My E3 2011 Picks

This year's E3 has come and gone. Even though there weren't a lot of games announced/shown this time around that managed to wow me (I'm looking at you Square-Enix!), E3 2011 was still pretty good. It was kind of a letdown for those of us who expected to see more Japanese games at the event though. But then again, there's always Tokyo Game Show in September. On the hardware side of things, Sony and Nintendo officially unveiled their new gaming handheld and console respectively, which certainly piqued my interest.

Here are short summaries on what I feel made this year's E3 memorable for me.

Playstation Vita

Sony's next generation portable device finally has a (real) name - Playstation Vita, and it plays great. They haven't announced any games that I really want to play on it yet (I can't get excited about Golden Abyss until I've actually played at least one Uncharted game), but it's inevitable that I'll be holding a PSV in my hands one day.

Read the full details on the Playstation Vita at: Gamespot

Wii U

I've never owned a Nintendo console in my life but it appears the Wii U may have the chance to break that tradition. Why? Because it really does change how games are played and the new way of gaming has the potential to be a lot of fun. Now if only they would release The Last Story in English.

Read the full details on the Wii U at: Gamespot, IGN

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy: Type-0 may be absent from E3 this year but at least Square-Enix gave us a first real look at the Final Fantasy XIII sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2, complete with English voice acting! (I still prefer Japanese voices though). Keywords for FFXIII-2: Quick Time Events, New Characters, Exploration, Moogle, Dialogue Choices and Multiple Endings. That last one was a pleasant surprise because none of the previous Final Fantasy games had multiple endings (not really, anyway).

Read more about Final Fantasy XIII-2 at: Andriasang, Siliconera, Gamespot

Tomb Raider

Speaking of surprises, one game truly caught me off-guard - Tomb Raider. The demo shown during the Microsoft Press Conference looked amazing and even though we'll be hearing a lot of yelling of pain by Lara Croft in the game, I can't wait to play it (sorry, Lara). So, forget about the Tomb Raider games you've played in the past and make way for what appears to be an excellent reboot.

Read more about Tomb Raider at: 1up

Zelda 25th Anniversary Concert

If you watch the Nintendo Press Conference, you'd realised how epic some of the music from the Zelda games can be, especially when you hear them performed by a live orchestra. So it was nice when Zelda creator Miyamoto Shigeru said that they'll be holding concerts around the world to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda games. I like it how they're giving fans of the series a chance to listen to their favourite Zelda tunes live. If I were a Zelda fan (I can't call myself one since I didn't play any of the games), I'd be jumping for joy now. Really, there should be more games related concerts like this. Then you can start praying for them to stop by your country. (I'm still waiting for the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert to come to Malaysia.)

Other E3 Highlights

These games are good and you know it.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Mass Effect 3

Special Mention

Journey

It's not the destination that counts, but the Journey. That's the theme behind this aptly named Playstation Network exclusive game. Journey is a short game (you can finish it in less than a day) but the developers believe that the experience players get in the end will be truly unique. Will Journey be able to offer the same level of enjoyment as the blockbuster games I've put up above? Maybe not. But it will be known as one of those small titles that proves video games can indeed be seen as art.