E3 2002: Ask Me Anything, Live!

Hey kids,

If you haven't been checking the front page, you should because we're going into super-crazy update mode this week, and we'll be posting our impressions, videos, and overall thoughts on the expo there.

In the meantime, this thread will be a live response thread, as opposed to the sticky thread on E3 questions, which means I'm sitting here to answer any questions or give any input on the games covered in the show in real-time. I'll be sitting here waiting for you to write from 9:30-10:30 pm EST today and 7-8pm EST Monday. I haven't posted my first impressions yet, so here's your chance to pick my brain on the goodies at E3....

Who had the hottest booth babes?

In terms of, well, flesh, it was probably Tecmo (of course). The DOA girls were pretty easy on the eyes, and were in bathing suits on a fake beach the whole expo. I got pics I will be downloading later...

In terms of the girls who I liked being around, it had to be the Nintendo girls. They were all models from some agency in NY, but they actually played the games with us, as opposed to just smiling and sticking their chests out. I like that in a woman...They win my pick for sexiest, but Tecmo for the hotties....

What booth had the best games, in your opinion?
and more importantly, Did the KOF bottled water taste good?

I liked Nintendo's the best in terms of overall quality titles, so yes, all you Nintendo fans can feel confident that your booth rocked.
For some reason, being at Konami's booth was the most fun I had, I think it was the combination of Contra: Shattered Soldier and the Metal Gear stuff. But Nintendo had the hottest booth, hands down.

The KOF water tasted like Aquafina, yet Nick and I were overcome with a blinding rage and super-combos erupted shortly after drinking. Weird....

Josh, I must say you were nothing like I expected you to be (you weren't 3 feet tall and wearing a mushroom hat, for one thing). :p But it was fun meeting you, Lucas/Golgo 13, Shinobi, werewolf, and master, hope you guys had a good trip back.

I can't bring myself to open my KoF water.

It will remain sealed for eternity, slowly evaporating as its colorful label fades from minute amounts of sun exposure. KoF water is not to be consumed.

I also have a can of "black water" that was supposed to promote Twisted Metal: Black. I'm scared to open that one.

edit: In the Sammy meeting room, there was an empty bottle of Bawls sitting among some KoF waters (which were the same color). Without thinking, I cheerfully told the PR lady "Cool, I love Bawls! Have any more?" ...

What are your impressions of Turok Evolution? Is it worth buying, and how does it compare to the other FPS games out there? And what game was the "game of the show"? Thanks.

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Originally posted by GameZector
What are your impressions of Turok Evolution? Is it worth buying, and how does it compare to the other FPS games out there? And what game was the "game of the show"? Thanks.

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Hey GZ,
First off, I've never really gotten into the Turok series (I'm a PC FPS guy, that is, till Halo changed my soul), and I can't really say I'm an expert on them. That said, the new Turok looks amazing on GC and has some great weapons. Unfortunately, I didn't spend any quality hands-on time with it, so I can't say if it's worth buying or not. But it looks good, and is going to be on my list of FPS to check out...

My game of the show would be a tie between Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBox) and Zelda (GC). Both games were better than I thought and are must buys; I can't pick a winner tonight, maybe tomorrow after I get my press kits and demos in order, I can pick one winner....

Ok, I'll be back tomorrow night for more questions, so in the meantime, leave me a message after the beep and I'll reply to this thread periodically. *beep*

Hey Red how was Metroid Prime?
Was it like the SNES Super Metroid in 3D or a FPA game that captures the feel and look of the Metroid series?

Ahh, metroid prime....I have mixed emotions about this game, and here's why:

I spent 40 minutes (elapsed time) with that game, and even though you get used to them, the controls feel all wrong. I mean, it controls a lot like Golden Eye, which is fine....except you can't look up or down while moving! So you basically are a sitting duck while you aim. It should have used the Halo or Time Splitters control system, using the left analog to move and the right one to aim. There was no "option" menu on the demo, and during the press meeting we had with the nintendo rep he had no idea if an alternate control scheme would be implemented. I seriously doubt an option would be included, and the stationary aim button will be kept on. Bleah I say....

AS to what it plays like, it plays like a FPS game that is Metroidy, if that makes sense. It's a lot of fun, there's some incredible effects, and rolling into a ball in 3rd person mode is too cool for typing. But it's not really super metroid, it's a FPS within the metroid universe.

I would LOVE it if they fix the control. otherwise, it get's high marks for the coolness factor....

What about Dead to RIghts, E3 showing. How was it? DId they mentioned a actual release date, or is it still July/Summer?

OK Red Terrier I have a couple of questions What were your impressions of the GP32 could it be a contender what games were shown?

