Coming out alongside The Beatles: Rock Band was a group of four instrument peripherals designed to mimic the ones used by the Fab Four during their glory days. However with the history of issues that some Rock Band controllers have had, whether or not these peripherals are solid and lasting is an understandable concern. After taking some time playing the Wireless Gretsch Duo-Jet Guitar Controller, I can say that this pretty peripheral, which is modeled after the one famously used by Beatles guitarist George Harrison, is one of the most solid guitar controllers out there.

At first, wanting to pick up this peripheral is a bit daunting as it and the John Lennon-modeled Rickenbacker 325 controller retail at a whopping $100 each. But the guitars are so nice that they arguably warrant it. The Gretsch Duo-Jet looks beautiful. It's an exact visual replica of the one wielded by Harrison with a silver whammy bar, turn dial knob, and a very pretty white trim along the base of the controller. It is hands-down the most aesthetically pleasing peripheral out there, with the only exception possibly being the Paul McCartney Hoffner Bass controller.

The controller has a great feel to it when one finally throws on the strap and starts strumming away. The strum bar makes no noise whatsoever and moves without any tension. It's one of the smoothest feeling guitar peripherals I have personally played with. The fret buttons also just feel great when playing. They give that nice, firm feeling that Guitar Hero guitar controller fret buttons do, yet feels smoother due to their buttons not having the tiny gap of their Activision counterparts. Instead of the typical switch that changes the sound of your guitar when playing, the silver knob on the top of the base of the guitar is your method of doing so. Though a bit more difficult to switch, it gives a much more authentic feel.

And for players who need to play on lefty mode, the guitar will adjust for you. The top knob on the base of the guitar for the strap unscrews and can be screwed back in on the other side so that lefties can keep the guitar strapped on when playing.

The only downsides to the controls are that the start and -- since I purchased the Xbox 360 version of the peripheral -- Xbox buttons are a tad sluggish. A player will have to hold the buttons down for a good second to get the game to pause or bring up the Xbox menu instead of instantly responding like all previous peripherals. The other glaring issue is the Xbox 360 mic jack. The jack is actually too big for the Xbox 360 wired plugs, so if you don't have a wireless mic, don't expect to be talking trash or communicating with fellow band mates over Xbox Live.

Final verdict? The Wireless Gretsch Duo-Jet Guitar Controller is hands down one of the prettiest and best feeling guitar peripherals out there. It isn't perfect thanks to the mic jack problem and the sluggish start and Xbox buttons, but it is pretty darn close. If you are really against spending $100 on a guitar controller or already have two at home, then I would say lay off of this one. Otherwise, this is a must-buy peripheral for anyone's Rock Band or Guitar Hero collection.

This isn't really the kind of online gaming experience anyone could claim to be familiar with. The background of fiction, economy, and the ability to run businesses, affect the economy and live in a single instance of the game universe was something that EVE Online accomplishes without even breaking a sweat. Now at a quarter of a million users, not to mention at least forty thousand people trying it out at any one time, it's become a major player in the world of MMO titles. But its beginnings were just as humble as the mightiest of titles we play on a daily basis.

"The founding crew were fans of the game Elite", says Ned Coker, IP Development Manager at CCP Games, situated in the unusual location of Iceland. "Between the way the night sky looks in Iceland and the immense enjoyment they took from this game, they were inspired to apply modern computer science technology and artistic direction to the same underlying gameplay activities of space trading and combat."

Space trading and combat are a large portion of the game indeed, with trades numbering in the millions every day in a variety of forms. Everything from ore, to milk, to ships themselves can be traded, and some players make their in-game living simply from transporting goods from the seller to the buyer. Though the concept of "making a living" is something that might come as something of a surprise to players of other MMO titles, as the leap from slaying dragons and adopting that devil-may-care attitude with your Orc Warrior to attempting to scrounge enough money to get a decent ship in EVE through killing other players is a fairly big one.

But it's worth keeping in mind that ISK (the game's currency) can put users in positions of considerable power. With your meagre sum of 5'000 ISK at the beginning of your career, you can amass several million only a few hours in if you're willing to take a realistic approach to the title. This can take the form of any variety of expenses, from tax on market goods to the more surprising insurance costs for those paranoid about losing their ships: this is a worthy investment, as even this journalist has returned after an hour's time away from his ship to see a floating wreck and a huge chunk taken out of his wallet after a lack of insurance came to his attention.

It seems complex, intimidating, even off-putting in the sheer volume of expenses, skills and sheer time needed to accomplish the dizzying array of tasks presented to the player. But it's important to remember this is a real functioning universe. There's no way the average gamer will get up, and decide which of his fifty jobs to turn up for today, before jumping into one of seven different cars depending on how fast and how safe he wants to be on the motorway that morning. To approach EVE Online with a clear idea in mind, be it piracy, trading, mining or even in-game journalism, will narrow your choices into investments of time that will benefit the cautious, strategic player.

The time invested will be considerable, but the achievements in the game are worth that long-term investment. To train to use the Vexor ship described in the opening paragraph, the player will need somewhere in the region of two weeks' playtime to train the skills needed to use the vessel itself. But in the dark void of space, is it worth being in something bigger, something more powerful, or something that allows you to hit and run, or simply just run? This and a thousand more questions will plague you throughout, as you'll likely end up with a variety of ships for various tasks, from hauling huge amounts of ore mined with a smaller ship out in space, to a huge battleship capable of wiping out the home base of a group of player-controlled pirates in low-security space.

But why space as a creative medium? Surely it is an empty, bland thing, devoid of any real entertainment value unless populated with so much content that Star Wars looks like a dentist's waiting room? "It's a harsh, brutal environment that we've only begun to take our first steps in" says Gonzales, "One way or the other-be it through scientific intrigue, capitalistic venture, or dire necessity-we will be compelled to cross its vast expanses. Doing so will require a quantum leap in technology-perhaps with breakthroughs that we presently dismiss as fantasy or impossible by today's primitive standards. When you remove those barriers, you end up with a stunning vision of where we could go."

