The annual tradition of gamers latching onto the Internet to view streaming video of press conferences and gameplay footage continued this year as the Electronic Entertainment Expo attempted to revive the glamorous E3 of old. It seems to have worked, as the conferences were bigger than in the past few years while also containing more game footage and news than anyone could possibly keep up with.

After giving it much consideration and looking at it from multiple angles, the following have been chosen as this year’s best and worst.

Highlights:

Sony and Microsoft Motion Tracking/Controls

Everyone knew that Sony and Microsoft were going to try and beat Nintendo at their own game, but the worry was how they would do it. Would you need to purchase a new console? Would the traditional controller become obsolete? Fortunately, neither of these are the case for either company.

While Microsoft’s Project Natal is focusing on an experience without a controller, Sony’s approach feels like a middle-ground between it and Nintendo’s Wiimote. Both methods of control look good, and in some ways even superior to what Nintendo is offering, and best of all will release on the current generation of systems without replacing the current controller we all know so well.

It looks as if Sony will have the lead, however, as Project Natal is clearly far from being finished. The glitched avatar animations on stage are proof of that.

Mod Nation Racers

Even the most die-hard Sony hater must admit that the company has something special with this title. Fans have been wanting a track editor in Mario Kart for years, and yet Sony is the one to deliver with its new Kart style game. In addition to what looks like a fast-paced yet light-hearted racing experience, Mod Nation Racers includes incredibly easy yet diverse tools to create your own race tracks and share them online.

After this and Little Big Planet, one can believe Sony will continue to try and push user-created content even further. Such a move would give them a huge feature to compete with Microsoft and Nintendo, and only provides additional cause to want a Playstation 3.

Wii Motion Plus

It is easy to have nothing but harsh words to say about Nintendo’s latest peripheral attachement. Many gamers feel that this is how the Wii should have functioned on day one, and do not like having to get another accessory for the system.

Whether those points hold any merit or not, the fact of the matter is Nintendo is acknowledging that the hardware can be improved and will be improved. Games released by third parties should perform as we’ve expected them to, helping give Nintendo the support that players are demanding. In addition, Nintendo is allowing third parties to bundle the attachment with their games so players aren’t forced to go and buy the device. Let’s just hope more games than Red Steel 2, Tiger Woods, Grand Slam Tennis and Virtua Tennis choose to bundle the device in as well.

Metroid: Other M

Even if you aren’t a fan of Metroid, this title is something to be excited about. I have yet to speak with a single person that isn’t interested in this title, which looks to simultaneously bring the franchise in a new direction while jumping back to its origins. Team Ninja will surely bring in a brand new vision and style to the gameplay, while Nintendo will stay on the sidelines to make sure everything is going as it should. Though Team Ninja typically doesn’t have a great track record in terms of story, Other M looks to be doing something very different and intriguing for the franchise. Hopefully Nintendo’s involvement will keep it top notch.

If you have never played a Metroid game before, this looks like a perfect opportunity to start.

Disappointments:

Ubisoft’s Press Conference

Not a lot of folks pay as much attention to companies like Ubisoft, EA and Konami’s press conferences. In fact, there wasn’t a single website offering to stream Konami’s. However, no matter what you thought of Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo, Ubisoft had the worst press conference hands down. The first fifteen minutes didn’t show a single clip or screenshot from any game. It was nothing but talk, and when James Cameron was brought out to potentially do something exciting to promote his film Avatar and the game developed alongside of it, he merely talked more. Coupled with footage of Splinter Cell: Conviction that was already seen at Microsoft’s conference, teaser for a game called R.U.S.E. that still has me confused, nothing but a trailer for Assassin’s Creed 2 and another ten or more minutes focusing on Tween girl games, it was by far the most boring and fruitless press conference of all.

I understand that these conferences are also for shareholders and business men, but at some point you need to remember there are even more people watching you online and on G4 expecting something worth their time.

Absence of Demos For Home Viewers

In 2006 Microsoft promised big things with “Bringing it Home”, even though the only demos they had released were for Lost Planet and…maybe some other game. A few years later, and despite the number of companies building demos for the show floor, none have been released for home users but Overlord 2 and a beta for 1 vs. 100. Don’t get me wrong, both are fun, but it seems to me that both Sony and Microsoft ought to be reaching out to the third parties and getting as many demos released as possible. Players don’t want to just see the games, they want to play them. If the company is building a demo anyway, why not share it with the fans that plan on buying the game down the line?

Complete Lack of Price Drops

The Wii is still $250, the Playstation 3 is still expensive, and the hard drives for the Xbox 360 are still way too high. In a time of economic crisis, wouldn’t it help the companies sell more units if they offer their products at a lower price?

Left 4 Dead 2

It seems as if Valve is on an eternally bad streak this E3, what with no Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and a lack of support for the first Left 4 Dead with downloadable content. A company that has prided themselves on giving the community free content and not doing things for the cash is coming out with a sequel to a game that hasn’t seen any substantial support, no SDK and is expecting players to drop fifty or sixty bucks once again. Valve may feel that an additional special infected and melee weapons are worth a full price tag, but I say giving a player a chainsaw is just another invitation for friendly fire.

Bottom Line:

In the end, E3 feels as if it has returned back to the way it once was. There are a lot of great announcements, trailers and videos shown, as well as the usual disappointments and complaints. However, each year, just when it seems as if all the good games have already been released, even more trailers, demos and announcements are made for the masses to gawk and drool at.

E3 2009 was a huge success. Now to return to normal life, where everything seems a lot less colorful all of a sudden.

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