This year, there was a lot to expect from the E3 show.  With all of the new hardware and awesome software that was right in front of our eyes, there was bound to be a gem hidden somewhere that we weren’t quite expecting.  When I got in line to see Aliens: Colonial Marines, I had no idea of the treats that I was in for inside their booth.  When I got inside the metal bunker they had set up in the middle of of the show floor, I took my seat and prepared myself for the live demo.  As I took out my notepad and flipped it open, none other than Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford took the podium to narrate.  If there is one thing that the world knows about Randy Pitchford, it’s that he loves what he does.  Right from the get-go, he made it clear that this project was no exception to that fact.

The Electronic Arts booth at E3 this year was bombarded with gamers and press. It was a miracle of sorts that no one passed out from the sheer insanity engulfing their space, as every big-named title they were pushing was on the floor for all to try out. I almost found myself unable to play a single title EA was promoting, until I quickly found an opening at the Need For Speed booth. This year will mark the eighteenth release in the popular racing series, and from what I demoed in Need For Speed: The Run the folks at EA are raring to keep your heart pounding with excitement.

For the last couple of years, Nintendo has started their E3 press conferences with my personal favorite first-party series The Legend of Zelda.  This year, there was a lot to talk about in terms of the Zelda franchise.  Not only did Ocarina of Time 3D come out just a few days ago, but we have downloadable titles for the 3DS and an orchestra touring the world playing music from the games.  The most exciting thing there for me though, was the updated look at The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.  What last year was little more than a Zelda-themed tech demo, now feels a lot more like a fully fleshed out game complete with a story.

This week's podcast episode has even more E3 stuff than last week's episode.

Silent Hill has brought in many frights and chills since the first game debuted back in 1999, and while the following games had their ups and downs its core purpose continued eerily down its dark path. At E3 this year I had the opportunity to give the latest title in the series, Silent Hill: Downpour. Unfortunately the results I've seen so far have left me yawning more than shivering.

The Bethesda Softworks booth at E3 always seems to be amazing at every show.  While I was certainly expecting Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Rage to knock my proverbial socks off, there was one other game at the booth this year.  Wandering to the back of the booth, I noticed some comfy-looking benches with a large-screen sitting directly in front of it and a podium.  Sensing the promise of a live demo, I sat down and got comfortable.  After a short time Brendan Blewett, Audio Director at Humanhead Stuidos, came out to do a demo of Prey 2.  I wouldn’t have been able to predict how promising this game turned out to be.

Hello post-E3-2011 Monday! The ladies of ESH have a brand new podcast episode waiting for you and this one kicks off our E3 2011 Coverage.

And I thought real life relationships were hard.

Meee-yow!

I'm now 48 hours into the madness that is E3 feeling like I haven't seen anything yet, knowing that I've seen a ton, and that I only have 8 hours to go. There is constant, pulsing throbbing in my feet that assures me I've been busy, so here is a quick recap of my day 2 at E3 2011. You'll never guess what it started with.

Dead Island...Got Questions?- So do I.