Along your travels you'll see a variety of solar systems, space stations, and even the odd ring of solar dust that stretches half the width of an entire planetary orbit, the sight of which is breathtaking. Though, in the solitary areas of space between planet, stargate and sun, is there a place for the players? Space is a big area, especially an unmapped galaxy which, with new wormholes opening to other regions with the Apocrypha expansion, leaves a lot of void to be filled. Player-owned stations help to fill this void, though it's worth noting that you'll encounter a wide variety of responses should you stumble across them. Some are welcoming friendly corporations, who will bring you in with open arms, embrace you with helpful advice and ISK, and send you on your way. However, some are hiding places for pirates, storage stations for slaves and valuable goods, and they will protect their property by any means necessary.

It's this player variety that makes EVE Online such a refreshing experience: to see someone brag on the forums about their life as a pirate, waiting for vulnerable players in slow, ponderous ships before striking, holding the pilot's life to ransom as they sit in their pod, drifting from the wreckage of a ship that can be salvaged for untold millions of ISK. It's a scary prospect for the new player: even though you'll start in 0.9 security space (1.0 being the highest, and with a zero or negative value as the obvious binary opposite), the prospect of being able to use stargates to thrust yourself through the galaxy at random will become addictive, and it may not be long before a pirate sees your first-time ship arrive in-system, warping in to destroy you and take you for all you're worth.

These player conflicts, these storylines created by the actions of pirates and new players alike are the driving force behind the procedural, player-generated narrative that makes EVE Online so popular. But why not just have NPCs drive the main experience and leave player interaction to chat rooms and PvP gameplay? "Rather than create a single player experience," explains Gonzales, "the ultimate idea in everyone's mind was to make real people the enablers of these activities by marrying virtual world technology to the internet. People will always be the best source of content for everyone else, so in this sense we knew we could create something new."

The internet has long been a forum of discussion, drama, and important events, from the first computer hacking to the latest in online scandals, from credit card theft to software piracy. However, EVE Online uses this idea to generate its own drama, its own events that take place on a colossal scale, both in economic and dramatic terms. In this instance, a long-term member of one of the richest, and definitely the most powerful groups of players (corporations, to use the correct in-game vernacular), decided to betray his friends, his co-workers in-game, and disbanded their corporation. Billions of ISK down the drain, and years of friendship shattered in the name of online betrayal. This is no stray accusation of needless aggression in a console war forum topic: this was betrayal on an economically damaging scale.

Space was invaded, taken from the corporation, whilst its members desperately tried to hold on to the huge area of the galaxy they had taken over and colonized. The two-faced pilot is now nowhere to be seen, hiding from the drama created by his wilful destruction. The thousands of forum threads and news post across the gaming internet are a testament to the impact events like these can have in EVE: this is more than a "world first kill" or a "first to level 100": this is a scandal.

It remains such because the game only takes place on a single server, an example of technology not, to any source of knowledge, yet bettered in the gaming industry. The server hub in Iceland is incredibly powerful, and its ability to have fifty-six thousand players or more online at one time, in the same instanced galaxy, is testament to this monumental technological achievement. It could be argued it then becomes simpler to maintain the gaming experience for all those who play EVE, that there will only ever be one server down for maintenance, or hit by bugs, not hundreds or thousands of servers at random intervals throughout the year.

However, Gonzales offers a different reason. "We wanted a game where one player really could make a difference, and where his or her actions could resonate across the game universe and uniquely claim that success. That's not possible in sharded worlds. In these setups, an entity can rise to prominence but never achieve true "global" dominance because their influence is limited to the instance or shard they exist in. EVE is one world. When an alliance conquers a region of space, it is uniquely theirs."

The phrase he coins here, "sharded worlds", becomes an important issue in the case of the MMO concept for games developers. There are hundreds of versions of Altdorf, of Ironforge, of any landmark or main player hub in MMO titles throughout the genre. There is no one legendary weapon, simply one per server. The disadvantage of splitting these worlds is that nothing feels unique. To see Band of Brothers fall wasn't simply surprising, it was devastating: this was because there was only one galaxy, one player community and one Band of Brothers space-area.

To browse the main website for the game is to notice the large amount of online literature that sits alongside the main wiki content that explains everything from mining to why you can't password a floating box in secure space. These chunks of storyline are a fundamental part of what it takes to understand the universe of EVE as a creative medium: to hear the stories of individual characters and to compare it to your own experience, to then seek out these characters in the game itself. They are present, and they do exist. Even in the novel EVE Online: The Empyrean Age, there isn't a single protagonist, antagonist or bystander that doesn't have a place in the game's dark universe.

But where lies the need for the literature? Is it not enough to simply rely on the player-created narratives? Must we be exposed to storylines beyond our control? "The literature serves two main functions", explains Gonzales, author of the novel in question, "it describes aspects of the setting that we cannot yet portray in the virtual world, and it engages an audience that is eager for storytelling in a way that exposes them to just how deep the rabbit hole goes when it comes to the actual game." Gonzales goes on to mention the fictional characters: the reason for their presence is simple, he states: to have anywhere between two to two thousand players asking around in chat where a fictional character resides creates a sense of community, of shared interest. The fiction allows people to bond, much like those in World of Warcraft who were communally excited to find Thrall on his throne in the Orc city of Orgrimmar.

The universe of fiction and players expands on a daily basis, but to sustain the universe and its convincing and famous economy and the realistic way in which its market crashes, sustains itself, and thrives along with player input and trading, requires outside specialisation. "Economics is a model of social behaviour, and so we felt as though we had achieved our initial vision of creating a vibrant, emergent, player-run virtual world. Hiring a full time economist was the result of this success and an outright necessity, given the fact that it's very difficult to predict the impact or ripple effect of even minor changes to any aspect of the game in a single-shard architecture."

The economist - one Dr. Eyjólfur "Eyjo" Guðmundsson - speaks about his experience in an interview with Slashdot: "As the game grows the complexity and the fun of it grows exponentially," he states, "you can actually see shortages of goods, scarcities of goods in the game world. If you want some material, you need to take steps to go out and get it; you can mine it, you can refine it, but there is a time element involved in obtaining it. There's an element of effort involved. You can also lose things, if you make poor decisions, if you go into an area where you can't defend yourself you can actually lose what you've been building. All of these components are build into the world, and when you make decisions in the game you're making many of the same decisions you make in your daily life."

