In less than one week, on July 14th, gamers around the world will once again lay witness to the biggest annual video game conference – a.k.a. the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Although the actual event has decreased in magnitude over the last couple of years, it still hails as the most exciting unveiling that the gaming industry has to offer. At every E3, the largest and smallest game publishers reveal their future company plans and in the end one lucky publisher gets the glory by having the best showcase. A few years ago, Nintendo won the showcase and the attention of millions with the unveiling of the innovative Nintendo Wii. A couple of years before that, the public got its first glance at Microsoft’s second installment, the XBOX 360. Hundreds of people pour into the expo to get the first hands-on with the newest and most anticipated games in development. Which publisher will steal the show at this E3? Which game developer will have the public drooling over its future releases? All these questions and more won’t be answered until the 14^th, but that won’t stop me from putting forth my two cents.

So, in order to prepare you for the upcoming E3, I’ve prepared a review for what to expect at Nintendo’s, Sony’s and Microsoft’s booths, as well as a few surprises that you might expect to see.

Behold the E3 in all its glory…Okay, I swear it looks way cooler when you’re actually inside the building.

Sony’s Conference

2009 could be the year that Sony regains control of the gaming world. Since its release in November of 2006, the Playstation 3 has undergone many makeovers and price changes. What started out as a high priced machine with no solid games has slowly shifted into the future of next gen graphics and power. With recent price cuts and Blu-ray laying waste to HD DVD, Sony has the upper hand going into next year. Priced as the most affordable Blu-ray player and pinned as the most technologically advanced of the three home consoles, the Playstation 3 has great potential to regain the public’s attention just like the PS2 did before it. With recent releases like Metal Gear Solid 4, upcoming blockbusters such as Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, God of War III, Grand Turismo 5 and most notably the future launch of Home (Sony’s online community), Sony is sitting fairly pretty trekking into the fall and 2009.

“Okay, so a bald guy, a monster and four little dudes walk into a bar……”
God of War III, Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet are three killer aps that may just hold the key to Sony’s future success.

Rumors are buzzing and everyone’s wondering…will Sony unveil the news on a successor to the PSP? It would seem like a logical step not only because the PSP has been out since 2005, but also because it’s currently getting thwomped by the Nintendo DS. Not to mention the several price cuts it has sustained in order to appeal to consumers.

Oh, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing news of more price cuts. Expect to see the PS2 and potentially the PSP drop in price again. News of a price cut for the PS3 is unlikely, but not necessarily unheard of.

From its release, the XBOX 360 has been the most popular buy for those wanting cutting edge graphics and true online play. Every game that’s made for multi-console purposes is rendered for the 360 first and then ported to the PS3. Yes, it’s true you have to pay to play online, but if you really want to experience the best online options available then it’s well worth your money to pay the LIVE fee. However, the XBOX has been out a year longer than the PS3 and Wii and as a result the PS3 has better technology and could outlast the XBOX in a technical endurance race. Could the XBOX slowly start to lose its lead over the PS3? I wouldn’t hold your breath…at least not yet. Microsoft has a pretty little lineup of goodies to present the public at this year’s E3 and possibly some surprises up its sleeve. Games like Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Halo Wars and Fallout 3 are among the elite titles sure to tear up eyes and cause hysteria at this year’s E3.

Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 will be two of Microsoft’s ring leaders at this year’s E3.

Will Microsoft reveal news of a new console in the works? It’s been two and a half years since the release of the 360, and most consoles’ life spans last around 5 years. It’s a bold statement to make, but this could be the first public news on the details of a 360 successor.

Could development of Bio Shock 2 be announced? It’s true that the title is in the works, yet no details about the game, plot, etc have been revealed.

Oh, and I’m sure there’ll be a price cut for the 360. Cutting the 360’s price will help XBOX start off the fall with a continuation of its edge on the PS3.

Just when the future looked bleak for Nintendo and its Gamecube, just when everyone thought the gaming giant had lost the war, Nintendo shocked the world and regained gaming recognition with the release of the Wii. Up until recently you couldn’t even find a Wii on your local game retailers’ shelves. Now, the Wii is the first system since the Super NES to lead its generation in console sales. So what does the hottest selling console have to offer at this year’s E3? To answer that question truthfully…it doesn’t look like much. With the recent release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, Nintendo doesn’t seem to have much else baking in the oven. In terms of Wii games, the lineup looks limited, and that’s an overstatement. There are a couple of new Mature rated games coming out in the likes of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and Mad World. These two titles might help encourage gamers to see the Wii as not just a kiddy console, yet, other than those two games, the Wii’s lineup looks barren. However, I wouldn’t start getting discouraged just yet, because we should all be used to (by now) Nintendo’s routine of keeping every little interesting bit of information on the DL – completely under wraps. My relationship with Nintendo is strictly love/hate.

Fatal Frame and Mad World are currently two out of the very few titles Nintendo has officially announced, but you know the Big N has a trick or two somewhere up its damn sleeve. They always do…

So, as usual, we are left with our own dumb assumptions about what the Big N is planning to reveal at its conference. My guess is that they are planning to show sequels to Animal Crossing and Pikmin. However, the biggest rumor buzzing around is the possibility of a new and revamped Kid Icarus game for the Wii. With the emergence of Pit as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the idea of a new Kid Icarus installment just seems logical. Also, if I keep my fingers crossed tight enough, Nintendo might even reveal its next brilliant idea for the Wiimote. We’ve all played Wii Sports and seen what Wii Fit can do…so what’s the big N going to do next? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Is there a possibility for a new Game Boy or DS successor? It would be about that time for Nintendo to start thinking of the possibility. The DS is still selling extremely well, but the technology is getting dated. Nintendo might reveal news of a new handheld, but I wouldn’t expect anything more than a few very scarce details.

