Yes, it is true: the screenshot above is from a PS3 game. One gets the feeling, looking through the pages of e3insider.com, that games are reaching a new level of realism. The PowerPC-base core running at 3.2 GHz, 256MB of XDR RAM at 3.2 GHz, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM at 700 MHz really show their stuff with this very authentic looking game MotorStorm. Click here for the higher resolution version.

"While techno-geeks can ponder forever the potential ramifications of the specs, Sony spoke most clearly through its impressive demos (both tech and also of actual games), showing the potent console at work. Make no mistake: the PlayStation 3 is utterly superior in graphics to the Xbox 360 from what has been shown."

Nintendo Revolution was also some hot property of E3, with a good look at a prototype of the new console, due some time next year. Utilising an IBM PowerPC-derived CPU code-named "Broadway" and a graphics chip set designed by ATI Technologies Inc, Revolution is capable of playing Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 games as well as playing all the latest kick ass graphics games.

The Revolution features 512MB of internal flash memory, wireless controllers, two USB 2.0 ports and built in support for Wi-Fi wireless networking. There's a bay for an SD memory card to expand internal flash memory.

Game Boy Micro was also being shown, and looked so cute and tiny it's a wonder no one mugged executive vice president of sales and marketing Reggie Fils-Aime for his when he demonstrated it. The system measures 4 x 2 x 0.7 inches, and weighs 2.8 ounces, and has the same processing power as a Game Boy Advance SP.

In terms of games being discussed, I was pleased to hear that Quake 4 was being demonstrated. A modified version of the DOOM 3 engine will power this new game, which picks up the action after the events of Quake 2. The Strogg, as it seems, have been rebuilding and setting ready to do their foul deeds again. Good job you will be there with a chaingun to stop them.

Quake 4 actually begins with your squad, the elite Rhino Squad, falling to the planet in landing pods. After smacking to the ground and losing consciousness for a little while, Kane wakes up to find himself in the middle of a battlefield. There's a sense of the size of the planet and gunfire can be heard in the distance. Kane grabs a weapon, talks to a few people in the area, and heads off in search of his team. Thus the experience begins. From then on, it's all about you and your squad.

Age of Empires III was also being shown, with promises that it will provide some real beauty. Some people watching a demo of the game reportedly asked the developers if the screens were real, such was the quality of the visuals in this game.

The wide variety of New World geographies are wonderfully and naturally rendered here. Whether you're fighting in the wet jungles of South America, the swamps of the mid-Atlantic or the dry plains of Texas, you'll find yourself totally convinced by the organic nature of the landscape. When you add the massive buildings and the lively units to the mix, you have a game that's as likely to draw your eye as most cutting edge shooters.

Other games on show included "The Movies", which offers the player the chance to make their own movies, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare.