Eurogamer Expo ’09
Capsule reviews of forthcoming titles
This year I boarded a Megabus from Cardiff at 6.30am to make it to the Eurogamer conference at Old Billingsgate, London.
Held annually, this is the biggest exhibition of unreleased video games in the UK and was in Leeds on 28 – 29 October and London 30 – 31.
I arrived an hour and a half early. I’d like to say it’s because I was organised and keen, but mostly it was because I got confused and thought it started at 10am, not 11am.
One advantage of getting there so early is that I could road test everything immediately. Being able to sit at a game for 20 minutes or more was brilliant, especially on the big hitters like God of War, Left4Dead2 and Assassins Creed 2 which were near-impossible to play later in the day.
Obviously an depth review of a game or accessory is impossible with just 15 – 20 minutes play but as a keen gamer I was able to get a handle on the game, its look, gameplay and casting my experienced computer gaming eye – a feel of the game, console or accessory, and the audience reaction.
Here are some capsule reviews of the products being showcased at the Eurogamer conference.
Nvidia 3D
The Nvidia 3D system works well and is strangely immersive. The practical hardware demands make it quite an unrealistic purchase for the average gamer.
Some people didn’t appreciate Need for Speed: Nitro on it but I thought this element looked the most inviting, especially on in-car view.
God of War 3
March 2010, PS3
GoW looks fantastic and plays superbly; the fighting element is great and Helios is now my bitch!
I won’t go into what happens as it was spoiled for me by another website but needless to say, lovers of God of War 1 and 2 will not find the third disappointing.
I may be strung up for this but it doesn’t feel massively new either but the improved animation makes combat feel smoother.
Avatar
4 December 2009, multi-platform
This was surprisingly fun, given the black history of Movie/Game crossovers. It doesn’t appear very original but looked awesome – particularly in 3D using the Nvidia glasses.
When using them the HUD hovers on the top of the action and really splits it out from the rest of the screen – it looks mightily impressive.
Dante’s Inferno
February 2010, multi-platform
I was rather annoyed that I walked past this about four times because I thought it was GoW3. It was actually the different HUD that alerted me to the fact that I was looking at a different game.
It’s difficult to not immediately condemn this game for using exactly the same gameplay as God of War, but as a fellow gamer mused: when you take time to appreciate Dante, the game is actually on a graphical par, maybe even surpassing God of War. The combos were almost equally enjoyable to perform.
It happens in film so computer games may be following suit – a unique game becomes immensely successful, before industry pressures demand it spawns sequels, and eventually a sub-genre, in this case, the Mythological-Action-Epic QTE-using Hack and Slash. MAEQTEUHAS. Rolls off the tongue.
PSPgo
Damn it’s cute. Little Big Planet and Fat Princess look excellent but the minis I saw looked pretty cheap and nasty. The shoulder buttons may become a nightmare in any game that uses them frequently like Monster Hunter; the angle of them is just plain odd.
I need more time with one before I can really bring myself to recommend it but early signs are not altogether promising.
Left4Dead2
17 November 2009, PC, Xbox360
More of the same, but still excellent at what it does. Had a 4v4 game where you had to power up a generator. The new Zombie types – particularly the Jockey – are great fun. See geeks review of L4D2 here.
Joe Danger
Spring 2010, Platforms TBA
A brilliant little XBLA / PSN release but the platform has yet to be confirmed. I played it on a PC with a Xbox360 Controller.
A sidescrolling stunt bike game, it’s a very unique game in itself despite obvious comparisons to Excitebike and Trials HD.
Excellent fun with colourful graphics, single screen multiplayer and loads to do. Like Trials it’s infinitely easy to pick up yet less so to master. The developer played a few games with me, showing me the different game types and was extremely optimistic; no wonder it’s shaping up well.
Blue Toad Murder Files
December 2009, PS3
A multiplayer high definition Professor Layton type game which looks very polished, the puzzles are surprisingly tricky and the developers could be on to a winning family game if the episodes aren’t too short or expensive.
Bayonetta
January 2010, Xbox360, PS3
I’ve been fairly cynical about this: another Devil May Cry clone when even Devil May Cry has lost its mojo. But I heard Japan are going nuts for it and I’m glad I gave it a look.
With frenetic action, beautiful and smoothly moving graphics, more variety in combos the game has some excellent set pieces.
It is insanely sexist though – the main char spends half of the combos naked as her hair acts as her clothing and weaponry – it’s just inconvenient.
Assassins Creed 2
20 November 2009, Xbox360, PS3
The most popular game of the show when looking at the size of the queues, this was the only one game where it was impossible to even see the screen through the throngs of excited gamers.
Fortunately my early arrival meant I’d managed a go earlier in the day.
I found the Assassin’s Creed II gameplay excellent. The animation is as beautiful as ever and the free running navigation is back and smoother than ever whilst cityscapes - that looked so fantastic in the first game - have been eclipsed in quality.
Altogether it feels bigger in scope, setting, and size.
Heavy Rain
Early 2010, PS3
Many developers and publishers I spoke to on the day said that Heavy Rain was their Expo highlight.
It looks truly remarkable; I don’t know how it managed to leap the uncanny valley but the incredibly realistic looking facial animation didn’t give me that “ahh there’s something wrong about that” creepy feeling.
I played a scenario where a shop is being held up which takes you through what you’d do in that situation.
I personally have wondered that myself a number of times, would I hang back, sneak up, reason with them, plead, threaten? Heavy Rain handles the decision making process elegantly, the real skill is just here; it makes you ask questions of yourself.
Trying out these new games, I found some gems that are must-have buys when they arrive.
I found the latest God of War a joy to play, though more reassuring than refreshing.
Dante’s Inferno was a nice surprise as I had written it off as a God of War clone – which it is – but it’s also a great looking game in its own right. Taken in a Kratos-free vacuum, people will be eagerly awaiting Dante (all apart from snobs who hate the bastardisation of the original literary work).
Bayonetta also surprised me, and not just because I seemed to be mooning people to death.
Assassins Creed 2 looked great and is perhaps the best example of a developer listening intently to criticism and improving an already excellent concept with fan and reviewer criticism.
But Heavy Rain was the most unique in the show, and the one that I’m most keen to play again. I’m glad the hype suggests it won’t necessarily become a mere cult hit like the superb Fahrenheit.
Oh, and finally Joe Danger will be an absolute cert for my MSP or PSN when it’s released.
As for the Expo itself, I’m really pleased we have something like this in the UK now.
It’s no E3, but as a Sony rep told me in the PSPGo lounge – which was very cool – this is a more heavily gamer-focused event, not a press/trade event.
The priority is winning over gamers, letting them have a play of upcoming releases; not winning over the press with tons of freebies and women in bikinis. Damn it!
I finally got to try out a Sumo bean bag which was amazingly comfy after a few moments of adjustment. The Indie arcade was great despite being tucked away in the top corner of the building and the Assassins Creed 2 mob swarmed on a limited number of machines reducing playtimes.
But elsewhere, everyone could get a go of anything after a few minutes wait. The expo was packed with a visible presence of machines with mostly top games, readily accessible to drooly-mouthed gamers.
I strongly recommend that the keen gamers amongst you pick up a ticket for next year and perhaps it wasn’t the worst idea in the world to get there super early.
