E3: Nintendo Conference

After a few years of lackluster showings, Nintendo came out all guns blazing with the best show at E3 2010. Something to make everyone happy was shown, with plenty of new games in everyone's favorite franchises.

Shigeru Miyamoto showed off Zelda Skyward Sword. The game looks really fun and requires you to use the Wiimote as your sword and shield. However, it was quite embarassing I'm sure, as the motion controls did not work on stage properly, apparently from interference. We were assured that the controls work perfectly fine when playing the game.Mario Sports Mix looks to continue the tradition of Wii Sports with Nintendo characters. Play a whole heap of different sports that Mario has not starred in before. These include Volleyball, Hockey, Dodgeball and Basketball. It looks okay and will surely appeal to the Wii Sports fans.

Next up was Wii Party. Basically a party game with over 70 mini-games using Mii characters. Another casual game.

Did you enjoy Just Dance? Well, you'll be happy to know the sequel was shown with more of the same. It contains over 40 songs and now 8 players can play the game.

After two Golden Sun games on the GBA, we're finally treated to a Golden Sun game on the DS. The trailer showed more of what Golden Sun fans know and love, except now with full 3D graphics. It's called Golden Sun: Dark Dawn and comes out this holiday season.

A sequel to an exclusive Goldeneye 007 game for the Wii was a surprising announcement. The style and gameplay of the game very much seems to mimic the N64 predecessor.

Disney showed off an interesting platformer starring Mickey Mouse. Epic Mickey allows you to paint or erase the game world to solve the puzzles and move forward in the game. It's exclusive to the Wii and looking great already.

Kirby is being brought back to life on the Wii console after being absent so many years. Kirby Epic Yarn looked like an interesting and unique 2D style platformer.

After being out a while in Japan and selling millions of copies, Dragon Quest IX is finally coming to the West on July 11th.

Another big surprise was the announcement of the return of Donkey Kong Country. Even though a 3D Donkey Kong game was released way back on the N64, this game retains the 2D gameplay of the SNES generation, but with 3D graphics of course. It's being developed by the same team that did the Metriod Trilogy on Gamecube and Wii and looks very promising.

Metroid M by Team Ninja was one of the coolest games shown. The view is no longer in first-person, but more traditional 2D and third-person style. This is one to look out for in August 31st.

The 3DS was shown and looks like an incredible piece of hardware. A 3.5" stereoscopic widescreen LCD handles the 3D without the need for glasses. The 3D effect can be controlled with a slider. How much depth you want is up to you. Nintendo claims that the screen did not work well as a touch screen, especially with the 3D. Therefore only the bottom screen will be touch sensitive, just like on the original DS. A cool feature is the two cameras on case which can take 3D photos. Unfortunately these are still only 0.3MP. There's also a camera on the front for DSi compatibility.

The system has improved Wi-Fi and communication with other 3DS devices and can also be used to watch 3D movies. An analog stick has been added to the controls and the system is compatible with all DS and DSi games. Not much more information was given. Battery life is still unknown, as is release date and price.

Many were pleased to hear the next announcment of Kid Icarus' return and to the newly unveiled 3DS, no less! The trailer showed a great looking action game with sword and shooting elements both on the ground and in flight. Graphics wise, the game was about Wii standards, but considering it's an early launch title, it may improve. Kid Icarus Uprising is coming soon.

Nintendo did an excellent job this year and many will agree they had the best show this year.