This year’s E3 was billed as the biggest how in the history of the event. If you measure he amount of noise and hype generated by the show it’s hard to argue with that pronouncement. Now that we’ve had a chance to catch our breath from the show and let the hype ebb away we thought it would be good to ask all of the GN staffers who attended the show to put together a list of what they felt lived up to the hype and what they were a little disappointed in.

Ben Berry- Staff Writer - E3 Virgin
You remember how my editor wanted a list of things I wanted to see at E3? Well here it is, the end of E3, and he’s hounding me again. This time he wants a list of the things I liked and disliked about the conference. Determined not to repeat history, I didn’t mention the booth babes this time, and decided to tried to figure out if I found what I went looking for. I’ll start with the list of things I liked:

I really wanted to see Battlefront II. I have to say, getting the scoop on Battlefront II and all of the other LucasArts titles in development was truly amazing. Even with Episode 3 in the rearview mirror, the House of Vader has plenty going on. Be on the lookout for Empire at War, which might just be the RTS that gets the sour taste of Rebellion and Force Commander out of our collective mouth.

The title that finally makes me play games on my cell phone might just be poker. Yahoo! Games was on hand, pushing a makeover of their interface, with Texas Hold ‘em as the flagbearer. Texas Hold ‘em has become such a phenomenon in video games, companies brought out the superstars of poker. World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker Champions were all over the convention floor this week. I played cards with Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Helmuth, Howard Lederer, and Robert Williamson III, and had a terrific time. I actually beat Esfandiari and Helmuth. I won a couple nice poker prizes, to boot. These guys weren’t really even trying, but just playing well enough to be competitive with them was a highlight of the trip.

The third thing on my list was new controllers. Between MonsterGecko’s gyroscope enabled GeckoBlaster, Saitek’s Pro Gamer Command Pad, and the fact that the next gen consoles are all set to be wireless, controls look set to take a leap forward over the next year, and by next E3, we all might be playing games in a different way.

MMORPG’s were everywhere. City of Villians, Auto Assault, Dark and Light, and RYL: Path of the Emperor all look to make their mark on the MMO landscape. And don’t forget about the new pieces of the Star Wars Galaxies galaxy. Many of us might only see the sun this summer when it shines through the blinds after another long night of hard core online gaming.

The last thing I wanted to see was a title that made me believe I HAD to buy a next gen console. I didn’t see a title that really made me need a new box for my tv stand, but the consoles themselves just might have done it. With the Playstation 3’s raw power, the Xbox 360’s media center integration, and the Nintendo Revolutions…. well, at least there are two boxes I want to buy.

My mom always said “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”. Good thing I never listened to mom, or I wouldn’t be able to complete this list of things I didn’t like.

The Playstation 3 controller. With all the advances made in controllers at this years E3, the folks at Sony took about 5 big steps back with their oversized boomerang shaped controller. This controller seems like it was designed for style as opposed to functionality. Here’s hoping the response to the controller makes them change their mind about this monstrosity before it goes into production.

The lack of information on the Nintendo Revolution. I’m sorry, but the console that needs the biggest splash did a belly flop. No controller, no specifications, a...