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#10 The SEGA Ages Titles (all of them) Sega announced a whole slew of remakes of classic Master System, Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast titles, all to be released sometime in the next year or so. But did they show any of them off at E3? Not a single one of them. Oh sure, they had Altered Beast and Vectorman on display, but when it came to those SEGA Ages title we were promised, none of them decided to show up. I was looking forward to trying out new versions of Streets of Rage, Fantasy Zone, Super Monaco GP, Phantasy Star, and Golden Axe. But none of them, bothered to show up. Grrr, what's a Sega fanboy to do? #9 Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne Even thought they have made some of the best selling games of the last few years, Rockstar Games/Take-Two's booth always leaves something to be desired. Last year they withheld Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and this year we don't get to play either the new Warriors game or the upcoming Max Payne sequel. What gives?? Max Payne would have been WAY better than the sluggish Mafia port they were showing off, and it would have run circles around the awful Celebrity Deathmatch game. At least Rockstar had awesome handouts. #8 Perfect Dark Zero With three games at the show, Rare had a pretty healthy display snuggling up against Microsoft's booth. They had the compelling Kameo, the action packed Conker's Live & Uncut, and the somewhat disappointing Grabbed by the Ghoulies. All three of these games offered something completely different for gamers, but none of them caught my eye like Perfect Dark Zero would have. One could argue that this year's E3 was all about first person shooters, what with Halo 2, Doom 3, Half-Life 2, XIII, and so many others. All this competition may have been enough to keep Miss Dark home for the summer. #7 One of those AAA Games Nintendo Usually Has Sure Mario Kart: Double Dash was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed Pikmin 2, Advance Wars 2, Mario + Luigi (GBA), and Kirby's new racing game. But even though there were fun games, there wasn't a single AAA game at Nintendo's booth. Last year we had a new Mario game, a new Zelda, and two Metroids to look forward to, plus a bunch of smaller titles well worth playing (like Eternal Darkness). This year, though, we have the disappointing Star Fox sequel, and a lot of games that will delight, but not make you buy a GameCube. Nintendo also seemed uninterested in anything to do with online gaming, which seemed opposite of just about every other booth at the show. Unless Nintendo has something big they haven't shown us yet, things don't look good for the third place system. #6 Killer 7 You got to hand it to Capcom, even though a lot of their recent games have been disappointing (read: Devil May Cry 2), they have been doing a good job of trying out new art styles, visual effects, and concepts. Games like Viewtiful Joe, P.N.03, and the Gregory Horror Show all offer gamers something new with their generic action games, something strange, and occasionally too bizarre to enjoy. But at least one of those games is worth playing. But the Capcom game I am most excited about is a weird crime thriller called Killer 7. Using a strange, yet effective art style that looks like a cross between classic noir comic books and those weird German cartoons, Killer 7 looks like a fully realized game. But I can't say for sure, since Capcom decided against showing it at E3. I hope this isn't a bad sign. #5 Metal Slug 5 Going into E3 I was really excited about SNK Neo*Geo's booth, but upon finding it (located right behind Nintendo, next to the janitors closet and smoking area) I was extremely disappointed. There were a number of monitors housing games like Metal Slug 3 and the new King of Fighters game, but none of the big new exciting games we were all hoping for. That's right, no new Samurai Shodown, only a video of SNK vs. Capcom CHAOS, and no information whatsoever about Metal Slug V. Like Rockstar Games, SNK Neo*Geo needs to learn a few things about setting up a good booth. (They were giving out King of the Fighter posters, not that they were easy to hold or carry without folding it up.) #4 Psychonauts No, not Policenauts, the sequel to the Konami classic game Snatcher (though, that was missing, too). I'm talking about the Xbox game from the mind of Tim Schafer. Remember Tim? He's the guy that brought us Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, and the long running series Leisure Suit Larry. Unlike most platformers, like Mario or Sly Cooper, Psychonauts allows gamers to control things with mind control, telekinesis, and so on so forth. The game looks like fun, has a unique art style, and above all, as a great team behind it. But it's yet another one of the games I couldn't find at E3. Midway had ESPionage, which did many of the things I talked about, but without a sense of humor. Hopefully Psychonauts is still on schedule for the end of 2003. #3 Capcom vs. SNK 3 I know it's only been three years since Capcom vs. SNK 2, but c'mon guys, it's not like you have to make NEW CHARACTERS! Now, don't get this confused with SNK vs. Capcom CHAOS, which is being published by SNK Neo*Geo. That's a game I am really looking forward to playing, too. I guess what I'm really bummed about is the fact that after Capcom vs. SNK 2, it seems like the 2D fighting game well has dried up completely. If Capcom isn't going to help us, then it looks like we're pretty much screwed. If Capcom put as much attention into the Capcom vs. SNK series as they do the Resident Evil: Gun Survivor series you'd have a lot fewer people pissed at them!! If you're not going to make new games, then at least release collections of old 2D fighters we can play online. #2 Driver 3 The so-called "Grand Theft Auto" killer is starting to look more like the Getaway than Vice City. A no show at E3, Driver 3 managed to be upstaged by games like True Crime: the Streets of L.A. It was also difficult to get information from anybody at the event, which made things even more depressing. The game looks to have high quality graphics, but there are a number of things that have we worried. For one thing the game keeps getting pushed back, it's also taking a more realistic avenue, and really has a lot of ground to make up if it's going to "kill" Grand Theft Auto. At this rate, the only game it'll "kill" will be the Simpson's Hit and Run. #1 Nico (Ico 2) I don't care what they call it, just as long as the sequel to Ico is as much fun as the original. I was hoping to get a full hands on feel for the game, thinking that it may be Sony's big "art" game to balance their line up a huge titles like Gran Turismo 4, SOCOM II, Ratchet & Clank 2, and Final Fantasy XI. Perhaps they are waiting for early 2004, when there's less than of a rush for big games, but it still would have been nice to see game at the show, even if just in video form. One can only hope Sony doesn't opt not to release the game over here, like Ape Escape 2. Oh, maybe I shouldn't be thinking like that, gotta stay positive, gotta stay positive, gotta stay positive. Question: What were the games you wish weren't at E3, so I know what to avoid later on this year! Oh my, there were so many terrible games there. So which ones are worth pointing out? Only the really bad ones? Nah, the ones that most disappointed me, the ones that just plain sucked, and of course, everything in between. That's right kids, I'm going to talk about them all. Like the Simpson's Hit & Run, a Grand Theft Auto rip-off that was neither fun nor unique. The two Midnight Club 2 knock-offs didn't fair much better, what with Fast and the Furious being more like the Slow and Tedious, and SRS: Street-Racing Syndicate not living up to my expectations. Capcom once again disappointed with the completely white P.N.03. And Acclaim showed off the old feeling NBA Jam. Don't get me wrong, I love NBA Jam, but the game plays just like it did, and there have been a number of games that have greatly improved the theme, including NBA Street Vol 2. Last but not least is the mention of Enter the Matrix. Considering the game was released on the second day of E3, there was no reason to have the game behind closed doors by appointment only. Thankfully there were one or two copies in the Nintendo and Sony booths, so we could really see how lame the game is. (Please keep in mind, for the most part, these games were still in the programming stages, so they may change, improve, or get cancelled. So don't be blaming me if the Fast and the Furious game comes out and totally rocks, when I played it I found it to be slow and hard to control with very little fun to be had. This has been your warning.)