We refused to write a recap of E3 2008 as we felt that it was simply a rehash of E3 2007 without much fanfare. We were glad to see that E3 2009 went back to the basics with more of a large-scale event compared to the previous two years where they stripped much of what made E3 fun out of the event. The games were always present like usual as well as more booth babes which is never a bad thing at an E3 Expo. E3 2009 was a great year for hardware device add-ons as we saw numerous hardware gadgets at the show including the introduction of the motion sensing device known as Project Natal from Microsoft as well as the Wii Motion Plus addition for the Nintendo Wii. Sony introduced their new PSP Portable device called ‘PSP Go’ and there was plenty of games now taking advantage of hardware additions including the new Guitar Hero ‘DJ Edition’ which includes a turntable device and Tony Hawk’s new skateboarding video game which will include a skateboard to use while playing the game.
Nintendo also had a booth showcasing some more stuff for their Wii Fit brand but we don’t think showcasing exercise equipment to a bunch of overweight reporters was the best marketing campaign for the company and hope to see the device being marketed more in places where people might actually use one like at the gym. It wouldn’t be an E3 if we didn’t talk about some great new games that are on the horizon and luckily for us there was some solid games at this year’s event. Here’s a quick rundown of 5 games that we expect will do well this holiday season.
Batman: Arkhym Asylum
-It’s not too often that the words ‘Batman’ and ‘Video Game’ get people excited but it’s looking like we may finally have a great Batman game on our hands. The reason that movie video games have done poorly in the past is that developers have often been given limited development time in order to release the video game at the same time as the movie’s release date. This video game has no story arc with any Batman movie and was therefore given the proper development time that it deserved in order to make the game better. It’s a pretty simple plot. The Joker fakes being captured and sent to the asylum only to lock Batman in Arkhym with every single bad guy that he’s helped to capture in the first place. The game features some beat em up action as well as some stealth and plenty of gadgets to play around with. The PS3 version will even allow you to play as the Joker so there’s an extra incentive for all those PS3 owners to pick up the game and play it on the PS3.
Heavy Rain
-The increased popularity of motion control video games has led to a decrease in video games with strong storyline plots. Heavy Rain flips motion sensing upside down with a strong video game storyline that allows the video game user to play the video game in many different ways without a single linear path to follow. The game uses the ‘Quick Time Event’ gimmick a lot which has been seen in many video games such as Resident Evil recently where a user has only a split second to push multiple buttons in order to escape death or change the direction of the video game at a moment’s notice. We’re expecting a lot from this video game and hope the developers don’t sacrifice a strong story for poor controls and poor game play.
Mafia II
-A Mafia sequel is almost here but is it worth the wait? Many games have come and gone since the first Mafia video game and many people might choose to prefer a game such as Grand Theft Auto or Saint’s Row instead. The game play takes place in the mid 1950s and is still an open world game with much of the same graphics and art work to resemble what 1950s America looked like. The developers have borrowed the ‘Hide Behind Walls and Duck’ maneuver that is so popular in video game controls but the open world city looks big and busy and we’re hoping that Mafia II won’t be another Grand Theft Auto clone when it comes out soon.
New Super Mario Bros Wii
-New Super Mario Bros Wii (not to be confused with the Nintendo DS game with a similar name that we reviewed a year or two ago in our last recap special) is a brand new and original Super Mario Bros. adventure that is based on the original game for the Nintendo NES system that came out a long, long time ago. We will see new levels, new bad guys and the ability to play 4 player co-op with some of your friends. We think that the 4 player co-op mode is a bit of a gimmick that will grow tiresome very fast but we are still excited that there will be a brand new Super Mario Bros. adventure that is a 2D side scroller and not a 3D game like Super Mario Galaxy.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
-The first Call of Duty game not set in World War 2 became an instant hit as soon as it was released. Every year we think that we’ve seen enough Call of Duty sequels but once again we have been proven wrong. Many games such as Battlefield Bad Company or Medal of Honor have tried to beat out Call of Duty as the best War video game but once again Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward have proven that they can add just the right touch of gun battles with explosions as well as a snowmobile chase to keep gamers coming back for more each and every year.
There were lots of other great games this year and we’d like to give honorable mention to 15 games that we could have just as easily included but just didn’t make the list or that we may have included previously in other recaps…
God of War 3
Mass Effect 2
Bioshock 2
Left For Dead 2
Shadow Complex
Forza Motorsport 3
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Uncharted 2
Assassins Creed 2
Alan Wake
Red Steel 2
Bayonetta
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Supreme Commander 2
Crackdown 2
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