The EVE universe is always going to expand. At the time of Slashdot going to press, the universe only contained 200'000 users, in late 2007. In early 2009, this has increased by 25%, a rate almost matching that of Blizzard's impressive player-base of 11 million. Some players subsist simply on 21 or 14-day trial accounts, dashing into the universe as new, brave pilots, completing the money-generous training missions and attempting to wreak as much havoc, or try as many different roles in the game as possible in those three weeks. But sooner or later, the lure of a full subscription beckons - either to take part in the military or to finally pilot that amazing cruiser you saw on day one - and you become a fully-fledged pilot, trader, pirate, or scientist in EVE's growing space-based universe. The much-talked of ability to finally leave your ship and walk around in space stations is seemingly in development, and if anything can rival that first warp jump, it'll be that first step into your corp's lush red carpet.

Brendon's Favorites:

LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

What's not to love? Anyone who's been at GamerNode for more than a few months knows I've been in love with LBP since E3 2007 (if not earlier). The idea of the game was -- and is -- fantastic, and the platforming elements are great fun. It may not be the best game in terms of visuals, and it may not have the best actual gameplay, but no other console game has attempted (and managed) to involve the community in such a way. Also a plus, it's one of those games that non-gamers love to play, so I don't have to play alone, or wait until certain friends come over to enjoy the full experience.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

A curious choice? Perhaps. One of the most underappreciated gems in the US this year, Professor Layton is what all brain-involving games should be: fun, engaging, entertaining, and stimulating. Layton and his idiotic, annoying protégé Luke may not have guns or even know how to throw a punch (although I suspect Luke can slap with the best of them), but the puzzle solving, rewards, and mystery of the island city resulted in my most memorable -- and enjoyable -- DS experience yet.

MLB 08: The Show (PS3)

Of every game in 2008, none stole my free time as often as MLB 08. While Eddie swears by Power Pros, to me MLB 08 remains the best baseball game ever. Playing online with Chris (as I whooped his ass), creating and playing through the careers of several different fictional MLB legends, and having intense, multi-week long series against my former roommate, each of us representing our home teams, all caused this game to remain ingrained in my mind far longer than any other sports game. NHL and FIFA 09? You could argue they were better games from a technical standpoint, but none came close to MLB in terms of staying power, addictive quality, and most importantly: fun.

Left 4 Dead (PC, 360)

Zombies, zombies, zombies. I loved it at E3. I loved playing the early pre-E3 build. I love it now. Unfortunately, work and other games keep me from fully playing the hell out of L4D, but it's always on my mind. Dead Rising may have been the first great zombie game, but L4D is easily the best. Even without the incredible co-op, this would have been one of my favorite games of the year. Call me a zombiephile, I guess. (Quick sidenote: I'm actually reading "Zombies: A Field Guide to the Walking Dead by Dr. Bob Curran right now. It's an anthropological look at zombie mythos and the current cultural representation of zombies in films et al.)

Persona 4 (PS2)

It took me two playthroughs to really enjoy Persona 3 and understand it; I loved Persona 4 from the moment the first incredibly long cut scene began. The story is more grounded in realism, which makes it much more entertaining. The characters are more three-dimensional and relatable, and for once a game managed to toss in an animal character that isn't so annoying I want to shoot myself. Easily the RPG of the year, even if it did steal 80~ hours of my life from me. The fact that the PS2 is STILL putting out one of the top games of the year is a testament to the staying power of the old girl.

Honorable Mentions: Rock Band 2, Patapon, Braid, Sins of a Solar Empire, God of War: Chains of Olympus

(See page 2 for Eddie's picks)

Eddie's Favorites:

Braid (XBLA)

Braid...is incredible. It was, in my opinion, the best game of 2008, and one of two (maybe 3) "perfect 10s" I've ever played. From its ingenius time-manipulating gameplay to its emotionally powered story to its beautiful audio and visuals, I have trouble finding any way to fault this masterpiece. While most puzzle games wear out their welcome in a matter of days (or less), Braid's puzzle/platform action is still one of my go-to titles on a rainy day (or any day, for that matter), because it is so much more than your everyday gaming experience.

Penumbra: Black Plague (PC)

Penumbra is probably not something you'd expect to find on this sort of list, as it is a relatively obscure PC title from a tiny Swedish development studio, and was released very early in the year. Nevertheless, this combat-less first-person horror adventure did so many things so well that it is impossible to ignore. The Lovecraftian atmosphere delivered a genuinely frightful experience (something rare in gaming), the physics-based puzzles were clever and engaging, and the story and characters had depth and meaning uncommon to the medium at large. Black Plague was simply excellent.

MGS4 (PS3)

Oh Kojima. Although he could be called the Jackson Pollak of videogame designers, the end result of his throw-everything-at-'em approach to storytelling is truly epic. There has never been a game that could rival MGS4's meticulously directed cinematography, and the heavy themes found therein are also somewhat unprecedented. As a game (because it's true that much of it plays like a semi-interactive film), MGS4 mixes it up with a variety of gameplay, and always keeps things interesting. By the time this game is over, players feel like they've just taken part in something monumentally historic, and in a way, they have.

Mirror's Edge (360, PS3)

I'll admit that I am both a bit of a neophile and a whore for climbing and acrobatics, so when a game like Mirror's Edge comes out, it seems tailor-made for someone like me. This parkour-based first-person platformer doesn't dial down the excitement, because even during the moments Faith isn't being chased by squads of riot-ready guards, the free-flowing gameplay builds a sense of motion and momentum that keeps your hands glued to the controller and your eyes fixated on the action. The minimalist Orwellian plot set an intriguing stage for the action, as well, even if the main story arc wasn't exactly the most compelling narrative. In any case, this one was tough to put down.

