The Anodyne Man

BuRn It DoWn AnD wAlK aWaY

Sunday, June 27, 2010

E3 2010: Best of Nintendo

It was a very big show for Nintendo fans.

There's no question in my mind that Nintendo's showing at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo was the company's best in years. After experiencing a dozen E3s and Nintendo press conferences first hand, I believe I'm comfortable in saying that the company finally gave us what we wanted: a competent line-up of games and a brand new console that we're genuinely and almost universally excited for.

While the other companies were fighting over dominance in the motion control category, Nintendo returned to the glory days and showed exactly what makes the company masters of the market.

The Legend of Zelda Continues the Legacy

The 3DS is Stunning

A few months prior to the show Nintendo let loose a tidbit that sent the fanboys abuzz: the next Nintendo DS system will feature a 3D screen without the need for glasses. That's all we had to go with until E3, but Nintendo focused nearly its entire show on giving its next generation handheld the kick-off it deserves.

Kirby's Creative Return

While Nintendo's pink puff has been living a pretty good life on the Nintendo DS, we haven't seen a console Kirby since the GameCube days. And for the little guy's Wii debut the company's offering up one of the most creative visual styles seen to date in a videogame.

Retro Ditches Samus for DK

It's only coincidental that the Texas-based Retro Studios has the namesake to match its published games: after three Metroid Prime games the company was ready to move onto something different – and Nintendo handed the team the keys to the Donkey Kong Country franchise.

The Winged Lad Returns

Another Nintendo franchise that's been given the cold shoulder is Kid Icarus, and even with a key role in Super Smash Bros. Brawl our hero Pit still lacked any strength at Nintendo to get his next Kid Icarus game. Even before the release of Brawl we knew that a Kid Icarus game was something Nintendo was looking at, but until he showed up in trailer form during the press conference, the official word never came down.

GoldenEye Is Still Golden

Any self-respecting first person shooter fan should appreciate the original Nintendo 64 FPS GoldenEye. Activision's attempting to capture that nostalgic feeling with a Wii game that takes the story of the game (and the movie it's based around) and retools it with Daniel Craig in the starring role.

Mickey Really Is Epic

Epic Mickey was easily one of the biggest third-party games at the show, not just on Wii but across all gaming platforms – it was difficult to walk the hallways without seeing the dripping ink-style logo plastered on the walls.

EA Understands Jam

Another franchise that's getting a revisit after many, many years is the arcade basketball game that nearly everyone knows and loves. The brand may have changed hands from Midway to Electronic Arts, but it's absolutely clear from the version at the show that the team really and truly understands what made NBA Jam such a classic.

Scribblenauts Works

Last year, Warner Bros. and 5th Cell walked away with an armload of awards with Scribblenauts, easily one of the most innovative concepts seen on any platform. While the end product was an impressive and fun experience on the Nintendo DS, the game never quite lived up to the exposure – it was admittedly a bit clunky and clumsy in places, elements that hurt the final game.

The incredible success of Scribblenauts gave the development team the ability to go back into the game and fix what was broken, and improve what it could over the course of a year. The wonky controls? Fixed. And now you can modify any object with adjectives: want a gigantic striped flying banjo? You'll get it in Super Scribblenauts.

BuRnItDoWnAnDwAlKaWaY

¶ 10:13 AM

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GameCube and Nintendo Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2007 Nintendo. Some Picture's courtesy of Nintendo and IGN.com Special Thanks To Casey Crumley for blog design