After spending most all day on a plane I've made the trip back across the country as E3 closes shop.  It's always sad to leave and return to the real world, mostly because there are few opportunities in the real world to spend the day playing video games, writing about video games, talking about video games, and daydreaming about video games.  At least if one hopes to hold down a 9-5 day job, anyways.  After the E3 media center closed down on Friday most of us from the AMN team took a ride out to the Hollywood Bowl to see and hear the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform some of the most memorable movie themes from the history of cinema.  Selections included pieces from Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Superman, Star Wars, Catch Me If You Can, and, of course, Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Famed composer John Williams was on hand to conduct the performance.  It was a perfect end to a spectacular week of big fun and hard work.  I still have lots more to share about my trip, however, so don't wander off.

Oh, one more thing.  During the intermission at the Bowl AMN news editor Ray Almeda and I were talking about our favorite film scores and composers, hitting the major movies like Jurassic Park and Back to the Future all the way down to movies most people don't think of when it comes to discussing film scores (such as Gremlins and Scrooged).  A man sitting in the row behind us interrupted our conversation and asked "Are you two film score students?"  "No," I said, "Just fans."  In hindsight I wish I'd have said "No, we're video game journalists!" just to see the inevitable awkward expression that always comes with such an admittance.

After what feels like an eternity of waiting I finally had the chance to give the upcoming Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for the Sony PlayStation Portable a play, so that means my preview of the game has just been published over at AMN.  The E3 demo only contains two levels from the redone Rondo of Blood, but let me tell you that if the demo is a sample of the level of quality we'll see in the finished product, then we're all in for a treat.  I even managed to discover one of the secret paths in the first level, leading me to fight a large dragon boss.  I can safely say that Castlevania is my most-wanted PSP game for this year.

Just because it's the last day of E3 doesn't mean that the flood of news and information stops.  I've just published my hands-on preview of Bandai Namco's Eternal Sonata for the Microsoft Xbox 360.  It's an odd little RPG that apparently takes place in the deathbed hallucination of famed composer Chopin.  The demo stars a girl named Polka who battles onion-like monsters.  That may well be the best thing ever.

Electronic Arts held an E3 bash on Thursday night at a swanky hotel where you'd need an invitation just to think about walking through the door.  The theme of the evening?  The Sims 2: Castaway, and what's more tropically appropriate than a real live monkey?  Yup, EA arranged for a baby monkey by the name of Honey to appear at the party for hugging and petting.  Everyone was lining up to touch the monkey, bypassing the free food and game demos.  I held back, however, lest I catch the monkey fever delirium.  Check out these exclusive photos of the EA party monkey in action.

I've finished loading in all of the photos from Thursday's E3 adventures at Barker Hanger into the PTB E3 2007 photo album, and as if that's not exciting enough, I've revisited Wednesday's photos and added descriptions to each picture.  Now you'll know just what's going on in these photos.  There's a ton of photos from the Nintendo media briefing in there plus some shots of the action at Barker Hanger.  I'm even caught on camera (which is a rare sight indeed).  Hopefully the photo album will give you the E3 experience without the sore feet and endless bus transfers.

My meeting with Bandai Namco went well today and I had the opportunity to get my hands on several of the company's upcoming games.  Previews for these games will be published on AMN as I finish writing them, but let's get you started with my hands-on impressions of Beautiful Katamari for the Microsoft Xbox 360.  Ultimately this new Katamari installment is more of the same, but it's still quite fun.  Don't miss details on the Xbox Live capabilities and the new soundtrack.

So, after all the turbulence over the downscaling of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, how does the new E3 format compare to the old format?  Gone are the 60,000 people packed into the Los Angeles Convention Center, the scantily-clad booth babes are history, and there aren't as many games on display.  Instead the estimated 5,000 or so of us covering the event are split among a number of local ritzy hotels and a small airplane hanger near the airport.  The circus/party atmosphere is gone, replaced with security guards, timed appointments, and fewer hands-on opportunities.  There's no swag to collect either.  However, I find that I rather like the new format. 

I've been seeing something unusual in the comments lately here at PTB and wanted to take a moment to address it.  Now, for most everyone out there this will be common sense, but for some reason it still needs to be said.  All PTB entries go into the archive, meaning that if you find an article from 2005 in which I ponder when The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will reach stores, please remember that it's an old article from 2005.  You don't need to post a comment (as some people do) informing me that the game was released in 2006.  I'm aware of this.  You're reading an old entry from years ago preserved for historical reference.  Likewise, I'm well aware that the original silver boomerang controller revealed at E3 2005 is not the final Sixaxis controller that was eventually released with the Sony PlayStation 3.  Please check the date at the top of each entry before offering a correction.  Thanks!

The grueling pace of E3 2007 rolls on, and this morning I've just posted two new previews over at AMN.  Don't miss my take on The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day.  I have to admit being stumped by the Zelda demo.  It suffers from the same problem Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow had back at E3 2005 in that the demo is all talk and little action.  I wandered around the island for ten minutes in search of a sword, which in E3 terms might as well be an hour.  I spent the whole time talking to villagers and picking up rocks believing that at some point I'd find a weapon.  It wasn't until I stepped aside and watched someone else play that I figured out the trick.  The game tells you to do a certain action to get the sword, but the actual solution is to go against orders and do the opposite.  Of course, the game doesn't imply that this is what one should do.  Then came my time with Brain Age 2 which, like the other DS games on display, was simulcast on a large TV adjacent to the DS.  Everyone walking by the booth got to see me stumble my way through the word scramble portion of the demo.  I must have been having an especially dense day.

It's been quite the day here in Santa Monica at E3 2007.  From the Nintendo media briefing this morning to walking the aisles at Barker Hanger, I've seen and played a bunch of games, some highly anticipated and some not so much.  I've taken Super Mario Galaxy for a spin, The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for a slash, and Singstar 80s for a song.  I've taken The Simpsons Game challenge, boggled my mind with Brain Age 2, and seen Metroid Prime 3: Corruption in fluid action.  Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles is as amazing as it seems, Contra 4 has great potential, and Devil May Cry 4 is packed full of action.  I've added the first day's photos to the E3 2007 Photo Album, so check that out for pictures of my adventures.  You may even spot me slaying zombies or searching Hyrule for a sword if you're paying attention.  Stay tuned for my impressions of these games and more in the coming days.