E3: Best in show

The last booth babe has put her clothes back on and the doors have shut finally on E3 2005 but there's still time to reflect on the best in show, bearing in mind that impressions were formed mostly on the basis of watching someone else (usually a developer skilled in avoiding showing the buggy bits) play.

In the case of PlayStation 3's titles, the opinion rests entirely on video sequences of what might be in-game footage. And although Killzone 2 looked astounding, my vote for best PS3 title goes to MotorStorm. Sure, much of it was definitely carefully engineered set-ups but if the game is half as frantic as the demo, I'm sold.

On Xbox 360, Project Gotham Racing 3 set a cracking pace, though most of it appeared rendered, while of the games that were actually playable, Gears of War appears the most promising, even if there weren't many new ideas to call its own.

From EA, Burnout: Revenge may not diverge far from the successful formula of B3 but, hell, it's just so bloody good fun. Even the PS2 version glistens with polish. Also on PS2, FPS Black is worth keeping an eye on, even if the developers warned that there'll be no multiplayer because they've got "a laser-like focus" on the single-player game.

There were a ton of PSP games on show but most seemed to be ports of PS2 titles, which is all very well until you try to play a full-blooded game on a tiny screen. Some were tortuously complicated to control, in fact. Maybe I'm too old...

The Xbox port of Half-Life 2 is coming along very nicely, not as lush as the PC, obviously, but otherwise functionally identical and, therefore, great. A close second was Far Cry Instincts, where the developers have spun out a slightly different story and refreshed the combat.

Roll on, E3 2006.