Sway is at E3, Too

Elysium wonÂ't stop reminding me I Â"workÂ" for a gaming Â"websiteÂ" and I have a Â"responsibilityÂ" to my Â"readersÂ". I suppose thatÂ's his subtle way of telling me I need to post. So here I am in the media center (which IÂ've never actually seen Elysium leave) to tell you what IÂ've seen.
Since my biggest critic is myself, with my wife bringing up a close second, I decided my biggest responsibility was to myself. So I fulfilled this responsibility by only visiting games that interested me. Other news sites might try and cram everything in so that you can find out about the games that you are interested in. Frankly if IÂ'm looking at a game that I wasnÂ't interested in to begin with, all the objectivity in the world couldnÂ't make me care. I saw stuff on the floor these past two days that made me: a) glad I was a gamer; b) sorry I didnÂ't have more time to game; c) want to upgrade my computer...again. Please note that I also saw things that made me embarrassed I was a gamer and glad I wasnÂ't a developer, but letÂ's not focus on that stuff.

Tribes: Vengeance - IÂ've probably told this story ad nauseum at various times on this site, but my first Internet multiplayer PC gaming experience was with Starsiege: Tribes. I even hooked up with a great clan and played competitively on the OGL. Tribes 2 was a disappointment. Enough Tribes players have already waxed vitriolic about that so I donÂ't have to. I had been following the previews of Tribes: Vengeance (T:V?) on and off, but it was always being pushed as a single player game that also had a multiplayer component. The Tribes universe is compelling enough, but I wanted to recapture some of the frenetic T1 excitement. What I saw on the screen yesterday looked very familiar and very multiplayer. It was a small map with a simple base at either end and gently rolling hills in between. Red and blue players flew coasted effortlessly through the skies, flinging their blue discs at each other and keeping one eye on their next landing slope. Just as we were about to get a demo, the server went down and we had to move on. I returned later, though, determined to get my hands on the mouse and keyboard and Â"feelÂ" the game. The controls were as I remembered. The inventory stations were accessible and had a new, and above all, logical interface. Our flag was missing and I took it as a sign that I should retrieve it. I slipped into a standard light offense load-out and took to the hills. Skiing was fast and as effortless as it looked. The classic arsenal was in place and I was able chaingun down the flag carrier who was flying above in a strange single passenger orb-like vehicle. Before my little session was over, I had gotten in a disc-fight, deployed a turret or two, and even captured the flag wearing heavy armor. IÂ'm pretty sure these guys have managed to develop Tribes 1. I donÂ't mean that to sound like IÂ'm slighting their effort. The game is clearly more advanced graphically and technically, but all the old sour Tribes 1 players (much like myself) may have something to make them smile.

Smiling is just about all I did while wandering around NintendoÂ's booth. Perhaps booth isnÂ't quite the appropriate word. They had more of a village than a booth. They were showing games I had never even heard of. Of course, this isnÂ't that big of a surprise as IÂ've sort of given up keeping track of the endless preview hype of games with no foreseeable release date. I think IÂ'm better off for it since it was refreshing to be surprised while I was wandering around. There was a video demo of a Namco RPG for the Gamecube called Baten Kaitos that featured some tremendous character design. Odama was a game that was part medieval Japanese military strategy and part...well...part pinball. I had seen pictures of the Donkey Konga conga drum controller before, but hadnÂ't seen the game in action. More smiles, though IÂ'm not sure it will be the easiest peripheral to stash underneath the entertainment center between rounds. The most pleasant surprise at Nintendoland, for me, was Advance Wars: Under Fire for the, cheaper than old chips, Gamecube.

Advance Wars may be the reigning champion Gameboy Advance game. Those of you who arenÂ't really into turn based strategy games might choose another game, but youÂ'd be wrong. Advance Wars 2 for the GBA suffered a little from More Of The Same syndrome. I was a little nervous that Advance Wars for the cube might simply be a quick and pretty port of the same GBA gameplay. A quick look at the screen told me otherwise, though, and I got in line to go hands-on. The level they had playable was evidently built as sort of a tutorial, instructing you as you went along. Even with the help I had a tough time getting a handle of the game in the chaos of battle. Gone are the carefully planned, proceed-at-your-own-pace turns of the handheld Advance Wars. This was all real-time third-person frontline warfare in a full 3D map. I started as a basic grunt unit and was instructed to take command of a nearby tank. Once in the tank, I began to gather other units, both tanks and humans, under my command. Once the units were in my command bar, I could switch freely between them, playing a bazooka soldier or a flamethrower soldier or back to the grunt driving the tank. as enemies approached I was taught to direct the units in my command. With the press of a button I sent my hapless team of footsoldiers directly in the path of enemy tanks. In an attempt to save face, I switched control to one of those hapless soldiers and briefly fired my machine gun at the treads of the evil blue tank before I was run over and/or blown up. Despite my achingly poor skill, I completed the level and was congratulated by the enemy in the lighthearted manner of the classic Advance Wars. Frankly I was pleased. I should probably go back and try playing again, but, since I already know IÂ'll buy it, I figure IÂ'll have another chance soon enough.

So there you have it. IÂ've been wandering around E3 for two days and all IÂ've brought you is brief impressions on two games. ThereÂ's more IÂ'm excited about, but the guys are getting sick of waiting for me so IÂ'll get back to you later.