The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was a couple of weeks ago and I was fortunate enough to attend for the second straight year thanks to hardware and technology enthusiast site OverclockersClub.com (OCC). It's amazing that a whole year went by since the last one because it certainly didn't feel like it. Still, this year's CES felt different. Many vendors opted to invite people to private suites rather than set up a booth on the convention floor.

If you interested in checking out the best CES coverage on the Net, go check out OCC's CES 2010 Coverage. If you don't have time to read it all (it's a lot!), as gamers, there are two sections in particular you'll want to check out (aside from five pages of Booth Babes); Razer and Peregrine.

Razer showed off two new products that you'll definitely want to check out - the Onza Professional Gaming Controller for the Xbox 360 (and useable on the PC) and the Sixense Motion Controller. Read all about it at the above links, and definitely check out the HD videos posted on YouTube (links can be found within the article). They're definitely worth a watch, especially the Sixense ones! I got to personally try out Sixense and was definitely impressed with the precision. Although I still think motion control is a gimmick, Sixense is ten times better than what the Wii offers. As for the Onza, if you're an Xbox 360 gamer, you WILL want to buy this. Onza is without a doubt the best 360 controller there is, and at $50, it's competively priced to boot!

Whereas you've probably heard the name Razer before, you may not have heard of Peregrine. Well if you're a fan of RTSs and/or MMOs, you may want to take notice. Peregrine has created a gaming glove like none other...meaning it actually works. With eighteen programmable touch points and three activator pads, the Peregrine gaming glove provides over thirty programmable actions, perfect for any game that involves a multitude of hotkeys and/or macros. Just touch your fingertips with your thumb and the associated action is performed. There's an HD video in the article showing Trevor Reesnor demonstrating the Peregrine Gaming Glove, so you'll definitely want to check that out.

That's basically it. I can go on and on about the other vendors we visited, but that'd take forever. Check the table of contents on the bottom to see if there are any other vendors you'd like to read and/or watch videos about. I just figured I'd touch on the Razer and Peregrine because in my opinion, they're the two manufacturers that are poised to have the biggest impact on gaming in 2010.

What makes Dr. Gordon Freeman the all time greatest hero? People often bring up that he doesn't talk, like that is supposed to disparage him in some way. Apparently these same people enjoy sitting through cinematic cutscenes depicting game protagonists in the developers' vision, speaking as the developer wants. Unlike many other developers, Valve took a different approach to Half-Life's protagonist, Gordon Freeman. It's not that Valve was too cheap to hire a voice actor (one can see evidence of voice acting in the many NPCs), but rather because Valve is letting you BE Gordon Freeman. Every time you play a Half-Life game, you do not play AS Gordon Freeman, you ARE Gordon Freeman.

Gordon Freeman graduated from MIT with a Ph.D in theoretical physics and wrote a thesis entitled Observation of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Entanglement on Supraquantum Structures by Induction Through Nonlinear Transuranic Crystal of Extremely Long Wavelength (ELW) Pulse from Mode-Locked Source Array. How many other game protagonists have a Ph.D or have written any kind of thesis, let alone one on such advanced matter? Disappointed in the slow pace of teleportation research, Freeman decided to take a job at the top secret Black Mesa Research Facility. At the mere age of 27, his life would be forever changed.

One moment he is a theoretical physicist performing the menial task of pressing a button, and in the next moment he is defending himself against hostile aliens. Donning a Hazardous Environment (H.E.V.) suit and equipped with a mere crowbar, Freeman goes from geek to badass in no time. This is one of the reasons Gordon Freeman is the all time greatest hero. He is not a soldier. He is not a half-god. He is a scientist. He takes on throngs of enemies out of necessity, not because it is his job. He quickly adapts to his situation and becomes a soldier of the resistance on his own accord. For all intents and purposes, he becomes a modern day messiah. He eliminates the evil alien race, the Nihilanth, thus freeing the Vortigaunts who later join the human resistance against the trans-dimensional Combine Empire. In doing so, he is not only praised and referred to as "The Free Man" by the Vortigaunts, but he is also called "The One Free Man" by Earth's survivors. Furthermore, the Combine recognize him as the single greatest threat to their empire, referring to him as "Anticitizen One." The fact that an alien race that spans several dimensions considers Gordon Freeman its number one threat is further evidence that he is the all time greatest game hero.

