I’ve been sifting through all the hype that was E3 to find the coolest fanboy game news:

HALO: ODST – Whoo-hoo! The gameplay demo for this one looks great and I love the fact that you will not have Spartan shielding. This will make for better players and thinkers rather than the Rambozos out there on XBL. The new weapons seem cool and Microsoft revealed that you will play the “Rookie”and as you go through the game, you will find items that will trigger gameplay from other ODST’s in the story.

HALO: REACH – Looks like a prequel to the first HALO game and possibly picks up during or after the HALO: Fall of Reach novel.

Mass Effect 2- Cmdr. Shepard is back. Mass Effect was a phenomenal game that left a lot of room for improvement in the gameplay and story. Other than the new gameplay trailer, the coolest thing I heard was the ability to import your game saves from the previous game. That makes your decisions have a lot more weight than we’re used to – even for an RPG. Story picks up where ME1 left off and has Shepard recruiting unsavory companions with nasty skills to get the job done. Combat is more intense, the story darker and if you’re not careful, Shepard can be killed at the end of the game – possibly making Mass Effect 3 a tad awkward…

Assassin’s Creed 2- I hated this game. Yes, it was pretty. Yes, it was cool to sneak up behind people and end them. But, c’mon! I rode my horse for 35 minutes in real time to get to the next city. Bah. I can do that in real life. This time, you possess your ancestor  that lives during the time of Da Vinci. Da Vinci is actually kind of like Q from the James Bond franchise and provides you with weapons and equipment to complete given missions. It’s still pretty. But I will probably just rent this one…

Motion Tracking is the New Black…- Microsoft and Sony must be pretty pissed that a non-HD console is kickin’ their butts. Both companies have announced that they are working on motion tracking interfaces. Sony has basically copied (poorly copied…) Nintendo’s Wii-mote, while Microsoft revealed Project Natal. This looks pretty cool. No controller, just you acting out the game in your living room.

I’ll leave you with these items: Marvel Alliance 2: Fusion character list has been revealed, three new Metal Gear Solid games announced (PS3 & PSP), new PSP GO unveiled (still pricey @$250, but no UMDs), God of War III, Nintendo has 2 new Super Mario games on the horizon (one is like the original franchise and the other is SM Galaxy 2) and G4 does not know how to dress its hostesses. They either need new wardrobe people or stop letting them dress themselves.