Was Bret Hart there? and what was he promoting?

Thanks

Also, was Gungrave playable? If so, was it good and how does it compare to Devil May Cry? Thanks.

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Originally posted by BenT
I can't bring myself to open my KoF water.

It will remain sealed for eternity, slowly evaporating as its colorful label fades from minute amounts of sun exposure. KoF water is not to be consumed.

I also have a can of "black water" that was supposed to promote Twisted Metal: Black. I'm scared to open that one.

edit: In the Sammy meeting room, there was an empty bottle of Bawls sitting among some KoF waters (which were the same color). Without thinking, I cheerfully told the PR lady "Cool, I love Bawls! Have any more?" ...

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Haha. I have those...TMB water that is. I didn't wanna open mind (also was a bit scared to open it). I wanted to collect a few more of those bottles. Maybe I can get more, and give them away as contest items, I know that these companies will eventually just do away with them. BenT, perhaps next year we can meet up with the rest of the crew that had dinner with us :)

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Originally posted by Despair
What about Dead to RIghts, E3 showing. How was it? DId they mentioned a actual release date, or is it still July/Summer?

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Red wasn't with us on the appt. but I am sure he did get a chance to play it. DTR is an exceptionally impressive game. I don't see this getting the accolade as "best title of E3", but still entertaining enough that Xbox gamers will love what Namco has done.

The control setup is quite smooth, as you have the option to use your dog partner to attack enemies, then move in for the kill. The main character (who's name escapes me at the moment, I'll refer to the documentation later) has a bevy of disarm attacks which he can use. Some seem like they were heavily inspired from various HK flicks. One aspect which has compelled a lot of gamers to label the game as a "Max Payne" clone is a feature that closely resemble "Bullet time", essentially the system is quite similar. There are a few other points I'll bring up, but will save for the report later this week surrounding the game and based on what we saw. Plus, Lucas was with us on the appt. which was shown behind closed doors (and away from the noise)...he recorded a interview with Hugo Reyes who discusses different aspects of the game, shows us the CG intro, and some other cool features in the gam.

I believe the release date was pushed back to another date. I'll check and update this post later.

Zidane: Yep...Gungrave was definitely playable. I was able to see it in action...quite an odd game, but I am sure I could learn to love it. Personally, I was way too busy to get around to a demo station, but I know that a number of us played the game. If they don't comment on it now, stay tuned for our post-E3 reports later this week! :)

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Originally posted by Korian
OK Red Terrier I have a couple of questions What were your impressions of the GP32 could it be a contender what games were shown?

Was Bret Hart there? and what was he promoting?

Thanks

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Hero and Master checked out this game, so they certainly could give you details on that, there's also a thread here floating around Level Up. Reno and I saw this unit last year...seems that the company who produces the GP32 is still working on getting this into the domestic market. Can it be a contender? Most definitely, if it were able to secure the same level of software support as the GBA, I would definitely see a handheld rivalry brewing.

They've got an office here in NY, so I plan to drop by for yet another hands on look and discussion with the GP32 faculty (we're working to get a product sample of the hardware and games). I'll post the date in advance so that you guys can present some questions that you like answered.

What was the game of the show , in your opinion?

I have a few questions:

What were your impressions of the new Contra and Shinobi and how do they measure to their predecessors?

What about GBA stuff like Metroid Fusion and G&W Gallery 4?

What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Bahn summed up most of those quesions, but I must add that Dead to rights is one of the coolest games I have seen in a while, think Max Payne mixed with more matrix-like moves, and some hand-to-hand fighting, and you got it. It's a keeper....according to the press kit, it's slated for a Q3 release, so that means this summer.

Korian, I believe Bret Hart was there, but I didn't get a chance to see him. He was probably hyping the legends of wrestling games, featuring the likes of Hulk Hogan and himself. I did see Bruce Cambell and sefveral guys from the And-1 mix tape, they were there for the activision street hoops series. I also got pics with Blood Rayne trying to bite me, so that was fun...

Zidane: Gungrave is DOPE!!! It's cell-shading kind of makes the violence seem a bit odd, almost funny, but it's got so much style and flash it overcomes the weirdness. If John Woo made a video game, he'd like Gungrave. Btw, true story, me and a guy from Ubi-soft were playing the demo when none other than Miyamoto himself stops by with his Nintendo posse to demo the game. I got it on film and everything....if it's good enough for Mr. Mario, it's good enough for us....

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Originally posted by xS
What was the game of the show , in your opinion?

