As the event draws closer I can almost hear the hype machines spinning up like enormous, lumbering siege engines before an epic battle. It's E3, the gaming industry's favorite media blitz and PR workbench, and in some ways it is an epic battle. The "Big Three" - Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo - will vie for dominance using their respective press conferences as ordinance while developers and distributers alike will scrape and claw at the attention of the gaming press.

For me the battle is all about time. There just isn't enough of it to go around that week. As the schedule fills up and last minute meetings fall into place I thought we'd take a look at what's on tap for next week with this brief E3 preview.

Much of the big news from the week will come from the console hardware press conferences. Microsoft fires the first volley where they'll no doubt sing the praises of Xbox Live and list statistics regarding the number of total players, number of new players since last year and record numbers for concurrent players online at once. They might also take the opportunity to jab at Sony by saying that Grand Theft Auto IV sold more copies on the Xbox 360 than it did on the PS3; perhaps due to the promise of downloadable content in the form of episodes that have yet to be verified on the PS3. Recent rumors regarding a redesign of the Xbox 360 dashboard could come to fruition and there might even be some actual surprises up Microsoft's sleeve. News of a price drop? Maybe.

In the games department expect Microsoft to focus on the exclusives, obviously. Silicon Knights' sci-fi-Norse-mythology-action-RPG Too Human could get some time in the presentation as well as perhaps Fable 2 or Alan Wake - which isn't a 360 exclusive but will only be available on the 360 and PC, Microsoft's step-child game platform. I anticipate big showings of Halo Wars - the extension of the Halo franchise into console RTS territory - and probably new footage of Gears of War 2.

Gears of War 2 from Epic Games.

Nintendo puts their cards on the table early Tuesday morning and there's really no telling what they have in store. They could announce another motion peripheral or just put up sales charts with a big self-congratulatory smile. I'd like to see something about improvements to their online capabilities or teasers for some big games but they may focus on the casual market again. Last year I grew weary of the industry cheering "casual gaming" and carrying it around on their shoulders so I'm hoping that trend won't continue. Casual gaming is fine but I'd like to see the life-long gamers get some attention this year. I'm selfish that way.

Sony drops their bombs on Tuesday also and I wonder if they'll give an updated look at Home, their online community service. Home got some time in last year's presentation and since it still isn't available they might want to keep it fresh in everyone's minds. I don't think we need to see anymore of LittleBigPlanet, Sony's puzzle-platformer/user-created content game. It isn't even out and I'm already a little tired of it. I'd like Sony to pack their press conference with the big games. I always prefer live demos and trailers as opposed to sales figures and hardware (Star Wars PSP?) and I'm sure I'm alone there. Show me some MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, explain what Afrika will be like, play some Killzone 2 live and give us something... anything... on Final Fantasy XIII. Will there be a God of War 3 teaser? I think so.

Thankfully the whole show isn't just press conferences. Publishers and third-party developers will be showing their games in meetings rooms and on the show floor all day. E3 can be overwhelming and, as I said before, time is short so I keep a list of games with me in the case of a long break between meetings. I'll be targeting Electronic Arts to get news on the Command & Conquer shooter Tiberium, Red Alert 3, the Battlefield: Middle-Earth-style game Lord of the Rings: Conquest and perhaps Crysis: Warhead. We already have our meeting set up to play Rock Band 2 and I'm looking forward to putting the new drum set and guitar peripherals through their paces. Spore? I'm not terribly excited about it but I would like some extended playtime with it. Maybe then I'll join the throng of Spore disciples.

Project Origin from Monolith Productions.

What else is on our agenda? Perhaps some time with Ubisoft and the new Prince of Persia, Far Cry 2 and the Tom Clancy games H.A.W.X and End War. I know our managing editor Rob Wright will be hounding Capcom for Resident Evil 5 info so I expect he'll get some Street Fighter IV and Bionic Commando news by osmosis. We're going to be spending some time with the true sequel to the horror-shooter F.E.A.R, Project Origin and we're taking another look at Fallout 3 because we just can't get enough of it. Eidos will take us through Tomb Raider: Underworld and their RTS title Battlestations: Pacific. And hopefully sometime during the week we can scrape out some information on Dragon Age, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II, Brutal Legend and Ghostbusters.

Of course there are also the surprises at E3 that you just can't plan for and that's what makes the show exciting. If there's a game out there that you absolutely must get more information on post about it in the forum via the link below and we'll do our best to dig up something on it at the show. Check back next week for our coverage of E3 2008.

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