Multitap returns this week to mull over what we saw at this years E3, just like in our first Multitap! This year however, mee Ronn joined the discussion to provide the viewpoint of someone who actually went to E3 this year.

Ronn didn't actually take any photos of the games we're talking about so ... here's a picture of a crazed yeti.

What was the most impressive games you saw at E3, what really caught your eye?

mee Ronn: Well, I guess the game that caught my eye the most would be the new Legend of Zelda. But it gets an unfair advantage for two reasons: It was a complete surprise and it's a Zelda game.
mee Ronn: That, and it was projected onto a huge wall. Kinda hard to miss.
peccaui: What huge wall?
mee Ronn: The back wall of the Nintendo booth.
mee Ronn: Near where all the press and cooler people than me go to get their appointments filled. And if Mann's Chinese Theater and IMAX have proven anything, if you project it big it's just cooler.
peccaui: They should have projected it onto my wall so I could see it larger than life too. But I agree, Zelda was a complete surprise, a jaw dropping one at that. Although, the way some gaming sites talked about it, everyone knew about it but five people.
mee Ronn: Huh. There were five of us that went together. Why am I always the last to know?
peccaui: Them's the breaks!
mee Ronn: Another game that totally came out of no where, but really impressed me was Monster Hunter for the PS2. Although, the existence of the game wasn't a surprise, how fun it turned out to be was.
peccaui: What's the deal with Monster Hunter?
mee Ronn: Monster Hunter was the only game that I played more than once at E3 (which is saying something) and also the only one that created a memorable story about playing it. It's basically an up-to-four player co-op game where you must hunt monsters so your village can survive. The best fights are versus these huge dinosaur looking monsters that you must tackle as a team.
mee Ronn: You can lure them into traps, set off explosions, and even cook meat on a spit. The possible and probable lack of headset support worries me though. Any game featuring team work without a way to form it is asking for trouble.
peccaui: Slick. Thanks Capcom! Will it have online support?
mee Ronn: Yup! I'm not even sure if it will have spilt-screen support. PS2 was very online-centric this year.
peccaui: Hrm, I'll stay offline for now.
peccaui: I was blown away that there's a sequel coming out to The Mark of Kri, entitled Rise of the Kasai!
mee Ronn: Ah, one of the few I regret missing. Although, one of the guys I went with really liked it. The co-op mode looks to be pretty strong.
peccaui: I'm not so sure how the revisions will end up, but I'm excited that they're following up on the original. And yes, the co-op promises some Golden Axe-ish thrills!
mee Ronn: I'm hoping for some new weapons for the good ol' Rau. Although, the new girl brings a lot of new gameplay to the table, with her "sightjacking" (a la Siren) and weapons.
peccaui: Yeah, her gameplay quirks do sound a heck of a lot like Siren - however, the first did do something very similar with the hawks.
mee Ronn: True. Hopefully they'll be able to keep the sequel fresh.
peccaui: Burnout 3 looks like it's coming along nicely.
mee Ronn: Burnout 3 is the first game at the show that visually impressed me.
peccaui: And impressive it is!
mee Ronn: Electronic Arts is right in the front, so take that into consideration, but even so... damn!
mee Ronn: Note: Also shown on a HUGE screen. Bigger than Nintendo's maybe.
peccaui: Indeed - it looks T-I-G-H-T. I've been dying for a great arcade racer and now there's Outrun 2 and Burnout 3? And Burnout 3 has a complete online mode? Oh Xbox Live how you taunt me so.
mee Ronn: My list of most impressive wouldn't be complete without putting Donkey Kong Jungle Beat on it.
peccaui: I've read great things about it, but I have a feeling it's one of those games you have to play to really 'get'.
mee Ronn: Using the drum to run, jump, climb, attack, and collect worked so well. Although, my hands got really sore from clapping. I think that had to do with the fact that E3 is so loud.
peccaui: But rumor has it that you were really wailing on those congo drums!
mee Ronn: Hey, I didn't get caught! The Nintendo lady yelled at my friend. He just happened to be playing the way I was.
peccaui: Or maybe you were getting in touch with yourself, and got a bit too caught up in the moment?
mee Ronn: Dude, when the beat is in your soul, what are you gonna do? Beat up some big evil Kong, that's what!
peccaui: Let it out! I know Samba de Amigo unleashed the mad maraca power stored deep inside of me!
mee Ronn: God of War for the PS2 was also another big hit for me. Like Monster Hunter, I really had no knowledge of the game before seeing it on the E3 floor.
peccaui: I've heard a lot of murmurs of people being impressed with it but ... I don't know. I just have a feeling it'll turn out like a darker, edgier Rygar (the tepid PS2 revision that is). And no one needs that.
mee Ronn: The thing that made God of War so fun was that the combat never got old. I can live without a huge hitting combo system, it didn't entice me to like Devil May Cry, but the combo system in God of War was great.
peccaui: Well, as long as it's fun...
mee Ronn: The stages where expansive and colorful, the graphics impressive, and the controls were magnificent.
mee Ronn: The electric power-armor that you get when you gain temporary God power was a little lame though. I was hoping to transform into some huge Godlike beast.
peccaui: A la Altered Beast?
mee Ronn: There ya go.
peccaui: Maybe it'll out-beast the new Altered Beast!
mee Ronn: Well, it's already got a head start. Altered Beast didn't change much from last year. I still couldn't find it playable on the floor.
peccaui: Yeah, I believe it was there just in video form - and even that video wasn't all too impressive. That's not encouraging.
mee Ronn: The least encouraging bit, under the video the progress bar said 50%.
peccaui: Kuon looks like it might propel the survival horror genre forward a bit.
mee Ronn: This title I know little to nothing about. Blame that on my lack of joy towards the suspense horror genre. It does look creepy.
peccaui: It looks like it has potential, but I always keep an eye on this genre in hopes of another surprise akin to Fatal Frame.
mee Ronn: I couldn't conclude without the mention of Metal Gear Solid 3. Which for the first time I got to play. Although, I didn't get very far. Damn quicksand!
mee Ronn: I mean -- I didn't want to spoil the game for myself.
peccaui: Quicksand, like in Gilligan's Island?
mee Ronn: Ya. See, it wanted to try to food aspect of the game. So the first thing I take down is this frog.
mee Ronn: He tasted ok. Then I got some mushrooms. As I cut them from the ground they turned into MSG rations. Cute. So I grab them too. But I want something bigger. That's when I find the crocs.
mee Ronn: I gotta have the crocodiles. My desire for them lead me straight into the quicksand. Damn Kojima!
peccaui: I bet the crocs were secret agents anyway.
peccaui: Or genetically fused with Snake's DNA.
mee Ronn: And technically speaking, Unreal Engine 3 kicked major ass. It smokes both id's and Valve's current engines. Too bad they said we wont see a game with it until 2006.
peccaui: And by then...
mee Ronn: ...hopefully Doom 3 and Halflife 2 will be out.
peccaui: Duke Nukem Forever too!

