E3 Roundup

May 21, 2005 | Video Games

I wasn’t at E3 but I did try to keep up to date with the news updates.

As expected all three ‘next gen’ consoles have been announced, and frankly I’m underwhelmed. They all look fairly ugly with Nintendo making the closest to an attractive machine (it’s also the smallest).

However how the console looks matters little, it’s the games that are important. There were a few games that stood out for me, so I’ve done a little round-up of what I think was the best of show - the games I’m looking forward too.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

It’s Zelda - I don’t think I need to go into any more details. My ‘favourite game ever’ is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and it looks like Zelda: Twilight Princess has the potential to replace it.

Aesthetically the game is stunning, it’s definitely pushing the GameCube to it’s limits. I didn’t mind the look of Wind Waker but it’s good to be going back to the more realistic look of the N64 games.

In terms of gameplay I can’t see things changing all that much, but the Zelda games have always been solidly designed. For me the games are about exploration, and the sense of adventure and as long as that’s still intact I’ll be happy.

Okami

As you can probably tell I’m a fan of action & adventure games. I’m also a graphics whore; I like games that try to do things differently, whether it’s the visual minimalism of
Ico or the hyper stylized realism of Half Life 2.

Okami is one such game. Creating a game that mimics the style of classic Japanese art is an inspired idea, and the movies I have seen looks like they will pull it off very well. The team behind the game is Clover, the group that brought Viewtiful Joe to the world so it’s clear we’re in for something different.

Spore

I don’t know much about this game but I’ve noticed it on a number of different gaming sites. The premise is intriguing - start with a single cell organism and finish having conquered a galaxy. Created by Will Wright, the developer behind the Sims and Sim City, this is definitely one to watch.

Prince of Persia 3

I have really enjoyed the current Prince of Persia series (never a fan of the the original 2d version). The second game seemed to loose it’s way a bit, but the first was a beautiful classic. It looks like the 3rd (and final?) game in the series will combine the best elements of the first two making the ultimate Prince of Persia experience.

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