LittleBigPlanet (PS3)

I named it "Best of E3 2008," and LittleBigPlanet remains one of the best games of the entire year. There is limitless fun to be had with this game, be it via offline solo play, online co-op, level-building, or even simply customizing and re-customizing your Sackboy as you scour each level for new items, stickers, and decorations. The best part, though, is the fact that the game never ends, as members of the community are constantly conjuring up new content that is arguably better than the core game itself. LittleBigPlanet is the closest thing to a virtual toy that I've seen in the videogame world, and never fails to put a smile on my face.

Honorable mentions: Too Human, Persona 4, Fallout 3, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Left 4 Dead

Well,  from the looks of these lists, it seems LittleBigPlanet would be GamerNode's Game of the Year for 2008, wouldn't it? If we had a trophy to give, it'd be all yours, Media Molecule...and everyone else taking part in the creative playground that is LBP. 

The television was a burgeoning medium and was quickly becoming a common device found in the average American home. Murrow was becoming worried about how the great invention was being used.

"During the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live...For surely we shall pay for using this most powerful instrument of communication to insulate the citizenry from the hard and demanding realities which must be faced if we are to survive. I mean the word survive literally."

Murrow saw what the medium was becoming, and the reality of what he saw is not far from what we can see today in the modern video game industry. He saw television as having a serious lack of creative responsibility and was upset by the way profits universally took precedence over what was really important.

To highlight this he was once noted as saying, "If we were to do the Second Coming of Christ in color for a full hour, there would be a considerable number of stations which would decline to carry it on the grounds that a Western or a quiz show would be more profitable." In short, he was upset that the greatest tool in the arsenal of television was being squandered in the name of maximum profitability.

Perhaps the most common word used to describe the year's biggest blockbusters is "immersion." If immersion is the greatest tool in the arsenal of video games then it is a tool largely wasted.

Over the years many games have succeeded in immersing us in truly amazing worlds full of detail and life, but how often have we been taken to a place we didn't necessarily want to go? How often have we been taken to a place that taught us something about the reality of the human condition? The same criticism Murrow offered in 1951 applies today; we are using this instrument to take us to awe inspiring places and times in the world, but when we get there we are greeted with a version that has been selectively censored to allow us to avoid facing reality.

Perhaps the most appropriate example of this phenomenon is in the World War II shooter genre. Store shelves have been flooded with these games for decades; dozens still come out every year. Yet, in all of those accounts of history, how many times did the course of the game lead us to a concentration camp? World War II history is full of stories of heroism and valor which we are all too happy to exploit, but tales of strife and woe are in alarmingly short supply.

Murrow saw that while other forms of art were being used to give us a better view of the world, television was content to keep us in a perpetual state of illusion and fantasy. The same argument can be made about videogames today. We fancy them as an art form, but where other forms of art use distortion and extremes to show us the truth about our world, gaming in the mainstream fails to elevate to art because it is so preoccupied with perfect realism. It's like a painter who spends years trying to make his work look exactly like the landscapes he bases them on. Beautiful, but boring. The very best games understand this distinction.

The picture Murrow painted for his audience was one of wasted opportunity. "There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful. Stonewall Jackson, who knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, ‘When war comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.' The trouble with television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival."

Murrow was commenting on the lack of use of this great tool. And now, just as television was in 1951, interactive entertainment is rusting in the scabbard.

Murrow's words came from a frustration that television had the potential to achieve so much, but the great majority preferred to use it as a way to generate advertising revenue. "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box."

Disregarding the petty differences in the design of each format, videogames and television (today vs. 1951 respectively) are alarmingly similar as developmental mediums. We need to pay more attention to this connection, because television is an example of a medium that never truly made it. We can't just sit back and rest on our laurels and simply assume that since film ascended to an art form, so will we.

Too long have we been focused on the similarities of videogames to film. A likely reason for this is out of a desire to view our medium as similar to film because film eventually made it, and was accepted by the world as art. It seems like we want to believe that too, and since we are a young medium we believe we have been endowed with some kind of irrevocable right to become universally respected for our artistic endeavors as long as we put up with the persecution for long enough.

But this is not enough. We have to continue making strides on the creative end, and above all we need to convince publishers that there is room for the artistic game. That is what film was able to do, and what television failed to do.

Videogames have the potential to teach, they can illuminate and even inspire. But they can do so only to the extent that we are determined to use them to that end. Otherwise they are merely coding and lights in a box.

Good night, and good luck.

Each time we do this feature, we will select a new game and talk about which of its aspects are truly brilliant. The philosophy here will be to admire the part in spite of--or right along with--the whole.

The point of this feature, which hopefully you'll be seeing on a somewhat regular basis, is to counteract cynicism, sarcasm, pessimism, contempt, disdain, mockery, scorn, and derision wherever it is found within gaming criticism. These will be articles about what makes great games amazing, and what makes bad games not so bad after all.

Ninja Gaiden II

To start with, Ninja Gaiden II is quite possibly the most impressive game ever created if you only play/see it for 2 minutes. Without even trying, heads start flying all over the joint and elaborate finishing moves are conducted without even knowing that you actually did anything. In short, Ninja Gaiden II succeeds where the first games fails. It makes you feel like a badass ninja right from the outset, rather than viciously punishing you for the first 5 hours.

A long held adage in game design preaches that a game's controls should be easy to learn, but difficult to master. Ninja Gaiden II could be the poster-child for this saying. This is a fantastic quality of NGII's design, but it isn't genius.

What is genius about NGII, then? The game's philosophy on the juxtaposition of Health distribution and combat. Now, that's really just a fancy way of saying, "how the game handles giving you health power-ups."

The big craze in game design these days is to copy the Halo 2/Call of Duty 2 method of health regeneration. The concept is simple; the player finds a safe corner and hides for a little while until his health regenerates. Now, anybody who knows anything about Tomonobu Itagaki knows that this simply is not an option for his game. He is the type of game designer who badgers the player if they can't master the skills necessary to get through his game. Throughout all of the Ninja Gaiden series there's a pervasive sense of "It's not my fault if you suck," in the game design. **

The only way to regain health in NGII is through the defeat of enemies. Instead of rewarding cowardice and retreat, NGII rewards bravery and skill.

