I am proud to announce that E3 was not the snore fest that many had been expecting this year. Usually there is a ton of pre-E3 buzz that floats around to build anticipations, but this year the fronts were silent. Not a creature was stirring, not even Bill Gates. So the unexpected happened. While not the best E3 ever, this expo redeemed the faith of its attendees and let out quite a few surprises. Possibly the biggest was Sony’s announcement of the PSP, a portable Sony system that runs on mini-discs. Now while there isn’t much word on battery life or an exact price, it is known that it is a move to make Sony’s audience wider (if it wasn’t wide enough now). It is the biggest surprise of the show simply because no one was expecting it. Sony has always maintained a focus on the Playstation and Playstation 2 since day one and this announcement proves that Sony is a company that is impossible to decode. I personally expect the PSP to cause a major competition battle between Nintendo in the handheld realm but until more solid information is released, im going to keep quiet on my personal thoughts on the outcome. Possibly the second biggest surprise (although inevitable) was the GameCube-Game Boy Advance Player. The GameCube can now play GBA games and while it didn’t create the shock that the GBA SP created (and the original Super GameBoy), it did win enough of the peoples praises to warrant a good mention. Aside from disappointing price drops from both the X-Box and Playstation 2 ($197 ?????, sorry not a big whoop), that was pretty much it for the hardware surprises.

    Sorry but that answer is as simple as they come. Of course they were good or I wouldn’t have praised this year’s expo to be very good. The biggest surprise in the way of games had to be Prince of Persia for the GameCube, X-Box and the Playstation 2. It was by far the most polished game at the show. It featured the smooth animations, breathtaking graphics and polished gameplay that has been missing from the gaming scene for so long (Ok, Zelda and Vice City are exceptions). The next game would have to be Tony Hawk Underground. Once again the developers promise to revolutionize the genre by showing off some new types of gameplay and I personally say that if they can beat the extraordinary Tony Hawk 3, then they are masters of the gaming world. My personal favorite game of the show was Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the Playstation 2. I have always been a Metal Gear fan and always will be, and this new game will certainly not break that chain. From the new emphasis on action and the deeper and more lush environments, this installment is looking to be one of the best games that video gaming has to offer. The game will once again take a cinematic feel to gaming and provide a deep and intense story line that fans of the series will love. The best news is that you play Snake, a lot. This was a major disappointment that plagued Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (I so hated Raiden). I do hope that they add new gameplay elements since the same formula will not always work more than a certain amount of times, but im sure that Konami can pull it off. Resident Evil 4 was another excellent showing at the expo. Flashy graphics and a deep story line isn’t all you need to make a great game, and the creators of the Resident Evil saga know that. Which means you can expect a lot of refined and puzzle related gameplay for this new installment. Square Enix once again showed off their stuff with Final Fantasy Online (which still has an “up in the air” launch date). What has been seen looks extraordinary, but it would seem to be a wise choice for them to wait until the Playstation 2 hard drive is released. Overall, the games previewed at E3 were excellent this year.

    Even I cannot predict that, but what I can tell you is that this years Expo seems to be one of the most satisfying experiences for gamers ever. From a new Metal Gear Solid, all the way to the next installment of the popular survival horror saga that is Resident Evil, no expo has shown so much polish and excitement that this one has (well not in awhile anyway). I hope you enjoyed the return of my column and you can check it out next week with its new features and more detailed information. Until then, make sure to clean our your ears and wash your eyes, because it seems that the video game world is redefining sight and sound all over again.