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That's a tough one, I would have to say a tie between Panzer Dragoon Orta (XBox) or Zelda (GC). Both games were a lot better than even I could hope for, and both felt just so good you have to play them to believe it. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with Mario Sunshine (hold your rock heaving till later). It played like a souped up Mario 64, and I hate to say it but I was very "been there, done that" about it. You could argue the same for zelda, but the new look actually made it feel much different, and the fruity cel-shading actually works...

Mario is not finished yet, so it can still pull out some magic before it's released, but it needs tweaking. Textures break up and pixelize up close and there's not too many great moments in the demo, I hope they pull out some more tricks for our favorite plumber soon...

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Originally posted by RedTerrier
Btw, true story, me and a guy from Ubi-soft were playing the demo when none other than Miyamoto himself stops by with his Nintendo posse to demo the game. I got it on film and everything....if it's good enough for Mr. Mario, it's good enough for us....

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Miyamoto seems to have a habit of testing out other company's software at trade shows. I remember seeing pics of him playing a Crash game at the Tokyo Game Show I believe.

You still haven't answered any of my questions (including the swallow one).

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Originally posted by Johnny Undaunted


Miyamoto seems to have a habit of testing out other company's software at trade shows. I remember seeing pics of him playing a Crash game at the Tokyo Game Show I believe.

You still haven't answered any of my questions (including the swallow one).

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Contra: Shattered Soldier was in my top 3 of the show; it's not 2-D, but it plays just like the old ones, with a mix of Contra Hard Corps weapon systems with Contra III type vehicle boards thrown in. I must have played it for a good hour, it was that much fun. 2-player, flip jumping, spread shooting goodness, I loved it....
Speaking of contra, the GBA one is basically Contra III, so that means it's one of the greatest games of all time and will be on your GBA soon.

Shinobi was a lot of fun, and I actually think it was very true to it's roots, but it was less than 30% and there were only like 4 guys to kill. It played like a more action heavy Tenchu with good old shinobi slashing action. Guys actually split in 2 if you cut them right, and if you kill more than one guy at a time, there's a cool ninja scroll-like death scene. It looks good though, the control needs a bit more tweaking, but i liked it...

I didn't play the GBA stuff you mentioned, but metroid looks just dandy on it. Check with Nick or Burgundy for the straight poop on them...

A swallow moves at 6.4 mps, unless the dewpoint is above 78%, which drops it down to 5.3 mps. :jest:

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Originally posted by Johnny Undaunted
What were your impressions of the new Contra and Shinobi and how do they measure to their predecessors?

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If you're still interested in impressions, here are mine. I also did a piece on Contra Advance.

How does Legends of Wrestling 2 look? The graphics appear much better in the stills versus the PS2 original, but how is it in action? How is the gameplay? Also, what about the XBox and Cube versions of LOW -- did they improve the gameplay at all, is it still slow as hell?

Was there anything on the Skies of Arcadia GameCube port? How about the pending sequel? Thanks ;).

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Originally posted by RedTerrier
A swallow moves at 6.4 mps, unless the dewpoint is above 78%, which drops it down to 5.3 mps. :jest:

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Yeah, but is that an African swallow or a European one? :p

ack, our bandwidth is making posting really tough now, but for Legends of Wrestling info, check on Riisuke or Reno, I know they played it in depth...I saw it, and it looks pretty good, especially on XBox. But I didn't get a chance to spend much hands-on time with it, so i'm afraid i can't answer the rest of those questions...

I didn't hear or see anything on Skies, I'm not sure if anyone else did either (no one really mentioned it). I didn't ask about it in particualar, but I saw nothing in the booth or press releases...

It was an african swallow, everyone knows that European swallows are slowed down by the westerly winds...:cool:

can't you help but think about the CG from the first Donkey Kong Coutnry after hearing Kenshin's voice?

I tried posting a reply last night, but for some reason the board would let me reply to any thread except this one. But if you're still here, I've got quite a few questions...

Was there anything on Sega's new arcade hardware? Were there any rumours floating around regarding XB VF4? (yes, I want it to happen bad)

Was anything shown of Sega Rally 3?

Did you get to talk to the guys at the Tecmo booth? If so, how close to the NES games will Ninja Gaiden be? From what I've seen it looks closer to the arcade game, but with cutscenes. And what looks better so far: NG or Shinobi?

Any idea of a release date for Ridge Racer VI?

Any clue if Atlus plans on localizing Shin Megami Tensei Nine?

Was there anything at Sony's booth on Legend of Dragoon 2?

And finally, any shmups? Like, at all?

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Originally posted by StriderKyo
I tried posting a reply last night, but for some reason the board would let me reply to any thread except this one. But if you're still here, I've got quite a few questions...

