As the SFL budget wouldn’t stretch to jetting us to the City of Angels (next year Louis lovely director man please?), we’ve spent the past 3 weeks, burning the midnight oil, digesting hundreds of conferences and trailers, researching and furiously scribbling down the news, gossip and rumours that you’ll be obsessing about over the next 12 months. We’ll be posting lots of game previews here during the next couple of weeks but for now we’re kicking off with the battle of the console kings.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s conference didn’t appear to have the eagerly anticipated, secretive, massive reveal elements as seen during Sony and Nintendo’s time in the spotlight but rather like a giant Cadbury’s selection box nestled under your prezzie sack, there was still plenty to enjoy. YouTube and XboxLive TV with DVR support is coming whilst Kinect gets some tasty upgrades which will allow you to control every part of the Xbox360 dashboard and access your PC media libraries completely with your voice, plus rather than tracking your fist or arm, it will now have finger tracking which will surely add finesse and detail to Kinect games for a more in depth experience.

Also announced was that there will be object scanning so if you want to proudly display your favourite stuffed Ewok in front of the camera, it will appear on your 360. However, the news that has been getting us most giddy is the thought of full-body scans. Yes this will make your Avatar look just like you but the potential of where this could lead has led to some creative and fantastical debate here at SFL. Imagine being able to scan yourself and have your likeness play the lead in a game?

Still overshadowed by Nintendo in reaching the family market, the criticisms of the Microsoft conference was that it announced exciting games for the hardcore gamer like Kinect Star Wars where you can wield a light sabre or Mass Effect 3 that will utilise Kinect in innovative ways (being able to use your voice to progress the story/dialogue/romances and also commanding your squad to “move up” and support you or retreat into cover) but that the technology wasn’t integral to the game. We say watch out non believers. One day, we’ll be leading the fight against evil oppressors across the galaxy with our own bodies, voices and minds! Make it happen someone please!

Sony

If there was an award for ‘most announcements made in one go’, Sony would clearly be the winner. Pushing further the adoption of 3DTV and gaming, Sony wants you to link all your media in one tidy package with a new “all in one bundle” offer of PS3, 3DTV, 3D glasses and Resistance 3 for under $500 (approx. £310). As well as at least 100 3D titles in the pipeline, plus Play Station Move titles like Starhawk a shooter based in the lawless frontiers of space and Dust 514 an MMO title uniquely connected to the player driven universe of EVE online, Sony were clear in their message that they can provide and take care of a comprehensive entertainment package. There were humble apologies about the recent PlayStation Network hacking debacle but it was evident some effort had gone into creating a fairly priced offer. We couldn’t help feeling that they were perhaps trying a little too hard to prove that they can be the best at everything - jack of all trades, master of none perhaps? Time will tell but there is genuine excitement to be found with their other announcements. Like Microsoft, Sony had numerous AAA titles and PS3 exclusive titles tearing out of the stables like the incredibly cinematic Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception whilst WipEout 2048 promises to look great with futuristic New York tracks to zip around on the brand new portable successor to the PSP – the PS Vita.Likely to launch with a very reasonable price (pre-orders are currently at £229.99 for the basic wi-fi model or £279.99 for 3G model) we hope this doesn’t result in expensive software or add-ons to balance profits. Features include a 5-inch OLED touchscreen, 6-axis motion sensor, front and rear touch panels plus front and rear cameras for augmented reality games. It also seems to have been peeping over the shoulder of the super socially successful Nintendo 3DS as it comes with “Party” and “Near” modes. “Party” let’s you voice chat with other Vita gamers in the same game room no matter where on Earth they are whilst the imaginatively named “Near” lets you connect and play with other Vita gamers around you. It had some surprising high profile titles, many with sketchy or little detail surrounding them including cross over title Street Fighter X Tekken, Uncharted: Golden Abyss Nathan Drake’s first appearance on a handheld that’s a wholly new adventure, a new Little Big Planet title and the big daddy of news - Irrational Games are working on a Vita exclusive Bioshock game. There were a few grumbles about the launch line up of titles for the 3DS earlier this year whilst Sony’s line up seems pretty impressive with the promise of over 80 titles in development so expect the Vita to sell faster than hot cakes even though a release date is yet to be confirmed (rumours say it will be out in the USA during December but may be early 2012 over here, missing the Christmas market…). Start saving your pennies now!

