Impressions of E3 2010 (The Short Version)

Perhaps it is just my incredibly lazy nature, or perhaps it is simply because I just finished my review for "Get Him to the Greek", but I'm going to keep my thoughts on last week's Electronic 3 convention extremely brief (by my standards at least). Actually, come to think of it, I'm probably rushing through this simply because I really don't have much to say about this year's E3. I thought that it was, for all intents and purposes, pretty mediocre. I usually have some kind of electric buzz coming off of E3 because of all the anticipated titles and hardware that get announced, but this year just kinda has me feeling a bit deflated.

To give it a fair shake, however, let's run through the stuff that I DID like about this year's E3, and some of the stuff I didn't like...

WHAT WAS GOOD

• Strong showings for returning franchises. Gears of War, Metal Gear Solid, Rock Band, Donkey Kong, Castlevania, Kirby, and many more returning series showed off some pretty damn impressive new games. Personally, being a big Castlevania fanboy, seeing TWO brand new offerings coming down the pipeline later this year has be uber-excited.
• New Xbox 360 model looks slick. I'm usually not too huge on the hardware unveilings, but when I saw that sweet looking new 360 that Microsoft is putting out, I went into full geek-out mode. My battered and worn 360 that I've had since launch is still functioning, but I think I've paid enough dues for an upgrade. Only time will tell if I go through with it.
• Nintendo is bringin' the heat! It was a surprise to see that, out of all the press conferences, I felt Nintendo's brought the most to the table. Not only did they show off the new hardware of the Nintendo 3DS, but they brought a huge brace of games from some of their most popular franchises; many of which haven't had proper console iterations in some time now. Way to go, dudes.
• Disney? Yes, Disney is moving up in the world of gaming, bringing Epic Mickey, Tron, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned to the show floor this year. And they all looked AWESOME. I genuinely am getting excited about what this more serious approach could mean for future licensed Disney software.

WHAT WAS CRAP

• The goddamn Kinect. I am already sick of this thing and it isn't even released yet. Some of the interface functions of it seem actually kinda cool and intriguing, but as far as playing games with it? No thank you. Besides Dance Central, all the "games" seem like little more than dumb tech demos for a casual audience. I know that Microsoft is trying to reach an all new audience, but they risk alienating the "core" of their existing following.
• Where are the new properties? Yes, I enjoyed the fact that existing franchises are getting some great new installments, but where's the originality? C'mon developers, bring in those new IP's!
• The Legend of Zelda: Derivative Ass Game Number 5. I think that simply because it has been around so long, people think that Zelda is beyond reproach. It isn't. In fact, people should be reproaching the shit out of that franchise at this point. Ever since Ocarina of Time, that seems to be the only game that keeps getting made repeatedly in this series. Ocarina of Time is a great game, and I know the fanboys are going to cry if there is any deviation from that vein, but this franchise needs a shot in the ass.