The lack of a Fatal1ty Rock-Paper-Scissors game was severely missed.

What were the most disappointing no-shows?

mee Ronn: PSYCONAUTS! peccaui: Poor Psychonauts. But we all guessed it'd be a no-show, correct?
mee Ronn: Unfortunately. Without a developer where are you going to put your display?
peccaui: Tim should have made a portable booth. Then he could be the booth.
mee Ronn: They'd better get a lifesize version of Raz at the next E3 to make up for this injustice.
peccaui: You just want to steal Raz's lifesize goggles.
mee Ronn: Shhhh - they might read this.
peccaui: We can only dream!
mee Ronn: At least I had my own personal time with the game, alpha testing it. What I don't get is where's all the press for the game? Did no one else notice the lack of this game?
peccaui: It was mentioned on Slashdot that it was missing, but it appears most people think that the project is dead without a publisher. Which are lies, lies of the most hideous kind!
peccaui: My big beef is with Nintendo for keeping not one, but two projects out of E3 - their 'revolutionary' new peripheral, and 100 Marios. Especially after saying 'yeah, they'll be there' which we all know is uncommon of Nintendo to do.
mee Ronn: My guess on the peripheral is Nintendo's camera.
peccaui: Perhaps - similarly, where is Stage Debut? Maybe they're tangentially involved, like so many others have speculated already. But I doubt it. That'd make it what, the second or third camera Nintendo has released?
mee Ronn: Maybe this one will have a crappy printer too.
peccaui: I'd be happy with a dot matrix. Retro lives!
mee Ronn: The GameCube Daisy Wheel printer? Or is that too retro?
peccaui: The GBA SP Daisy Wheel! Just for the Classic NES GameBoy!
mee Ronn: And about 100 Marios, I'm also worried about that. Moreso that they say that they doesn't even have a system picked for the game yet.
mee Ronn: I'm going to guess that puts it in 0% programmed state right now.
peccaui: Yeah, I have a hard time believing we'll see a 'revolutionary' (there's that word again!) Mario this console generation.
peccaui: And where's my Super Monkey Ball 3??
mee Ronn: Hopefully not in the same place as Sega. You can always hope for a Monkey Ball stage in SEGA Superstars.
peccaui: Yeah, but I don't want to have to literally push the balls around with my hands.
mee Ronn: Nico. Even though I knew I wouldn't see it I still missed it. Where was Nico?
peccaui: I think we will have to start making some real threats to get Ico 2/Nico made. We've been hearing that Nico will be unveiled shortly for what, two years now? I'm beginning to believe that it will follow in the footsteps of the first, and not see the light of day until the PS3.
mee Ronn: The Ico presentation at this year's GDC being one of the most talked about events. Isn't that a clue?
peccaui: Pfft. Who listens to developers?
mee Ronn: Developers are people too! And some of them even play games.
mee Ronn: I would say "Give my Nico or give me death!" but I don't want to die.
peccaui: I'm sad that there are 50,000 sequels to games that really don't seem to merit a sequel, but yet the sequels we want are MIA, buried, their rumors and screenshots collecting dust in the proverbial closet that is video game hype.
mee Ronn: At least Ico and Yorda are having fun playing in my paper arcade.
peccaui: Are they holding hands while playing?
mee Ronn: Sadly, they can't hold hands or play the games. Curse their still paper arms!
peccaui: You need to perform paper surgery on them!
peccaui: Any other disappointments?
mee Ronn: Gladly, nope.
peccaui: Huzzah for minimal sadness!

