Stan Lee helping Activision activate its E3 roster

As E3's official opening draws ever nearer, more and more publishers are revealing what games they will have on display. Activision has now tipped its cards to reveal its own diverse lineup at the 2004 expo.

On hand to help will be none other than Stan Lee, the legendary founder of Marvel Comics. Lee will sign autographs at the show's kickoff on Wednesday, May 12, to help promote the latest Marvel-inspired game, X-Men Legends.

Activision will also be showing another Marvel-inspired game, Spider-Man 2, based on the superhero sequel. Like the original movie spin-off, the game will include aerobatic action featuring the red and blue webslinger. However, this time around, the game will feature a free-roaming urban environment similar to Grand Theft Auto.

Next on the list is DreamWorks' Shark Tale, also based on an upcoming summer movie. Like its animated inspiration, the game will put you in the gills of Oscar, a plucky young fish who gets caught up with in the underwater underworld.

Activision's movie tie-ins continue with Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Inspired by both the books and the forthcoming movie starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, the game will place players in the shoes of a group of struggling orphans.

If cartoons aren't your bag, Activison also has some titles tailored for the more hardcore gamer. The winner for most sought-after title is easily Doom 3, the long-in-development follow-up to the genre-establishing shooter. While the PC version of the game will not be on display--as it is reportedly in "completion mode" at id Software--Vicarious Visions will be exhibiting the Xbox edition.

Activision will also be showing a trio of games at the top of many PC gamers' wish lists: the undead role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, based on the Half-Life 2 source engine; Creative Assembly's real-time strategy epic Rome: Total War; and the Hollywood mogul sim, The Movies. The game's creator, Peter Molyneux, will be on hand to demo the Movies at 11:30am on Wednesday and Thursday.

Last but certainly not least are the next two additions to the Call of Duty franchise. First is Call of Duty: United Offensive, the expansion pack that will add more than 10 new levels to the original game in an all-new single-player campaign. Call of Duty: Finest Hour will bring the WWII shooter's action to all three consoles, albeit with a different storyline and characters.