Now some may argue that because the Half-Life series isn't over, he cannot be considered a hero, let alone the all time greatest hero. After all, we do not know for sure that he'll "succeed" in Half-Life 2: Episode Three or any other subsequent Half-Life games. But should not a person be judged by all his actions and not simply his or her last deed in life? Even if somehow Freeman dies in Episode Three, is he not already a hero? He already saved Earth from one alien invasion, he freed a whole alien race, and he has given Earth's remaining survivors hope for the future.

If you do not view Gordon Freeman as the all time greatest hero, I can only assume that you have never played the Half-Life series the way they were meant to be played. You have never experienced the true immersion Valve provided in the Half-Life games. You never BECAME Gordon Freeman. And if that's the case, I feel nothing but pity for you, for you have truly missed out on one of gaming's greatest gifts.

Be sure to vote for Gordon Freeman as All Time Greatest Game Hero here!

Here are my selections for the best and worst of E3 2009. Runners Up are listed in alphabetical order and do not indicate a ranking. I'm really interested to hear your take on each category, so please do so in the comments!

Best Overall Game: ModNation Racers
Runners Up: Alan Wake, Assassin's Creed 2, Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer
Rationale: There were a lot of great games shown at E3 this year, so choosing the best was no easy task. As a PC gamer, choosing the PS3-exclusive ModNation Racers may be a bit of a shock. However, the appeal of a Mario Kart-inspired racing game with user-generated content a la LittleBigPlanet is too grand to overlook. The ease of creating your own tracks provides this game with insane potential.

Best Xbox 360 Game: Alan Wake
Runners Up: Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction
Rationale: Though it may not sell as many copies as Halo 3: ODST or Halo Reach, Alan Wake promises to bring something unique to the table, and the demo shown off at E3 certainly intrigued. My only fear is that it doesn't live up to that potential.

Best Wii Game: New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Runners Up: Mario Galaxies 2, Metroid: Other M
Rationale: Who would have thought a 2D side-scroller would be the best game shown from the Nintendo camp? Mario Galaxies 2 and Metroid: Other M may have the superior graphics (and maybe even superior gameplay), but New Super Mario Bros. Wii has that nostalgia factor going for it. Throw in a little co-op action and a few new suits, and Nintendo certainly has a big winner in its hands.

Best PlayStation 3 Game: ModNation Racers
Runners Up: God of War III, Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Rationale: I've already talked about ModNation, so let me give a quick shout-out to the runners up. God of War III is going to be huge, no question about it. Taking one of the biggest PlayStation franchises and melding that with the PS3 graphics is a no-brainer. Heavy Rain was surprisingly not shown during the Sony press conference, but if you watched GameSpot's Stage Demo for the game, it certainly is very promising, and its unique gameplay and structure make this one to watch! Lastly, Uncharted 2 simply looks great. The gameplay video Sony showed looked amazing; the graphics were great, the animations smooth and the cinematic integration was seamless.

Best PC Game: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Runners Up: Assassin's Creed 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Supreme Commander 2
Rationale: A lot of the games shown off at E3 will be arriving on the PC, but Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the few that is exclusive to the PC, and with good reason; you just simply can't pull off massively multiplayer online role-playing games on the consoles. Sure, there have been some MMOs, but nothing like the scope of PC MMO's like World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings Online. SWTOR has the potential to be HUGE. I don't think it'll be able to topple WoW, as it may be a bit much for the casual crowd that WoW attracts, but SWTOR should enjoy success with hardcore RPG fans and/or Star Wars fanatics. Although the last Star Wars MMO (Star Wars Galaxies) didn't do so hot, with RPG-powerhouse BioWare behind SWTOR, I have high hopes!

