Last time I went to the the London Expo, I was quite disappointed with the lack of proper gaming content. This year, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Tekken 6, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and even Left 4 Dead 2 were all playable at the show- which of course meant that I played them as much as I could.

Obviously I wouldn’t be writing this if I wasn’t going to tell you about them, so don’t worry about that. You could read my impressions and watch a video of the games at the same time and pretend that you’re me. This is clearly something that you want to do, so hit the jump to read on.

I’ll spare the details about the show itself, as it rarely changes in atmosphere. Essentially, the show is a gathering of the internet. People dress as memes, animé characters, game characters, or wear sarcastic t-shirts in what I consider to be the seasonal ‘dance of the nerds’. I would have said it was like a mating ritual but we all know that no mating would ever take place. Anyway, now that I’m done insulting everyone who went, probably including myself, I’ll move on to the games.

When I arrived I headed straight for the Borderlands booth- despite the fact that the game has already been released on consoles, I’d never played it before that and was (and am, at the time of writing) waiting for the PC release. As an RPG it’s not ideal for booth play, but I was very impressed. Even though I wasn’t used to using a 360 pad for first-person shooters, I found myself playing for over an hour. Yeah, I was that guy, hogging the booth. I’m sorry, everyone who stood behind me waiting for me to finish.

Luckily the game was running in two-player co-op and there were plenty of other 360s around running the game. I found that playing the game this way was great for showing it off; due to the nature of the game you’re encouraged to talk about what’s going on with your co-op partner and share weapons with them. It’s a great way of making you emotionally involved in the game- and clearly it worked, since I was playing for so long without realising. I’m looking forward to playing the PC version.

I moved on to play Bayonetta, which was a perfectly serviceable brawler which already has a demo out that you can download and try out yourself. If you really want my opinion, I’ll just say that I got a bit bored of it after a little while of fighting the same enemies over and over. The game looks great, though. There’s a lot of detail in the environments and the boss battles are quite epic. Not Shadow of the Colossus epic, just a little bit epic.

I also played Tekken 6, which is every Tekken with slightly better graphics and more characters. I played as Paul (who was good in Tekken 3, the only one I played) and got beat up by someone playing as Law. I don’t think I could go back to Tekken after Street Fighter 4. I just don’t like the 3D mechanic. So my summary of Tekken 6 is this: It’s a Tekken game. What did you expect?

After wandering around a bit (and briefly watching the Avatar game in 3D, which hurt my eyes slightly) I threw away my instinct to avoid boredom and queued up for 45 minutes to play Left 4 Dead 2. It was being played in the same vault as Dead Space was last time (it even had pictures of Issac on the walls inside), on four 360s. They weren’t even connected together, it was just single-player. This combined with the fact that I find playing Valve games with a controller to be utterly awful meant that my opinion of the game went down a lot to just “this is brilliant.”

Despite not being able to aim because of the controller, I found it to be a very enjoyable experience. Cutting zombies in half with a machete is highly unlikely to get old any time soon. The demo comes out soon, so I’ll be doing a full preview in the future. I realise I’m being a big PC elitist when it comes to the controller but I honestly found the burst-fire rifle to be fairly useless as I couldn’t reliably pull off headshots with it. Anyway, I’ll save that for the preview.

That’s about it, I’m afraid. The MCM expo is never huge for games, although this year, as I’ve said, I was impressed with the turnout. Next weekend, however, is the Eurogamer Expo, which I’m also attending. That expo is completely focused on games, and so I’ll hopefully have a bit more to say about that. So, to summarise the MCM Expo 2009, here is a haiku. The use of haiku represents the underlying internet and Japanophile culture present at the Expo.

The dance of the nerds
Has Left 4 Dead 2 this year
It was good, I think

The London MCM Expo is growing in size every year, and so its previously poor gaming section is finally becoming at least worth a look. It has a decent line-up this year, including Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Tekken 6, and a lot more: Ubisoft, Capcom, Koei, Rising Star, Ankama, Eidos, and Atari are all supporting the show. I’ll be attending the show, so even if you can’t make it, my impressions will help you to imagine as if you were.

