Now that the Big Three have finished their live press conferences, let me put forward what I found to be most impressive, most surprising, or simply most memorable for each show (and likewise, just the opposite):

Microsoft: Microsoft definitely started their presentation off the strongest of the three. Jumping right into a live stage-demo of Rockband Beatles was a nice way to get the crowd excited and eager to know more, not just about this game in particular, but to see what else Microsoft could do. There were several big surprise moments during their two-hour press conference, most notably of which was the announcement that the Metal Gear franchise would finally make its way onto the 360 with Metal Gear Solid: Rising, under the new tagline "Lightning Bolt Action." I have to be honest, I am not in the least bit a Halo fan, so to see any information about both Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach did nothing for me. Similarly, I have been a fan of the Final Fantasy series from its early days, but the more I see Final Fantasy XIII, the more I begin to think SquareEnix has forgotten its roots of a humble RPG developer and publisher. Perhaps Microsoft's most innovative announcement was, hands-down, Project Natal, the fully-functional virtual simulator. If this is put into practice the way Lionhead studio demonstrated, we really will be seeing fully-interactive life simulators in the very near future. The most pleasantly surprising bit of news that came from the show, for me, was the dramatic re-imagining of the Splinter Cell franchise. The new game, Splinter Cell: Conviction, just seems a hop, skip, and a jump ahead of its predecessors, and that's a very refreshing feeling.

Pros

• Gameplay footage of Alan Wake - This is a game I have been waiting for since it was first announced. The gameplay only whet my appetite, and I was very pleased with how the presentation was shown via character narration as you progressed through the level.

• Metal Gear Solid: Rising - The MGS franchise is arguably the pinnacle of storytelling, so for it to finally spread its reach to the Xbox 360 is a good thing despite the cries of Sony fanboys losing another exclusive franchise. It's a shame when people can't be happy that another person will be able to enjoy a great game.

• Splinter Cell: Conviction - I always viewed Sam Fisher as the poor-man's Solid Snake. Well, to put it simply, Conviction made me reconsider.

• Mass Effect 2 Trailer - The original Mass Effect was THE primary reason I bought my Xbox 360. To even see the tidbit that we did during their press conference was enough to get me excited. Also, I'm so happy Joker is back.

Cons

• Left 4 Dead 2 - Now before a storm of hate comes my way, let me justify why I didn't like the announcement about this game. Firstly, Valve has already had Half-Life 2: Episode Three on the shelf for quite a few years now. Secondly, the original Left 4 Dead was released not even a year ago. The new game just seems like an excuse by Valve to pump out a new "full" campaign for the sake of a profit, when virtually everything in the game could have been added via DLC, especially considering PC modders are having a ball creating custom maps for the current Left 4 Dead. There was no need to make another one so soon.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - I won't lie, the game did look exciting. But I think Infinity Ward is getting ahead of themselves and trying to just emulate a Hollywood blockbuster movie a la James Bond by creating the intense-action/chase moments that we saw in the demo. The rugged, dystopian feeling of the first Modern Warfare was a blessing.

Nintendo: The biggest underdog at E3 (though not in sales), Nintendo had a giant hurdle to jump in order to please its highly dedicated, very rabbid fanbase. What started out as a very meek and meager show eventually made up for itself closer to the middle and end of the presentation. Ignoring the focus on the casual market with games like Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus, and the large initiative towards DS custom content (don't even get me started on Wii Vitality Sensor), Nintendo actually announced some noteworthy blockbuster titles: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers gets a shiny new trailer; two new Mario games are announced - the first of which, New Super Mario Bros, I'm more excited about than Super Mario Galaxy 2, and I'll explain why later; one of my favorite franchises for the Game Boy Advanced, Golden Sun, gets a DS sequel; and perhaps the biggest announcement of Nintendo's hour, Metroid: Other M, a collaborative project between the Metroid team at Nintendo and the minds behind the Ninja Gaiden franchise at Team Ninja. Other notable mentions worth checking out are The Conduit, a game I am hotly anticipating, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and Dead Space: Extraction.

Pros

• New Super Mario Bros. - Let me explain why I'm more excited about this game than I am about Super Mario Galaxy 2. Firstly, this is traditional Mario gameplay - something you cannot ever get tired of - combined with possible 4-player mayhem, plenty of new features including new power-ups, new mechanics, and a vibrant stylized visual presentation. Super Mario Galaxy, when it was released, was an astounding achievement for Nintendo and one of the Wii's greatest games. When they announced during the show that, for the first time ever, a second proper Mario title would appear on the same console, I immediately got excited - until I saw what it was. And what it was, was basically Super Mario Galaxy + 2. It's not technically a "new" game when it's the same engine, same format, same gameplay, same concept, and - I'm willing to bet on this - a damn near similar story. That is not something you brag about as being "first time ever."

