We've heard rumors that 343 Industries is remaking Halo: Combat Evolved to ring in the 10th anniversary of the franchise, but that might not be the only appearance from Master Chief at Microsoft's E3 press conference.

Kotaku reports that Microsoft's own site briefly updated with names of some titles slated for appearance at the press briefing. Among them was Halo 4, and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Other notables include Dance Central 2, Kinect Star Wars, and Kinect Sports Season 2. Read more »

Nintendo has confirmed a few of the less juicy rumors surrounding its next console. In an investor note released alongside its fiscal earnings today, the company stated it "has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii." The note also mentions that the company will show a "playable model" of the new system at E3 this year.

"We would like to propose a new approach to home video game consoles [with the new system]," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Bloomberg. "It's difficult to make 3D images a key feature, because 3D televisions haven't obtained wide acceptance yet." Read more »

The E3 Media & Business Summit, reeling from criticism across the industry following its poor show for 2008, is looking to fix the problem.

The Board of Directors of the Electronic Software Association has officially proposed and is discussing the possibility of opening the show to the public, effectively reversing a 2006 decision to scale down the show and only open to the press, according to a rumor on Kotaku. Read more »

Will Wright, the Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame designer responsible for Spore and The Sims, dubbed the E3 trade show "the walking dead."

Talking to GamesIndustry, Wright added to a rising chorus in the games industry claiming the E3 Media & Business Summit has outlived its usefulness since evolving from the over-the-top Electronic Entertainment Expo to a low-key industry meet. This year's E3 came under heavy fire for having a weak collection of products on show. Read more »

Organizers of the Game Developers Conference and DICE may be moving to an invite-only system for members of the press next year, Kotaku reported today.

GDC director Jamil Moledina expressed concerns of maintaining the show's atmosphere and scope in the face of an ever-rising attendance rates and an increased press presence. Read more »

The ESA's annual E3 Media & Business Summit will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center when it runs between July 15 and 17, 2008, the organization has announced.

This year's shift towards a smaller, more professional show with more exclusive attendance was accompanied by a change in location, with the event taking place across numerous locations in Santa Monica instead of a centralized hub, as in previous years. Read more »

Newsweek's game guy N'Gai Croal published a fairly candid interview today with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Croal's questions elicited some pretty interesting responses from Nintendo's lead man, including the fact that Nintendo has several new projects in development that it purposefully didn't announce at the trade show. "However, we are definitely working on new franchises and we just didn't choose to talk about them yesterday," Iwata told Croal. "Now, if we didn't feel that we had gained a lot of popular momentum and with success that it's shown so far, we might have tried to get out a little more information and do an upcoming products, again, just to build some excitement, but since we do have that momentum right now, we chose not to do so." The interview touched on Nintendo's pretty strong first party market share, which Iwata said will soon be lessened. "Next year, we're going to see a larger number of third party software. And I guess the impression of Nintendo is too powerful or too dominant will dissipate with again the increase in third party software," Iwata said in the interview. The president also spoke on the developer's conference Nintendo held earlier in the summer, saying he convinced the traditionally secretive, unhelpful game giant to throw third parties some support. "I mean, up to that point, Nintendo had a reputation of being very, very closed mouthed and close-fisted with that sort of information: develop it on our own, keep it to ourselves, and not being very friendly to outside developers," Iwata told Croal. Iwata had some flattering words to say about EA CEO John Riccitiello, who earlier this year called for more innovation in the game industry. "I want to say also that when I read [Electronic Arts CEO John] Riccitiello's comments on the state of games, I was a bit surprised. I said, 'Boy, that doesn't sound like an EA person speaking. That sounds like someone from Nintendo talking,'" the president said in the interview.

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It has taken a while, but Microsoft finally released the Halo Wars E3 2007 presentation showing more from the Xbox 360 exclusive strategy game. The 10 minute long video offers gameplay footage and narration by lead designer Graeme Devine.