The expo is trying to get a gaming cosplay world record- that’s people in fancy dress as characters from games (they have to be proper games characters, not ones that went from movie to game, etc). If you can make it, see if you can dress up and add to the record. More info is on the expo’s site. That’s May 23-24, London’s ExCel centre.

In related news, a proper gaming event is going to happen soon afterwards. GameOn! is essentially a huge Lan party and gaming event on 20-21 June, £8 a ticket. There are loads of exhibitors going, and it seems like it should be a decent event for gamers. See you there!

Although I was only able to play the XBox 360 version of Left 4 Dead at the Eurogamer Expo, I have been playing the pre-release demo for the PC in the comfort of my own home, to my delight. The perspective I’ll be giving on the game is from a PC standpoint; to me, playing a Valve game on a console is like eating Ben and Jerry’s with a rusty nail- it still tastes nice, but the sheer pain (of using a controller) ruins the experience. Before you begin to shout at me, make sure you read the preview after the jump. Here’s a spoiler: it’s unbelievably good.

I’ll begin with the 360 version which I played at the Expo. If I put aside the obvious control faults, I can find nothing wrong with this game. I began with a standard shotgun, walked out into a hallway, and was immediately met by three screaming zombies running at incredible speed towards me. My shotgun tore through them, creating one of the best sensations a videogame weapon can create: satisfaction. It feels exactly like a shotgun should feel, and the zombies tear apart with the exact amout of force that a shotgun should provide. It was fantastic. I continued up on to the roof of the building I was in, and found that the four of us were going to have to radio for a helicopter to pick us up- but doing so would set off an alarm, causing a huge horde of zombies. When it happened, there were at least 100 of the buggers, who all seemed to think it was only my brains that were on the menu. Needless to say we didn’t make it, but my, was it an experience. Even on the 360, from the short amount I played, I can tell that this game is phenomenal.

Left 4 Dead on the PC is, going by the demo, probably going to be my favourite game of all time. It might seem a little presumptuous to base this on a demo, but if you’ve played it you’ll understand. The demo features 2 sections of one level, and I have played it through at least thirty or forty times, and never had the same experience twice. The game’s AI director places zombies based on how well you’re doing- if you’re doing well, without losing much health or ammo, the director will spawn a huge horde for you to fight off, or more boss infected.

Boss infected are special types of zombie that have abilities other than the simple melee attack. The Boomer can vomit on you, attracting all nearby zombies to attack you, or blow himself up in an attempt to kill you. The Hunter can jump around at incredible speed and pounce on you, knocking you down and causing a lot of damage. The Smoker uses his huge tongue to entangle you and drag you towards him or even into a pack of zombies. When killed (or on command) he releases a huge puff of smoke, which is impossible to see through. There is also the Tank, a huge hulk of a zombie that takes concentrated fire from all four of you for at least a minute to take down- if you see a Tank, the next thing you know, you’re going to be dead or dying. Finally, there’s the Witch. She does nothing if you leave her alone, but if you startle her by being to loud or shining your light in her face, she’ll drop you to the floor in one hit and proceed to kill you very, very quickly, unless your comrades can save you. You’re not going to want to startle the Witch.

Because of the AI director, you never know when or where it is going to spawn- I’ve experienced points of the game where there are no zombies one round, and the next there are hundreds standing there. It makes for an everlasting game, as other than knowing the direction you’re heading, you’re completely in the dark (metaphorically and literally) as to what will happen next. As with the 360 version, the guns are a pleasure to use, and zombies die perfectly. Later in the level when the more powerful weapons are revealed, they become even more fun, if that were possible. The auto-shotgun in particular is fantastic for crowd-clearing, shooting bursts of shotgun shells as fast as you want. I’ve never played a game where the shotgun is more satisfying.

