Josh H

Playstation 2's E3 Report Card

Strengths:
-The largest game library and best variety of any system
-No monthly fee to play online games
-Big exclusives like Tomb Raider and GTA

Weaknesses:
-Lots of "me-too" titles feeding off last years hits
-Few real surprises or stand-out titles

Overall:
Variety, strong online support and third party exclusvies gave Sony a solid showing.

Grade: B


Xbox's E3 Report Card

Strengths:
-The best online network (after all you get what you pay for)
-A pile of intriguing first-party and exclusive third party games
-No adapter necessary to get online.

Weaknesses:
-First-party lineup lacks star power
-The price and slow adoption of broadband could exclude many gamers from Xbox online

Overall:
-Solid Snake leads the charge of solid games. And don't forget the trailblazing online service that launches this fall.

Grade: B


Gamecube's E3 Report Card

Strengths:

-The best game lineup for this fall, including the big names we all love
-Co-development partnerships with Sega, Namco and Capcom
-$50 cheaper

Weaknesses:

-Hardly any exclusives outside Nintendo and still to few games for the older mainstream
-Poor support for online peripherals
-Where are the RPGs?

Overall:
-Incredible games from Nintendo but lacking in third-party exclusives and online titles

Grade: A-


Gameboy Advance's E3 Report Card

Strengths:
-Lots of great titles from Nintendo, both remakes and originals

Weaknesses:
-Majority of third-party games are shovelware
-GC/GBA connectivity still seems gimmicky

Overall:
-Strong lineup from Nintendo and a few third parties

Grade: B+


Top Ten Games:

1. The Legend of Zelda (GCN)
2. Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
3. Metroid Prime (GCN)
4. Metroid Fusion (GBA)
5. Steel Battallion (Xbox)
6. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
7. Tom Clancy's Splintercell (Xbox)
8. Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox)
9. Soul Calibur (Arcade, GCN, PS2, Xbox)
10. Socom: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)

Top 5 PS2 Games:

1. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs
2. The Getaway
3. Shinobi
4. Contra: Shattered Soldier
5. War of the Monsters

Top 5 Xbox Games:

1. Steel Battallion
2. Splinter Cell
3. Panzer Dragoon Orta
4. Blinx: The Time Sweeper
5. Shemue II

Top 5 Gamecube Games:

1. The Legend of Zelda
2. Super Mario Sunshine
3. Metroid Prime
4. Resident Evil 0
5. Animal Crossing

Top 5 Gameboy Advance Games:

1. Metroid Fusion
2. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
3. The Legend of Zelda
4. Yoshi's Island
5. Contra Advance

Josh H

Hopefully these lists will stop the Gamecube and X-box fanboys from complaining that EGM is biased toward the PS2, as the GCN and GBA got a higher grade than the PS2 and the X-box tied it, and 5 of the top 6 games were either on the GCN or GBA, 3 more games where on the X-box, compared with only 1 PS2 game in the top 10.

EGM is the least biased gaming publication on or offline IMO. They call it as they see it.

Of course, given the immaturity of many gamers, the PS2 fanboys will probably start saying EGM is biased against the PS2.

Aghama

Yeah, they were jocking the GC something fierce in this issue.

I'm surprised there was nary a peep about Kingdom Hearts, though.

Josh H

Yeah, I wondered why Kingdom Hearts wasn't in there too, as it was high on most sites lists after E3.

I personally have no interest in the game as I don't like RPGs that well and hate disney characters. But it seems most people can't waite for it.

AgtFox

I think KH fell off the charts because of the number of GC and GBA games on the list, along with the surprising number of X-Box games on the list. Plus EGM had covered KH before and I doubt they felt it deserved to be in the top 10 since they had seen it before and have probably already played through the Japanese version.

I also hope this makes the GC and X-Box owners out there feel better about the support EGM gives them. It is obvious that they were amazed by Nintendo and its big 3. Did anyone notice that Star Fox was not in the top 10 either? At one point (I think in Quartermann) they said Rare was not at E3 nor any of their games. Well, Star Fox was there...Rare may not have been, but their game was.

At this point I think the X-Box and PS2 will be playing catch-up (starting at ground zero, not taking console sales up to now into effect) to the GC starting now and through the holiday season. Eternal Darkness sounds like it is selling GCs and chances are with Mario in August, Star Fox in September and Metroid Prime/Metroid Fusion in November that Nintendo will have a powerful 2nd half of the year. And with Zelda coming early next year hopefully the heat will be pushed into at least the 1st quarter of the year.

I would say right now the games I will be buying by the end of the year are:

1. Metroid Prime (GC)
2. Star Fox Adventures (GC)
3. Mario Sunshine (GC)
4. Devil May Cry 2 (PS2)
5. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA)
6. Metroid Fusion (GBA)
7. Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
8. Onimusha 2 (PS2)
9. Panzer Dragoon Orta (X-Box)
10. Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller (X-Box)

That is just off the top of my head though.

Josh H

I'll be starting grad school in Aug so I don't know how many games I'll have time for.

I'll definitely be getting Mario, Metroid and Star Fox between their releases and X-mas.

I plan on picking up Metroid Fusion, Tekken 4, and Castlevania HoD as well, time and money permitting. Resident Evil 0 is something I'll probably hold out until X-mas for, as I still need to play through the first one a couple more times to open up the extra modes.

On the PS2 Shinobi, Rygar, DMC 2 and Contra are intriguing as well. Not to mention the backlog of games I haven't picked up yet like MGS2, DMC, GTA3 etc.

Too many games, not enough time.