I went to the Electronic Entertainment Expo on Wednesday. One day was enough for me. E3 was an insane display of game industry dollars and spectacle. I saw a lot of pretty looking games and shuddered at the thought of the implications that the 8 figure budgets of the next generation will have on the medium.

Walking around the exhibition floor, everything seemed to be another sequel or franchise and I have to say it was a little disheartening. You really had to search for the nuggets of originality like Okami, Clover Studio's first original game since the amazing Viewtiful Joe. This was in stark contrast to GDC, where the independent game community seemed to have a much stronger presence.

But I played some cool games. I tried a new Need for Speed game on the upcoming Xbox 360 and it was definitely a big step up in terms of the visuals. The stand-out title for me on the floor was Trauma Center for the Nintendo DS, a surgery game where you use the stylus to perform complex surgical procedures, cauterizing and stitching up wounds under the guidance of hysterical big-eyed anime nurses. I want this game bad.

Pictured above is this incredible 360 degree video screen that EA had as a centerpiece to their booth. Incredible seamless 360 degree videos played on it with crazy directional sound and a floor that shook with each collision. It was really an immersive experience like no other. I shot a video of it while it played a Burnout trailer. I reccomend you check it out.

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I also have a number of E3 pictures up on Flickr.

E3 pictures on Flickr

I played Trauma Center on the DS because you raved about it and it was awesome. Life or Death on the PC in the 1980s tried a similar thing, with much less fault tolerance. User-friendly surgery sim! The time has come.

Those sorts of moments redeem E3. Thanks for passing it along!