GDC 08: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
By Matt Cabral
BEST IN SHOW - XBOX 360
It wasn't playable on the floor, but watching Ryu Hyabusa tear it up in Ninja Gaiden 2's demon-filled demo got us sharpening our katanas (and scythes and Wolverine-like claws) and thirsting for demon blood. June 3rd can't come soon enough!
BEST IN SHOW - PLAYSTATION 3
Sony's new MMOG The Agency surprised and teased us with its promising tweak of the tired, grind-fueled genre. With lots of action, adventure, and enough gameplay variety to satisfy the Bond and Bourne in all of us, this one may actually tear us away from WoW.
BEST IN SHOW - Wii
Thank goodness the wait for Super Smash Bros. Brawl is almost over. Beautiful, addictive and online, it's got us brimming with fanboy enthusiasm over the prospects of unleashing our fists as Zero Suit Samus, Solid Snake, Sonic, and Kid Icarus' Pit. Bring on the Brawl!
BEST IN SHOW - DS
We love training our brains and our pixilated puppies, but we're ready to give all that sweet, educational fun a rest for awhile as we pick up our swords, er, stylus for Ninja Gaiden's brand of bloody good gaming.
BEST IN SHOW - PSP
God of War: Chains of Olympus delivers all the Greek myth inspiration, screen-filling bosses, bare-breasted women, and over-the-top hack-'n-slash action we've come to expect from this butt-kicking blockbuster franchise.
BEST IN SHOW PC
After years of development and delays we were starting to forget about Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, but after watching the newly-announced mounted combat in action, we can't wait to saddle up a war Rhino and hit the Hyborian countryside in this awesome MMORPG.
BEST IN SHOW DOWNLOADABLE
Bionic Commando Rearmed--this PSN, XBLA title based on the 8-bit classic looks amazing; so amazing, in fact, that we're as excited for this visual stunner as we are for the new next-gen Bionic Commando sequel. Side-scrollers are so not dead!
BEST FREE SNACKS
While most publishers provide fancy hors d 'oeuvres for their guests--lots of raw fish and flaky pastry, or any combination thereof--Sierra went the simple and satisfying-to-the-stomach route by setting up a New York City hot dog vendor at their Big Apple-based Prototype event. Forget the open bar--pass the kraut.
The Daily Poll