Not every enemy drops a health power-up though, and here is where the true mastery of game design is displayed. The odds of a health power-up are markedly and obviously far greater when the player is low on health and at the end of the battle. The idea behind this is to wear down the player's health in the beginning of the battle by giving out very few opportunities for health recharge so as to make every encounter a thrilling brush with death. Every enemy encounter brings you to the brink of destruction and then forces you to think and strategize every kill, one at a time, just to get out alive.

In practice it's not entirely unlike the way Street Fighter II handled its difficulty. In SFII, the challenge would ramp up if the player won the first round of the match, making the second fight far more challenging and increasing the likelihood that the bout would proceed into a climatic and dramatic round three. The execution is obviously different, but the philosophy is the same: ramp up the difficulty to increase the odds that the game will end up in a climactic and thrilling conclusion.

There are a lot of things that Ninja Gaiden II does right; Tomonobu Itagaki is a fantastically capable game designer. I think videogames as a whole would be a lot better off if games were designed with this principle in mind, because games that require you to sneak away and hide for a while to regain health are unnecessarily hobbling themselves with a flawed gameplay mechanic.

**For example: in Ninja Gaiden Black, the player is initially forced to begin the game on Normal or Hard difficulties. They are only given the option to go to an easier difficulty if they die many times in rapid succession. And even then, the player is forced to concede defeat and accept playing on "Ninja Dog Mode."

While there was indeed a certain amount of, shall we say, junk, on display at the show, there were also many, many highly impressive titles that we just can't wait to play more of in the future. It was difficult, but we've managed to compile a list of our favorites from E3 2008 for the GN readers. Without further ado...

Best of Show:

Brendon - Left 4 Dead

I love zombies, you love zombies, we all love zombies! So what's better than zombies? Why, having zombies in a Valve game, of course! Left 4 Dead has always been a game I've kept my eye on, but I never really cared enough about it to count down until it was out. When we got invited to play Left 4 Dead at E3, I thought it would make a great video opportunity for the site-little did I know that we would be so engrossed with playing the game that our camera just sort of stayed pointing at a TV screen the entire time. It wasn't the most innovative game of E3, or even the most technologically advanced. What it was was the funnest game of E3, and that's why it's my best game at E3 2008.

Eddie - LittleBigPlanet

Even with incredible games like Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil 5, and the ever-present Spore dotting the show floor in various states of playability, LBP stood out as the one that will not only be a joy to play, but will also increment the state of gaming toward wider adoption and integration into popular culture (and NOT by pretending to play virtual instruments while throwing frisbees to your virtual pet dog and cutting virtual vegetables on your virtual kitchen counter). This multiplayer "gaming 2.0" platformer is a combination of gameplay, creativity, social interaction, limitless possibility, and most of all, FUN, that is simply undeniable.

Kyle - LittleBigPlanet

I was going to put Left 4 Dead here, but then I remembered something. While playing LBP, anyone who's "down with it" calls the game LBP, I wasn't as immediately engrossed in the gameplay as I was in that fantastic co-op first-person shooter from Valve, but it got me thinking. My creative side was taking over. During that short session, I became less interested in what was happening on the screen and began thinking about all of the varying forms of content the robust editor will allow users such as myself to create. In short, I started becoming a believer. This often talked about YouTube of gaming might actually see its day, thanks to a developer whose previous and only title was a little game called Rag Doll Kung-fu.

Best Console Game:

Brendon - LittleBigPlanet

Playing it on the floor was hit or miss-especially with some of the douches who I got stuck playing with--but I still enjoyed LBP. Seeing one of the minds behind the game demonstrate more advanced features and really get into the editors, however, cemented LBP as the best console-based playable game at E3. I have never said this about a game before, but LBP is the absolute reason anyone who doesn't currently have a PS3 should get one.

Eddie - LittleBigPlanet

(see Best of Show)

Kyle - LittleBigPlanet

(see Best of Show)

Best PC Game:

Brendon - Left 4 Dead

(see Best of Show)

Eddie - Left 4 Dead

I love zombies, I love cooperative gameplay, I love intense action, and I love Valve Software. That combination pretty much seals the deal for my best PC game of E3 2008, Left 4 Dead. My hands-on time with this online shooter was one of the most enjoyable gaming sessions I had at the show, thanks to the nearly flawless Source engine and the unique interactivity between the game's players and the game itself. Hordes of enemies will always rain down on the group of survivors, but from that point the game unfolds based on the players themselves. My time was short with Left 4 Dead, but it certainly left an impression. 

Kyle - Left 4 Dead

This game is intense. From what I played, the AI Director, as they're calling it, might be one of the most innovative and underappreciated piece of gaming technology in years. If you're not privy to its intricacies, the Director manipulates the game's pace. Its job is to always keep you on your toes by putting you and the enemies in different spawn locations and combining that with necessary moments of extremely tense calm because even Sting gets tired after hours of climax. That's the Director's job and it works. It works really f***ing well. 

Best Handheld Game:

Brendon - Resistance: Retribution

What do you get when you take one part franchise, and one part tested developer with a proven track record? You get Resistance: Retribution. Modeled after the PS3 counterparts, Retribution is made by an entirely different studio, yet somehow, someway, they managed to perfectly capture everything which made Resistance fun in handheld form. It's one of the most visually impressive handheld games I've ever seen, and for once a developed managed to make a handheld game with fun-and approachable-combat and controls.

Eddie - ???

I honestly didn't see enough to crown a victor in this category, so rather than make something up to sound important, I am bowing out of this one. No, I didn't get to play Resistance.

Kyle - Resistance: Retribution

Having finally finished Resistance, I can honestly say I'm not a fan. The co-op is fun, but the entire experience is a bit generic to me. With that said, my expectations were pretty low for the handheld version. Good lord was I wrong. All of the third-person shooter mechanics are there, as is the Resistance universe, but it's portable. Don't tell Ted Price, but I think I might enjoy playing this version of the game more than its predecessor.

