Impressions from Day Two at E3 – Full Text Overview
- Day Two at E3
After getting up and grabbing some bearclaws from the complimentary continental breakfast before rushing out the door of our Super 8 motel, Austin, Laura, and I headed out once again towards downtown LA for day two of E3. We intended to get there at nine forty-five? fifteen minutes early? so we could get our hands on the WiiU and have a decent amount of time left to check out the rest of what E3 had to offer later that day. We arrived at the convention center and saw an enormous crowd at the front door, an ominous sign of what was to come (more lines). We wedged our way through and made our way towards the West Hall, where the Nintendo show floor was, and saw yet another enormous crowd upon arriving. After waiting about ten minutes, the doors opened, and a mad rush towards the Nintendo area ensued. Once again, we got lost in the shuffle, and ended up only a few feet away from the cut off for the line to play the WiiU that day. So, unfortunately, we were not able to get hands on with the new system, but I promise ye NE and GE readers that we’ll get a spot in line tomorrow, as we intend to get to the convention center at around seven thirty in the morn.
While it was somewhat of a disappointment to not be able to see what was probably the hottest item in all of E3 in person, it did mean we didn’t have to wait in line all day. Instead, we decided to check out the 3DS area again to review some of the games we’d played the day before, and to check out some of the ones we missed. Mario Kart 3DS was just as exhilarating as I remembered, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 3D got another playthrough as well; I still wouldn’t recommend it above the PS2 original as it’s harder to control on the 3DS, but it’s still a decent port of one of the sixth generation’s best. The last 3DS game I rechecked was Super Mario, since I’d only played one of four demo levels the day before. While it still didn’t blow me away, Super Mario definitely left a better impression on me than the day before. The game was much easier to control than I remembered, and I was relieved to find that the ever-satisfying side somersault was indeed back in Mario’s arsenal; I wasn’t holding the dash button (X or Y) while attempting the move yesterday. I found that the camera control (via the touch screen) didn’t really have much range of motion, but the game doesn’t really require a three hundred and sixty degree viewing arc, so it was no big deal. While it doesn’t feel like a technically great platformer like Galaxy 2 was, it should still be a lot of fun this upcoming holiday season.