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Stepping into an elevator after seeing Mistwalker and I.T. Planning's upcoming Xbox 360 RPG Lost Odyssey, another member of the gaming press asked what it was like, explaining he hadn't gotten to see it yet. "Have you played Final Fantasy?" I responded, eliciting a few nods and chuckles from those who had also attended the presentation. With Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi handling the design of the game and Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu behind the music, it should come as little surprise that Lost Odyssey bears a striking resemblance to the duo's past work. As a Microsoft representative outlined the game's basic features, it was hard to shake the feeling that I've seen it all before. Lost Odyssey stars Kaim, an immortal who has lived for over 1000 years, and in true RPG fashion, can't remember any of it. As the game progresses, he'll recall more and more of his past exploits while dreaming. These repressed memories are presented in the form of short stories penned by Japanese novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu, and once unlocked are available to read at any time under the "A Thousand Years of Dreams" menu option. Across the game's story, which is set in the midst of a world revolutionized by the sudden appearance of magic, Kaim will run across three other immortals like himself, as well as five mortals. A straight playthrough of this adventure is said to last between 40 and 50 hours. In terms of battle, Lost Odyssey operates on the same turn-based principles as Final Fantasy. A turn indicator in the lower left-hand corner of the screen displays the order in which the characters will attack. Certain attacks, such as a powerful magic spell, will take a bit longer to charge than a standard physical attack. During a battle atop a moving train, for example, main character Kaim was able to attack with his sword multiple times while the busty spellcaster Sarah prepared a fiery magical assault. Disappointingly, most of the battles in Lost Odyssey will be of the random encounter variety, with players lunged into battle against previously invisible foes without warning. However, there are a few slight twists to the otherwise standard battle system. Since Kaim and a few of the other party members are immortal, they automatically revive after a few turns if they lose all of their HP. However, the mortal members will still need to be manually revived, either through spell or item. If the entire party happens passes out at the same time, it's game over. Another twist brings an action element to the otherwise turn-based proceedings. When a physical attack is executed, pulling the right trigger will boost the damage a character deals out, the exact bonus depending on the timing of the pull. Certain battles will also require the use of surrounding objects during battle. While fighting a mammoth black monster reminiscent of something from Iria: Zeriam the Animation, the party could target a nearby crane that coincidentally held a number of explosives suspended above the monster. After sustaining enough damage, the crane released its payload and the battle was over. The Microsoft representative claimed that strategic battles such as this would occur about once an hour during normal gameplay. On a personal note, I have to say that I'm a bit unsure about the character designs, which seem so sexually charged that it is almost excessive. Three female characters were shown throughout the presentation, each displaying an ample abundance of cleavage. One in particular, a princess, appears to be wearing crotchless pants, calling emphasis to her bikini bottom panties. While Lost Odyssey's apparent resemblance to Final Fantasy is far from a bad thing--the Xbox 360 could certainly use an RPG of that franchise's caliber--it's certainly disappointing for those hoping for an evolution of Sakaguchi's past work. Still, what I've seen is only a small glimpse of the overall game, and I'm willing to give Lost Odyssey the benefit of the doubt as its winter release draws closer.

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Since Capcom first brought licentious litigating to Nintendo's DS with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, I haven't been able to get enough of the cloak-and-dagger courtroom cock-and-bull. I played the third Nintendo DS title in the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations, at this year's E3. Like the previous two Phoenix Wright games on DS, Trials and Tribulations is an enhanced port of a Japanese Game Boy Advance game. Even though Trials and Tribulations won't have any DS-exclusive cases to truly exploit the handheld's unique features--those will be used in the upcoming fourth DS title--the series' inherently fun gameplay and rock-solid writing should make the third title just as easy to recommend as the previous two. The five cases--or "turnabouts," if you prefer, and of course you do--of Trials and Tribulations reveal the origins of the strapping young Wolverine-haired lawyer, Phoenix Wright. In addition to porting the GBA game to DS, Capcom has tacked on the "pysche-lock" feature introduced in Justice for All, a type of mini-game making players mentally extricate the truth from a witness's warped mind. I played a good portion of the game's first episode, Turnabout Memories, which enlists players as a young Mia Fey, Phoenix Wright's mentor from the other titles. In a stunning portrayal of turnaboutery, it appears the young Wright has committed murder over a squabble involving his girlfriend's ex. Despite being one of the most text-heavy series on any console, Trials and Tribulations flaunts its writers' finesse by maintaining fervent interest throughout the court proceedings. After taking the first case as Mia, players return to Wright's lovably oafish shoes for the remaining cases, facing off against a prosecutor known only as Godot. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations will retail this September, joining High Voltage's Capcom-published Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law on PS2 and PSP for a double-dose of prosecutorial pranks.

