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My first ever ‘games expo’, and it hopefully won’t be the last…

 It was all over almost as soon as it began, which is standard for any fantastic event, yet Play.com Live 2008 was well worth the cramp, sweat and beers of the hectic weekend. Being the first show of it’s kind in the U.K for a number of years, it was never going to be perfect, yet all niggles were put firmly to one side as the games, atmosphere, celebs, bands, and the majestic Wembley Stadium  made for one of the most memorable weekends of my gaming life… Click continue reading for more.

 Highlights were numerous, in both the games and the show itself.  Sony had the most impresive stand of all, flawless presentation and some fantastic looking games, especially Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (already stunning,  the queues would agree) and the upcoming PS3 version of Buzz! (party game of the year?). Also on show were the upcoming Little Big Planet (rolling demo), Everybody’s Golf (playable) Killzone 2 (teaser trailer) and Motorstorm 2 (teaser trailer too).

Ubisoft also had a strong presence with the highly anticipated FPS Haze receiving a LOT of attention, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 had its own mini-recreation of Las Vegas, complete with dancers and a Roulette table, and Soul Calibur 4 was also very popular.

 Microsoft’s casual gaming agenda was awash with Live arcade titles and family friendly titles such as Viva Pinata Party Animals. Taking centre stage (pun intended) was Rock Band, with its own ‘mini arena’, in which myself, Frosty and my (unnamed ;-)) cousin lasted 45 seconds before being booed off, although this could have been for my said cousin’s choice of song rather than our ‘rocking’!

Capcom’s showing was surprisingly very limited, particularly the Resident Evil 5 teaser which has been doing the rounds on the net for some time now. It’s Street Fighter IV that remains a stand-out for the entire weekend, admittedly it was a short trailer if anything, yet it’s already looking spectacular, so much in fact that I forgot to take pictures! It keeps the vibrant colours and action of the classic games, yet the next-gen technology provided for this sequel really pushes beyond the boundaries of any Beat-em up seen before. It’s going to be very interesting to see the final product in action when finished, whenever that may be…

More will be coming shortly, including my non-admittance into the Guitar Hero 3 competition final, Sega, and the various happenings on the band stage…