The survival instinct is another testament to the game’s greatness; on harder difficulty levels, you’ll rarely have above half your health, and ammo runs short after so many zombie attacks. By the time you reach the safe room, your character is hobbling and spluttering, making for an incredibly cinematic finish- closing the final door just as the zombies start to swarm around it is a better adrenaline rush than any horror film, I can tell you. Oh, and if I haven’t mentioned it before, there are a lot of zombies. With the right circumstances, and a bit of developer console wizardry, it’s possible to spawn around 1,000 zombies on screen without a hint of lag, as seen above.

To finish, I can only say one thing. This game is looking like it could be the best game I’ve ever played. There is almost nothing I can find to fault it- and I’m usually more critical than most. I can’t stress this enough: if you’re not looking forward to this game already, you should be. Look forward to our review in the coming weeks.

It might come as a surprise that Resident Evil 5 was playable at the Eurogamer Expo, as it certainly was for me when I saw it. There were only 3 screens playing it, one 360 and two PS3 (I played the PS3 version)- not much when you consider how anticipated the game is. Since the game is expected to be released in March of 2009, it was certainly a pleasant surprise to be able to play the game months before the release date. Hit the jump for my thoughts.

Fans of Resident Evil 4 have no doubt been anxiously awaiting the fifth installment of the series, and I can safely say Resident Evil 5 is shaping up to be at least as great as Resi 4. The first thing one notices is the visual difference between the two games. The level I played was set in a dusty junkyard, and while there were plenty of infected villagers, the bright sun and light coloured floor meant that the dark, creepy atmosphere from Resident Evil 4 is changed. The absolute contrast might seem like a mistake, but the brightness adds a certain eeriness to the location, and the wavering heat is portrayed brilliantly. I actually felt like the sun was beating down on my back as I played, and that just made me more tense as the waves of infected started rolling in.

The controls have barely changed from Resident Evil 4, although the ‘run’ and ’shoot’ buttons have been reversed, which took some getting used to. Of course, the controls were fantastic in Resident Evil 4, so no complaints in this department. The guns feel pretty similar too, especially the shotgun, with it’s satisfying knockback effect. One thing I did find happening was losing ammo. I ran out of shotgun shells pretty quickly, and once my handgun ammo had gone, I had to rely almost completely on the knife (it’s bigger than Leon’s, more of a machete actually) and Chris’ combat moves- kicking the enemies as they are stunned- which really adds to the feeling of desperation.

Another notable difference is that in Resi 5 you switch weapons in real-time, instead of the game pausing to let you sort out your inventory. It’s a nice touch for immersion, adding to the manic feel, but again, it takes some getting used to. The (useful) companion that follows you is another brand new feature; contrary to what you might think, she’s pretty useful. She helps out with the horde of infected, but best of all, she gives you ammo and health. I felt compelled to save her (unlike Ashley in Resi 4), because she would thank me with precious ammo, and she might carry on shooting the huge infected in an executioner’s outfit (complete with oversized axe) shuffling towards me.

Resident Evil 5 seems to be the logical progression of Resident Evil 4. Nothing drastically new, but why fix what isn’t broken? I’m confident that this game will be worth the wait until March (and I’m thankful it’s not coming out soon, actually- I’ve bought 5 new games in the last two weeks). Oh, and if I haven’t convinced you yet, just take a look at who’s back:

Prince of Persia Art at the Euogamer Expo

The London Games Festival 2008 is drawing to a close, and the last of the events will be happening soon. Undoubtedly the highlight of the Festival was the Eurogamer Expo, held on Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th in a large brewery building near central London. Ripten was of course present at the event; and it was certainly worth going. The UK has not exactly been renowned for its quality of gaming events, but Eurogamer put on a great show for us this year, with plenty of big-name games ready to play. Hit the jump for the full list of games, as well as Ripten’s account of the show.

