E3 '09

Well if you're a nerd then you know what the summer brings. No i'm not talking about sitting inside all day playing video games, or working on your Harry Potter fan fiction. I'm not even talking about another summer sitting on a hotel balcony with your game boy taking ocassional glances at girls in bikinis.

No friends the summer brings the G8 summit of the Gaming industry, thats right. The Electronics Entertainment Expo. Or E3 in l33t 2p34<.

E3 usually brings many big announcements, several eye openers that get people back interested. Some long awaited release dates (that will probably change the day after the press confrence) and ofcourse some dissapointments.

Sadly E3 will begin with a dissapointment that it doesn't even have anything to do with. I'll admit it has been probably a long time coming but Developer 3d realms shut down and with it dies Duke Nukem Forever. In all honesty when people started talking about the game back in 1997 we were wondering if the game was gonna be good. For the last decade we've been wondering if its gonna come out. Atleast now we know the answer. I cant say that I'm too dissapointed becasue the game probably would have been really terrible or it wouldn't have sold well. When the game came out Duke was something unique, now you can get the same thing on HBO. Most of the gamers who loved the Duke when he came out originally are either out of the gaming phase, or can't justify to their wives why they would spend $60 on a game about a flat-topped, bad mouthed, action hero. Also the parody factor for Duke is gone. The action hero archtype that he parodied doesn't exist in modern media anymore. So Duke Nukem, "you're an inspiration for birth control."

Games that should be at E3 and finally get solid release dates:

God of War 3 (SECA)

Assasins Creed 2 (UbiSoft Montreal)

Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward)

Bioshock 2 (2K Milan)

Splinter Cell Conviction (UbiSoft Montreal)

Tekken 6 (Namco Bandai)

Final Fantasy XIII (SquareEnix)

Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare)

E3 staples: These games always make E3

Madden (EA Tiburon)

NCAA Football (EA Tiburon)

E3 suprises: Games that may show up and give everyone a nice suprise
Alpha Protocol (Obsidian)

Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream)

Borderlands (Gearbox)

Alan Wake (Remedy)

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (Vicarious Visions)

This is Vegas (Surreal Software)

There is one game however that is just going to "Nuke E3 from orbit."

Mass Effect 2. I cant imagine the game not coming away with multiple E3 awards much like its predecessor. I have been religiously checking the websites for videos or any kind of leak showing more of the game. This will be, by far, my pick for E3 game of the year and I'm sure it will be for many others.

The suprise I would love to see from E3.

I could say Shenmue 3 or KoTOR 3, but those will forever be dreams in my head and my fan fiction :P. If Epic decides to release some glimmer into perhaps a Gears of War 3 that would be a welcome, and wonderful suprise.

So there it is, E3 on the way. June 2nd.