Eurogamer Expo 2009

Feature

Join Hooked Gamers as we discuss all the great games on show at this year's Eurogamer Expo that took place in London at the Old Billingsgate convention hall on October 30th and 31st. In layman�s terms it functions as a small-scale consumer equivalent of a show like E3.

November 19th, 2009 by Joseph Barron

This year�s Eurogamer Expo took place in London at the Old Billingsgate convention hall on October 30th and 31st. In layman�s terms it functions as a small-scale consumer equivalent of a show like E3. Rather than big game announcements and early builds of games, players were treated to their first taste of some games which will be released in the next few months, including Q4 2009 and Q1 2010. So sit back and get ready for a taste of the biggest games we saw over a packed 2 days!

Aliens vs. Predator (PS3) � Hands on demo

Based on the classic PC game, Alien vs. Predator � a incredibly violent multiplayer FPS � was on display to the public and many of the press for the first time. Sega was showing the game�s deathmatch mode which allows players to choose a Colonial Marine, Alien or Predator to play as.

As the Alien you can cling to any surface to stalk your enemies and use your tail to pierce the torsos of your enemies. The Predator was clearly the most powerful character, with its cloaking, missiles and long-jumping abilities. Unfortunately if you got stuck as the extremely weak Marine you were in big trouble and pretty much served as fodder for the other players.

None of this detracted from the fun though as something ridiculous always seemed to be around the corner. The game drew big crowds at the show and there was a great atmosphere, with laughing and hollering at every spectacular kill.

James Cameron�s Avatar: The Game (360) � Hands on demo
One of the most interesting surprises at the expo was our opportunity to try out 3D gaming for the first time. Ubisoft was showing Avatar � based on James Cameron�s upcoming sci-fi movie � in both normal and 3D versions. Using a special TV from Panasonic that won�t be out until next year and polarised glasses like those found in 3D cinemas the graphics were altered substantially.

Rather than using key-moments to make objects appear to come out of the screen, the 3D effects were used to make models and objects appear more realistically. It really felt like you could reach out and touch the foliage and characters in the jungle environment. How this fares at retail remains to be seen as it is likely to be dismissed as a gimmick by many players. We also came away with mild headaches after removing the 3D glasses. There is no doubting that the technology works though.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (360) � hands on demo
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was certainly one of the games we played the most over the 2 days at the Eurogamer Expo. On offer was a 16 player Conquest match against other players at the show and some of EA�s testers. If you have played a Battlefield game before than you will pretty much know exactly what to expect in terms of gameplay, vehicles and maps.

We came away feeling that we had experienced a game almost identical to the first Bad Company, but with much more polish and precision. The setting felt a little generic compared to all the other military shooters on the market, but most Battlefield fans would be hard-pressed to find another game that satisfies their desire for objective-based strategic gameplay quite as well as this.

Bayonetta (360) � hands on demo
Bayonetta comes from the same director responsible for Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe, so as you would expect its insanity of the highest order. The sheer amount of chaos on screen didn�t appeal much to our tastes as bashing buttons seemed to be more than enough to pass through the waves and waves of enemies. While DMC had at least some level of strategy and control, Bayonetta felt a bit too over-the-top, though fans of similarly insane action games will certainly have a great time.