The 5 Biggest Announcements of E3 2011 (So Far!!!)

As i type this the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is taking place in Los Angeles and as all 3 major console manufacturers have now had their respective press conferences its time to go over what i believe to be the 5 biggest announcements made so far.

5) Halo HD AND Halo 4

Ok so we've seen 3 halo games already on 360 (4 if you count halo wars) so why is this announcement so special, well not only have Microsoft finally confirmed that they are remaking the original (and best) Halo with online multiplayer (the original predates Xbox Live and therefore didn't feature online multiplayer), they also announced Halo 4 an ACTUAL numbered Halo game, not ODST or Reach 2 but Halo 4! The return of the series main protagonist Master Chief for the first time since Halo 3 and the first Halo game developed not by Bungie but by new studio 343 Studios. The trailer also looked very impressive and the game is scheduled for release late 2012.



4) Sonys PSP successor is called Playstation Vita

NGP was never going to be the long term name for Sonys next handheld but Vita has certainly divided the internet on whether its a great name or not. In my opinion the name is not important if the console has great games, I mean how many people thought Xbox, Gamecube, Wii or even Playstation were great console names but hey we soon got used to them. Vita looks the business when it comes to cutting edge handheld tech with wifi and 3G support, touch screen, next gen graphics etc and the games are looking fantastic with Uncharted, Little Big Planet and even a new Bioshock being developed exclusively for Vita.


3) Legend Of Zelda 25th Anniversary Tour

Not much to say on this one, anyone who loves Zelda and watched the opening of Nintendo's press conference will have gotten goosebumps from the live orchestra playing music from the Legend Of Zelda series. Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto then announced that the orchestra would be partaking in a world tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Zelda franchise along with the release of 4 Zelda games this year, Links awakening DX coming to 3DS virtual console, The Ocarina of time 3D remake for 3DS, a downloadable version of Four Swords for Dsi and Skyward sword coming late this year. I only wish a 3D Link To The Past remake had been announced but theres always next year!


2)PS3 gets exclusive Eve Online shooter Dust 514

Dust 514 is a first person shooter offshoot of popular PC MMO Eve Online. The major talking point of this game is that it will connect directly with the PC game causing consequence in the game world on PC depending on how you conduct yourself on the PS3. it is certainly an ambitious project and if successful could forge a very exciting relationship for online gaming between the PS3 and PC platforms. Watch this space.


1) Nintendo show new console Wii U for the first time

It was fairly obvious what everyone was waiting to see this year. Would Nintendo be returning to core gaming or sticking with the casual market. Could their new console compete with the big boys in terms of graphical power. What was it going to be called. Well Nintendo have just answered all those question with the unveiling of the Wii U (and you thought Vita was a stupid name) however once again don't let the name fool you this looks like an extremely impressive piece of kit. To answer the questions yes Nintendo are returning to core gaming AND sticking with the casual market, while the normal Wii fare like Wii fit, Wii Sports etc were shown some seriously hardcore games like Batman Arkham City and Assassins Creed were also revealed for the new console and interviews with leading developers such as Ken Levine of Bioshock fame and Warren Spector the creator of Deus Ex hinted at more to come. Head of EA John Ricotello came onstage to lend EA's sizable support to Wii U even hinting that Battlefield 3 will be coming to Wii U in turn hinting that Wii U's online infrastructure may actually work this time. I have learned over the years to be cautiously optimistic of Nintendo but i have to admit i am super excited about this new console and the controller is the icing on the cake. It features a full 6" touchscreen that will take the game off the tv and onto the controller, can you imagine how cool this will be when your better half wants to watch Hollyoaks or whatever and you want to continue your game and you can simply transfer it to the controller and carry on. How ironic that while Microsoft are trying their best to ditch controllers Nintendo have given us a new way to play using innovcation in controllers again. Check and mate to Nintendo.