E3

Biggest Surprise:
Secondhand reports that Project Natal actually works, and is a reasonable control scheme for games like Burnout.

Least Surprised:
Milo was BS, being controlled by another Dev at a computer the whole time.

Most Fun Hands-on:
Getting my ass kicked at Tekken 6 a bunch of times. There were some *good* players there. Or I suppose only the good players care anymore about Tekken.

Least Fun Hands-on:
Trying to play Tekken at a 360 kiosk. Although it was enjoyable to see everyone else swearing at how unplayable the D-Pad was.

Best Visuals:
God of War 3 looks really, really good. Especially when you're sitting 12 inches from a 30 inch HDTV LCD.

Biggest Disappointment:
Walking by the Scribblenauts booth multiple times and never trying it.

Games I was convinced to buy during E3:
Arkham Asylum, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Mini Ninjas, Uncharted 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Mass Effect 2



Overall, what most impressed me this year was how many good games there are. In most every genre, there are multiple, very strong contenders producing fantastic games. It's a good time to be a gamer, and a delightfully (and stressfully) challenging time to be a developer.

I was also surprised by how much was kept behind closed-doors for press/VIP only. All in all, I think that's a good move, as controlling the experience helps most games (including us), even though I don't get to see as much. I did like the way Ubisoft had hourly, short, controlled public demos of their products, to help drive the busier press outlets into their booths. That might be the best route to go within the new E3.