E3 highlights: Killzone promising

Sony gave a breathtaking glimpse of the new Killzone game, which will feature on the PS3. A fairly violent shoot-em-up with little in the way of plot, Killzone nevertheless looks promising, the gameplay resembling the intensity and carnage at the start of Saving Private Ryan. Sony also debuted clips of a new dune-buggy racing game that looks fantastic - a sort of cross between rallying title WRC and Demolition Derby.

Pint-sized GameBoy

After all the hype and technospeak of the Xbox 360 and PS3 launches, it was refreshing to see something completely different from the distant third player in the video game console market, Nintendo. Rather than competing head-on with the two next-generation devices, Nintendo has come up with a tiny version of its GameBoy console - GameBoy Micro. The pint-sized console joins portable devices such as Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP, but is even smaller - similar in size to a mobile phone or iPod. Nintendo has around 19 per cent of the game console market, which it will look to maintain with a device more akin to an iPod or mobile phone than a gaming console.

All bases covered

Sony's PS3 comes with an impressive number of input connections - there are six USB 2.0 jacks, three ethernet connections and SD, memory stick and compact flash bays for cards that can be used in cameras and mp3 players. That array pretty much covers all the bases when it comes to plugging devices into the PS3.

Clever interface

The Xbox 360 features a neat interface called media center extender, which allows the machine to connect to PCs carrying copies of Windows Media Center - one of the better interfaces on the market for managing digital content. This will allow content on Media Center PCs to be streamed to the Xbox and displayed on the TV. Media Center hasn't yet made an impact here, but should have gained some traction by the time the Xbox 360 debuts down under. A button on the Xbox 360 remote control automatically accesses the Media Center functions.

King Kong debut

On display at E3 was the video game of King Kong, which is being made by games publisher Ubisoft and is expected to launch in December to coincide with the release of the movie. Director Peter Jackson bankrolled the game's development, granting himself creative control of the video game's look and feel. It debuted at E3 as an exclusive VIP audience were treated to a preview of part of King Kong at a Los Angeles theatre.

Brando lives on

Little has so far been given away of the Xbox 360 video game The Godfather, but the digitised face of Marlon Brando is unmistakable. This highly awaited gangster game has its work cut out in adapting an epic piece of cinema, but the storyline is compelling and from a brief look at the graphics, the production budget is sizeable. Expect The Getaway, but with a historic setting and classic dialogue from the movie.

Gizmondo impresses

It isn't yet available in New Zealand, but Tiger Telematics' Gizmondo device is an impressive gaming machine that is getting wide support from game developers. The Gizmondo has picked up Electronic Arts as a development partner, opening the door for FIFA and Madden titles to be released on the portable game player. Gizmondo sells only in the UK at the moment, but is launching in Europe next week and then the US. It runs on the cut-down Windows CE operating system and has a 2.8-inch colour screen. It also acts as an mp3 player, video player and digital camera.