No, we didn’t win anything on day two. This was most likely due to the fact that Gemma Atkinson was bored off her two bras she dons to play Wii Sports. “Have you ever wanted to race round the streets of London…then we’ve got the next best thing…” repeats Gemma ad infinitum. Reading cards is fun!

Thankfully Gemma and Iain Lee had to do more than just read. They had to play games too. Watching them get down and dirty with Rock Band was a joy to behold. Thank god they were good sports, because to be honest; it was a wash out.

Up close on the Xbox stand we could observe Gemma on bass guitar, Iain Lee on drums, and an unknown on lead guitar. They lasted 30 seconds before dropping out one by one, joined by the game ridiculing them with boos. They lasted a smidgen longer on their second attempt, but this time the surrounding crowd joined in with the booing. Iain puts on an amusing strop and Gemma slips into the crowd, dejected.

Without prior experience with Rock Band, at least they gave it go. Next up on the game was the current cast of Hollyoaks…moving on…

The first day saw the likes of Tom Baker (Dr. Who) and Robert Lewellyn (Cryton in Red Dwarf) signing autographs, but on the second day Danny Jhon Juels (Cat in Red Dwarf) and Hattie Hayridge (comedian and Holly in Red Dwarf) made a welcome appearance.

Other notable celebrities were Steve Jones from T4 and Radio 1’s Colin Murray. They all seemed to be having fun, though I’m not sure if the event was quite what they expected it to be.

Kev and me had a quick go on Rainbow Six Vegas 2 multiplayer, and in reality it looks and plays as if it’s an expensive expansion of the first game. Then again, the content could be bursting at the seams, which is certainly what the game’s fans want. To join Rainbow Six was a little bit of Las Vegas, in the form of faux Roulette to win trips to Las Vegas, and a bunch of feathered up dancing ladies.

Condemned 2 was another game we found hiding on an upper level. The sequel builds on the satisfying first person melee combat of the original, holding its survival horror routes dear, allowing you to implement everyday objects (bowling balls, toilet seats) as weapons to do your worst on your enemies. Condemned 2 is looking great graphically, since the art style really plays to its strengths; dark, gloomy, wet, creepy, and full of fear.

We once again asked Microsoft representatives where Ninja Gaiden 2 was. In reply we were told that it wasn’t there because of “technical difficulties.” Since the game is nearing release, we expect that the game was technically fine, but that it interfered with Microsoft’s family orientated presence at the event.

If Microsoft wanted Ninja Gaiden 2 they’d have to book another area on the upper level, a space that was dominated by Capcom and Sony. Even Ubisoft had to squeeze Haze on two pillars either side of the food and drink.

I had another spin of Ubisoft/Free Radical’s game, Haze. This time trying my hand at one of the vehicle levels. It was great fun getting your AI buddies to join you in a four-man vehicle, though I expect it’s more exciting when joined by your live buddies.

To my dismay I got the vehicle stuck upside down on an obstacle, and with rebels surrounding us, we had to quickly dispatch them before I could work out how to right the bloody thing. A combination of a grenade and a melee punch did the trick. You can read Kev’s preview of Haze here.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue was making a popular showing at the event, even though Sunday was quieter than Saturday. The GT5:P pods were forever surrounded by impressed gamers who wanted to race around London and score a free GT5:P Playstation 3 bundle. It was looking incredibly sharp, and we can’t wait for the Euro release at the end of the month when we can get our hands on this baby;

All in all Play.com was very successful, with plenty to keep us occupied and enough unreleased games to make the event worthwhile. We only wish some of the promised games were playable, or at the most – present (we’re looking at you Star Wars and Ninja Gaiden.)

Full previews of Bourne Conspiracy, Race Driver: GRID, Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda and Far Cry 2 still to come. Plus, we’ll be giving away some Play.com Live swag to two lucky UK residents later in the week. In the meantime, have a look through our gallery.

