Miyamoto’s latest Zelda outing takes common cel-shading techniques to an uncommon level of polish and detail. But Zelda isn’t only about amazing detail or sophisticated environments, it’s about expertly crafted experiences. The game bleeds character and a cohesive design that is more about cinematic subtleties than raw graphical horsepower. Zelda is a console adventure game in the truest sense: the player is drawn into Link’s world, but the development team never loses sight of the fact that it is the player who is always driving the gameplay. Despite the obvious similarities to the play mechanics found in the Zelda games for N64, Link breathes with new life. Simply put, Miyamoto maintains his focus on what makes a console adventure game great, and subsequently, he brings a great sample of his next console adventure to E3. - Tom Russo, Director of Program Development, G4 Media LLC

Finally, someone gets the wireless console controller right and, in this case, that someone is Nintendo with its own Wavebird Wireless Controller. For anyone who has spent precious game time untangling cables or found themselves fighting with an unstable RF connection instead of fighting unstable virus-laden zombies, the Wavebird is a godsend. Yes, it works, and it works well, even with multiple controllers operational. The Wavebird is a testament to Nintendo and one small victory for those of us who prefer to recline during Rogue Leader without fear that the controller cord will evacuate in our moment of triumph. - Eric Eckstein, Editor-in-Chief, UGO

Move over Donkey Kong. Here comes AiAi and his primate pals in Super Monkey Ball 2 for Nintendo’s GameCube. While it’s more of the same antics found in the original, we’re not complaining. Maneuvering the monkeys in their transparent bubbles through loopy tracks turns out to be a lot more fun than it sounds. Developed by Toshihiro Nagoshi of Sega Corp.’s Amusement Vision studio, the original Super Monkey Ball sold 200,000 copies in the U.S. since its release in November, enough to warrant a sequel, due out this fall. - Alex Pham, Technology Reporter, Los Angeles Times