OXCGN’s Eurogamer Expo 2010 Hands-On Report

Line up, line up and . . .  watch? – Damn

by aksobey

©2010 Kent Sobey

This year’s Eurogamer event marked the first ever gaming expo that I have had the opportunity to attend, so I was eagerly awaiting it for many months.  Just the possibility of wandering around the halls lined with booths, games, buzzing with other gamers all there enticed by the love of gaming was an exciting prospect.

I didn’t quite know what to expect actually, but knew that Gears of War 3 was definitely going to be on display, which I must admit, was my main focus and attraction.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of other games that I wanted to see but ‘Gears’ was definitely at the top of the list.

Much to my disappointment, it was also on everyone else’s top spot too.

• Eurogamer’s 2010 Expo “How it was”

All in all, the event was very well organised and everything was extremely well set up. There was plenty of space throughout the entire expo, so I never really felt crowded.

Even though there was a record number of attendees there, it never really felt oppressive. In fact, I believe that all three days were completely sold out.

However, the only real issue I had was actually getting into the venue, which took about an hour and a half all up; far longer than I had anticipated.

The layout was incredible; games everywhere! I got to play Enslaved and the new Fallout: New Vegas.

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to play much more than that because all of the big titles had extremely long and astonishingly slow lines which I was not prepared to wait in, but I did get a good look at quite a few of the titles.

There were plenty of screens with Gears Of War 3 playing and I must say it looks incredible, and there’s now a full year and a bit before it is finally released in November 2011. Man that is going to be one ‘long’ wait.

To be honest, I simply can’t wait to get my hands on it. Graphically it looks like they have taken a massive step forward from the past two iterations, and the ‘Beast Mode’ certainly looks like great fun.

I am really looking forward to be able to control a ‘ticker’.

I must admit that my focus was of course on the Xbox 360 platform’s content on display at the expo, but there were some ‘very’ impressive Wii and PS3 displays to whet my appetite as well.

One that stood out was Killzone 3, which was on show in beautiful 3D and it certainly looked like it would be a great deal of fun, but unfortunately I did not get to see the 3D technology properly because the glasses were limited in number and the lines just way too long.

Ubisoft’s great looking Assassins Creed: Brotherhood had their two multiplayer modes on display, which from watching the people’s reactions who were in control, looked both exhilarating and infuriating all at the same time. Just the way a good multiplayer game should be!

Microsoft’s Kinect had a Dance Central exhibition set up which definitely looked like a great deal of fun, but I was certainly not going to get up on stage in front of everyone there and make an ass out of myself, so I decidedly wisely that I’d give that a skip.

I must admit, it was incredibly funny to watch though, seeing others try their level best at following the dance moves while staying up with the musical beat.

It is amazing how you might well ‘think’ you’re doing something really cool – in your head, but in reality, your left foot is not doing what it should be doing, and the other limbs are all flailing around like you’re drowning. Much like the first time you saw someone using a Wii fit board and doing the hoolahoops.

Bethesda Software had their Brink game on display, which was another title I was really looking forward to see and hopefully get some hands-on time with. Well I can tell you right now that the hype the game has been generating is most definitely well justified.

I just wish we didn’t have to wait for so long until it is released, but then, good things take time to polish and finesse to greatness.

EA’s Medal of Honor, as expected, had a huge area in the over 18 only area (where coincidently I might point out, that all the big titles were -funny that). However, I didn’t actually spend too much time on this one for two reasons mainly.

Firstly, it was coming out pretty soon and secondly, the PS3 version was being displayed and I have no issue with this, but I am more interested in playing on the Xbox 360.

Dead Space 2 was also at the top of my hit list as I am really excited for this one.  The graphics look great but in all honesty I didn’t get a lot of time to see it properly. People were crowded around it which I can only assume is a good thing but it made it tricky to get a good look.

Fallout New Vegas, Fifa 11, Pro Evo 11, Kinect adventures, PS3 Move (with an assortment of titles), GT 5 (in 3D and 2D) and many others were on display too, which made for most excellent viewing.

The only criticism I could really give for the entire show was that the lines for playing the games, especially the big AAA title ones, were simply not well organised at all. Which basically meant that people did do a lot of pushing in, raising the tempers of those that had already been waiting upwards of an hour or more, and of course, making waiting times much longer in doing so.

I only hope that in the future they will have a fairer system for letting people play and not allow some to sit on a machine for too long. Most other shows of this nature have a set period, or ‘sittings’ that allow groups in at intervals, giving each user just enough time to experience the games mechanics, and get a feel for it, and then move on to the next title in the show.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

There just didn’t seem to be any time limit for the people playing Gears Of War 3′s ‘Beast Mode‘ which basically meant that those on the game just played until they were bored (which let’s face it, doesn’t happen very quickly with any Gears of War title).

Being in such a show or expo certainly has a certain thrill to it. The sound of games all going at the same time, the various publishers all trying to out do each other with elaborate displays, some of which certainly cost a pretty penny, and enhances a game’s appeal tenfold at times.

Seeing the huge entrance queue and activity coming from every corner certainly has a rather nice buzz about it all, and while you can never really see everything, or get your hands on every game there, just being there can often be enough in itself.

So when all is said and done, I am extremely glad I had the opportunity to attend and had a terrific time in the process. I will most certainly be going again next year – if I can, and OXCGN will have media pass for some proper developer/publisher interviews and decent hands-on time with the games.

All-in-all,  job well done by Eurogamer!

© 2010 Kent Sobey

xxxxxx

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Events, Game Impressions, Microsoft Games, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | Assassin's creed, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Bethesda Software, Dance Central, Electronic Arts, Enslaved, Eurogamer, Eurogamer 2010 report, Expo 2010, Fallout New Vegas, games, GEars Of War, Gears of War 3, Gears Of War 3's 'Beast Mode', Gran Turismo 5, Kinect, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Move, Video game, Wii, Xbox 360