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Well, I'm back after an incredible two days at Nintendo's Gamers' Summit. Please excuse the brevity of my impressions below, but I'm running on two hours of sleep and the sheer amazement of some of the things I've seen. I promise, I'll have more detailed write-ups tomorrow once I've had time to rest and reflect on all that was shown.

The belle of the ball (so to speak) was certainly Eternal Darkness. Nintendo is using this game (and the entire Summit, really) as proof positive that Nintendo is aiming squarely for gamers wanting a more mature gaming experience. And when I say "mature" I mean it. Eternal Darkness is NOT Resident Evil.

ED has zombies, and you kill them. That's where the similarities end. ED is an incredibly complex story that you control (and sometimes controls YOU), one with great historical significance as well as dark subject matter. This game isn't rated mature just because you kill things, it's a mature game because you NEED to be mature to really understand what it is that you're going through and the subject matter being presented to you by this game. During an interview with Denis Dyack (head of Silicon Knights), he told me that "videogames are the evolution of entertainment." Truer words were never spoken ... as Eternal Darkness is emerging as a new form of user controlled art and cinema.

Nintendo showed a montage of the "rough cut" finalists from the EternalDarknessFilms.com contest, another way that they're promoting the title. Finalist movies will be available on that website in May. Suffice it to say that the clips shown were disturbing as hell, and really help capture some of the feel of the game.

And without spoiling any of ED for those of you HIGHLY anticipating the game, Denis has assured me (and I've seen it for myself) that everything in the game ... the puzzles, the insanity effects, the magic system, EVERYTHING ... all connect back into the game and have a greater overall meaning. And I kid you not, I was skeptical about how the Insanity effects could be used as anything more than a gimmick, but sure enough, it's tied back into the game. Some of these effects are just amazing, funny, and disorienting.

And since I know people are dying to know, Resident Evil was also shown, and looks outstanding. They've done an amazing job updating this game, and keeping it a fresh experience. It's VERY hard, but has a fear factor that is unparalleled. While RE goes for the shock value of fear, ED will mess with your head. My only gripe with RE is the control. There is no reason that it couldn't have been updated for Analog control.

Super Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime were shown on video, much to my delight. SMS looks very much like more of the Mario 64 style gameplay with newer moves and plot. Quite frankly, for a game called "The Best Videogame of All Time", I'm not complaining. The models have more definition than you've seen in screens, and the game is very fluid and smooth. It feels like it's running at 60 frames per second, but there was no way to tell for sure. All I know is that I can't wait to play it. I'll need something to give me a break from Eternal Darkness.

Metroid looks a LOT better than the screens would have you believe. For instance, the screen with Samus preparing to kill those three multi-legged creatures on the ground looks very boring and plain. What you don't see is the moments before, when they come burrowing up from the ground, kicking up dirt particles everywhere.

The transition from first-person perspective to third is very slick, as Billy passed on earlier. The camera pulls back through Samus' transparent head, where she then solidifies and curls into a ball. It's the same animation in reverse to go back. I'd talk more about the footage, but it went by VERY quickly. Maybe 15 seconds worth.

I was disappointed that I didn't get to see more of Wrestlemania X8 than the crippled demo that was shown. However, the animation looks a great deal better than RAW on the Xbox. THQ told me that RAW is supposed to be more of a simulation wrestling game, SmackDown is a "button masher", and Wrestlemania is a grappling style. The AI also will learn if you use the same moves in sequence and defends better against those moves if you don't change it up and keep it on it's toes.

No GBA games were shown at all, save for the Animal Crossing interface with the GBA (which doesn't need a corresponding cart).

OK, my head is pounding, so I gotta get a nap in. I'll post more later ... and I've got a LOT more to say. Stay Tuned.