Nintendo

After months of fun guessing what Project Café/Wii2 might actually be, Nintendo felt it was acceptable to keep us in dark suspenders even longer as they opened their conference with news about four new Zelda titles coming out this year, including The Ocarina of Time which is out now on the 3DS, Skyward Sword out later this year on the Wii, as well as promoting a series of worldwide Zelda symphony concerts and two CDs all celebrating the 25th anniversary of our little Link. Fabulous, now official Café news please? Sure, right after a flurry of big Nintendo first party titles were announced for the 3DS including Super Mario 3DS that looks like a mini Super Mario Galaxy complete with Tanooki suit, Mario Kart 3DS with coins back on the track as well as in-air and underwater sections and something we didn’t see coming at all, Luigi’s Mansion 2. The Gamecube classic looks right at home on the 3DS and was warmly appreciated by the crowd (hardcore gamers? Yeah right – we all love sucking ghosts up with hoovers). Alongside these there was a montage because if there’s one thing Nintendo loves, it’s a montage that featured a whole host of big third party titles, most of which are due out this year including: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games 2012, Ace Combat 3D, Driver: Renegade, Tekken, Tetris, Cave Story 3D, Pac-Man and Galaga Dimensions and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. Not a huge range of Sci-Fi titles in the mix but good to see a wider range of titles for our newest little handheld 3DS treasure. What came next? A game changer, a fountain of innovation and a glimpse into the future.Introducing Wii U, a new console with an incredible new controller with 2 analogue sliders (a cross between the 3DS circle pad slider and the Wii nunchuck that replaces analogue sticks as seen on Xbox and PS3 controllers) at the top of the controller plus a 6 inch touch screen allows you to flip the footage from the TV screen to the controller screen to allow continuous play if your dad comes in and insists on watching repeats of Red Dwarf. You can draw on the touch screen and the image appears on the TV, you can put the controller on the floor and see golf balls or ninja stars fly from the controller onto the screen. Happily the console is backwards compatible and you can use Wiimotes alongside it too – in fact the demonstration game showing how the player with the Wii U controller sees a different perspective of a multiplayer game in relation to other Wiimote users as they run round a maze is impressive. Swing the Wii U controller behind you and all you see is 360 degrees of the gaming world. The possibilities of how this technology might be used to create a fully immersive and interactive gaming experiences is truly wondrous and you can’t help but admire Nintendo’s bold, forward thinking, especially as the announcement was strengthened with news that will finally silence those critics demanding online and big third party titles on the Wii. Darksiders 2, Batman Arkham City, Dirt, Metro: Last Light, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Ghost Recon with online multi player are all coming to Wii U, which is pencilled in for a July 2012 release.

E3 is always spectacular. This year delivered some surprises and revelations which we hadn’t seen coming. Microsoft still haven’t hit their stride with Kinect but there are some great titles to look forward to, Sony faired well with a mega bundle of a message but for us, constantly imaginative, Nintendo stole the show with the sheer innovative audacity that is Wii U. Overall, E3 was a clear indication that the future is more and more about how handheld technology is being blended with high quality console gaming. One screen bad, two screens good! We were also left feeling that gamers have never had it so good and excited that perhaps the best is yet to come.

After agonising over which was her favourite, narrowly pipping Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Tracey’s best game of the show goes to Bioware’s Mass Effect 3 as Commander Shephard faces insurmountable odds against the Reapers, it’s shaping up to be the most gripping, epic and emotional finale to a series ever seen whilst Ian’s best of show goes to Bioshock: Infinite by Irrational Games for the new aesthetic direction the series is heading and for the more complex relationships involved where the line between good and evil choices are blurred. We’ll be bringing you more, in depth thoughts and about all the exciting Sci-Fi themed titles that emerged from E3 2011 in the next few weeks.