123►

We get our hands on Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Vegas II for a little multiplayer action at this years WonderCon in San Fransisco California. Ripten TV gives you our hands on impressions after the jump.

We thought the game sounded like it was more of the same, that it could just be added as a map pack update to the original game. The new screenshots further exaggerate these worries. Though the character models are very impressive, the environmental backgrounds leave a lot to be desired – certainly not improving on its predecessor.

However, it’s early days. The graphics will be further improved and Ubisoft might just surprise us. Have a look at the screens below to decide for yourself.

It seems we’ll be revisiting Vegas through the eyes of Team Rainbow a little sooner than expected, with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 hitting in three short months. Anyone who’s finished the first Vegas may be wondering how that “To Be Continued” story is going to, uh, be continued. Worry not! We here at Ripten are prepped to give you the full mission brief.

In Vegas 2, you no longer play the role of the modernly generic-named Logan. Instead, your character is your own. Much like Mass Effect’s star Commander Shepard, you play as Bishop – male or female, black or white.

Ubisoft Montreal has included a full customization tool that let’s you configure your Bishop to look any way you can imagine, including your gear. You can reasonably recreate yourself in the game, or craft the devilishly handsome man-whore you always wished you could be.

Essentially, the PEC mode (Persistent Elite Creation) from the original’s multiplayer is fully implemented into the single-player experience, only this time they’ve added significantly to it and cleverly named it ACES.

ACES stands for Advanced Combat Enhancements and Specialization. It tracks everything you do and assigns you experience points in one of three categories:

+ Assault - shooting with reckless abandon (”spray and pray”) nets you Assault points, which eventually rewards you with additional automatic machine guns and SMG options.
+ Marksmanship – essentially the complete opposite of Assault – one shot, one kill. Marksmanship rewards include sniper rifles and other long-range weaponry options.
+ Close-Quarters Battle - kills within a certain distance of your enemy accumulate CQB points, rewards of which include in-your-face weapons like shotguns.

One of the coolest things about ACES, though, is that it’s an all-encompassing feature. They didn’t just add PEC mode to the single-player, they made the entire game a single-character experience. Your multiplayer face-shooter and single-player terrorist-stomper are one in the same. Your experience and rewards carry over across all game modes.

No longer will the rank-obsessed sluts be “forced” to play multiplayer in order to excel. Even better still, the objectives your pals complete in cooperative play earn some experience points for everyone on the team.

So now that you know how awesome your Bishop will be, what the hell is he doing in Vegas again?

Bishop begins the game alongside longtime Rainbow buddies Jung Park and Michael Walter. Their storyline starts at a point before the events of the first Rainbow Six Vegas, runs concurrently with the first game’s story, and then ends at some point after the original’s cliffhanger ending.

Ubisoft Montreal stresses that the story is the main focus of the game this time, and tries to keep you immersed in your character by planting your view in Bishop’s eyeballs during cutscenes.

You’ll also find yourself in all sorts of environments within the Vegas city limits (and some outside as well). You’ll still find plenty of casinos and neon lights, but Ubisoft Montreal has added a great deal of outdoor locales to mix things up. Take to the streets, blow up cars, shoot some terrorist fools in some rich dude’s back yard – plenty of time will be spent in the residential areas of the city.

Even with these larger, open environments, the team promises better graphics and a smoother framerate. They’ve also fine-tuned the gameplay with little things like bullet penetration and the ability to sprint.So what does all this mean? While I don’t think most Rainbow Six Vegas players played the game for the story, it’s nice that Ubisoft Montreal wants to improve it. Some games with shitty gameplay are actually brought up in value by a quality, well-presented story.

Now, of course, I don’t expect Vegas 2 to be shitty, but it certainly won’t hurt the game to up the immersion factor and make you really care about your character. Then again, most players don’t pop terrorist melons and then sit around and philosophize about it, so let’s not forget why we play these games in the first place. Any terrorist in Vegas, stays in Vegas… because he’s dead.