also.known.as “spvn”

First off, I’m typing this on a 4 year old iMac (1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 1 GB ram, lackluster graphics card). As of now, this is the ONLY computer I have that’s working. So I gotta make do. And that means no games. At all. I’ve attempted to play a few now and then, but my hardware is simply too old to withstand any game that was released within the past few years. Thus, I’ve stopped following any news with regards to gaming for quite some time.

Damn vuvuzelas

But this is E3. You can’t ignore it. Kind of like the World Cup of the gaming world. Except without those damn vuvuzelas. Them horns really ought to be banned. But that’s a rant for another time.

This year’s E3 really blew me away to be honest. With regards to hardware, there was so much new stuff that a new Xbox 360 design is probably the weakest announcement. Motion-control has certainly caught on in a huge way, with Sony announcing its Wii Remote-esque Move and Microsoft its peripheral-less Kinect (originally Project Natal, a technology which I went crazy over). Of course, Nintendo has been doing motion-control for ages now (3.5 years to be exact, since the Wii first released), and it seems they’re constantly breaking new ground with the Nintendo 3DS. A handheld-console that displays 3D graphics without the need for clunky glasses? Oh and not to mention 2 cameras in front so that you can take pictures in 3D? I’m in. Unfortunately the damn thing doesn’t release till Q1 2011.

Just those 3 announcements were big enough to carry the show IMO. The rest of it, while not groundbreaking, was still entertaining nonetheless. The expected announcements of sequels to long-standing franchises (Gears of War 3, Fable 3), as well as the showcasing of some new IPs. And of course a couple of games that took advantage of the new motion controllers. Pretty neat stuff, though it’s still too early to say how successful the Kinect and Move will turn out to be.

Poor ol’ me

Alas, as with every year, I probably won’t get my feet wet with all the new stuff that’s been announced at E3. I have yet to get a current generation console, despite being the avid gamer that I am (or rather was, before my MBP’s display decided it didn’t want to work anymore). The Kinect and Move are intriguing to say the least, though I suspect that as with the Wii, it’s only going to be fun with people around. Standing alone in a room flailing your arms around at your TV is just stupid.

Plenty of new games I hope I eventually get the chance to play of course. I already have a huge backlog of games that want to but have yet to play at this point in time, and its only going to grow. Who knows when I’ll ever get a chance to make some headway in starting on the list.

One thing’s for sure though. If they don’t release Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 on the PC, I might be forced to get a console Damn that game looks awesome.