Hi guys, just got back from Birmingham. Sorry but I have no pics I was too busy playing games and my friend who was meant to take pics was too busy running around playing games, but I will give you guys a review of the games I played (all of them) and the event itself.
Event:
The event took place at Custard Factory in Birmngham which is a beautiful venue. It has nice water features and nice art work such as a giant Medusa like statue placed at the side of a building and a giant dragon which seems to crawling up the side of the building.
The event started promptyl at 5pm and since I arrived early I was more or less at the front of the queue and didn't have to wait.
Staff checked ur invite and registered ur details finally giving us a wrist band and collectable PS post cards. On entering the venue we were also given a free Redbull and a Tshirt to the person who got the invite.
Throught out the day they had a number of refreshments and since only a limited number of people were invited, I managed to play all the games within the 1st 80minutes!
Staff:
For the most, the staff were really good and helpful, the only downside was one member of staff manning the GT5 booth at the very front who knew hardly anything about the game. Either I knew too much or he was just clueless. It would have been nice to have every member of staff be a gamer who is clocked on.
GT5 3D(booth and pad):
The game was as I would expect. The graphics were sharp and quality, the handling was as you would expect from a GT game and the sound was excellent. I drove the Lamborghini Gallardo which around the Roma circuit and tested the damage straight away. I seen scratched and deformation as I have read with panels coming off and the car getting harder to control as I damaged it.
The 3D was suttle and didnt strain my eyes a single bit. The cockpit view was amazing and very much in depth and the 3D never once took away focus from the game itself. All in all the 3D was great but didn't make me feel as if I am missing out on a lot.
GT5 3D (booth and steering wheel):
This I found very difficult. I was playing with the offical GT steering wheel set up in a proper raceing booth. I drove a rally car in the rally level where you have the shift of day to night. The graphics looked phenomenal and the car and gamplay were brilliant. The downside? There was so much feedback on the steering wheel I found it hard to control the car. A member of staff later told me that the settings may have been set to very sensitive, but overall, the game delivered.
There was some slight confusion as I asked a member of staff looking after the GT5 booth if the full game would come with modding and tunning options like GT3 A-spec and GT4. He said something down the lines off "it should" or you may have to buy it as a download for specific cars. however, since these were individuals just hired for the event, I would take the advise with a pinch of salt.
Dead Nation:
this game was not inj 3D, however it looks and play brilliantly. The amount of zombies on screen adn the carnage was amazing. the game is highly addictive and the lighting effects were brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed the game.
PS Move Heavy rain:
This is pretty much the same as the regualr HR. The only difference I found was that instead of shaking the 6axis I was shaking and moving the wand. I would not buy a Move controller just for HR nor will I play the game for the sake of a PS Move. However, if I haven;t purchased and or played the game, then I would say, playing it with move will be far mor fun and possibly the better option out of the 2.
LBP2:
This game was the only 2 player and it was everything you would expect from LBP2. I got to play a level as well as a mini game which had been developed.
The level itself was crazy and parts of it felt like a sonic game as sackboy was propelled and bounced around the level at high speeds. It was a lot of fun to play Sonic style sections of the game. The grapple gun was also a lot of fun and playing with 2 people made it all the better. I remember my friend trying to get to the top of the level and I would grapple onto him just to yank him back down and get ahead of him.
The mini level was a small room where sackboy was given a rocket launcher. the aim was to get the most kills before time runs out. The problem was the rocket would not launch as soon as you press the fire button and there was no indiciation as to when the ammo would reload. At time I was infront of my friend pressing the trigger way before him but he would kill me 1st since he had reloaded 1st.
The game was a lot of fun adn I would defo buy this on release. There was so much more variety compared to LBP1 and it felt the same yet better in everyway and more refreshing.
PS MOVE The Fight:
My friend played this game 1st and I was not impressed. It seemed laggy and unresponsive. When it was my go I refused to play as I had no interest in the game what so ever. However, the guy looking after the booth pusuaded me and I gave it a go. Boy am I glad he did. The game was a hell of a lot of fun. I wouldnt say it is as precise as the other Move games but it was very addictive. Within 20 seconds I had learnt how to use headlocks and headbutt people and on my next go I pulvarised the enemy AI.
My only concern is how the full game will be and how they will make it more than the same moves carrying on from fight to fight. Will there be a story? how will the character vary other than their looks and the difficulty as you progress? I will wait for a full review befor I make a decision on purchasing the game. If the game has variety then it defo is a must buy for me.
