The Five Best Video Games at This Year's E3 Show

E3 REIGNS SUPREME AGAIN
This year's E3 video game industry show was held a month later than usual and had far less industry players involved than ever before. But E3 still cannot be beaten when it comes to putting a strong focus on what will be the best video games for all consoles that most people will be playing in the near future.

Media and industry players were the few people invited to this year's festivities, and it showed when only about a fourth of the total audience from the previous E3 show came to visit the new location in Santa Monica, CA, which was in an airplane hangar of all places. The many thousands of hangers-on that were always tolerated year after year at E3 are no longer welcome.

THE BEST VIDEO GAMES OF THE YEAR ARE YET TO COME

1. GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK (PS3-Xbox360-PS2-Wii)
This exciting follow-up to last year's top selling "Guitar Hero" game promises to set a new standard when it comes to full life-like interaction with the rock star fantasy world. Guitar Hero games never fail to inspire gamers to pick up their fake guitar and strum along to hundreds of real rock songs like no game franchise could ever achieve before.

This year's installment, which should be out sometime this October, will feature such classic bands as The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys and Living Colour among many more. The game's character's now look far more realistic and the new menu screens are far more polished as well. There will even be a career mode where you and a friend can follow a path that will lead you to huge success as a rock star, or will lead you to living in a van down by the river.

A battle mode has been created for this year's game, and it will allow you to go up against a pal and prove your guitar prowess against theirs in an ultimate showdown reminiscent of that famous sequence in "Crossroads" where Steve Vai and Ralph Machio(!) dueled it out to see who the guitar king really was.
"Guitar Hero 2" was one of the best video games of 2006, and this year's version looks to even exceed that game in total popularity.

2. GRAND THEFT AUTO IV (XBox360-PS3)
This year's most controversial release had been Manhunt 2 for the PS2 which was also created by the guys at Rockstar Games, the same people who have created every game in the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise. GTA 4 looks to make Manhunt 2 resemble a Nintendo Wii game, as this year's iteration will put the player into the ultra-violent world of Liberty City, a more sadistic version of NYC.

The "hero" of the story is a Russian immigrant who comes to Liberty City looking for riches only to find rags and slums. He has to fight and kill his way out of the poor area of town to try to find his riches by any violent means necessary. Look for images of untold carnage and bloodletting as you use machine guns, machetes, and flamethrowers in your sadistic quest for fame and power.

3. ASSASSIN'S CREED (Xbox360-PS3-PC)
This awesome looking stealth/action game looks to be a good pick for Game of the Year when it comes to ranking the best video games of 2007. The game plays very fluidly, and the graphics are nothing less than stunning every step of the way. The A.I. when it comes to crowd movement is unparalleled as far as true crowd intelligence goes, and the retractable blades, which you are allowed to hide underneath your robes at all times, is proving to be a great way to slice your enemy's throat when he is not looking.

The game's medieval environment really puts you directly into the 14-century mindset as you leap from church steeple to mission steeple throughout this very exciting and engaging third-person game. The objective in this game is to assassinate nine historical figures from the age of the Crusade before they can kill anyone else. Gamers are already lining up at their nearest video game store for this one!

4. CLIVE BARKER'S JERICHO (PS3-XBox360-PC)
Horror fans who are breathlessly awaiting the next installment of "Resident Evil" will absolutely love this next great franchise in video game horror. Clive Barker himself has designed much of the plot behind this twisted horror game which puts you squarely in the middle of a town that is crawling with monsters and ghouls that you and your squad will have to kill before ending the horror-filled nightmare behind the town's demon possession.

5. HALO 3 (Xbox360)
Microsoft badly needs this game to sell extremely well because this may be the only X-Box360 exclusive that Microsoft can claim for the next few years. Since Sony will be crowing about having exclusive rights to one of the (supposedly) best video games ever made, "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots", Microsoft needs the next Halo to hit the ground running when it releases the game later this year.

The solo gameplay and overall graphics of Halo 3 are the highlights of this much-anticipated sequel's features. It has some of the best opening action sequences ever created, and the heart-stopping planet environments are second to none when it comes to placing you directly in harm's way of the different alien villains who would love nothing more than seeing your head splatter in five different pieces as they blast you straight into outer space.

If you didn't believe that this year's E3 would reveal anything new as far as the future of video games goes, you are sadly mistaken. E3 2007 may be smaller in size, but not in overall importance in the massive video game universe.