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E3 is Back — Big Time!

This year, the video-game trade show known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, got big again. The giant booths with giant projections of action-filled videos were there. And so was a lot of news about upcoming games.

It was also the most star-studded E3 in history. At Microsoft’s news conference, rock-and-roll legends Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr took the stage to promote Beatles Rock Band. Then Tony Hawk came out to talk about his new game. Finally, the great movie director Steven Spielberg emerged to talk about Project Natal.

e3-1LOOK, MA—NO CONTROLLER!

Project Natal is revolutionary. When it’s released, you’ll be able to play all kinds of Xbox 360 games without a controller. You’ll use your hands, fingers and feet to progress in soccer and golf games.

There’s more: Milo is a cool “kid” of about 10 years old who is part of one interactive Natal game. Not only are the game graphics amazing, you feel that Milo is real and that you have a new friend: one who throws you a ball and sometimes would rather fish than do his homework. And when you put your hands in the “lake,” it feels like you’re touching the water and the fish. We’ll have more on Natal in BL soon.

e3-2NINTENDO PLUS

At the Nintendo news conference, they showed off Wii Motion Plus, the Wii remote add-on that makes gaming more precise. I checked it out in an archery game that’s part of Wii Sports Resort. It really adds a lot to your gaming experience.

Also, you’ll get New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii this fall, along with The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks game for the DS. I got the chance to play both. I thought Zelda was a deeper experience that lets you engineer a locomotive in addition to dungeon crawling and boss battling. But you’re going to love Mario, too, especially the function that puts a propeller on your character’s head. And guess what? Late next year, you’ll see Super Mario Galaxy 2. And maybe a big new Zelda for the Wii, too.

e3-3SONY EXCITEMENT

Sony’s giant news had already been leaked just before their news briefing. It’s called the PSP Go! The sleek, slimmed-down handheld system will play downloadable games only. It’s smaller and lighter than the PSP, small enough to fit in your pocket. Check out the October 2009 issue of BL for more on Go.

There’s a great new Ratchet and Clank this fall for the PS3 called A Crack in Time. The weapons will be hilarious, and there might even be multiplayer functions with the game.

Another Sony highlight was Afrika, a PS3 game in which you play a photo-snapping journalist on safari on the plains and in jungles. You progress by taking pictures of zebras, lions and such in the wild. It sounds simple, but it’s very fun to play. For younger kids, there was World of Zoo, which lets you play zookeeper to scores of cute animals.

e3-4But the Sony game I wanted most won’t come out until next year. ModNationRacers is a mix of LittleBigPlanet and Mario Kart. Here’s what makes it unique: You can create your own tracks really easily with the Sixaxis controller. And you can add water features and mountains and towns, even animals to the environment. So cool.

STAR ATTRACTIONS

I got to sit down with skateboarding guru Tony Hawk at E3. We talked about his new Activision game, Tony Hawk RIDE. The skateboard add-on that comes with the game is wireless and, amazingly, really lets you feel the skateboarding experience. Says Tony, “If you’ve never tried skateboarding, this is a really safe way to check it out.” The music in the game is pretty cool, too. Much of it was chosen by Tony, who helps design all of his games. Check out our October issue for more.

e3-6On the convention floor, Sonic and Mario (well, guys in costumes) hung out at the Sega booth to promote the winter Olympic Games disk, coming next year. At the Warner Bros. booth, LEGO Rock Band looked like a lot of fun. It’s probably going to rock your world. Those cute, blocky characters strike essential rock ‘n’ roll poses as you play. It’s just as challenging as Rock Band, but a lot funnier.

Pele, the great soccer player, made an appearance at the Ubisoft booth to play and promote Academy of Champions Football for the Wii. It’s a challenging game that’s part adventure story and part arcade soccer. You meet the heroes of Ubisoft in the game like Rayman and the Rabbids, as well as Pele, who gives you tips and encouragement.

E3 was full of amazing games, great trailers on big screens and a terrific party atmosphere. But there was one thing that none of the companies talked about: The fact that economic times are tough for both parents and kids, too. It would have been great to see some price cuts on consoles and games, just to show that the big game makers understand that not everyone can buy any game he wants at any time.

50 Comments on E3 is Back — Big Time!

  1. sony informer // July 30, 2009 at 2:59 pm // Reply

    i cant wait for the psp go to come out it has 16gb internal memory and the screen is 40% brighter than psp 3000 but the problem is it is priced at 247$ so i would start saving money now. it is coming out in october.

  2. You guys should check out Scribblenauts for the DS. So Cool!

  3. Cheese Hamburger Onion // July 11, 2009 at 7:01 pm // Reply

    I was shocked when they anounced Super mario Galaxy Two. I’m also excited for lego harry potter, nsmb wii, and LoZ: Spirit Tracks.

