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In June one of our Gaming Gorillas, Duane, made all the monkeys at Mighty Ape jealous when he flew over to the USA to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Better known as E3, it is the world's premier trade show for computer and video games and is held annually in downtown Los Angeles. Upon his return to Mighty Ape HQ we asked Duane about his E3 experience.

What was the best game you saw at E3?
Arkham City, Bioshock Infinite, Battlefield 3, or Skyrim. Each would, in my humble opinion, be worthy of the “game of E3” title. I was especially impressed by the level of detail that was found within Arkham City, and the unbelievable gaming freedom within in the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim universe. I was also lucky enough to have had a 20 minute gaming session on an early version of Battlefield 3. Despite the fact that I am generally the one that everyone else pwns with this kind of game, I thoroughly enjoyed the bit that I played!

Which publisher stood out the most at E3?
That is a tough one to answer as each publisher's stand was just about as epic as the next one. I was entirely blown away by the scale of the event in general, as E3 is simply massive! It is only when you get to attend, that you realise just how big the gaming industry is worldwide. One needs to have a set itinerary of what stands and titles you plan to visit beforehand, as you can quickly find yourself running between stands to catch the various screenings. By the end of the expo, you feel as though you have just run a three-day marathon.

What was the highlight of your visit to E3?
Wow, where does one begin?! Meeting Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon maybe. My discovery of yoghurt covered pretzels in the E3 cafeteria perhaps? In all seriousness, E3 was one giant highlight. The experience of being surrounded by 65,000 gamers is quite surreal and unlike any other that I have experienced thus far in my life. I should add that E3 has this peculiar ability to attract celebrities about as well as the Academy Awards might do. Who would have thought?

Which celebrities did you see at E3?
Of the non-gaming celebrities, I was lucky enough to catch passing glances of Snoop Dog, Verne Troyer, Chuck Liddell, and Dana White. I was later told that Steven Spielberg was making the rounds. As far as the gamer-celeb's go, I chewed the fat with Todd Howard (of Elder Scrolls, Fallout 3 fame), Adam Levine (Bioshock, System Shock), and as earlier mentioned, Ed Boon himself!

What games or products are you looking forward to buying from Mighty Ape after seeing them at E3?
Battlefield 3 FTW! I should add that I am rather keen on Arkham City too.

Did you manage to check out anything else in LA while you were there?
Given that E3 is held in Downtown LA at the giant Conference Centre, it is pretty well placed for a true LA city feel. Away from the hustle and bustle, I managed to check out Manhattan Beach Pier after hours, and was also fortunate enough to have spent an hour or so traversing the beautiful streets of Compton.

Obviously Duane had a great time at E3. Here's hoping we can convince the Chief Gorilla to send more of us over next year!