EA has a lot of really interesting things coming in the next year or so, and I’ll have a full feature on most of the things EA had to offer. Konami had lots going on too with a heavy portable focus including the new Castlevania game and many new types of DDR. Beatmania and a new guitar freaks had a new showing. There were also two coded arms games, a follow up game for the psp that was playable and a video for a forthcoming ps3 game. There were only videos for the Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops PSP game, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and there was absolutely nothing on the new hellboy game other then a blurb and some screenshots in the press booklet. It was actually surprising how few main console games Konami was showing in comparison to the multitude of portable games for both the PSP and DS.

I also got to see Infernal by Metropolis Software. Its a mediocre type 3rd person shooter with a few neat gimmicks in the form of demonic powers you have. It plays like a cross between Resident Evil 4 in terms of camera and control, but also has various supertype powers associated with it that you can use.

I hit Activision too and checked out the Special Effects and Stunts expansion for The Movies. It looks really neat and seems to fix the big problem with only allowing for the preset camera angles by adding a free moving camera. It also adds a multitude of sets, props, and costumes in addition to the free camera and a bunch of new scenes with special effects added in. For fans of the original - it makes a good game even better, but I can’t help but still feeling burned by the initial game not having the free camera.

I also checked out the booth for Supreme Commander and while the scale of the battles and the interaction is neat - I saw nothing of story. This is troubling considering how many other games seem to be able to do both great gameplay and a good story.

Haze was another thing on the show floor I got to checkout and it seems very much in the vein of F.E.A.R. It’s a first person shooter centered around a company that produces all sorts of pharmaceuticals and defense technology who forms a military task force to deal with tricky situations. It was a pleasant surprise considering that prior to the show I hadn’t herd of the game, but it was very cool looking with its use of lighting and the organic feel of the jungle setting. It’s created by Free Radical - the same guys responsible for the Timesplitters games and has a heavy focus on story. The demo I saw went through a sequence that showed how the enemy AI works together and your team squad AI also moves in conjunction. It also will have support for coop so people can jump in as the other members of your team. The very last scene points to a member of your squad murdering a man in cold blood who tries to surrender and makes it seem as if maybe the company you work for has something to cover up. Its coming to the PS3 and 360 and is being positioned for a release next year.