PS Move table tennis:
My friend has a Wii and we play tennis on it when we pop around. Some girls were playing it before they handed it over to us and we asked them if it is like the Wii version if they have played it... their response was, "This is so much better than the Wii version, we would rather sell the Wii and play the PS Move one." I took their comment with a grain of salt as I didn't think they were hardcore gamers, but then holding the Move i realised how stupidly accurate the thing was. The slightest movement from me or just my wrist was being picked up and I could move around the table just by leaning left or right back and forward. this didn't feel like a Wii knock off, it felt like playing real table tennis. My friend agreed with the girls and so do I. If this is how precise the damn Move is, then these type of games will be best played with the Move.
Overall, I am sold on the PS Move. the device is incredibly accurate and working with the PS EYe it offers so much more depth than just having motion controllers. This was proven in both games, Sports Champions and The Fight. Later in the day, it got darker and the PS Eye was not reflecting my image on screen as well as it was earlier but it didnt hinder the performance a single bit.
The palce was fairly crowded yet again the Ps Move and Eye performed without fail!
Now the 2 games you have been waiting for and you may be surprised by one of them. KZ3 3D and Motorstorm Apocolypse. Yes you got that right. These 2 games blew me away and pretty much anyone who was there that I spoke to.
KZ3:
I played the game in 2D 1st since the queue's for the 3D version were too long. On the "d version I got to try out all 3 stages; the on rails shooting section, the jet pack section and the WASP mission.
The on rails shooter section was soo much fun and so full of carnage, it was love at 1st sight. the graphics for a alpha demo were astonishing. The particle effects, the water effects, the explosions and everything .
the Jetpack section was also a lot of fun and controlling the jetpacks is easy. not only can you boost up but you can then also boost forward and side to side with an acceleration of speed. the gameplay using the jet pack is mega fun and if this is incorporated into mp, this will be mega amazing.
The WASP... what can I say? This gun is friggin uber cool. Tanks? One shot and you will blast them to smithereens!
For those who hated the controls in KZ2, yes, they have been changed. The game controls were tight, responsive and at the sametime they were not arcady like COD. GG has hit the nail on the spot and boy does it feel good.
Onthe graphical side, some little touches which I noticed:
1) shooting a wall will cause not only debry but snow from the roof to fall.
2) The blood in the game is amazing. I stabbed a helghast in the eye and when he lay on the floor dying, blood was squirting out of his socket in small burtst :p
3) The snow looked amazing
4) the water graphics and physics were very good. the way the ice blocks would react down to how the waves would crash against other physical objects.
KZ3 is everythign which was KZ2 multiplied by 10! Feb 2011 cannot come soon enough!
KZ3D:
as above but stupidly better with bullets and rockets whizzing past you, snow flying in and out of the screen, chukns of metal from blown up objects flying around you and obviously the gun you hold sticking out.
I have read that KZ3 3D strains your eyes, but in fairness, so did the 2D version. Other than that, I didn't notice much nor did it takeaway anything. This game is a must buy, but again, I would not buy a 3D Tv for it.
Motorstorm Apocolypse:
This game has hit me from nowhere. It has from being nothing become the one game I am dying to own. Imagine Split Second and if you were to put Split Second on Acid and feed it with steroids and then give it a line of crack, this is what you would get!
I played this game in 3D and the difference in 3D and 2D is so massive, I cannot see myself playing this game wihtut a 3D TV!
To set the picture, do you guys remember playing uncharted and your jaw dropping when you seen the building collapse whilst you fought within it? Do you remember how your jaw dropped when you were bing chased by the chopper over the roof tops and how you drooled when the bridge collapsed as you were being chased? Remembe all those hair raising moments? Well if you were to take all those moments, you would still not have enough of them to make up the amount you have in one level of Motorstorm! yes, I am not exaggerating, this is the honest truth IMO.
Skyscarpers collapsing, windows shattering and glass and debris flying everywhere, the earth shattering and dropping you to under ground parking lots with parts of the pavement flying directly at you, building being sunk, walls coming out of nowhere, civilians running havock and when you hit them you see them fly out of the screen... the list goes on and not even for a second does the action stop.
the amount of detail, the smoothness, the level of live action all over the place is just phenomanal. I have no idea how they have managed to pack great graphics with the level of interative action into one game on the PS3 and make it 3D. this game has blown everything I played at this even right out of the water and raised the bar like no other game there. The 3D vesion of this game was so damn amazing, I won't even bother writing about the 2D version of the game.
Is 3D gaming the future? For the moment I say no. Motorstorm Apocolypse is the only game I would consider worht buying for 3D. However, if Devs can bring more games like this onto the PS3, then I will have no chouce but to invest in a 3D TV. MS:A was the game of the event for me.
hope this info helps. If you have any questions feel free to ask :)
(Former) Lead Moderator