Best Non-playable Demo:

Brendon - Dragon Age

While it wasn't technically at E3, no one doubts the validity of counting BioWare's new baby here, I'm sure. There wasn't any hands-on play, but we were treated to BioWare-played Dragon Age, and what a treat it was. The game isn't even close to being finished yet, and I'm calling it: Dragon Age will be the best game of 2009. When the guys who have worked on Baldur's Gate, Mass Effect, KotOR, and all of BioWare's other past titles say it's "by far the best game we've made," would you doubt them?

Eddie - Gears of War 2

It's always difficult to crown a "best" game based on non-playable demonstrations. With your eyes and ears, one can only absorb a game's superficial presentation and conceptual makeup, rather than actually feeling how it all comes together. That being said, my choice for the best non-playable game of E3 goes to what was possibly the most visually stunning demonstration, layered on top of proven gameplay mechanics with a handful of added features and improvements.

Gears of War 2 looks incredible. The environments and scenarios I saw were some of the most impressive at the show, with dozens upon dozens of Locust on-screen, ranging from man-sized creatures to hulking behemoths. The flow of combat also seemed to be smoothed out a bit since the first Gears of War as I watched the COGs dip in and out of cover, taking out anything that posed a threat. Then there is multiplayer, which has been upgraded to support ten players at once over Xbox Live, and will be powered by an all-new matchmaking system. I'm ready for more Gears. 

Kyle - Flower

I'm a sucker for indie games. It's not just because I'd rather support a passionate individual who works hard rather than a billion-dollar corporation who doesn't give a damn about its employees, but it doesn't hurt. It's just that new and often untested ideas surface in the indie community with surprising regularity, and I dig that. Jenova Chen's Flower is one of those games. I mean really, a game that makes you feel relaxed? Who the hell thought of that? Keep your hand down you squinty-eyed eroge player enjoying your post-"game" cigarette.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to play the game, but this is the non-playable section so give me a break. While watching Chen demonstrate the gameplay mechanics of moving this flower petal around in a field to manipulate the level progression to better fit the soundscape and feel of the content, I actually felt relaxed. That's right, I wasn't even playing the game and I think I was getting the intended experience. Heaven forbid I get my hands on a finished build, you might find me cross-legged hovering a foot above the ground in a room with incense burning while manipulating the controller with my mind.

Harmonix team members were on hand to demonstrate and explain all of the new features included in both the software and the hardware of this second iteration of the popular music franchise.

For Brendon, Kyle, and myself, however, the most interesting portion of the demo was when we had the opportunity to get on stage and rock out. Of course, Brendon and Kyle chose a song that I was completely unfamiliar with, but we did our best.

Watch, then make fun of us:

[flash width="425" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/v/OJn1X8z1rhY&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]

Right now I'm sitting next to my pal Coop from Gamervision. We talked with Danny from Gamertag Radio for a bit (Godfree I think is what he goes by) but he had to set up his video stuff. He got a power supply, too. Unfortunately I only have a laptop and not several thousand dollars of video equipment...

7:25 - And the show is off. Nelson Diaz (spellcheck) is hosting. No idea who he is, but everyone seems to love him judging by the applause.

7:26 - Also, Dave's laptop (which I'm using to utilize his satellite USB card to get Internet) has a power supply smaller than... Something small.

The president of Activision is out, and right away causes the crowd to fall asleep by making the Corniest Joke of E3 thus far. "Let me pause my Guitar Hero DS game first!" followed by the SECOND Corniest Joke of E3 thus far. Something about confessionals.

7:28 - "When I was walking out here I was playing Guitar Hero On Tour for two reasons. First, because someone bet me I wouldn't actually go through with it..."

7:30 - From where I'm sitting I have a clear view of 9 HDTVs and a giant bigscreen projection of him talking. It feels like I'm being attacked by a group of him.

Now he's talking about the Blizzard merger, and how much Business Week loved it. Thank God Business Week told me it was a good merger for Activision!

7:32 - Did he just brag about bringing a bigger audience to Kung Fu Panda?

7:33 - A sci-fi shooter which manipulates time? It does sound unique!

7:33 - I'd talk more about the Singularity trailer they just showed, but I blinked and missed it. Time for Ultimate Alliance 2, one I actually care about.

7:38 - Sorry, I couldn't handle any more puns and bad jokes about sideburns and how Transformers was a 700 million grossing film. I think I had a concussion. Time for new Call of Duty footage.

7:40 - I admit, even though it's ANOTHER World War II game, it looked good. Lots of guys flaming, planes hitting power lines, and some nice kill graphics. I don't think it will "Turn WW2 on its head" considering the Pacific theater was a pretty integral part of the war and all, but I'll play it. Probably.

7:41 - Co-op in the new Call of Duty! Finally!

7:41 - Keifer Sutherland is going to voice the main guy in the next Call of Duty. Nice.

7:43 - The first co-op demonstration was pretty intense. An ambush, lots of fighting, explosions. Nice.

7:44 - The second one seems to be in a drier environment rather than a swamp...yet the people use the same camoflauge to ambush the players?

The flamethrower is nice. Trees light on fire, as does grass (and people).

7:45 - Did Keifer just kill two tanks with a flamethrower? Do tanks work like that?

7:47 - I've noticed that tanks in Call of Duty seem to have a tragically short lifespan. Weren't they used because of how easily they could overrun normal troops? How is a squad of some normal guys who just happen upon tanks taking out tank after tank? And why are there crates of rocket launchers lying in the middle of a warzone? If you want realism make it realistic, don't just have guns kill people in one shot!

Ohh, Web of Shadows time.

7:47 - Well that was quick. We saw that there was a web. And it was black. "Like a shadow!" Coop happily pointed out.

7:51 - The Web of Shadows wall combat demonstration was interesting. I like the idea of Spider-Man actually being able to move on the walls more than just crawling up. I'm not sure why he just randomly changes suits, though. Kyle, Spider-Man never just flip-flopped between them in mid battle, did he? Pandering to the "OMG I LUV VENOM!" crowd much, Activision?

7:52 - Coop looks very bored. Most of the people here look bored.