• Golden Sun DS - This was the first MAJOR announcement of the show for me. The franchise had been stagnant for 6 years now, with not even a rumor or suggestion that a new game was in the works. Fans would gossip, and the long-demanded Kid Icarus sequel was among the top titles wanting a rebirth. But that torch fell upon Golden Sun, and I was very happy.

• Metroid: Other M - The Metroid Prime games are arguably three of the best titles produced by Nintendo ever. The daring leap into first-person gameplay was a risk, but one that ultimately paid off tenfold. Now the series seems to be returning to its side-scroller roots, although not entirely. From what we saw in the trailer, the game seems to blend together elements of many genres, including but possibly not limited to side-scrolling, first-person, and action/platforming. The visual presentation of combat was outstanding, and the opening cinematic was simply amazing given the Wii's prior criticism of hardware.

Cons

• Too Much Talking - In a page taken from Ubisoft's conference show last night, Nintendo spent a bit too much time talking about the games rather than showing them. It's nice and all to introduce the game you're presenting, maybe give a little background info, but people are there to be amazed, not put to sleep.

• Bating - What I mean by this is, Nintendo has a habbit of promising something, perhaps in earlier interviews or live shows, and then later giving you only the slightest bit of information on what they promised, only to continue dangling it in front of our noses. They did this last year with Wii Motion Plus, and yet again we see it during this show. Why hasn't this been released yet? The technology was ready a year ago.

Sony: Sony arguably had the strongest presentation, with some very major announcements and trailers. God of War 3, M.A.G., Uncharted 2, Final Fantasy XIII and the surprise announcement of Final Fantasy XIV: Online, and Sony's response to the future of motion control. Perhaps their most disappointing aspect, at least for me, was their lack of content shown for the Playstation 2. The last-gen console is still a powerhouse seller and arguably the best system of any generation, and Sony has advocated its 10-year policy for consoles, yet they showed very little effort to actually support the console during this year's press conference. They did make mention that over 100 titles are coming to the console by the year's end, but failed to specify any of them which may be worth purchasing. Definitely the biggest announcement of the event for me was the title and extended trailer for Team Ico's new project, "The Last Guardian."

Pros

• M.A.G. - This game was first announced at last year's E3 as being a fully-online FPS featuring up to a total of 256 players split up into several squads of 6-players per side. It was called too good to be true. Well, this year's E3 shattered all doubts as the game was demonstrated featuring a full player list and virtually no lag.

• The Last Guardian - From the masterminds behind Ico and Shadow of the Colossus comes the next game in this unusual franchise of loosely-linked sagas about ancient worlds and extraordinary friendships.

• PSone games through PSN store - A nice surprise was the announcement that over 50 Playstation One games are coming to the Playstation Network for download, allowing players the chance to play some of the masterpieces they may have missed over 10 years ago. Leading the pack is Final Fantasy VII beginning today.

Cons

• PSP Go - $250 price tag for a hand-held is the first big mistake. Secondly, Sony needs to do some staff management and fire the people who design their PSP button scheme.

• God of War 3 - I don't buy the hype. Sorry.

Closing Thoughts
Overall, this E3 so far has been a pretty average-to-good show. There are still two more days left, both of which will shift the focus entirely to the games themselves and the developers rather than the consoles and hardware. I hope we will get to see more info on the many games announced during the press conferences, in addition to the announcements of many more games to come.

Favorite Moment From Each Presentation
Microsoft: Alan Wake gameplay
Nintendo: Metroid: Other M trailer
Sony: The Last Guardian trailer

So 2008 is gone; dead and buried like Jack Thompson's legal career. A slew of AAA titles graced our presence, but it was only just the beginning. 2009 is looking to be another knock-out year for gamers, and among the major titles coming out within the next 12 months, possibly the most widely-anticipated is Resident Evil 5.

Not for me, though. No, instead, I've got my own tastes to cater to rather than to feed into the enticement of the hype machine. Instead, I'm looking forward to the obscure, the mysterious, and the distant.

Whatever 2009 brings, I'm sure most of it will be good. But what I HOPE arrives in this ninth millennial year are the following games:

Half-Life 2: Episode Three, Sadness, Alan Wake, and the next Shin Megami Tensei proper game.

Other games I'm looking forward to that ARE coming out this year are:

Demigod, Madworld, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Ghostbusters, Killzone 2, Dark Void, Dragon Age: Origins, and Star Ocean: The Last Hope.

2009, don't let me down.

If this game isn't given the recognition and honor that Persona 3 deserved from reviewers this season, I'm going to piss on all of your faces.