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Editorials 
E3 Impressions.
- By Travis
Coats
All good things must come to end, and E3 is no exception. This year’s show was my first and what a wonderful event it was. The videogame industry certainly knows how to throw a party. First I would like to thank my fellow staff members of Ngenres for letting me tag along. Tariq in particular as he literally helped get my foot in the door so to speak. Thanks again guys, let’s do it again next year! Secondly, this is a follow up to my “E3 Predictions” editorial, and in it I made some guesses as to what the expo might hold. In this, I will show exactly how close I was (or wasn’t as the case may be). Lastly I will give a few thoughts on what I thought of the plethora of sensations that is E3.
As far as my predictions went I did ok, nothing too close, and nothing too far off. There are two exceptions for both extremes, but overall they were right down the middle. For the full editorial containing my predictions please go to http://sports.ngenres.com/editorials/14.html. Without first viewing that, this piece may seem a bit confusing.
1080 2
Well, it wasn’t shown at the show, but recent information has come to light stating that 1080 2 is indeed in development by Left Field studios for the GameCube. So while my timing was off I got this one right.
All Star Baseball 2002
This game surprisingly wasn’t shown at the show and as such my prediction still stands. I see no reason this game won’t make it to Nintendo’s next machine.
FIFA 2002
I was correct in my assumption that this game wouldn’t be announced at E3. When it finally is revealed I’m still of the mind that it will be a port.
Madden 2002
My prediction for this game was finer control than competing versions. Indeed I was correct, but that is simply due to the superb layout of the Nintendo GameCube controller. The game looked more impressive visually than the other versions as well, at least in my opinion.
Mario Kart
Correct again, as I had predicted that this game was coming, I just didn’t know when. Not much was revealed except for a very brief video of Mario and his brother Luigi racing their karts on a silver-black surface, but thankfully it was something. I am certainly looking forward to hearing more info on this one.
NBA Courtside 2002
I can’t really pat myself on the back concerning this game, as I didn’t make much of a guess about it. I said that it would showcase the GameCube’s power and to be honest I was wrong. This game was nice but others shown at E3 looked far better. The real meat of this game was the complexity of it.
NFL Blitz and NHL Hitz 2002
Both of these games were not shown as GameCube titles. The PS2 versions looked well enough, but I didn’t see a fight mode in NHL Hitz like I thought I would.
Ready 2 Rumble 3
Ok, well for this one I completely and officially made an ass of myself. This game wasn’t even shown for any systems, let alone the GameCube or the Game Boy Advance. In fact it wasn’t even announced. This was certainly a bad call on my part.
Ridge Racer V
Another game that wasn’t shown at E3 was Ridge Racer V. Why it wasn’t I don’t know. Perhaps Namco just didn’t want to display it, or even worse, the idea that it is headed to GameCube is wrong altogether. Not a pleasant thought for sure.
SSX: Special Edition
I originally predicted this game wouldn’t be as good as 1080 2 snowboarding. I was wrong in that fact. How could I make a guess like that when I haven’t heard much of anything about either of them? That’s not all, as I also thought this would be playable or at the very least mentioned at this year’s show. Wrong again it seems, as there wasn’t so much as a whisper about this title, which is quite unusual.
Soul Calibur 2
I stuck my neck out on this particular one, and luckily there was no announcement either way. However, there have been some rumblings that this game may appear for all next generation machines, so hopefully I will be proven correct in my assumptions.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Well this one is a mixed bag. I really hoped Pit from Kid Icarus fame would be shown as a playable or secret character, and he was if only briefly. Most of the secret characters haven’t been revealed but there were a few, and I was correct on the villains being some of them. Bowser is playable and King K. Rool from Donkey Kong made a showing as well. Ganon I don’t know about, but I honestly still think he will be in the final version as both Link and Shiek are playable.
THQ WWF Title
I was wrong on my prediction that this would be shown at the show. Nothing was mentioned at the THQ booth that pertained to GameCube. At least the game is still coming as far as we know.
Tony Hawk 3
The only information about this game that was released was that Neversoft would be developing it, nothing more. The PS2 version looked all right though, so this will be one to watch out for.
Wave Race
This was the closest I came on all of my predictions. I had said that there would be eight racers and I was right on the money. I also stated that there would be ten courses in the game but I missed it by one, as the final tally was eleven. I was looking forward to this game the most and I was in no way disappointed by the demo shown.
That’s it for my predictions. As you can see I wasn’t horrible, yet certainly not psychic.
As far as the show itself is concerned, I have a few thoughts on the systems and the whole experience in general. This is nothing as detailed as Rob’s journal but it should sum up my feelings well enough.
The Show
Crowded, loud, and short… but also exciting, vibrant, and amazing. To summarize the whole experience would take hours, so let me just say that I am looking forward to next year. I think that says it all.
The NGenres Staff
What can I say? These guys are great. From the moment I met them they all made me feel welcome, and for that I am truly grateful. This show would have been far less enjoyable if they weren’t as cool as they are. Not all was perfect though. The Jiggly twins kicked my butt in Smash Bros too many times to count. Just you wait! I will practice and return stronger than ever before!! Link will be victorious!!! All kidding aside, thank you again guys. I don’t think I will ever be able to convey what this whole thing meant to me. I appreciate you letting me be a part of it.
The GameCube
Wow. I knew this machine was going to be good, but I never thought like this. Simply put, this little purple cube was the reason the Nintendo booth was a packed house. The Cube’s graphics and sound are like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. November seems very far away that’s for sure.
The Game Boy Advance
For a machine that is the pinnacle of two-dimensional gaming, there sure were a lot of 3D titles for it. Almost all of said 3D titles were not good either. The developers that took the machine for what it is (a 2D system) have created some amazing games that will bring about the return of classic gaming. Others however haven’t figured this out. I honestly hope these certain nameless 3rd parties will realize the capabilities of the GBA and develop accordingly. With that said the new Game Boy is wonderful, and a true successor to the greatest selling console of all time.
The Game of the Show
Talk about a hard choice. Almost all of the titles I saw for GameCube were astounding in their quality. In the end though Eternal Darkness won out, if only for the simple reason that Denis Dyack (the President of Silicon Knights) was demonstrating the title and explaining it's virtues. When hearing him speak of this game it became very apparent to see the work, time, and detail that went into it.
The “Other” Systems
Bear in mind I am writing for a Nintendo-centric site so this may not be pretty. One word summarizes my feelings for the PS2 and X-Box, and that word is hype. Perhaps I am just getting older but none of the games on these systems appealed to me, not a single one. I love racing games, but GT3 is far too simulation-like for my tastes. Madden 2002 looked better on GameCube, and Halo, the flagship title for X-Box, is nothing more than a glorified PC game with some serious framerate issues. If this is what the other companies are offering, then I think I will stick with the Big N. I wasn’t the only one that thought that way either if the sheer amount of people in Nintendo’s booth is any indication…
The Highlight of E3
Just for kicks and because it made me laugh for quite a long time, I think I will share this. All parties involved said it was ok to so here goes. What was the highlight of E3 for me? Was it Eternal Darkness? How about the enormous Nintendo booth? Perhaps the attractive booth women? Nope, it was none of these things. The highlight of the entire show was when Joe of NAdventures cracked his elbow. I have never seen anything that odd in my entire life, and that image will stick with me for a long time to come. Thanks for the laughs Joe, and quit doing that before you break your arm.
On that note, E3 is something that you have to experience to believe. Seeing it through screen shots or video does not do it justice. If you ever have a chance to go, seize it, as the whole thing is worth every second.
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