lengthy power outage in parts of the L.A. Convention Center derailed certain registration components, leaving many to wait in line for hours to receive their treasured badges, golden tickets to the near future of gaming and entertainment in general.
The big talk is, of course, the next-generation game consoles coming from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. Nintendo’s Game Cube has for years been a third-place runner behind the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles, but the upcoming Revolution is building a fanbase with its downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). With the recent resurgence in old-school gaming, this may give the Revolution the push it needs as the battle of the next-gen platforms kicks off.
Software is also huge at E3, and all the biggest publishers are vying to outdo each other with massive booths promoting their upcoming titles. This year, Ubisoft is has put Peter Jackson’s King Kong front and center, dressing its exhibit area to look like the giant wall on Skull Island. The game will release in time for the Dec. 14 debut of the feature film.
In addition to Kong, the showroom floor was populated by other animated characters as attendees snuck peeks at Activision’s Shrek: Super Slam, Buena Vista Games’ The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge, Chicken Little and Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts II, starring Mickey Mouse and other classic Disney favorites.
Big style points go to Activision’s Ultimate Spider-Man, which uses a new cel-shading variety dubbed "digital comic ink shading." The technique gives the game that unique, comic-book look. The game also features comic motion panels that frame the action.
Strong animation shines through in Atari’s The Matrix: Path of Neo. This second collaboration between Atari, the Wachowski brothers and Joel Silver, producer of the film trilogy, features the likenesses of the film’s stars including Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving. Atari tells us they’ve focused a lot of attention on the game’s animation, correcting some compression problems that existed in Enter The Matrix.
E3 continues through Friday, May 20 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Be sure and check back for more updates from expo. For more info, visit www.e3expo.com.
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