E3 Left Us Dazed And Confused

(CBS)  GameCore is a weekly column by CBSNews.com's William Vitka and Chad Chamberlain that focuses on gamers and gaming.

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The best way to describe E3 is by saying that it was like a larger version of Times Square with fewer tourists. It was bright, noisy, over-priced but definitely charged with energy. It was lively, I can't argue with that.

Unfortunately, it was impossible for a two-man crew to cover everything. Apologies to everyone we missed. We tried, though marred with technical difficulties, and did manage to cover a bit of ground.

Now back home in New York City, we'll go through our cortex index and try to figure out what the heck just happened. Expect fresh columns throughout the week about what we liked and hated.

But first, post-E3 impressions:

Saying I was ill prepared for the convention would be an understatement rivaling any man's assertion that space is "kinda big." I wasn't even prepared for L.A., let alone the insanity of E3.

A working man should bring extra batteries for his laptop and a wireless networking card that can punch into whatever WiFi signal is available and hold onto it.

For meetings, I can't stress how important an audio recorder is. There is a lot of talk and it's all very fast. The latest in analog technology – a pen and reporter's pad – just isn't going to cut it.

If you've got a digital camera, find someone tall who can take pictures over people. Moving around quickly to find a good angle isn't always an option.

And boy, oh boy, make sure you've got all your connection cables with you if you intend to file from the convention center itself.

Water, sunglasses, light clothes, and a high tolerance for liars are required. Watch your back because we are, after all, very close to Hollywood and those streets are filled with strays.

I've heard from many journalists that E3 2005 was both the best and the worst yet. But overall, there's been a sense of disappointment. One primary gripe seems to be that there were few, if any, really exemplary titles showcased. Not for the current generation of consoles, anyway.

This is most likely due to the fact that the expo was all about the hardware. For example, developers have barely capitalized on the full power of the first Xbox and suddenly they're all being told to design games for Microsoft's spooky Big Brother "HD Era" Xbox 360 where everyone you know on Xbox Live knows exactly what you're doing.

Which brings me to my next point.

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