We’re less than two days away from the official start of E3 here in sunny L.A., which begins on Tuesday (though a trio of major press conferences take place Monday). I got into town today and took a long walk around the Los Angeles Convention Center, where signs of E3 are popping up all over. If there was any doubt about this year’s event being a return to the truly big E3s of yesteryear, those thoughts were washed away by these larger-than-life sights around the convention center!

Click through to see all 27 photos for yourself:

The outer entrance to West Hall, where Sony and Nintendo will be exhibiting. That’s Kratos’ arm from the God of War games, holding a PS3 controller. A sure hint that God of War III is going to be shown.

This Jack Black-voiced titled is finally seeing the light of day. (Hey, I made a funny.)

Three banners showing off what is without a doubt, one of the most highly anticipated games of E3 2009: Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

After many long delays (and what looks like a makeover for protagonist Sam Fisher), it looks like Splinter Cell: Conviction might be ready to drop.

Can’t wait to see more of this one… I loved the first game!

An appropriate centerpiece for the main lobby at the massive South Hall.

The Sims 3 adorns a building directly across the street from the Convention Center.

Without a doubt, the biggest banner on display at E3 — inside or out. It’s advertising Assassin’s Creed II, the sequel to my favorite game of all time.

I’m admitting nothing, but it’s possible I might have peed a tiny little bit when I saw this.

Another ginormous ad for Modern Warfare 2.

Had to stop by the historical Los Angeles Theatre this afternoon to pick up my press badge. The event takes place tomorrow evening.

Get ready… get set…

Here we go.

Complete coverage of E3 2009 begins tomorrow with the press conferences for Microsoft, EA, and Ubisoft. Stay tuned!

Post from: EveryJoe

L.A. Convention Center readies for E3

The sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven will be set in Empire City (a fictional setting based on a mix of San Francisco and New York City) during the 1940s and 1950s.  I’m assuming we can expect some old-school gangster action which I think is a nice change from all the “modern warfare” type games available today.

In the game, players will have a lot of freedom since there are no restrictions and it will feature a completely open-ended game map of 10 square miles.  That’s huge!  The controls seem pretty straight-forward as well.  There were will be two action buttons (one for standard and the other for violent action) but I’m not sure what to expect from the checkpoint system.

Weaponry will range from what was available in the previous game (Thompson M1928, Colt 1911 and a pump action shotgun) but it will also include new WWII-era weapons such as the MP40, M3 Grease Gun and the MG42.

Post from: EveryJoe

“Mafia II” Xbox 360 Screenshots Released