Wow, Spider-Man's voice is awful in this game. I'm waiting for "It's me! Spidey-Mayn! Hyuck!"

7:54 - Holy ****. The presentation might be corny and completely against Spider-Man, but the aerial combat looks awesome. Spider-Man has been fighting Vulture and some Goblin copycats completely in the air by using his webs. This is the first time I've seen a Spider-Man game actually let you FIGHT like Spider-Man, and not just punch, kick, jump, web bullet. I really want to play this game now. Way to go with the combat, guys.

7:55 - "Sometimes I wish I had Spidey Sense, but sometimes I wish I was as cool and suave as this next guy." My money's on Tony Hawk; Coop bets Slash.

7:56 - Aw, the completely unobvious segue tricked us! It was James Bond! Who knew!

Lots of footage from the upcoming Bond film so far. Yet to see any gameplay after about a minute and a half.

7:57 - The new Bond movie looks fantastic. Thanks, Activision, for showing me a new trailer for it that I haven't seen before.

Oh wait, isn't there a game?

7:59 - Time for a history lesson about someone who did something with James Bond. I think the people who own the license? Maybe?

8:00 - Wow. What a Freudian slip. The guy just called Daniel Craig their "blond bomb" instead of "blond Bond."

8:02 - I just accidentally let out a big yaawn during this history lesson. Coop laughed, then yawned himself.

Time to possibly see some actual QoS game footage?

8:04 - Now we're talking about puzzles? One of the people working on the game is talking about the keys (or puzzles?) for making the new Bond game work. They get a lot of access to the film and Craig (the blond bomb himself), and have a great partnership. They believe gamers are ready for a new great James Bond game. Let me find out.

8:04 - Nope, they aren't ready yet. Time for gameplay footage though.

8:08 - Looks like it can be fun. I like how when Bond is getting shot and dying the metal door thing (lenses?) close on him like in the intro to every Bond movie, then the screen fills with blood.

Time for clip 2! A new one never before seen by the public.

8:10 - Still looks fun. It reminded me of a mix between Gears and Uncharted gameplay wise. Lots of cover, but also a lot of climbing and environmental manipulation to proceed through areas. Of course, we haven't had a good Bond game since Goldeneye (and even that's questionable), so we'll see how it turns out in November.

So far, the Activision conference hasn't been too impressive. Some new footage of the Bond game... And that's pretty much it.

8:12 - Some new information for the Wolfenstein project incoming.

8:13 - With all the corny and bad jokes going on so far in this conference, Activision missed a golden opportunity to promote Guitar Hero World Tour by having someone playing the drums on stage to hit the "ba-dum-cha!" thing. (What's that called? Kyle knows I'm sure.)

8:15 - Some guy wearing a Naughty Dog t-shirt sitting in the reserved section seems to be falling asleep.

8:16 - Time for some new footage and gameplay of the new Wolfenstein. For more, you have to wait until Quakecon later this month.

In the time it took me to type that sentence, it ended. Wow.

8:17 - Time for one of my most anticipated games, Guitar Hero World Tour.

85 master recordings featuring bands like the Doors, Eagles, and Van Halen will be in the game. This year they'll also have more rock stars. Bass layers, drummers, vocalists, guitarists, etc.

Metallica's new album will be available at launch (and the day it's released) on World Tour as DLC for all the systems.

8:18 - All old Guitar Hero and Rock Band instruments will work with the new Guitar Hero World Tour game. You'll miss out on some features, but you can play the game just fine with older instruments.

Nice. There's a slider bar on the neck which lets you play without using the strum  bar. You can tap, slap, slide, etc.

8:21 - The Guitar Hero drums have a thick layer of silicon on top of them to deaden the noise and provide more bounce back. Good news. They also pass velocity data back to the console; the harder/softer you hit the drum kit, the louder/quieter the drumming will be. Good news for the game, bad news for my neighbors.

8:23 - Three ports on the back. One lets you use a splitter (normal headphone splitter) to use two pedals. The one above it is for future expansion.

The biggest port is next to those. It allows people to plug in their own drum kits into the controller, and play the game using their personal drum kit. You can also plug in mixers and such, record things you've made and use those in the song creator. Awesome.

8:25 - We have a special guest: Travis Barker! He helped them develop the drums. (And make Soulja Boy bearable.)

8:26 - If the MC goes "Oh, my God!" one more time I think I'm going to pass out.

8:27 - Time to see the Recording Studio.

They have dozens of pre-created guitar styles in the game, and you can go in and change the note scales and all sorts of technical stuff. It looks very complicated. Music people will love it.

8:30 - If you don't feel like going too in depth making your songs with the drums, they also include machines. Drum, key, etc. are available, and you can use your frets to play beats.

8:34 - There's also a keyboard machine, which has a ton of options in terms of synthesizers. Tilting the guitar up and down changes the pitch, while the frets are different sounds based on which of the pre-created settings you choose. You can't get full on concerto piano (probably) but it seems easy enough to lay down some 80s style synth.

8:36 - GH Tunes sounds nice. Basically it's the online place where people can share and download created songs. It tracks popular downloads, rising/falling genres, and tons of other details.

Right now he's showing the rock star creation mode. All the original GH guys are back, but the creation is pretty indepth. You can shape the skull/facial shapes, creating different ages and other physical things, in addition with the normal stuff like hair. Guitars and instruments are also fully customizable. For guitars body, fret, inlays, strings, etc. are all custom.

8:38 - Back to Nelson. "Give it up one more time for Brian!" One more time again? Another corny joke; Nelson can make himself thinner with Guitar Hero! Haha!

Ohh, Hayley Williams is here to talk about Guitar Hero. I don't know for sure who she is. Some pretty blinging nose piercings, though.

And Nelson just totally gave her the once-over. Smooth, Nelson. Smooth.

8:40 - It's cool to see Paramore's name among "all the other legendary bands."

8:41 - "What aspirations and tips would you give to aspiring musicians picking up Guitar Hero World Tour?" Their own aspirations, probably.

If Kyle were here I guarantee he'd be taking pictures of her on the big HD screen.