Was there anything on Sega's new arcade hardware? Were there any rumours floating around regarding XB VF4? (yes, I want it to happen bad)

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Nope. Go to Erin Mills Town Centre and play it with me. :P

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Did you get to talk to the guys at the Tecmo booth? If so, how close to the NES games will Ninja Gaiden be? From what I've seen it looks closer to the arcade game, but with cutscenes. And what looks better so far: NG or Shinobi?

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Shinobi looks better to me, only because it seems that the game won't be too repetitive, which is what Ninja Gaiden seems to be at this moment.

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Any clue if Atlus plans on localizing Shin Megami Tensei Nine?

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I can find out for you ;)

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Was there anything at Sony's booth on Legend of Dragoon 2?

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Not that I was aware of

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And finally, any shmups? Like, at all?

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I dunno. Gunmetal from Rage and Sky Gunner from Atlus were the only shoot-em-up-ish type of games I saw on the show floor, but I'm sure there were others.

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Originally posted by Lucas Barton
can't you help but think about the CG from the first Donkey Kong Coutnry after hearing Kenshin's voice?

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After meeting you, I don't know what to think anymore. My pre-conceptions of TNL posters has been changed for ever....:sweat:

Strider Kyo:

Reno pretty much summed it up, but I saw nothing on Sega's new arcade hardware, and nothing on XBox port of VF4, sorry.

Shinobi looks better to me, as it is actually playable and NG was just a movie, but both are reeeeeeally early, so give them some time...Tecmo had a sucky booth overall, and I was let down by the few titles they were showing; hopefully Rygar and ninja gaiden will bring back the old tecmo glory...

No word on Shin Megami Tensei Nini, hopefully reno can dig something up for you.

I didn't see Legend of Dragoon 2, but Eidos is making Legend of Legaia 2 and it actually looks a lot better than the first.

Outside of GBA stuff, I'm afraid shmups are a dying breed (again). Treasure was AWOL... :mad:

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Originally posted by RedTerrier

After meeting you, I don't know what to think anymore. My pre-conceptions of TNL posters has been changed for ever....:sweat:

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How did lucas act?

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Originally posted by StriderKyo
Was anything shown of Sega Rally 3?

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i wish.

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Originally posted by StriderKyo

Any idea of a release date for Ridge Racer VI?

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during the Namco interview, the PR told us next year. i rmemember reading that the import would be out in november. so maybe it'll be early next year. but for some reason i don't see it coming out til july 2003.

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Originally posted by RedTerrier

After meeting you, I don't know what to think anymore. My pre-conceptions of TNL posters has been changed for ever....:sweat:

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I don't know if it's just me, but I see everyone's faces in everyone's avatars that I met. Whether it's good or bad is up to you. :sweat:

Lucas is an enigma, to be sure...nothing like his avatar, i'll tell you that much...and i remember your faces, but i can't place them with your avatars, go figure...

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Originally posted by Shinobi128


I don't know if it's just me, but I see everyone's faces in everyone's avatars that I met. Whether it's good or bad is up to you. :sweat:

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the what now? Red is nothing like his avatar. and I am nothing like Chun...I don't even own pom-pom's :p

and Reno...well, do I really need to say it?

So, Did anyone bother to pick me up a Capcom catalog or any He-Man materials that TDK Interactive may have had to hand out?

Didn't think so. I begged. I pleaded. Did anyone care?

Thanks alot folks. :P You're real pals. :(.

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Originally posted by Reno


Nope. Go to Erin Mills Town Centre and play it with me. :P

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When do you guys usually play? I'll warn you now - my VF game is mad weak.

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I can find out for you ;)

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How? You got an "in" with Atlus?

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Originally posted by RedTerrier
Strider Kyo:

Reno pretty much summed it up, but I saw nothing on Sega's new arcade hardware, and nothing on XBox port of VF4, sorry.

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Well, I didn't expect you to see anything on VF, just wondered if anyone who might've known anything was talking about it happening/not happening.

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I didn't see Legend of Dragoon 2, but Eidos is making Legend of Legaia 2 and it actually looks a lot better than the first.

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LoL didn't do much for me, but for some reason I loved LoD to death. The only reason I even think it exists is a Quartermann rumour, but since the first made it to Greatest Hits (although I think that was just so Sony could recoup their money and build an rpg franchise that can't run off to another console) I have hope. Supposedly it's out at the end of this year in Japan, so maybe TGS'll have something for me.

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Outside of GBA stuff, I'm afraid shmups are a dying breed (again). Treasure was AWOL... :mad:

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I guess Capcom's given up on their shooter experiment. Anyway, thanks for the replies, guys.

