E3 - Rediscovering Older Favourites Thanks to New Announcements
By Shaun Hatton - June 4th, 2009
Although I have completely finished New Super Mario Bros. three times (once for each save slot), I’ve found myself returning back to it this week due to Nintendo’s announcement of New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Having come into E3 with many naysayers dooming their conference to failure, Nintendo’s presentation was especially strong. Say what you will about the canned delivery of the speeches. I don’t care. I wasn’t watching to see Reggie kick ass and take names. I just wanted to see what games they’d be announcing. As someone who went into the expo with no expectations, I was pleasantly surprised.
Off the top, Nintendo’s announcement of New Super Mario Bros. Wii brought joy to my heart. Video of the gameplay reminded me somewhat of the battle mode in its DS predecessor, only a lot more hectic. From what little I gleaned from the video, I was excited. If the game is more than a frenetic battle-fest, I will be pleased. Here’s hoping its campaign mode expands upon the retro nostalgic trip of the DS title. Having gone back to New Super Mario Bros., I’ve once again fallen in love with it.
There were a few titles Nintendo announced or showcased that I don’t care much for, but the ones that really wowed me did so rather easily. Super Mario Galaxy 2 marks a strange point for the company, as Rumas mentioned: it seems like it’s a straight-up sequel, which is something Nintendo typically does not do. Granted, the inclusion of Yoshi as a sidekick character made me lose it (in the best way possible) so we’ll see how his appearance changes the gameplay dynamics of the title over the previous one.
Metroid: Other M was announced along with a teaser trailer which at first I confused as footage of a role-playing game. The anime-like character designs shown in the first few shots had all but cemented that idea until I saw Samus in her Zero Suit. Hardly had I done my double take when I was hit with a barrage of quick shots of gameplay and cinematics. When it was over, I found myself immediately wanting to play it. Maybe I’ll satisfy this craving elsewhere by digging into Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. It won’t be the same but it’ll do nicely.
And this brings me to this: as good as the games that were shown might look, there are probably games that are already out that deserve a re-visit – or a first one – so we’ve got plenty to play still.
For more of my thoughts on this year’s E3 press conference, have a listen to Episode 5 of this season’s podcast.
