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E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2004 May 26, 2004 Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Convention Center shook with the roar of NASCAR racers, explosions of high tech weapons, growls and groans of various monsters--and much more–-at the Tenth Anniversary of E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) from May 12 - 14. The newest in gaming software, hardware and wild peripherals were on display, anticipating their release sometime before the holiday season. Eager gamers poured over the gaming stations, waiting to try out the latest games for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo, PC and others. The trend in the newest games was to build sequels on established titles. Innovation was at a minimum. The sequels tended to follow two paths: one providing more violence, with additional weapons, monsters and methods of destruction; the other adding personality and character development and more interesting story lines and plot development. Or both, such as Dungeon Siege II (Microsoft Games), where the added new characters have a past history and personality. It was clear to us that graphics, animations and sound (including original music and surround sound) and program navigation are becoming more mature and are less and less a differentiating point between the various new titles. This leaves only the storyline, characters, or game play to make the difference. For example, new titles such as Missing, (The Adventure Company), create a mystery adventure on a global perspective. The quest involves a complex tale you need to unravel from clues in the program, some of which require investigation on the Internet. Or Cold War, (DreamCatcher), a superbly crafted tale of mystery and adventure set in Russia. Among the action entertainment titles, we liked the racing and sports titles, such as NASCAR 2005 and Madden 2005 (both from EA Sports) as being fun for all. Lost among the profusion of noisy entertainment titles were some educational games. One such program, Making History: The Calm & The Storm (Muzzy Lane Software) incorporates the history of the world in the years around World War II. You can play as the leader of one of several countries and are given historically accurate military, political, social and economic information for that time period. You can improve the outcome for your country by changing various parameters, create "what if" scenarios and more, alone against the computer or in multi-player mode.
Another educational title, Children of the Nile (Myelin Media), lets you recreate the world of Ancient Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs. You must balance your needs for achievement against the needs of your people in this city-building game. Of note are the 3D graphics portraying your city and the realistically depicted interactions among the castes of your populace. A music education title, Children’s Musical Journey, (Adventus Software), is a comprehensive music introductory course designed to span kindergarten, first and second grade levels. On-screen lessons with famous composers (not all classical) as teachers begin the series, with children learning and practicing simple tunes, rhythm and more on a MIDI connected keyboard. Children are gradually introduced to naming notes on the keyboard and on a music score; they’re also encouraged to create original compositions. Music games based on the learning help to increase the fun. The producers of the award-winning Mia (the mouse) series (Kutoka Software), introduced a new grade-based education title, Didi & Ditto Kindergarten. Didi & Ditto are two animated, fun-filled beavers who lead children on a series of adventure-based learning activities. The world in which they live is a wonderful, colorful fantasy land with spiral trees, blue wolfs and much more. Much fun in learning here. A new title based on a popular movie is Spy Kids: Mission The Man in the Moon, (Brighter Child), where children play through the adventure and find challenges that can only be solved by resorting to a printed code book. New on the hardware scene is a NASCAR licensed steering wheel controller from Logitech. Pedals and throttle controls also available. Logitech is also introducing a Cordless Precision Controller that is a joy to hold and use. Other companies showed us gaming keypads built into reclining couches (complete with speakers) and exercise bicycles with keypads on the handlebars. RedSky Mobile introduced a GPS (global positioning system) module, the Pioneer Personal Navigation System, for the Game Boy Advanced. Along with downloaded maps, it’ll show you where you are and/or where you want to go. The associated software allows use for cool location games such as scavenger hunts. Mobile entertainment is coming into its own with the introduction of Sony’s PSP, Nintendo’s DS, Gizmondo’s Gizmondo and SI-Interphase’s Rouge. These are all hand-held devices that can play video games and MP3 music and also show movies, all on the go. And games for your cell phone are inpressive. Many new games take advantage of the better graphics and color of the new breed of cell phones. We predict you’ll be seeing lots more of these mobile devices soon. Also new is the Apextreme media and gaming console from Apex Digital. This all-in-one tabletop device plays PC games, DVD movies, audio CDs, MP3 music and serves as a DVR (digital video recorder). Much more was on display, all cool and exciting. Stay tuned . . . |
