E3 Day One: Microsoft

Call of Duty 4 also made its debut at the press conference, and impressed many attendees with its graphical realism and sense of atmosphere. Project Gotham Racing 4 was also confirmed as releasing this year, and was demoed live on the amphitheater's vast screen: it'll feature bikes as well as cars, for the first time in the series' history.

Assassin's Creed also raised plenty of eyebrows, although the rough edges in the demo made some wonder quite how close it is to being ready, especially given its fast-approaching November release date. Producer Jade Raymond took us through a complete encounter in the ancient city of Jerusalem, beginning with a dramatic leap from the rooftops into a haycart in a crowded square ("Luckily, no-one saw that," she quipped) and ending with an equally dramatic chase sequence across rooftops and through the game's bustling streets.

Despite Moore's earlier promise, one game on show tonight won't be coming out this year. Resident Evil 5, demonstrated in the form of a brief trailer that'll no doubt be available here very shortly, appears to take place in Africa and has a feel that recalls Black Hawk Down, continuing Resident Evil 4's departure from the series' established zombie norm. It was hard to glean much in the way of gameplay details from the few minutes of footage that were on display, but we liked what we saw.

And the two big rumors that accompanied the run-up to the conference? The score is, one wrong, one mostly wrong. No mention of the widely anticipated price cut was made, and there was absolutely no indication that Microsoft's even considering it. The "grey" console some sharp-eyed fans spotted in a Microsoft-issued photo of a rehearsal session turned out to be nothing more than a dark green Halo 3-themed, HDMI-equipped 360 special edition launching this year with a range of matching accessories. Olive drab is not a sexy color for a console. Or anything else, for that matter.

Still, on balance tonight proved a solid showing for Microsoft, if rather short on surprises or big announcements for some tastes. Tomorrow holds the Nintendo and Sony press events, so check back soon for all the latest details.

• E3 Day Two: Nintendo