Best Game Not at E3: Diablo 3
Runners Up: Bioshock 2, Crysis 2, Portal 2, Starcraft 2
Rationale: The fact that Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 were not shown off during E3 is no surprise; Blizzard decided not to attend. Nevertheless, that doesn't change the fact that both games are sure to be huge hits, and it certainly would have been nice to see more of either of them. I'm giving Diablo 3 the slight edge simply because it'll probably suck up more of my time than Starcraft 2. The other three runners up, Bioshock 2, Crysis 2 and Portal 2, are a little more surprising as no-shows. All three games have been confirmed, so you'd think they'd be shown off at an event like E3. Alas, they were not, and I think many of us were disappointed at that.

Game That Should Have Been Unveiled at E3, But Wasn't: Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Runner Up: The Orange Box 2
Rationale: I was hoping for something big from Valve; nay, I was expecting it. But instead of unveiling Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and/or The Orange Box 2, Valve announced Left 4 Dead 2 instead. WTF? Not to take anything away from L4D2, but L4D was just released within the past year, whereas we've been waiting for HL2:E3 for years! Yet, there was no announcement, not even a small teaser trailer. I love Valve, seriously, I do. But seriously, WTF?! Maybe Valve just figured that no matter when it releases HL2:E3, it's going to sell? After all, every single HL2 owner is going to buy it. Regardless of whether they have purchased Episodes 1 & 2, once all three are available, they will, there's no question about that. Still, come on Valve, throw us a bone here!

Best Cinematic Trailer: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Runner Up: Assassin's Creed 2, Dragon Age: Origins
Rationale: For the past few years, cinematic trailers have always been amazing, but unfortunately they don't really tell us anything about the gameplay (just go watch any of the cinematic trailers for World of Warcraft). Nevertheless, they're still highly enjoyable to watch, and three of them stood out above the crowd this year: Star Wars: The Old Republic Deception Trailer, Assassin's Creed 2 Carnivale Trailer and Dragon Age: Origins Warden Trailer. I give the edge to SWTOR simply because it's Star Wars for crying out loud. How can you not enjoy any trailer that features light saber duels?

Best Press Conference In-Game Demo: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Runners Up: Assassin's Creed 2, God of War III
Rationale: When I saw the Uncharted 2 demo during the Sony press conference, I was like "no way this is actual gameplay!" But indeed it was. The action looked intense, and as I said before, the graphics looked very smooth. Assassin's Creed 2 may have arguably been the best demo, featuring a new flying machine and dual-blade assassinations, but Uncharted 2 was simply something I wasn't expecting, and I was blown away.

Most Surprising Press Conference In-Game Demo: MAG
Runner Up: ModNation Racers
Rationale: MAG (Massive Action Game) may look like your typical modern first-person shooter, but with its 256-player battles, it certainly brings something new to the table. In the past, we merely heard that this was possible, but never actually saw it in action. When Sony fired up MAG during its press conference and showed a surprisingly smooth 256-player battle taking place, we finally got to see what MAG is all about; massive action. From what GameSpot showed of Sony's booth, MAG was also the focus of a fairly large section, allowing several players to test it out for themselves (though there were certainly far less than 256 systems set up).

Best Stage Demo: Dragon Age: Origins
Runners Up: Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, Splinter Cell: Conviction
Rationale: It's not often we get to see an epic battle in previews, and you can't get much more epic than a huge dragon. The Dragon Age: Origins Stage Demo certainly whet my appetite, and the rather lengthy dragon battle showed off some melee action, spell casting, shape-shifting, and culminated in a pretty sweet finishing move.

Biggest Surprise: Left 4 Dead 2
Runners Up: Final Fantasy XIV, Halo Reach, Metal Gear Solid: Rising
Rationale: In all honesty, we should have seen this coming. Despite L4D not even being a year old and despite Valve promising ongoing updates, releasing a sequel is more practical for Valve because of the Xbox 360. Valve reached the Xbox 360's memory limit when it came to Team Fortress 2, thus not allowing them to provide the TF2 updates that PC players have enjoyed. Though I am merely speculating and this hasn't been confirmed by Valve, I'm almost certain this is the reason why L4D will be getting a sequel so soon rather than updates. I don't fully blame Valve for this decision, although I really hope PC gamers who own L4D get a break in the form of a (substantial) discount.

