May 24, 2002 - The Electronics Entertainment Expo 2002 is over. The exposition sounded its end at approximately 4:00 PM Pacific Standard Time and began the process of ushering attendees out. The four-day affair (including the pre-shows from the big three), was a monstrous thing, complete with lines of people, rabid fans, exhibitors, retailers, and clumsy journalists scrambling about in hopes of an exclusive.

Everything said and done, we believe Nintendo delivered. The Legend of Zelda sported absolutely fabulous technology, a humorous and epic storyline and quest, and the tried-and-true gameplay mechanics of the series. Even the game's look, initially a shocker, seemed to click as the elfish hero explored vividly colorful, cel-shaded worlds complemented with cartoon-like animation.

Of course, Super Mario Sunshine proved to deliver one of the most enjoyable play experiences to be found at the show. With tightened control, new play mechanics, jet pack and water gun, the game was better than expected and attracted hordes of drooling gamers hoping to go hands on with it. A true sequel to Mario 64 has finally arrived.

But the show stealer wasn't directly from Nintendo. It was from Texas based Retro Studios. Seemingly against all odds, the company stunned crowds with its first-person / third-person adventure Metroid Prime, a game so polished, so balanced, so beautiful, that hardly anybody could believe it. Even seasoned skeptics gave in, agreeing that it was worthy of 'Game of E3.' We couldn't agree more, of course. This game is going to sell systems. November has never seemed farther away.

So now we pack up, go home, and recover. But we'll be back on Tuesday with post-E3 updates. Readers of IGNcube in particular will want to tune in for more next week. We've got a lot good things to show you, including a couple of surprises that Samus herself would be proud of. Note: if you can't wait that long, be sure to check out IGN's GameCube boards over the weekend as we may slip a couple new movies exclusively to them.

Until then, look over what's there, show your friends some of the amazing footage already released, and go to sleep dreaming of blasting Metroids on Tallon IV. Perhaps we'll run into you.

Click here for IGN's full E3 coverage