The Big Three make a bunch of promises every year at E3, during the big press conferences they throw at the start of the week. In 90 minutes or two hours, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo show off their newest hardware and biggest games.

For the fourth year in a row, we're comparing E3 hype to gaming reality. On Tuesday, we looked at Sony. Yesterday, we investigated Nintendo. Today, we wrap up with a look at Microsoft's E3 2011 promises.

For the fourth year in a row, we're comparing E3 hype to gaming reality. Sony was the subject of our first investigation. Today we check out Nintendo and will follow with Microsoft's E3 2011 promises on Thursday, at 1pm ET.

For the fourth year in a row, we're comparing E3 hype to gaming reality. Sony was our first victim. We'll check Nintendo and Microsoft's E3 2011 promises on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, at 1pm ET each day.

How long ago was E3? Until yesterday, it was the day after I last did a laundry. And that's a hell of a long time. I sat there in the laundromat with my 3DS, looking at the 134 people I met at E3. I've not had a StreetPass notice since.

About a year ago, PAX sought to ban booth babes (pardon me, "costumed booth representatives,") using a number of tests to determine booth babe-iness (as opposed to garden-variety sexy cosplay). One of them was a lack of familiarity with the product represented.

Hopefully you are not on the edge of your seat waiting for the next Tomb Raider. Warning: even if you are an Olympic athlete, you should consider inhaling and exhaling a few times between now and the release of Mass Effect 3. Never mind their 2011 hype. They're next year's games.

The nominees for the Game Critics Awards' "Best of E3 2011" are in, with two games vying for Best of Show, Irrational Games' BioShock Infinite and Naughty Dog's Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

I haven't had a good scare since 2005, at least not at the hands of Resident Evil.

"You don't want to play as Rayman?" the Ubisoft demonstrator asked. "Most people go right for him." I explained that I identified more with his shambling, big-mouthed galoot of a partner, Globox.

Gameplay impressions are difficult to form under the lights, sights and cacophony of E3 in full swing, where you never have enough time to see all of what you want, and there's always an appointment five minutes from now. It's even more difficult to get a good read on a sports game.

This year, I came home from E3 with a Kinect Sports shirt, a Jurassic Park-inspired fake Barbasol shaving cream can to hide stuff and a Cooking Mama 4 oven mitt. Everything else I chucked, including my press pass and lanyard. Maybe I should have considered selling it on eBay.

You've seen the best E3 2011 had to offer. Now see the worst. The very worst. Oh good Lord is some of this bad.

At E3, I visited the 2K Games booth every day of the show. Every day I went there, I saw these two guys from High Voltage Software in the 2K "Sports Bar," sitting in easy chairs, playing Nicktoons MLB. As far as I know, it was all they did all day.

In video games, death is anything but final. We've been playing games with some form of immortality or reincarnation for decades, whether that's gamesaves, extra men, whatever. NeverDead enforces the concept in gameplay itself. No matter what grisly mishap befalls your hero, he will not die.

Katsuya Eguchi, creator of Animal Crossing and producer of the next game in that series, mostly talked to me about Wii U at E3 last week. But surely he had some news about Animal Crossing's forthcoming 3DS installment?

During the same Nintendo developer roundtable where we were given a Tanooki suit history lesson, Nintendo godfather Shigeru Miyamoto discussed the new control scheme for Star Fox 64: 3D, and how the they may have provided the solution for a long-standing source of stress for him.

They call it E3, which isn't that cool a name.

"Xbox," I say, "Streak 20," and the huddle breaks. My quarterback trots up to the line. I instinctively half-squat and reach out my hands, placing them under the giant rear end of an invisible lineman. "Hike!"