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In our previous coverage, we learned the basics about what sort of hideous malformed animal Ubisoft plans to yank from its hat with Rayman Raving Rabbids 2. At this year's E3, we went hands-on with the newly unveiled Nintendo DS version, featuring entirely unique mini-games, and got details on five new mini-games from the Wii version, including the Rock Band-esque music segments. Ubisoft made the first Raving Rabbids on the DS a platformer, but the new portable version resembles the wild party game format of the original console versions as well as the Wii sequel. That doesn't mean the company is taking half the games from the Wii version and porting them sloppily to Nintendo's portable--none of the 36 mini-games on the DS version of Raving Rabbids 2 appear in the Wii version. Ubisoft created original games to make use of the DS' touchscreen and microphone. Even the Rabbid character customization module on the DS gives players the option to draw directly on their Rabbids--a feature not present in the Wii version--and save their custom carrot-catures. The increased emphasis on multiplayer of the Wii version will remain in the handheld hare-fest, as 80% to 90% of the mini-games will feature single-cart sharing for between two and four players. The infamous music levels from Raving Rabbids will now make an appearance on the DS version, with five to six songs adapted for mini-game play. Called Rabbid Bands, the music mode has players touch notes as they pass a bar at the bottom of the screen, occasionally holding the stylus on the note and moving with it back up to the top of the screen when indicated a la Elite Beat Agents. In all three of the mini-games I played, Ubisoft rendered the loveable lagomorphs fairly well. While not masterpieces, the 3D bunnies and their environments looked about as good as most character models in newly released DS games. The two non-music games I played featured fairly simple gameplay--McBunnies had me match the food item presented on the top screen with one of the four on the bottom screen, while Weird Mood required frantic stylus action through dragging correctly colored packages to a bunny's absorbent brain. As you can imagine, neither of the games were terribly original, so hopefully Ubisoft will work in some unusual gameplay elements to spice things up a bit. Ubisoft demoed five new mini-games for me from Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 on the Wii, including the revamped music minigame. A rendition of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" played by a washboard-toting, jug-blowing band of backcountry Rabbids, the level featured vastly improved gameplay from the music levels of the first Raving Rabbids. As much as I liked a few of the songs from the predecessor, shaking Wii-mote and Nunchuk alternately or simultaneously over and over to Rabbid dance numbers got tiring. This new version supports up to four players with a Rock Band-like choice of guitar, drums, keyboards or vocals. The premise is similar to the first Raving Rabbids music segments, but the different instruments require movements and beats specific to their play style, for the most part. Between standard segments of shaking the Wii-mote or Nunchuk in time with symbols floating down the screen, the game may require Rabbid musicians to repeat some of those strenuous running or twirling motions with the Wii controllers. My taste of the music segment left me with the feeling that Ubisoft has definitely improved upon the formula, but still hasn't improved on it enough to make even one session feel entirely engrossing. Out of the other mini-games I tried, I had the most fun with what an Ubisoft rep described as the Rabbids' interpretation of American football. It was essentially what young children innocently refer to as "smear the queer," with one football-toting Rabbid trying to keep the ball from the others. The Nunchuk's analog stick controlled a Rabbid's running, and shaking the Wii remote made the characters dive viciously at the ball-bearing bunny. A laundry washing game and a swimming game both invovled fairly predictable Wii motions, and an office minigame was essentially a variation on "red light, green light." The on-rails shooting levels of the first Raving Rabbids will return in the sequel as well, though I didn't get to go hands on with any. Regarding customizable Rabbids, Ubisoft said they hope to give players the ability to save their custom Rabbids on the Wii remotes internal memory as is done with Mii avatars. I played all the way through the original Raving Rabbids, mainly due to the lack of playable Wii launch titles, but the meaty multiplayer modes in the sequel may force me to give Rayman's cugly (cute and/or cuddly plus ugly) friends another chance.

Get the Flash Player to see this player. Ubisoft's Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 on Wii and DS will arrive in stores November 15.

