E3 kicked off Monday with Microft, EA, Ubisoft, and Sony laying there cards out on the table. Microsoft aimed to keep interest locked on the Kinect while proving that they still have hardcore games coming. EA showed off an all star team of blockbuster games. Ubisoft brought a good selection of games, but they came with an unwanted annoyance. Sony attempts to win back the trust and interests of gamers worldwide. All four companies arrived with an arsenal of  announcements, continue reading to see what I thought about each showing.

Microsoft's E3 conference proved that the Xbox 360 should have a solid spot in the entertainment centers of everyone's homes. The new dashboard update that is coming this fall was shown, and looked a lot like the new Windows 8 OS. IPTV, Youtube, Bing, and UFC were all new additions to their already packed roster of entertainment services. The main focus of the show was the Kinect and its support in new games. Mass Effect 3, all EA Sports games, and all future Tom Clancy games were announced to have Kinect support, whether it be through motion or voice recognition. Disneyland Adventures and Once Upon A Monster were shown as the family games to look forward to later this year for the Kinect. Ryse, Fable: The Journey, and Kinect Star Wars were shown as possible hardcore games for the Kinect, but each game lacked in areas that just made the games look unappealing.

The games shown for the core audience were Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, Gears of War 3, and Tomb Raider.All three of those games had great gameplay walk-throughs that are sure to make the fans of each series happy later this year. Tomb Raider's gameplay feature was my favorite of the three, and it only had one problem: Lara moaned and screamed so much it sounded as if it was something you'd find on late night cable. Microsoft closed the show off with a Halo 4 trailer that failed to impress me in every area except visuals. Albeit wasn't the worst I've seen from Microsoft, it was definitely not their best.

I fell asleep before the EA conference, so I'll only comment on the gameplay and trailers that were shown. They opened the show with Mass Effect 3, and didn't let the quality of the show drop afterward. Everything from EA Sports titles to The Sims Social all looked great. The few games that seem to outshine the others were Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, and Star Wars The Old Republic. The Old Republic made me wish it was one of the Star Wars movies. The way Battlefield 3 captures the essence of war is so good that it could actually rival live action movies. Mass Effect 3 proves that it's EA's biggest blockbuster and will be something gamers all around can enjoy. Without seeing the actual conference and just the content, EA's showing could have easily had been the best for day one. If Mirrors Edge 2 was announced I'd most likely be saying they were the best with an extreme amount of bias.

Just thinking about Ubisoft's conference makes me want to make my face become one with my desk. Mr. Caffeine destroyed what would otherwise be a pretty good show. I'm not sure if they were trying to get a few memes out of this conference, but I do know Mr. Caffeine's magic fingers will end up being one by the end of E3. Mr. Caffeine aside, Ubisoft kicked off there conference with Rayman Origins and its impressive Co-Op gameplay. The art style of this game is superb, and makes me want to throw the money day as soon as possible. I felt the Driver footage they showed afterward could have focused on the chases more. Randy Pitchford of Gearbox Software showed up with Brothers in Arms Furious Four's debut trailer that made me laugh at its shenanigans. Just Dance 3 and Rocksmith were announced for the audiophiles into gaming. The three games shown that stood out as the big guns of their show were Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Far Cry 3, and Assassin's Creed Revelations. I've never really been a fan of Tom Clancy games outside of Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six, but Ghost Recon has made a believer out of me. The crowd control and other elements of interactivity are the things that wowed me. Far Cry 3's visuals and voice acting were nothing short of phenomenal. I never played the first two of the series, but the trailer Ubisoft brought to E3 was definitely a gamechanger. Assassin's Creed Revelations started off with a trailer that I thought would just be an outstanding teaser, but, as soon as it left the screen, fans were shown an intense gameplay segment that left me craving more. A great conference that was pulled down by a lousy host.

Sony's conference started with an apology that most accepted. They spoke on that topic longer than I had hoped they would. I felt the best way to apologize was to deliver what we want, games. Their new CinemaNow partnership was announced and should bring more TV shows to PSN even though it' was already full of a variety of content. Uncharted 3 was easily the best thing about the conference, and it was so good that I felt sorry that Resistance 3 was shown after it. Resistance 3 was followed by three better announcements: God Of War Collection, Team Ico Collection, StarHawk, Sly Cooper Thieves in Time, and an entry level Playstation branded 3D TV. Sony and EA are at it again with 3rd party exclusives. Battlefield 3, Need For Speed The Run, Star Trek, Bioshock Infinite, and SSX are that games that will have Sony only content that range from a full retail game, exclusive cars, and exclusive levels. Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest is what I believe to be Sorcery's replacement. I found Sorcery interesting and the Move game to buy, but it has become vaporware. Move support is expanding with the likes of NBA 2K12, 007, Bioshock Infinite, LittleBigPlanet 2, and inFAMOUS2 either getting Move support or Move support with more depth.

DUST 514 was announced for both the PS3 and the, now officially branded, Playstation Vita. Sony brought the big guns out when they announced a catalog of games that just kept growing for the Playstation Vita. Uncharted, Wipeout 2048, Street Fighter X Tekken, Ruin, Modnation Racers, and LittleBigPlanet all made it clear there was something for everyone on the PSVita. Overall their show was solid, but if they had announced Heavenly Sword 2 I would've cried tears of joy.

Day one of E3 was full of games everyone can't wait to spend their hard earned cash on, and only had a few hiccups to bring down the quality of the shows.