Today’s edition of the Georgia Straight includes my look at 3D gaming, which includes a rundown of televisions, cameras, and software. Also, a look at how 3D televisions work, with explanations of the different technologies that are being used to deliver the experience.

James Cameron’s Avatar certainly got people talking. Released in three-dimensional versions last December, the Canadian director’s blockbuster film and its accompanying video game were part of the vanguard of what may be the next big thing.

Just procrastinated with this video from agency BBC London for Johnnie Walker.

Starring Robert Carlyle, “The Man Who Walked Around the World” is a one-take monologue in which the Scottish actor runs through the history of the whiskey.

Makes me want to pour some of the amber liquid over ice, and relax with a viewing of Shallow Grave or Trainspotting.

Published today in the Georgia Straight is my pick of the things at E3 2010 that really caught my attention.

It’s a tough job, actually, because there is so much to see, and only so many hours in the days. There was one game I saw only briefly while in another appointment that almost made my list because it was something quite unique: Lost in Shadow from Hudson Games. Coming for the Wii this fall, it’s a platformer that requires players to manipulate shadows. Beautiful and mystic.

My honourable mentions for games that I would have liked to include in my Straight column – were I not limited by print space – are: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft; PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Nov. 16), Dead Space 2 (EA; PC, PS3, Xbox 360; 2011), Halo: Reach (Microsoft Game Studios; Xbox 360; Sept. 14), NHL Slapshot (EA Sports; Wii; fall 2010), Okamiden (Capcom; DS; 2011), Portal 2 (Valve; Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360; 2011), Rage (Bethesda Softworks; PC, PS3, Xbox 360; 2011), Sid Meier’s Civilization V (2K Games; PC; Sept. 21), Spider-Man: Shattered Dimension (Beenox/Activision; PS3, Xbox 360, Wii; September), Super Scribblenauts (WB Interactive; DS; 2010), and TRON: Evolution: The Game (Disney Interactive; PC, PS3, Xbox 360; fall 2010).

Those seven things that I figured were cream of the crop, though, are: Dead Rising 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Disney Epic Mickey, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Kinectimals, Nintendo 3DS, and True Crime: Hong Kong.

With each passing year, it becomes more difficult to reduce the best of the Electronic Entertainment Expo to a handful of games and devices. Technological advances keep changing the game, and talented developers are becoming more and more skilled at using that technology.

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was today announced as the athlete on the cover of the North American edition of EA Sports’ NHL 11, to be released in September.

Toews’s teammate Patrick Kane was featured on NHL 10. This is the first time that EA Sports has used players from the same team in back-to-back years.

The 22-year-old captain of the Blackhawks led his team to its first Stanley Cup victory since 1961, and took the Conn Smythe Trophy – awarded to the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs – while doing so.

That happened mere months after Toews helped Canada’s men’s team win gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Toews is the youngest member of the Triple Gold Club – those who have won gold in a World Championship, the Winter Olympics, and a Stanley Cup – that includes notable players such as Joe Sakic and Scott Niedermayer.

In a press release, Toews said he was excited to be on the cover of NHL 11. “It’s been an amazing year for me and the team, and it’s nice to end it by being a part of a game I played growing up. The NHL games have always been great, so it’s an honour for me to be a part of the EA Sports family.”

NHL 11, for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, includes gameplay innovations including broken sticks and a new face-off system, to go along with the board and fighting improvements that were introduced in NHL 10.

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight

Good and busy year in Los Angeles for E3 again this year. Here’s a round-up of my coverage.

CBC News Online

• Canadian video game developers strut at Los Angeles expo
• E3 2010 Photo Gallery: A look at the gamer expo’s quirky fare

Georgia Straight

• Microsoft’s Project Natal unveiled as Kinect for Xbox 360
• Microsoft reveals new Xbox 360 design, Kinect details
• Electronic Arts, Ubisoft demonstrate different strategies for success
• Nintendo jumps into 3D with announcement of 3DS handheld
• Sony stakes PlayStation’s future on 3D
• Valve’s Gabe Newell thanks Sony reps for not punching him in the face