The games we saw at the show:

*Street Fighter 4
*Resident Evil 5
*Call of Duty: World at War
*LittleBigPlanet
*Mirror’s Edge
*Killzone 2
*Left 4 Dead
*Prince of Persia
*Tomb Raider: Underworld
*Far Cry 2
*Fallout 3
*Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
*Resistance 2
*Gears of War 2
*Bionic Commando
*Street Fighter 2: HD Remix
*Socom: Conforntation
*Red Faction: Guerilla
*Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
*Mushroom Men
*Tom Clancy’s Endwar
*Shaun White Snowboarding
*Many more

As you can see, it was an extensive lineup. The show itself was busy, although not as much as you might expect; it’s a shame this wasn’t advertised that well, as it really was the highlight of the London Games Festival. Playing the games at the show was, surprisingly, a fun experience. Most of the games, especially the ones set up on PS3s, were displayed on huge 40″ HDTVs, some even with large sound systems, and almost all had seats (for a most comfy experience).

Killzone 2 at the Eurogamer Expo

Outside the venue, the event had been decorated with a plethora of videogame memorabilia- a Gears of War tank, a Motorstorm truck, and a graffiti mural to Prince of Persia. The show was mostly focused upon XBox 360 and PS3 games; there were Wiis, DSs, and PCs, but most of them were deserted a lot of the time, usually due to the fact that the games being displayed were already released. The busiest sections were on the Street Fighter 4 arcade machines and the Gears 2 stand- unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to play on those games.

You got Resident Evil 5 in my Eurogamer Expo!

It was a fantastic surprise to see some of the games at the show- not only were they great games, but they weren’t even on the lineup released before the show. We had no idea a playable build of Killzone 2 would be there, and likewise with Resident Evil 5 and Gears of War 2. You’ll be glad to hear that we’ll be featuring some previews of a few of the biggest games we saw. Spoiler alert: they are really good games.

E3, also known as “min-E3″, is being held this year from July 11th to the 13th at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, CA. Anyone who is familiar with the E3 of old knows that the new “min-E3″ pales in comparison to the event held in years past, that said … it is still better than nothing.

A schedule of events was released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) for the show on the official E3 website.

Getting the ball rolling this year will be Microsoft with a “pre-E3 conference” at 8:30pm on July 10th. Next up will be Nintendo, offering up a tasty batch wii goodness, with a conference at 9:00 the next morning. Sony will bat clean up with a conference of their own at 11:30am on the 11th.

Time slots have also been granted to third parties such as Konami, Activision, Take Two, EA, Ubisoft, and few others. For your convenience we have posted the full show schedule below:

7/10/07:

• 8:30pm – Microsoft Press Conference

7/11/07:

• 9:00am – Nintendo Press Conference
• 9:00am-5:30pm – Meeting suites open at the Fairmont Hotel
• 11:30am – Sony Press Conference
• 1:00-6:30pm – Barker Hanger open to view games
• 2:00pm – Electronic Arts conference
• 3:15pm – Activision conference
• 4:30pm – Midway conference
• 5:45pm – Konami conference

7/12/07:

• 8:00am – Take-Two conference
• 9:00am-5:30pm – Meeting suites open at the Fairmont Hotel
• 9:15am – THQ conference
• 10:30am – Ubisoft conference
• 1:00-6:30pm – Barker Hanger open to view games
• 1:00pm – Namco Bandai conference
• 3:30pm – Disney Interactive conference

7/13/07:

• 9:00am-3:30pm – Meeting suites open at the Fairmont Hotel
• 11:00am-3:30pm – Barker Hanger open to view games

Booths will be set up for over 30 companies on the floor of the hangar, however we are sad to report that there are some notable names that will not be offering up formal conferences namely; Capcom, SEGA, and Square-Enix.

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The Electronics Boutique / GameStop Memorial Day 2007 Sale starts today and runs through 6/17. Here are just a few of the deals they will be offering…

• Save $20 when you buy a new GameCube system and new Legend of Zelda Twightlight Princess.
  (GameCube version only, in select stores)
  Sale Price: $129.99
  Regularly $149.99
• Big Daddy, Hellboy, Saw III, xXx, and many more great PSP movies to chose from.
  Sale Price: $4.99 each
  Regularly $9.99 – $19.99 each
• Hundreds of NEW games to chose from.
  Sale Price: $9.99 each
  Regularly 19.99 each

For a complete list of games available click here

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