2004 E3 Expo: Sequel Opportunity Employment by Corey J. Feldman

The video game world is graced each year with a convention known as the E3 Expo.
This year, from May 12-14 in Los Angeles, CA, exhibitors from the gaming and entertainment industry got together to preview their projects scheduled for release within the next year. Many of the game designers released trailers and demos for the much anticipated video games of 2004 and 2005, most of which were sequels to successful games from the past few years.

One of the most eagerly awaited games for Nintento’s Gamecube is the next episode of the classic adventure, The Legend of Zelda GCN (a.k.a Wind Walker 2). A trailer for the game revealed a highly detailed fantasy land similar to the world created in Nintendo 64’s The Ocarina of Time. Link, our hero, sword fights monsters and ogres both from his feet and from the saddle of his trusty horse. The trailer didn’t actually reveal much since the game is still possibly a year away, but it did give weight to some rumors that this will be one of the first games to use the full power of the Gamecube. If the game is half as cool as the preview, it’ll probably be one of Nintendo’s best, ever. The game engine produces realistic landscapes, killer monsters, and an innovative camera system that seemlesly switches between first person and map mode when in the dungeons. Players are able to see parts of the 3D maze ahead, but when the character encounters an enemy the camera sweeps to shoot the battle from behind.

Nintendo also showed a demo from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, another long-running game series dating back to the days of NES, along with Mario and Zelda. Metroid games have all followed a consistent storyline about a female bounty hunter named Samus Aran who travels to planets and solar systems to fight various enemies. The first installment on the Gamecube was raved as one of the most satisfying one-player/first-person games out there, and the demo for Metroid Prime 2 seems to take the same concept to a new level. This game includes all the power-ups, morphball bombs, and weapons upgrades one could hope for. There is also a whole new concept of the simultaneous existence of the light world vs. a dark world, and what seems to be a good Samus vs. an evil Samus, which gives the game a deeper sense of balance. Furthermore, the previews revealed numerous new moves and attacks, as well as split-screen multiplayer mode, something the first Metroid Prime was lacking. The game is scheduled for release in November.

The Grand Theft Auto package for the Sony Playstation 2 will allegedly become a trilogy this October with the release of GTA: San Andreas. The game continues on the plot- action-driven path that GTA3 paved. The storyline puts the main character, CJ, in the midst of gang wars, family murders, and corrupt authorities in the early ‘90s, an original concept in a different time and place than the other two games. The cities that gamers will explore bare resemblance to both the California coast as well as Las Vegas, and there will undoubtedly be more space to explore than in previous games. You can expect all the fun and mayhem of cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters, and a number of new vehicles like push bikes and possibly ATVs. All the qualities that made the first two games successful are edging their way into this sequel, and hopefully the gameplay and plot will be as fresh and exciting as that first time you ripped an old guy out of his minivan and beat him with a golf club. What a great game.

The Roller Coaster Tycoon series has made building amusement parks a joyous gaming experience, but in the past two games, riding your inverted, floorless, alien-themed roller coaster was never possible. Screenshots for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 revealed a completely 3D real-time park, which means that you can see what it’s like to sit front row on your coasters. The new 3D engine has given the developers the opportunity to ad some serious personality to the game's sims. After building a jaw-dropping coaster, hop in and look around to find the avid riders laughing and putting their hands in the air while those with weaker stomachs looking sick or frightened. A character creator has been added so players can build their own family or friends. With many options, most people will be able place their family and friends likenesses within their park. This third installment, scheduled for release by Christmas, should take the simulation game to a new and exciting level of action.

Sony was the first to introduce a USB video camera into the world of game systems with the EyeToy. Their first software included simple, but clean and smooth games that had the user him/herself boxing with cartoon characters, flailing arms to knock away bad guys, or rhythmically hitting different points on the TV screen with synchronized music. At E3, Sony previewed new software called AntiGrav that doubles the utility of the EyeToy. Instead of seeing yourself on the screen, users wear wristbands so the camera can track your limbs and translate you into an onscreen cartoon. This allows the gamer to use his/her full body to balance or grab items while traveling through a stage. The possibilities with this technology are seemingly endless. It’s like the NES power glove jacked on space age technology for the full body experience. AntiGrav is due out late this year.

Other games sure to tickle your senses include the following: Halo 2, a sequel to the first-person sci-fi shooter that Microsoft’s Xbox has thrived off of; Paper Mario, a Gamecube sequel to the N64 2D/3D cartoonish RPG; Viewtiful Joe 2 for the Gamecube, a sequel to the revolutionary bullet-time cartoon side-scroller that utilized matrix-style combat; and Mortal Kombat: Deception, a multiplatform game that mixes fighting, action/adventure, puzzles and much, much more.