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Trip Down E3 Lane: 2004 Edition

Part 1

Well, another E3 has come and gone just as fast as the last one. Three days (well, two days for myself) of nonstop gaming action. From the sexy booth babes to the cameo appearances by some of Hollywood’s and entertainment’s finest, there wasn’t a place in the convention center left for a quiet moment of rest. Sure you can try the back of some quiet booth, but there’s bound to be someone or something there that will disturb your peace. This year, AE hit the floor hard.

LucasArts' Mercenaries (left) and the General Lee (right)

When I first walked in the door I felt some déjà vu come over me. Most of the big companies were set up in relatively the same area. Microsoft and Electronic Arts were in the South Hall and Sony and Nintendo had the West Hall pretty much covered. Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal, Namco, and Nokia, among others, were all set to go as well, marking the Tenth Anniversary of the biggest convention gaming has to offer.

AE was lucky enough to get some pretty “secret” information from the show including two of Microsoft’s biggest titles that weren’t shown on the floor, Halo 2 and BC. Halo 2, Bungie’s and Microsoft’s pride and joy, was kept guarded behind two doors, which bore no logo or name, and was only accessible by appointment. BC wasn’t given the same attention as Halo 2, but was still an appointment only showing in the Microsoft “apartments.”

While Sony and Nintendo were showcasing the hardware of the future, Microsoft spent every inch of the floor showing off their software. Full Spectrum Warrior, Fable, Doom 3, Forza – the list is so damn long that it would take another feature to write them all out. The worst part was, with the barricaded walls around the booth, there were huge packs of people that were difficult to avoid.

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Trying to even take a peak at a game was a next to impossible task, let alone actually play it. Oh, and standing behind someone pleading with them to let you play will yield no response. You’d think that someone from Microsoft would say “Hey buddy, your time is up, let this guy who has stood behind you for twenty minutes have a shot.” The problem is some people want to play the entire game right there on the show floor. Next year, I’m taking a baseball bat with me to serve as my “negotiator.”

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After reaching a softer zone known as the “Media Center” at the end of the Microsoft booth, I ventured inside a small little sub-booth, which was filled with all of the box covers of the games coming out later this year. I particularly found the silver special edition Halo 2 box cover the best, although the regular Halo 2 box didn’t look half bad either. The most interesting item there was in the back corner: a vending machine. Not just any vending machine, one that will sell games. All you have to do is stick your credit card in, punch in the game you want, and down like a bag of ships comes your game. I think that this is a great idea and would serve as a much better alternative than talking to some retail videogame store employees who try to sell you a piece of crap game. I just wonder what would happen if the game gets stuck. I understand someone walking away from a bag of $.50 Doritos, but a $50 game… that’s a different story that I will have my bat take care of as well.

TimeSplitters 3 (left) and Sega's booth (right)

After moving out through Microsoft I ran into some pretty interesting stuff over at Ubisoft.

Prince of Persia 2 looked spectacular, although I really wanted to see Splinter Cell 3, seeing that I play Pandora Tomorrow online almost as a nightly ritual. I heard that they were showing a video so I thought I’d go over to see it – than I saw a line that was much too long for my hapless and battered legs but this year, as part of the media, I could bypass the lines. After speaking with someone from Ubisoft I was admitted into the back where I found…chairs! Not only chairs but drinks as well! After a brief break I was inside with a controller in hand, which was used to vote on what we wanted to see next in the Splinter Cell 3 video. I figured we would see the same old stuff from the first two but when that video started; there wasn’t a single person not on the edge of their seats. The amount of ingenuity and advancement is more than the first two combined. To read the full impressions of the insane game that is Splinter Cell 3, just refer to the complete preview. (Coming soon.)

I think it’s time to cut off now, since I’m likely to make another rant sooner or later. In the spirit of recent Friends and Frasier finales, the concluding Part II of this short-running feature will, indeed, be my last until the next E3. Don’t worry, dry your tears – I’m sure I’ll have this reach syndication.

- Eric Lahiji

element@armchairempire.com

(May 20, 2003)