Biggest Disappointment: Half-Life 2: Episode 3
Runners Up: Beyond Good & Evil 2, Portal 2
Rationale: Though I think it's pretty obvious, it's important to note that I'm not disappointed in the games themselves, but rather their non-appearance at E3. We know for a fact that all three are in the works (development of Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Portal 2 has been confirmed, and one can assume HL2:E3 development has already begun, despite lack of official word). So why were they absent from E3? Beats the hell out of me!

Best Press Conference: Sony
Runner Up: Microsoft
Rationale: Microsoft's press conference was great, and was certainly a good way to kick off E3, but for me, Sony was number one. Sony showed off more true exclusives and for a lot of them, they showed actual (amazing) gameplay footage, including the first time we saw Assassin's Creed 2 gameplay.

Worst Press Conference: Ubisoft
Runners Up: EA, Nintendo
Rationale: This was a tough call, but Ubisoft gets the nod for worst conference. The only redeeming part of Ubisoft's press conference was the Assassin's Creed 2 cinematic trailer. However, those five minutes toward the end of the conference couldn't make up for the rest of the snorefest. I mean, how could Ubisoft think it was a good idea to let James Cameron talk for ten minutes without showing even a second of his game, Avatar??

Best Booth: Ubisoft
Runner Up: 2K Games, Warner Bros.
Rationale: Despite having one of the most boring press conferences to ever grace an E3, Ubisoft made up for it in its booth. Ubisoft seemed to have the biggest booth at E3 and watching Homer try to traverse it was entertaining. Despite some silly tween games for the Wii, Ubisoft has a lot of great games on the horizon and they were showcased extremely well. In addition, they had a giant Avatar mech! 2K Games gets props for recreating Borderlands' planet Pandora and Warner Bros. gets credit for having a Batmobile!

Best Developer: BioWare
Runner Up: Ubisoft Montreal
Rationale: RPG specialist BioWare showed off three highly-anticipated games at E3; Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic. As such, this was a no-brainer. Ubisoft Montreal showed off two pretty big games itself with Assassin's Creed 2 and Splinter Cell: Conviction. All these games show great promise!

Best Publisher: Electronic Arts
Runner Up: Ubisoft
Rationale: I'm not counting Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony in this because that wouldn't be fair. EA gets the nod because it featured a ton of big names, such as Dragon Age: Origins, Left 4 Dead 2, and Mass Effect 2, not to mention its big sports titles, such as Madden NFL 10 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. Ubisoft featured such gems as Assassin's Creed 2, James Cameron's Avatar, R.U.S.E. and Splinter Cell: Conviction. With all these great games, I guess this is why these two publishers held their own conferences, huh?

Best GameSpot Staff Member: Homer Rabara
Runner Up: Kevin VanOrd
Rationale: I considered abandoning this category because, in all honesty, all GameSpot staff deserve a huge round of applause. Without any one of them, the event would just not have been the same; at least not for us GameSpot members. I for one relied on GameSpot for ALL of my E3 coverage. Nevertheless, Homer really knows how to fight his way through a crowd to show us a little bit of everything and it was humorous watching him bump into random people along the way. Kevin VanOrd gets runner up because he asked great questions and even elaborated on what GameSpot members were sending in.

Best Post-E3 News: E3 2010
Runner Up: None
Rationale: After two years of smaller shows, E3 was back to its big bad self this year, and it was a huge success. Gamers were happy, retailers were happy, and most importantly, developers were happy. As such, it didn't take long for E3 2010 to be confirmed and booked; and yes, the current "big" format will remain. E3 will be back in the L.A. Convention Center June 15-17, 2010. Seriously, how could any other post-E3 news compete with that?