  4. Wii motion plus should have been included in the original wii remote. PSP Go looks awesome!

  5. hammer0123456789 // July 2, 2009 at 6:58 pm // Reply

    the lego game looks good

  6. Anonymous // July 2, 2009 at 6:56 pm // Reply

    it looks good

  7. super mario super fan // June 26, 2009 at 5:56 pm // Reply

    Super mario galaxy 2 & new super mario bros.wii SOUNDS COOL!!

  8. A Denner from somewhere // June 26, 2009 at 5:07 pm // Reply

    ummm this does not look like a good game at all i mean it’s a copy of rockband it just looks different..

  9. Bob The Builder (can we fix it?)!!!! // June 24, 2009 at 12:08 pm // Reply

    D:

  10. this is better than the real rock band

  11. i buy around 10 games a year, and this will definitly be on my list along with wii music

  12. simon says // June 21, 2009 at 7:04 pm // Reply

    realy fun,i did not whant to put the guitar down,good thing i have speakers by the t.v.

  13. The Strategeist // June 20, 2009 at 11:35 am // Reply

    Man! LEGO went too far with Rockband.

  14. Treeckoman // June 19, 2009 at 7:57 pm // Reply

    what is E3 stand for!?

  15. i want them to do a review about call of duty world at war something with violince for once.

  16. johnny boy // June 19, 2009 at 4:10 pm // Reply

    Lego RockBand sounds awsome!=)

  17. LittleBigman // June 19, 2009 at 2:44 pm // Reply

    clovis, They ARE MAKING A NEW ZELDA FOR WII!

  18. rock n rollout // June 19, 2009 at 10:58 am // Reply

    they are cool.they can sing,drum play gutar good too.they will be the best band ever.

  19. Everyone, thanks for chiming in. E3 rocked and I was happy to tell you all about it! I have a question for you. How many games are you thinking of buying this year? Is is less or more than last year? Have a great summer – it starts on 6/21!

  20. Nintendo has lots of goodys :]

  21. OTTER LOVER // June 17, 2009 at 9:04 am // Reply

    I can’t wait for a Star Fox game for the Wii! That would Rock! 😀

  22. I wonder how much is the psp go.

  23. corky, its just like a wii with better graphics, and no remote. IF YOU HAVE A WII, I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU SAVE THAT MONEY!!!!

  24. i LOVE LEGOS A LOT AND ROCKBAND good combo

  25. kirbybrawler // June 16, 2009 at 3:26 pm // Reply

    wow im really lookin forward to super mario galaxy 2! i completely beat the first one and the second one seems so much cooler!

  26. spartan107 // June 16, 2009 at 1:47 pm // Reply

    nintendo games r always the best! 🙂 I bet that lego rock band is AWSOME!!

  27. the last paragraph is right 🙁 but they are still worth it!

  28. It’s like a whole new version of ROCK BAND:)!!!!!

  29. what is nintendo plus? and why didnt he mentio metroid other M? PS im writing this on my dsi

  30. videogameman // June 14, 2009 at 10:13 am // Reply

    It’s like a whole new version of ROCK BAND!!!!

  31. awsome i cant wait for lego rock band to come out! I AGREE WITH ECO EGG
    THIS GAME WILL ROCK!

  32. I SO agree with the last paragraph

  33. New super mario Bros. was so cool on DS, But now its on Wii super cool.

    WHAT’S UP THIS THAT!

  34. minitower7 ds games do work on dsi’s

  35. I am a BIG LEGO fan, with over 12,000 bricks. I have all of the LEGO Star Wars games and like playing Rock Band. This is the perfect game for me! Thanks BL!!

  36. me is da man // June 10, 2009 at 8:11 pm // Reply

    this game looks lame

  37. Pie man 1234567890 // June 10, 2009 at 7:17 am // Reply

    The new super Mario bros. for Wii looks super cool, and the lego rock band seems nice.;)

  38. Project Natal sounds so cool

  39. minitower7 // June 9, 2009 at 3:32 pm // Reply

    i want to get the game by e3 called mario and luigi bowsers inside story for ds
    i cant play alot of those games because i only have a dsi

  40. I would absolutely LOVE to see a new Zelda game on Wii. Also looking forward to LEGO Rockband and Project Natal!!!

  41. LEGO Geek // June 9, 2009 at 1:11 pm // Reply

    Rock Band looks fun. However i don’t think it is made for lego.

  42. omg i love LEGOs and video games and music games. the LEGO rock band game is perfect for me.

  43. it is a cool game but it looks dumb in lego form

  44. i like lego games and rockband so i happy!!!!

  45. nixer500boom // June 8, 2009 at 9:53 am // Reply

    whoo finelly its out the nintendo+ is coming out. 🙁 🙂

  46. its probaly the coolest wii game yet.

  47. NSMB for Wii looks AWESOME!!! 🙂

  48. Nintendo Fan // June 7, 2009 at 10:02 am // Reply

    I KNEW IT! I KNEW THE NINTENDO PLUS WAS COMING OUT!!! 😀 WHOOOOHOOO!!!!

  49. a lego ROCKBAND!!! AWESOME!!!!!!

  50. thatlooks like a fun game with legos

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