I can't believe it's not a new console.

And now for the debate that has spurred a hojillion fanboy forum posts: Did the PSP or the DS impress the most?

mee Ronn: This one is still up in the air for me. The DS pushes new boundaries with its new "verbs". Touch, rub, scratch, tap. And the PSP follows a much safer path, giving us a beefy portable system.
peccaui: It's hella beefy! It looks like a Lynx!
mee Ronn: The DS ain't no small piece of tech neither. I'm going to need a backpack to carry my portable system, whichever I go with.
peccaui: True, but the DS is striving for more of a Newton-ish feel I believe.
peccaui: And at least Nintendo isn't dumb enough to thing we'll wear DS's around our necks.
mee Ronn: The DS had a lot stacked against it. Before E3, I was worried about this gimmicky-sounding two-screened mess. Then I had to wait in a line for more than an hour - only then to be forced to watch a lameass video about how cool the DS was. But when I played it - wow! It won. The thing is really cool.
mee Ronn: Too many of the DS demos were just that, demos, so it's really hard to say what kind of games the DS will have. But the small sampling of games at least proves to me that the DS is more than just a gimmick.
peccaui: I have to say that out of the two, I'm heavily inclined towards the DS. But that's partially because I haven't seen jack or squat of the PSP in real action, whereas I was blown away by Metroid Prime: Hunters, the Sonic DS demo was visually striking and the WarioWare demo looked like it had a hell of a lot of potential.
mee Ronn: WarioWare DS and PacPix were my two favorites. They fully took advatage of the touchscreen capabilities. There was nothing, though, that showed off the built in microphone.
peccaui: I'm not so sure I jive with Sony's idea of the future either.
mee Ronn: Then you aren't prepared to live in Utopia! The one thing keeping me from joining the PSP side is that I don't want to pick the loser.
mee Ronn: But if the world bought the PSP, then my pick would be PSP.
peccaui: I could probably see myself buying a PSP. But I don't really want to play Gran Turismo on the go. Or GTA: Vice City on the go. I want Animal Crossing DS!
mee Ronn: I want Ape Escape and PacPix. I'm doomed
peccaui: Say goodbye to all of your plasma!
peccaui: I'd also like to add that Metal Gear Acid looks about as appealing to me as swimming in flypaper.
mee Ronn: Well, I'm a Metal Gear junkie and I'm not sold. A card game that features Snake just isn't up to snuff.
peccaui: Nope. But the hype is high with it, and the promo movie of it makes it look like a portable Metal Gear Solid but boy howdy, people will be disappointed when they find out it's a card game.
peccaui: The world can always use more Ape Escape though.
mee Ronn: Neither system has a killer game yet, a game that I just got to have. Until I see a must-own title, I'm just going to plan on sticking with my GBA. It's never let me down in the past.
peccaui: Hell, I usually desire at least three unique, must have titles before I buy new hardware. Except for the GBA - I was bored, away from home and all my consoles, and desperately needed to play an RPG.
peccaui: Ah well. The world will see sometime between now and let's say ... 2007?
mee Ronn: Geez, I hope so. I'm going to guess we'll see at least the PSP in early 2005.
peccaui: In theory.
peccaui: And I believe the DS is supposed to come out this fall. It'll be the last bit of action before the hype for the next generation of consoles!
mee Ronn: That doesn't give me much time to give blood. I'm going to have to take more drastic measures.
peccaui: You have an extra kidney.
mee Ronn: Not for long.

Bonus mission special fun rambling!

peccaui: Any final thoughts on E3? Anything to say about Rumble Roses?
mee Ronn: Rumble Roses almost killed me. They announced a bikini contest and I was too close to the "ring". I was nearly trampled as I tried to escape. I'd like to think that more people would be offended by the game. I don't, but I wish I could.
peccaui: I'm sure there will be a slight uproar by Joe Lieberman if they do put in that topless mode though!
mee Ronn: When you attempt to out-Tecmo Tecmo, what do you expect!?
peccaui: I expect failure.
peccaui: Just like SEGA's 'uber announcement'.
mee Ronn: I'm still suffering from disbelief.
peccaui: I hope some PR staff member was shot for that.
mee Ronn: Hey, at least it wasn't "SEGA is gonna make you it's BITCH!"
peccaui: SEGA had its chance.