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I loved the Time Crisis and House of the Dead series, so while the unveiling of Capcom's Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles dashed my hopes of a new traditional Resident Evil title on the Wii, my frothing demand for a rail-shooter increased significantly. Chris Remo took you through the basics of gameplay with a hands-on preview during Capcom Gamer's Day. The new build at this year's E3 had an additional level, but it also came with an added bonus: Capcom had Nintendo's Wii Zapper peripheral for my arcade-emulating enjoyment. I played the level both with the Zapper and without, and came away with mixed feelings. You hold the Zapper with two hands: one on the front where you pull an enhanced trigger to press the B button, and the other on the back where you have access to the nunchuck attachment. Playing with the Zapper certainly added the feeling of rocking an arcade shooter, but aiming wasn't as accurate as with the Wii-mote alone. I did get better by the end of the level, but it still felt like I was more of a marksman playing sans Zapper. And doing Wii-motions like reloading and knife slashing required me to move with both of my hands, making things slightly more awkward than using one hand to gracefully wave the Wii-wand. A game designed for the ground up for the Zapper might avoid such design decisions. With the nunchuck attached to the back of the gun, I found it a little disorienting using the analog control to look around while simultaneously moving the Zapper to aim. Since the game is on rails, the control aiming is really a secondary control method, but it's still nice to be able to use in case you miss items or zombies. Overall, the Zapper made things more fun, but took some getting used to. It's a tradeoff between more intuitive controls and actually holding a gun-like object, so choose whichever suits you best. Regarding the actual game, the new Umbrella Chronicles level had me playing as Jill Valentine, making my way through the zombie-infested streets of Raccoon City. Legions of the undead were crowding the streets, slowly ambling toward me or feasting on the fallen dead. I could shoot cars or obviously-placed barrels for multi-zombie kills. Other contextual elements were less visible, like a destructable white strap holding up a bundle of zombie-crushing girders. I ran into other Resident Evil mainstays like zombie dogs and giant spiders, all of which took fewer hits to kill than the standard zombies. Headshots are actually fairly difficult to pull off on the undead, requiring you to focus your aim on the ugly's forehead in a very particular spot until the crosshair focuses with a bright red dot. At this point, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles looks like a fairly solid title with above-Wii-par graphics and co-op gameplay. Though certainly nothing groundbreaking, it should at least be better than the mediocre Resident Evil: Dead Aim on PS2, and having the Wii Zapper available to gamers won't hurt.

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The final E3 impression articles are up at MPOGD, taking a look at Unreal Tournament 3, Guild Wars: Eye of the North, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, Lord of the Rings Online and Everquest 2: Rise of Kunark.