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Originally posted by adol
So, Did anyone bother to pick me up a Capcom catalog or any He-Man materials that TDK Interactive may have had to hand out?

Didn't think so. I begged. I pleaded. Did anyone care?

Thanks alot folks. :P You're real pals. :(.

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Oh he of little faith. Worry not, for RedTerrier has a capcom booklet for you somewhere...just let me dig it up. Actually, it was quite crap-tacular, just a little pamphlet that had a few screens and some capcom propaganda, hardly worth the effort to read it. He-Man had a tiny (and I mean GBA sized) screen running the GBA version of the game, and they had a short but un-informative video running of the new Masters of the Universe game, with no in-game screens to boot. Sorry adol, not much going on for the strongest man in the universe...

Hm. Perhaps I can get ahold of a press kit for him to google at. :)

TDK, not Capcom..it was just a folder...and a CD. boooo.

Reno, whomever, please... how was Legends of Wrestling for XBox and GameCube? What about LOW2?

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Originally posted by GameZector
Reno, whomever, please... how was Legends of Wrestling for XBox and GameCube? What about LOW2?

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Riisuke should be answering this...I played it, but I was too busy staring at the female demo tester's...um assets. <font face="century gothic">^^;;</font>

Final world: get it for Xbox.

Official word on Shin Megami Tensei Nine from Atlus: No official plans, the possibility has not been ruled out. Translation: "I don't know yet" :)

I have a question for Red Terrier:

Why do you look like Gilbert Godfried in my picture? Why?

Here is a question for anybody that went to E3:

When E3 starts we are super excited. Towards the end of the first day though, we dream of laying down in the hotel. The next morning we are excited again, then dream of the hotel bed towards the end of the second day even more. By end of the third day, we all start thinking "its just a trade show, I thought it would be better and such". Yet, as soon as we get back home we wish we were still there. Why? When I'm at E3 I'm tired and thinking "meh". But as soon as I'm NOT at E3 it sinks in how awesome it is/was. What gives?

Is it all the walking and bull we had to deal with? It must have been...

I'll tell ya why you miss it: because you can't hang out with me, Gilbert Godfrey, that's why!!! :cool:

I think once the initial shock of how many games are staring back at you wears off, then you settle back into reality of how tired you are from jet lag, the lack of food, and even how a nice air conditioned hotel would make you feel better...looking back on it, you realized that E3 was the biggest, baddest, most kick-@$$ arcade you've ever seen, and it was all FREE. You also realize that being surrounded by gamers is kinda cool (yet smelly), and meeting denizens of a message board is also neat.
I think the things I will miss most about E3:

1- Booth babes. Hot girls playing games with you....everything I thought it would be. *tear* :sweat:

2- Hanging out with Master, Werewolf, Lucas, et al. We need to get together and wreak havoc somewhere...

3- Finally meeting some of my colleagues. Burgundy was like my long-lost brother, hopefully we both end up as successful as we should be...

4- All the games I ever wanted to play, all free, all day. 'Nuff said.

Btw, you must get a pic of what i really look like on your thread, I can't believe that's the one you posted....:mad:

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Originally posted by Will
Hey Red how was Metroid Prime?
Was it like the SNES Super Metroid in 3D or a FPA game that captures the feel and look of the Metroid series?

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If ya check the earlier threads, Red touches on this. But here's a statement taken from his impressions... :)

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I have issues with the control (there's no pitch control, you can't aim up or down while moving), but barring that I think this is one of the prettiest FPS on any console. Mixing the look and abilities of a 2D game into a FPS is not the easiest thing to do, but Metroid has it just about right. Samus can still roll into a ball and has the standard arsenal of weapons, and the levels and enemies are pure Metroid fare.

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It's basically a first-person adventure, it never actually shifts to 2D at all of course. There are aspects about it, which naturally give it a different feel..and don't feel quite as...well, smooth as the previous Metroid titles.

...so when you say the feel and look, well, that's always going to change a bit when you're comparing a 2D game to 3D. Like...take the SF titles in 2D and compare it to say...SF EX. Something was lost...sure it had the moves and in most respects, performs like a SF game, but...it's just not the same. Since this game has basically adopted a FPS format, Red's comments are definitely justified - the game should be designed so that Samus could aim up or down...while moving (like the original), and sadly you can't...thus this makes the "feel" substantially different (and prolly will make purists quite disappointed...like myself).

Nevertheless, Metroid Prime is a visually impressive title, the gameplay looks tight, and I recommend that all Metroid fans pick it up when it hits retail...