Unlike the price drops that Sony and Microsoft will implement, don’t expect Nintendo to drop their prices anytime soon. There’s no point– the Wii and the DS are both selling like cupcakes at a fat camp.

My Top E3 Game Picks

I’ve given you a list of what you can expect to see from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s conferences, and now I’m going to highlight a few select titles that have caught my eye and should catch yours as well. I’m a fan of the survival horror genre so most of my picks fall into that category.

Dead Space

EA’s Dead Space has promise to be one of the year’s most innovative and shocking survival horror adventures. With clever game design (there’s no onscreen HUD), intelligent enemies (targeting certain weak points) and original level design (anti-gravity rooms), Dead Space is shaping up to be the surprise hit of the fall. And who would have thought, its release is set for Halloween. How’s that for trick-or-treating?

Resident Evil 5

It’s been ten years after the mansion incident, and once again players will have the opportunity to take on the role of Chris Redfield as he travels to Africa and tries to uncover the origins of the virus. The game looks to follow the controls of Resident Evil 4 (camera over the shoulder shooter) closely while brining new gameplay mechanics into the works. This game is as vital to me as my kidneys – no lie!

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 looks like it’s shaping up to be the RPG of the year. With vast terrain, smart A.I., an interesting plot, gorgeous graphics and an overwhelming amount of upgrades and the likes, Fallout 3 will be Christmas come early.

Silent Hill: Homecoming

The last couple of console installments of the Silent Hill series have been far less than stellar. What started out as one of the pioneering survival horror franchises has turned into games featuring bad control, poor mechanics and sub par plots as of late. Hopefully, with the new American developers on the project (the makers behind Silent Hill Origins for PSP) SH: Homecoming will retain the series to its once revered and gore-tastic status.

Hope this little guide will help you ease the wait until next week’s main event. If there is something that I missed or something that you don’t agree with me on, I would love to hear your comments. As always, thanks for reading.

-Dillon (D-Dub)

I was digging through some of my old Game Boy games the other day, rehashing the past a little, when I suddenly came across Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins – quite possibly the greatest Game Boy game ever and, to make an even bolder statement, quite possibly the greatest 2-D Mario game ever made. It’s been over a decade since I’ve played this piece of Mario history, so I could be missing some of the negative aspects about the game, but I really can’t recall not liking anything about this hidden gem.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins was released in America in 1992. At the time, it was one of the largest Game Boy games (4 megabits) and it even had a battery backup save. Players could scroll left and right on the screen – it didn’t follow the traditional linear stage work, and the game also had an overall world map where players could pick and choose what level they wanted to play (similar to Super Mario World). There were also several hidden exits in the levels that would lead to other hidden stages and etc. Not to mention it starred the first appearance of Mario’s fat and greedy arch-nemesis – Wario.

The plot of Super Mario Land 2 depicted Wario stealing Mario’s castle and casting a hypnotic spell across the land. The spell caused the inhabitants to turn against Mario as Wario sat gloriously in his newly stolen castle. The only way Mario could get his castle back was to travel to 6 different themed zones to get the 6 Golden Coins needed to unlock the gate to his castle and defeat Wario. I think this might actually be one of the only Mario games where the plot is NOT to rescue the princess.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins introduced a lot of new things into the Mario franchise, but unfortunately outside of Wario, none of them carried over to later installments. The music in the game was superb, as nearly every Mario game can attest to, yet I have never heard any of the music from either Mario Land or Mario Land 2 in any future Mario games – ‘tis a shame. Super Mario Land 2 was also the first game to introduce the carrot power up, in which Mario sported a bunny suit (similar to Mario Bros. 3’s raccoon tail) and also the feather fire suit which allowed players to destroy specific blocks with fire balls.

The six zones in the game included the Tree Zone, Space Zone, Macro Zone, Pumpkin Zone, Mario Zone, and Turtle Zone. Each one of the zones brought a unique element to the Mario franchise and it’s a bummer that none of them really transferred to later Mario iterations. Although Super Mario Galaxy could have gotten its motivation from Mario Land 2’s Space Zone, which depicts Mario floating through space dodging stars, etc. – it’s a stretch, but hey I have the right to speculate. Many of the zones are pretty self explanatory, in the Tree Zone Mario witnesses several stages involving a tree – the ground around it, inside it, a beehive on its branch, and its top. Other zones, however, are a little more complex such as the Macro and Mario zones. In the Macro Zone, Mario is shrunk down to fit into a little house where he goes through its various rooms. In the Mario Zone, Mario is faced with fighting toy look-alikes of himself and the end villains are… the three little pigs – weird right? Definitely, but hey, it is Mario, and when you think about it the whole idea behind Mario is whack – a fat, Italian plumber who jumps high and eats mushrooms to get stronger. Yep, definitely whack.

It’s a real shame that Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins will never be released on the Wii’s virtual console since it’s an old Game Boy title and not an actual console game, but it’s even more of a shame that I no longer have my Game Boy to play it again. This game is the real successor of Super Mario World (1991). It is based largely off the popularity of SMW and had Super Mario Land 2 been an actual console game, people wouldn’t be discussing which game was the best 2-D platformer between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. They would be discussing which is truly Mario’s greatest adventure between all three of them. As always, thanks for reading.
-Dillon (D-Dub)

P.S. if you have never played this game then you’re missing out. You can get it off of Amazon.com for $9.95, and if you have a Game Boy I highly recommend that you check this hidden gem out.