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"The name's Gibson. Steve Gibson," I say in an even tone, the words rolling off my tongue with all the sincerity of a Hallmark card. "Nice to meet you. Shacknews.com. Oh yes, I'm the founder. It's quite the little operation I run, ha ha ha." I can tell they're on to me. My cover isn't going to last much longer. The delicate fabric of the fake press badge tightens around my neck like a noose, a cool bead of sweat rolls down the side of my head, and I start to feel the fear. Do they know? Have they known? What kind of ambush could they have lain in anticipation of my deception? Maybe they need another business card. "Here, take my business card. It says Steve Gibson on it. Right, of course it does--that's me! Ha ha ha." Jesus, I have to get out of here. They told me security would be tight this year, but who knew they were renting out Homeland Security to run things? People, at the doors, asking my name. How much longer can I continue this grim charade? The details of my mission cycle through my mind at a rapid clip. Infiltrate the Sony Online Entertainment compound. Report on any games you find there. Take no prisoners. My face frozen in a gaping smile, miming the unique visage of my assumed identity, I carefully sidle up alongside a Sony representative. "Didn't I see you at that video game thing the other week, with all the game people? How the hell are you! Oh, is that potato salad? Excuse me!" One swift karate chop renders the man unconscious. How could such a deadly assassin fall for the oldest trick in the book? Why would he be so distracted with my inane blabbering? And who would serve potato salad at a gaming conference, anyway? Probably poisoned, knowing these bastards. As my professional focus narrows and the sounds of the conference begin to fade out, I notice a conspicuously outlined shape in the man's coat pocket. Fishing secret data tapes from the downed soldier, I begin to play back the footage on a display console, scanning for only the most important pieces of information. A moonlit scene: Prague. Gas lights glow softly in the dense, atmospheric fog, gently lighting a pair of well-dressed spies. The duo creeps down a cobblestone street, which lays alongside a dark, foreboding river. Scurrying down an alley like rats to a restaurant, the two agents approach their mission objective. A short animation plays, indicating that the hunt is on. Soon after, enemy agents begin to fire from windows and leap down onto the streets in acrobatic tumbles, blasting away with reckless abandon. Remaining calm, the agent zooms in on an immobile forehead, snapping off a quick shot which is answered by a red puff and a plummeting ragdoll. Unlike earlier reports to the contrary, it appears that The Agency is actually a fully-featured first and third-person shooter contained within an sprawling international MMO. Disguises and combat suits will affect players more than statistic points, and operatives will automatically build gadgets and cars for players, rather than forcing a laborious crafting system. Health bars and headshots are the name of the PVE game, with Counter-Strike styled PVP in the works. An unassuming developer ambles by, and I pull him into a choke-hold before he can trigger the alarm. His eyes widen in shock as I turn my chiseled arm into a vice, properly constricting his voice before the interrogation to come. "If you want to live, tell me what your PVP plans are," I growl harshly into his ear, dragging him back into the shadows of a food cart. The civvy spills everything. The idea is that The Agency's various gameplay components will be seamless enough to fit within a single world, although, under threat of violence, the whimpering rep says something about the team still experimenting with allowing out-of-instance combat. Will players go wild and shoot everyone they see, thus breaking the illusion of spies skulking through a stylized world? Or will they behave, and only hit their most hated of enemies? As I contemplate this question I'm wrapping a tablecloth around my knocked-out prisoner. Of course, the moment that I duck out from underneath the bacon wraps, they're on me again--some seemingly innocent fellow in a suit approaches and extends a hand. "Hey Stevey, I grabbed an asset disc for you when I was over there, here you g--" The sharp grinding reverberation of a hollow-point round boring its way through flesh and bone is the last sound he ever hears. Poor bastard. I bet he was print media, too. Back on screen, the two agents are nearing the end of the alley. A scripted sequence is triggered, in which they both leap onto a merry-go-round and spray incoming mercenaries with a torrential sheet of lead. Quite the finishing move, and I note--to the developer's muffled agreement--that the game seems like a single-player cooperative game, a multiplayer shooter, and an MMO rolled into one. Now if they can just make that actually work, and without lag becoming a problematic factor. Of course, lag is always a factor. It's only been a few minutes, but already I've lingered too long at the video console. Already I can see the crowd begin to close in. Already I am in danger once more. Unfolding out my official E3 map and coloring book, now greased slick with fresh blood, I pinpoint the coordinates of my next location--somewhere down the street, just out of walking distance. Darn. Leaving a trail of bodies in my wake, I quietly begin moving toward the extraction point--inexorably drawn to another dark corner of the city, to carry out yet another video game preview, and assume yet another secret identity. Headquarters is calling now, and I flip open the phone long enough to hear my editor groan, "You grabbed an asset disc, right?" Jogging, sprinting, driving for the exit past a bewildered hotel staff, I burst out into the sunlight. My eyes slowly adjust to the high dynamic ranges, only to be met by my operative Chris Remo--driving a Yaris. Time to re-roll.

