E3 photo gallery updated, now with 53 exclusive shots and two movies.

I took time out of E3 to see The Matrix Reloaded opening night at Universal City. I enjoyed the action sequences, which took awhile to get to; the film opens with too much time spent outside the Matrix. We see many more of Neo and Morpheus' freedom fighters, including other ships, captains, and the actual city of Zion. But the amount of philosophizing I found a bit confusing, where some scenes I absolutely had to focus on the dialogue and not background motion if I wanted to keep pace with the film. I'm still not sure what it all meant, and the introduction of Matrix elements that are neither human nor agent I also found somewhat inexplicable.

CNN.com found the movie to be very shallow, more akin to a video game (which I've not yet played). But the movie is worth seeing. Stay all the way through the credits if you want to see a trailer for The Matrix Revolutions.

The AniMatrix shorts release on DVD June 3rd.

As promised, a preliminary E3 photo gallery is available. The existing 20 images will be reduced in resolution and joined by 40 others after the show.

Konami and Nintendo press conferences have been detailed. See the E3 index page for a full list of reports. Sony's conference will be documented shortly, but for now, the highlights are a the EyeToy, a digital camera that doubles as a motion sensor and means of interface for new games; and the PlayStation Portable (PSP), a disc-based handheld system coming in Q4 2004. A viable competitor for the Game Boy?

Microsoft press conference coverage from E3 is up. I caught an early, early flight from Providence this morning, and was pleasantly surprised to meet an old acquaintance on the connecting flight from Atlanta. Nothing much to report on yet. The day before E3 is when things always heat up, and this year and tomorrow are no exception, with conferences by Sony, Nintendo, Konami, and Nokia. The latter two conflict, and I have decided to let second- and third-hand reports fill me in on Nokia's presentation. I suspect the essence of the N-GAGE unveiling will be easier to capture than that of, say, new Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill games. Time will tell.

As with last year, an E3 photo gallery will be made available, but not until later in the week, or possibly upon my return to Massachusetts.

Happy Quatro de Mayo. I uploaded my current game catalog, at 871 games; the last update listed 800 games on July 5th. Speaking of numbers, in response to a recent query: Gamebits.net has at least 277 ratings and reviews, 242 from its primary author.

I spent opening night of the new X-Men movie watching the new X-Men movie. I'm not sure if it was better than the first film, but it was at least as good. Perhaps in different ways. There was more plot and intrigue than I expected, though I tend to prefer original films since there's more groundwork laid out and we get to be introduced to all the characters.

I wasn't very impressed with Pyro, and the fight between Wolverine and Deathstrike was not what I was told to expect, but the raid on the mansion was excellent. I very nearly leaped out of my seat and shouted at one moment, but grabbed the chair's arms quickly enough to restrain myself.

Nice nods to other mutants, such as Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Shadowcat, etc. My prediction is that X-Men 3 will be subtitled "Phoenix Rising".

Happy May Day – and, more important, happy month of E3.

Release dates updated, with many previously unannounced goodies listed. Check it.