I’ve already detailed my intimidating experience on my first day of E3 so for Day Two, I think I’ll take a different approach. You saw me at my most anxious and stressed on Day One, but Day Two was a totally different experience. After seeing how well (and calmly) my colleagues at The Adrenaline Vault handled their E3 responsibilities, I decided to shadow them on Day Two. I would leverage some of Turks’s connections and experience the VIP treatment. I even walked away with a few VIP badges, which may or may not have needed to be returned, but they’ll look good on my wall. The main difference in my approach to Day Two was a focus on the experience and better time management (i.e. a lot less walking between halls).

When I woke up I knew the day would be entirely different that what I had experienced on my first day. My first meeting was at the EA booth for a hands-on preview of the upcoming Star Wars MMO, Old Republic. On Day One, the podcast crew and I had a behind-the-scenes look at some cinematics and recorded gameplay for the game, and although I really like Star Wars, I walked into the hands-on meeting with a sizeable amount of skepticism. While I’m not an authority on the MMORPG genre, I’ve played several and have a general knowledge of the mechanics involved. When I heard the sound effect for my dual lightsabers turning on, however, my heart rate spiked. Something about seeing my Sith Warrior flying through the air, lightsabers blurring as they spun, sent shivers down my spine. Surprisingly, the game has more strengths than possessing the Star Wars branding. The ability to interact with NPCs using KOTOR-styled dialogue wheels is an interesting addition. Not only will your dialogue discussions affect your light/dark side morality rating, your choices can permanently alter the storyline.

Patrick Watts and I were grouped together and when a dialogue cinematic popped up, we both were presented the dialogue wheel and made a choice. The game rolls to see whose choice wins and then the story is continued based on the winning player’s dialogue choice. Watts only chose dark side dialogue, so when he won, his dark side meter would increase and the story would follow a darker route. Fortunately, his bad decisions had no effect on my pursuit of the light side of the force. I don’t know if his negative decisions would permanently alter my storyline if I continued to play without Watts. I’m hoping it does as that could have a profound impact on grouping dynamics. I left the hands-on preview with a changed opinion of the game. It’s going to be an awesome MMO, maybe not genre-changing like EA promises, but it will be getting my subscription dollars.

After our rendezvous with Old Republic greatness, I followed the podcast crew over to EA’s VIP line for a Mass Effect 3 preview. I can’t be considered a fan of the series (I’ve only played 50% of the first ME), but what I played was enjoyable and I’ve heard the sequel only got better. Honestly, I wasn’t anticipating anything as we went behind closed doors to see the cinematics and live gameplay. I was only sure that the game would be good and have excellent production value. When we exited the room, I was pretty upset. Not because the game was a let down, on the contrary it looks amazing. I was upset due to something that happened in the last cinematic we saw. Without mentioning a spoiler, I’ll just say that the story is superb and the Reaper invasion will have some heart-wrenching consequences. The game mechanics have been upgraded, retooled and expanded for some interesting twists on the mechanics of the previous two games. In short, you’ll have better weapon customization, more level verticality, a wider range of combat tactics (stealth vs. run-and-gun), and the involvement of your entire party will be more integral to the storyline and gameplay. After sitting through the preview, I’ll definitely be purchasing the title for my PC.

I then separated from the podcast crew to attend a meeting with Perfect World for some hands-on time with their upcoming free-to-play title Blacklight: Retribution. The game’s producer, Zombie Studios, had released Blacklight: Tango Down as an Xbox Live Arcade title last year, but their new project would be developed for the PC using the Unreal 3 Engine and DirectX 11. Tango Down was fun, but lacked both polish and sales. I assume this was the reason the company decided to switch to the free-to-play model for the PC. I sat there locked in a multiplayer battle with my media peers, and was impressed at how good the game not only looked but played. Aside from being free (at least until you want some cooler gear), Retribution will offer a high level of character customization. Instead of basing everything off of pre-defined classes, Zombie Studios has given players the ability to make their own class. If you like sniping but want to whip out some better close-range rifles, you’ll be able to develop your character to have strengths in those areas. As a fan of the free-to-play model I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product and logging some hours in-game.

I won’t detail every single thing I did or game I played on Day Two, so I’ll close with my next meeting. When I left the Perfect World appointment, I walked over to the South Hall on the opposite end of the convention center for an appointment with Heather Becker of Digital Legends. Heather has supplied me with quite a few promo codes for my iPhone reviews and I was anxious to sit down and get some face-to-face time with her. The only problem was that I couldn’t I find the booth. I knew it was somewhere behind the Square Enix booth but I wandered around for a decent amount of time without spotting her location. Then I saw her sitting at a table, with her laptop, next to the food court behind Square’s booth. I don’t mention this to embarrass her or the company in any way. In fact, I have a higher level of respect for these types of companies than I do for the EA’s of the industry. Heather gets her job done guerilla style and it shows in how well Digital Legends’ games rank on the iTunes charts. Their game Ice Breaker is #8 and Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior is #5 in Japan’s iTunes store. I appreciated the ability to just sit with Heather and talk about Digital Legend’s games and some idle chitchat. I felt valued, as opposed to my “VIP” meetings where I was some nameless face staring at their screen for the tenth time that day.

My second and final day at E3 was a blast. I walked away with some awesome swag and I learned some valuable lessons as an amateur game reviewer with a media pass. My meeting with Heather helped me realize that there was no need for the disappointment I felt on my first day. I may not be getting “invitation only” requests from EA and Activision, but I get to review some cool games, and work directly with industry professionals that I know and that know me. I guess the only thing to do is keep on doing what I’ve been doing and see where this all goes. Hopefully, one day I can transition my experience as a web designer and developer into a position in the gaming industry, but if I just stay at this level and get to go to E3 every year, I imagine I could still be content with that.