http://expo.eurogamer.net/whats-on.php
Did anyone go or is anyone planning to go?
I took a day off yesterday (Friday) to attend and man was it worth it. Click on the link above to see what games were playable.
I thought Move and Kinect were ok. Not my kind of thing. I understand they are just 1st generation games on display and will get much better games but for now it's really just aimed at the casual Wii crowd (especially Kinect). Move had my interest more because I preferred the games on display (an ok fighting game and a couple of shooting games- SOCOM looked cool) but both were a bit fiddly and a bit laggy.
I was really surprised to see the graphics the 360 was pumping out! After seeing the graphics PS3 exclusives were producing and the lacklustre response from Microsoft Game Studios I thought it had been effectively maxed out. Games that caught my eye (both good and bad) from a technical point of view were the following (only games not playable as demos on XBL or PSN mentioned and I will put the platform they were playable in)-
Gears of War 3 (X360)- The best looking game of the show. It looks stunning! It now features well rendered foliage with improved textures, effects, smooth framerate, large levels and mostly great AA. It was a very popular game and the Horde mode was playable as the Locust and Humans. If this is how a multiplayer map looks I can't wait to see what the campaign will look like. I thought with 4 player co-op etc the graphics would suffer but how wrong I was. Gameplay is classic Gears.
Bulletstorm (X360)- Second best looking game of the show. It looks stunning with a smooth framerate, great effects and and a unique twist to the standard FPS fare which allows for players to create and incite mayhem. I think it's using the same graphics engine as Gears 3 hence the stunning look. Unfortunately there were no PS3 versions on display.
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)- Annoyingly we were only allowed to play it for a few minutes at a time (which cut off automatically). I played the Nurburgring track (I just got back from there). Graphically it looks like GT5:P but I was surprised to see slowdown and screen tearing though both were slight and won't affect gamplay. I can't remember if GT5:P had tree shadows on cars were the individual sunlight through the leaves shine through and not just a flat black shadow ala FM3 but GT5 had the former which looked great. I found the controls very twitchy though that's probably down to being used to FM3 and it was quite slow compared to FM3 but there's definately a sense that this is the more realistic handling game. And the 1080p resolution really gives it a stunning clarity unmatched by any other game (just like GT5:P in fact). Playable in 3D as well but it hurt my eyes.
Infamous 2 (PS3)- Graphically this is far ahead of the the first one and definately one of my favourite games of the show (welcome change from a deluge of FPS). Improved HDR lighting, MLAA and the great Infamous gameplay some more remains with an improved overall framerate even though it looks a sandbox version of Uncharted 2 (but understandably being a sandbox game it's not as good) though the framerate still drops here and there (like the original but not as bad).
Killzone 3 (PS3)- This was the pre alpha build which is why I suspect it didn't look that great compared to other games on the show or maybe it was the TV settings (it looked washed out). But it looked crazy on screen with Seth and co flying over enemy territory armed with chain guns taking out the baddies from mid air and then crash landing and taking on the Helghast in a closed snowy environment and the melee attacks look brilliant. The framerate needs a bit of work though. This was also playable in 3D (which hurt my eyes).
I've been writing this for ages now and geeting bored so will do a quick 'Other notable mentions' section-
Fable III- Great if you love the original. Similar graphics as Fable II. I will buy it as I love the Fable games and this looks like the same great gamplay.
Crysis 2 (X360)....Looks ok. I was dissapointed with the look as I thought this was the engine to kick Unreal Engine to kingdom come. Gameplay looks solid but nothing truly groundbreaking. Maybe the PS3 version will look better. Or maybe because it was because of the small TV screen or settings.
Brink (X360)...interesting muliplayer based game which will have a lot of convincing to do to pry people away from CoD.
Medal of Honour (PS3)...another war torn FPS which looks like a great rental and/or MP.
LBP2 (PS3).....more of the same but with better graphics and extra features. Must buy for me.
LoZelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)....only one display hidden within a black shroud. The queues were huge. i gave up waiting. Most likely will be GOTY when released.
Donkey Kong (Wii)....like the SNES games but with Wii graphics. Fun co-cop.
Kirby (Wii)....Another great looking co-op platforming game on Wii. Nice graphical styles and lovely gameplay.
AC: Brotherhood (PS3/360).....more of the same but with MP. I will buy it as I like the AC series. Still looks better on 360 even though Ubisoft seemed to be promoting the PS3 version more.
Fallout New Vegas (X360): More of the same but in a new setting and with improved graphics. Must buy for me as I loved Fallout 3.
Dragons Age II (X360).... Graphically looks much better than the first. if you loved the first you'll probably love this.
There were loads of other games such as Def Jam Rapstar which were very popular but seeing all these wannabe rappers on stage strutt their stuff did make me cringe but it was a good laugh. Also the new Guiter Heroes was playable but didn't seem as popular as last time. Click on link at top for a comprehensive list of playable games on display.
Ok I really need to take a piss and eat something. Laterz.
