Sleepy Gamer

Van and I were fortunate enough to attend E3 this year down in Los Angeles, and although most of the good stuff was shrouded in secrecy behind closed doors, we were able to try out what we could on the showroom floor.  If I’d have to classify the show’s vibe, I’d say the ESA took a line drive down the middle, between the spectacle of E3’s of the past and the invite-only reduction seen in the last few years.  There was enough foot traffic and crowds to know what was hot, yet the lines were not long enough that you had to pick what to see and what to bypass.  So take a look at what we saw and played.

New Super Mario Bros Wii

NSMB Wii was Nintendo’s olive branch to the hardcore for 2009, since their other debuted must-haves (Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid: Other M) won’t be out until 2010.  The fresh take on the classic platforming formula moves to the Wii with a Zelda: The Four Swords-like approach to multiplayer.  We were able to try out one of the 4-player levels in its cooperative, but mostly competitive, 2.5-D sidescrolling mayhem.  As always, the controls were solid (what Mario game isn’t?) and the action was intense.  However, it was more fun trying to screw with your rival buddies, flinging each other into pits and bouncing on heads, than it was trying to navigate the level honorably.  I’m assuming the final package will include every bit as much gameplay as the single player DS campaign did, and coupled with multiplayer, it looks to be quite the party game this Fall.

Wii Sports Resort

Essentially it’s Wii Sports 2 packaged with a hardware patch to the Wiimote controller, known as Wii Motion Plus.  But unlike the Mario Kart wheel and the Link’s Crossbow Training “Zapper”, this is one accessory you’re going to want.  After demoing the Skydiving and Basketball mini-games, and watching Van try out Archery, the more precise 1-to-1 movements, especially ones involving the 3rd dimension plane backward and forward, made the experience feel all the more immersive.  I can’t say nearly enough about the 3-Point shooting contest.   It just felt so natural, pulling a ball off the rack, cocking the controller back and firing your hands up in the air, follow-through and all!  This time around there are 12 sports, with multiple variations on each.  And although I’m not crazy about all of them (seriously, Disc Dog?!?), I am glad it wasn’t just another repackaged Wii Play release, though I’m sure that’s coming.  What I don’t understand is why this tech never made its way into the launch system in the first place.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

While I was a bit disappointed we weren’t treated to that new Zelda Wii game being worked on, I did get to check out a dungeon out of the upcoming Zelda Phantom Hourglass sequel.  Like the previous DS entry, it’s stylus-controls only, and once again it works flawlessly.  The level I played had me guiding a lifeless, stone guardian around by plotting a line with the stylus.  The dual character action felt great and the puzzles were clever enough.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fight any boss battles as the E3 doors were about to close.  No mention of any more pac-man style multiplayer this time around, but I assume we’ll see some type of extra mode announced soon.

Forza 3

By the time Forza 3 ships, we will have seen 3 iterations of the driving series since the release of the last, full Gran Turismo game.  Once again, Forza is pushing the envelope with features like  incredible multi-layered terrain, internal cockpit view, car roll over, in-game video editing, and hosted video sharing.  Perhaps the best new feature is the ability to rewind the action whenever and how often you choose, allowing you to practice any turn or undo a last minute mistake on a painstakingly long endurance race.  Why no racing game has ever chosen to include such an option is a mystery.  The setup they had at E3 was pretty sweet, complete with triple LCD screens, driving wheel and a hydraulics-based chair to simulate the onscreen movements.  Looks to be a solid Fall release among the strong competition of Split Second, Fuel, and Need For Speed: Shift.