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This year's revamped E3 may have been on a smaller scale than the events of years past, but there was no shortage of great games out on display and behind closed doors. Each member of the Shack editorial team has picked his standout game of the show and, in entirely arbitrary order (I even jumbled them after they were sent in, just to be sure -ed.), five or six additional highlights. Editors only chose from games they saw firsthand at E3, which in some cases limited the available choices. Each game blurb is followed by a link to thorough preview coverage. Rock Band, from Harmonix Music Systems, deserves special mention for being the only game to show up on the lists of all four editors. It's just that awesome. Other games with multiple nods include Retro Studios' Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Valve's The Orange Box (consisting of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortres 2, and Portal, as well as Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One), and Irrational Games' BioShock. For our full E3 coverage, check out E3.Shacknews.com. Chris Remo: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (Wii) Retro StudiosAs much as I expected out of this game, it still utterly blew me away. The controls are dead on, the visuals are great, it has Super Metroid-esque stackable weapons, you can aim freely while locked on... With all that, as well as what appears to be an atmospheric return to top Prime form, just stick it in my veins. (Preview) Rock Band (PS3, X360), Harmonix Music Systems Does anybody doubt this is going to be amazing at this point? All of Who's Next by The Who seals the deal for me, as if it weren't already sealed. (Preview) Mass Effect (X360), BioWare
This gets better every time I see it. Old-school science fiction with progressive game design. Win. (Preview) BioShock (PC, X360), Irrational Games I revisited BioShock at E3 to check it out on PC after having played the first several hours on Xbox 360. It's still amazing! (Preview 1, 2) The Orange Box (PC, PS3, X360), Valve My most anticipated purchase of 2007, this only misses the top slot because I'd played so much already. (Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, Portal) Sabotage (PC, X360), Replay Studios (Shown at E.I.E.I.O.; Honorary Best of E3) It's World War II, but it's not a shooter--and it wraps up several clever gameplay concepts into what seems to be a cohesive whole. (Preview) The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Houglass (NDS), Nintendo
This year's theme among the N's flagship trio--Mario, Metroid, Zelda--seems to be unusual but impeccable control. And you can draw on Link's map! (Preview) Chris Faylor: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3), Insomniac Games Insomniac debuts one of the first of the PS3's second-generation games, which just so happens to be the long-awaited, gorgeous fifth entry in its beloved Ratchet & Clank series. Not only does it bring back the duo's knack for innovative weaponry and enjoyable platforming action, it also features dancing goldfish and penguins. (Preview) Rock Band (PS3, X360) & Guitar Hero III (PS2, PS3, X360, Wii) Harmonix Music Systems & Neversoft
While one is more full-featured than the other, they're both great musical fun and feature rockin' soundtracks. (Guitar Hero III, Rock Band) Unreal Tournament 3 (PC, PS3, X360), Epic Games
Explosions, pretty graphics, and tons of customization. You can even take mods from PC to PS3. Done deal. (Preview) Halo Wars (X360), Ensemble Studios The Halo universe translates surprisingly well to real-time strategy gameplay in Ensemble's latest. (Preview) God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP), Ready at Dawn Studios It's God of War exactly as you would imagine it on PSP, which is one hell of an endorsement. (Preview) Scene It? (X360), Screenlife & WXP
I'm startled by the fun factor inherent to this virtual version of the movie trivia DVD board game. (Preview) Nick Breckon: StarCraft II (PC) Blizzard Entertainment Just talking about another StarCraft game is enough to get my Overlords quivering. Even in video form and a year away from release, I'm confident. Blizzard is doing everything right by taking it slow and responding to feedback. The very fact that the studio might radically change the dynamic of the single-player campaign has me playing the original game over in anticipation. Can't wait to play at BlizzCon. (Interview) Rock Band (PS3, X360), Harmonix Music Systems Holy shit. (Preview) Metroid Prime 3 (Wii), Retro Studios
If the pacing is consistent with the first game, it's a no-brainer. (Preview) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii), Nintendo Sunshine didn't do much for me, but this looks like a return to form. (Preview) The Orange Box (PC, PS3, X360), Valve Probably the best package deal in video game history--even without counting HL2 and Episode One. (Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, Portal) BioShock (PC, X360), Irrational Games
I first played this before E3, which has only made it harder to wait. (Preview 1, 2) Carlos Bergfeld: LittleBigPlanet (PS3), Media Molecule
You really can't play Media Molecule's beautiful sidescroller without smiling. Easy controls, a wide range of raw in-game materials, and intuitive creation tools give the game a universal appeal. (Preview) Rock Band (PS3, X360), Harmonix Media Systems Each song gives you four ways to rock, and the promised availability of whole albums guarantee I'll lose my job when this comes out. (Preview) Metroid Prime 3 (Wii), Retro Studios Finally, a Wii shooter done right, and it's Metroid. Hell yes. (Preview) Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360), Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda is taking its time reinventing the classic post-apocalyptic RPG series--it'll be worth the wait. (Preview) Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360), Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft Montreal succeeds by making exploration fluid and fun. Also, white clothes look cool. (Preview) Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (PS2, PSP), High Voltage Software Hilarious Birdmanness with Capcom characters as a bonus. (Preview) Everyday Shooter (PS3), Queasy Games Musical integration with old school gameplay guarantees a good time with this indie title scooped up by Sony for the PlayStation Network. (Preview) Crysis (PC), Crytek The Shacknews staff is only human, and as such we have made the grievous mistake of failing to include Crytek's remarkable Crysis on any individual list--and so, it is appended here. Truly a visual masterpiece, Crysis looks to expand on Far Cry's wide-open gameplay by infusing it with entertaining superpower-like abilities. Well, E3, it's been fun. See you next year. Maybe.

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