Another surprise! This time it's the Neversoft band. Activision's all done with random musician cameos, I guess. Time for some Van Halen action by the guys who made the game as they play "Hot for Teacher."

8:43 - I didn't see which instrument it was, but one of the Neversoft guys picked easy. It's your game! Play it on expert you pussy!

8:44 - Neversoft's drummer kicks ass. Dave, I'm sorry but we're going to recruit him for our Rock Band 2 session tomorrow morning. The guitarist isn't bad, but after some simple scales the crowd was going crazy. That's hard difficulty in Guitar Hero 1/2/3 at the most.

8:45 - The actual game presentation itself looks so much like Rock Band. The only difference is the models and animation in the background doesn't seem to be as high of quality. The vocals seem improved, though. More subtle variations nad less HIGH-low-HIGH! jagged jumps.

8:46 - The singer is good too. I think he's the one that picked easy, purely because how loud the sound system is set right now is making the vocal meter jump all over the place. Even in quiet parts he's going up and down the pitches like he's singing his big bearded heart out.

8:49 - The drummer has the same problem I do. Once you hit so many notes in a row, you just keep going. But still, the Neversoft band is fantastic. Kudos to them. Nelson wants a standing O, but I cannot, for I have a laptop on my lap.

8:50 - The end. Was anything new announced? I don't think so. Everything we've already seen/heard of. We saw some musician cameos talking (briefly) about how fun Guitar Hero is and how cool the new music creation mode is, and had some other people pitch their talk to the invesors taking up the first few rows. But for the press? Not much to talk about, really.

I'm off to grab a drink and maybe some fruit or a cookie, then it's time to go back to the hotel.

This is Brendon. Apparently Nintendo decided to not have wifi in their press conference. So if you'd like to follow Eddie's live coverage, check out his twitter, http://twitter.com/italianbreadman. In the meantime, Kyle will be watching the stream and Eddie's twitter from the convention center to update this page.

UPDATE: 9:38AM Kyle here. Got wifi and ready to get rollin'.

9am: still nobody on stage

9:05: curtains up. Video of people enjoying Nintendo products. Cammie Dunaway on stage.

9:08: she told up a story about her failed snowboarding adventure. Introduces Shaun White and SW Snowboarding from Ubisoft. Balance b

9:11 Doesn't look half bad. Coming by year's end

9: 13: Satoru Iwata on stage

9:15 Talking about paradigm shift in gaming over past few years

9 16 Talking about how Nintendo games sell over longer time periods

9 17 Grandmas on screen. Talking about how the market has expanded

9 19 Nintendo selling like holiday season year round. Guitar Hero three selling best on Wii

9 20 Takes jab at copycat products

9 22 Animal Crossing: City Folk on screen

9 23 Has added communication features. Send messages to other Wii systems, pcs, and phones

9 26 Wii Speak revealed. Mic for a whole room of players. Online multiplayer voice chat

9 27 Reggie on stage. Reminds us that the DS and Pokemon print money

9 32 talking about "evergreen" titles again. New Nintendo buzzword?

9 34 approaching gaming on multiple fronts.

Talks about success of third party software on Wii

9 36 Star Wars: Clone Wars, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party, and Call of Duty: World at War on screen

9 41 showing new Guitar Hero On Tour Decades and Spore Creatures for DS

9 43 GH Decades has song sharing between versions

9 44 New Pokemon and GTA Chinatown Wars announced for DS

9 46 Adding function to DS. Flights sports recipes etc

9 47 Wii Motion Plus, Wii Sports Resort announced

9:56 WSR is all about beach sports. Cammie throws frisbee to dog. Reggie rides jet ski. The two swordfight/joust.

9 54 new game this holiday....dude drumming his ASS off on stag.

9 58 Miyamoto joins on sax. Game is Wii Music. (Kyle says: "OH EM GEE")

10 01 Looks fun. Competition for other music games. Not a rhythm game (Kyle says: "Music creation, the next big thing in gaming?")

10 03 Users press buttons, move body, and maneuver Wii remote to play over 50 instruments. (Kyle says: "Crossing my fingers for the harmonica and the kazoo.")

10 04 All real time sound production and one to one gestures. (Kyle says: "Recording? Filters? Sync with KORG DS?")

10 05 Wii music records music videos. Six people playing Mario tune on stage together no. (Kyle: Wait, six people? More than 4 per system? Online play?)

10 07 Reggie and Cammie back on stage to recap. "Wii is not a fad" Nintendo continuing to advance.

10 09 show's over  (Kyle: "Megaton? Not really, but Nintendo doesn't need one.")

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, the Entertainment Software Association, and the Prints & Drawings Council of LACMA hosted the event, and we were more than happy to eat all their food and take a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. Have a look:

Canyon Dwelling by Tyler West
Game: Guild Wars

Four Knights by Richard Anderson
Game: Guild Wars

Life Could Be Simple. . .and a Little Dangerous by Hao Cui
Game: flOw

Metropolis by Stephane Martiniere
Game: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

Tyrant by Kekai Kotaki
Game: Guild Wars, Eye of the North

Capitol by Craig Mullins
Game: Fallout 3

Puzzle World Twilight by Jay Epperson
Game: Untitled

Advisor by Ted Backman, Jeremy Bennett, Tristan Redford
Game: Half-Life 2: Episode 3

DC Destruction by Tri Nguyen
Game: Fracture

Ship Scroll by Dean Ashley, Dave Glanister, Rita Linsley, Robert Sutton
Game: WipEout HD

Sonic 002 by Nick Thornborrow
Game: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

Rock Venue Poster: Moscow by Davidicus
Game: Fracture

Gate To Karak Eight Peaks by Jonathan Kirtz
Game: Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

The Rat Cage by Martin Deschambault
Game: WET 

Rapunzel by Tyler Lockett
Game: American McGee's Grimm

I hope you enjoyed the artwork, even if you're unfamiliar with the games they come from. As Louis Marchesano (a member of this year's Into The Pixel jury) said at the reception, "I don't know who any of these people are anyway," so don't feel so bad if you don't, either.