NVinNYC

E3 2009 seems like it was a great return to form from the ceremonies that have been missed the past few years. I wish I could have attended in person but here’s a list of my personal highlights from what I’ve seen on the internet. Here’s a list of my top 5 favorite announcements in no particular order:

• Mass Effect 2 kicked off the awesome with this trailer which confirms what we’ve always known in our hearts. Sheppard is alive! Plus, how can I resist some awesome Nine Inch Nails in the background. From what I’ve seen it looks like BioWare is doing exactly what they should with the sequel to one of my favorite games, including enhancing the shooting with new weapons and a better control scheme while keeping everything pretty much the same. All that remains to be seen is what happens to the maligned Mako which I expect to hear about shortly. BioWare has acknowledged that in needs to be revamped and I expect they’ll deliver on this (I’m still pulling for a hovercraft/helicopter type craft which could explore in the air but only fight while on the ground.)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic I can’t help but double-down on BioWare after seeing this wonderful cinematic trailer for BioWare’s upcoming MMORPG which is worth watching even if you’re not a gamer (it’s pretty much a Star Wars CGI short film). I’m quite excited by all the positive things I’ve been reading about this game. Here’s to hoping it turns around my distaste of all things MMO.
• Uncharted 2 takes everything you know about adventure movies (specifically ones staring Dr. Jones) and creates a game out of all those great cinematic moments to the point where playing the game feels like staring in your own adventure. Watch this trailer and tell me it doesn’t look like the Indy sequel you always wanted. The first Uncharted rivaled any of the best action movies and I don’t think the second will have any trouble meeting that mark. I’ve been enjoying the recently-released multiplayer beta quite a bit as well. This game alone is reason to have a PS3
• Pixel Junk Shooter is a puzzle/shooter with a great retro vibe. This trailer highlights the gameplay which has a great retro vibe to it along with some very fun looking lava water flow puzzles. The past 2 PixelJunk games have been a blast and this one looks like the best yet.
• Dragon Age is a game I’m honestly trying to avoid any press on as much as possible because my anticipation has already reached critical levels. If you somehow remain unconvinced, watch this trailer (which I’m avoiding) and let me add these notes: ‘dark fantasy’, ‘spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate’ and finally ‘BioWare’.

So in summary, we’ve got 3 big nerdy archetypes: Star Wars (Old Republic), Indiana Jones (Uncharted 2), and Tolkein/D&D (Dragon Age) themed games. The top 5 list also has 3 BioWare games (because they’re like crack for me).

PS: Want to know the worst announcement of E3? Three words: Wii Vitality Sensor. I hate Nintendo.