Play.com LIVE - Event Report
Posted by Theo Fraser on 03.17.2008
This past weekend, Wembley Stadium hosted the first ever Play.com LIVE extravaganza, so come inside for all the EXCLUSIVE hands-on impressions with games such as Haze, LEGO Indiana Jones, Condemned 2, The Bourne Conspiracy, Soul Calibur IV and much more!
This weekend, Wembley Stadium in London, England hosted the first ever “Play.com LIVE” event, showcasing a ton of upcoming video games, accompanied by performances from some of the hottest up-and-coming UK bands and appearances by celebrities, with plenty of competitions and prizes to be won by those in attendance. Yours truly was there for the Sunday 16th March show, representing the 411 Games Zone, and for me this was like a little slice of E3. Kudos to Play.com themselves, as the event was very successful…and major props for the media goody bag, which included a bundle of free DVDs! Hurray for freebies! And in case you’re wondering, I look damn good in an “Access All Areas” press badge…
Hopefully over the next couple of days I’ll have a couple of full-blown previews of the games I got a lengthy playtest with, but for now, allow me to rundown the day’s events.
Play.com Live- Sunday 16th March
Upon arriving at Wembley Stadium, I was immediately directed to the Media/VIP entrance, which was unfortunately right the way around the other side of the building. That wouldn’t normally be such a big deal, but I’d like to add that it was a blisteringly cold day with hurricane-like winds blowing in my face (and messing up my hair, which is a crime against humanity, as I’m sure you can imagine). Needless to say, I welcomed the idea of moving along to the jam-packed Corinthian Room, where the majority of the day’s events would be taking place.
Stepping through the doors, I was presented with a programme and floor plan, and quickly acclimatised myself to the surroundings. The SEGA stand was nearby, so my first taste of gaming at the show was a quick match against the CPU on the Xbox 360 version of SEGA Superstar Tennis. Selecting Sonic, I was matched up against Samba De Amigo, who promptly proceeded to kick my proverbial ass. Maybe it was just me and I totally, totally suck, but I found the controls to be a touch on the unresponsive side, and Sonic seemed to ‘float’ around the court with twitchy movement, making it extremely difficult to return the ball and nigh on impossible to get rallies going. I’m happy to give it the benefit of the doubt, though, as I am pretty famed for being useless at sports titles. On the plus side, it’s good to see that gameplay isn’t gimmicky at all. Think the original N64 Mario Tennis, as opposed to the power-up heavy Mario Power Tennis on the GC.
Swiftly moving over to Ubisoft’s Xbox 360 Rainbow Six Vegas 2 stand, I joined in a multiplayer session, which appeared to be run on an intranet server. The mode of play was your standard Deathmatch, which meant I didn’t really get a chance to check out any of the cool new features the game employs over RSV1. In keeping with the strong visual flair of the first Vegas title, the environments look very nice, and the Convention Room map that was on offer provided some great terrain, mixing tight corridors with massive multi-tiered floors and plenty of hiding places. My favorite room was definitely the room that I shall name the “Projector Room”, which featured a huge moving wall projection. That might not seem particularly special on its own, but in the middle of a dogfight, it’s extremely disconcerting, as you accidentally fire off bullets at the moving picture, thinking it’s an enemy, thus giving away your position. Yeah, I died more than a few times on that one!
The Activision exhibition caught my eye next, and I just about dived at the one remaining free demo pod for LEGO Indiana Jones on the 360. A representative was on hand to chat to me about the progress of the game, and was hasty to point out that the demo version on offer was merely the alpha build, and so I was told to expect a few glitches and the like. With that in mind, I was suitably impressed; for an alpha build, it seemed very together and actually quite polished. Of course, using the same engine as the LEGO Star Wars titles, you’d expect developer Traveller’s Tales to be fairly familiar with the technology by now. Still, it’s very promising to see it looking so good this early.
For those wondering, the game still retains the strong sense of humor that made the Star Wars games so charming. For instance, in the opening cutscene for the first level, Indie is walking around, vehemently studying a map, with his posse behind him, when a tribesman pops up from behind a bush and shoots a dart out of a blowpipe at our hero. Still with his head in the map, however, Jones merely bends forward and carries on as normal, sending the dart whizzing overhead to take out one of his comrades behind. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek and is a joy to play. One aspect of the game that feels very intuitive and is a blast to mess around with is Indiana’s whip, which you can use to cling onto branches during a jump, allowing you to swing and thus propel you forward a lot further than a regular jump. As well as combat, it appears that the whip will come into play for a few puzzles, such as grappling onto a hook to pull down a trapdoor in a very early section.
I asked the Activision rep about the Wii version of the game, and he was happy to oblige, telling me that development is coming along very nicely. Aside from the slight downgrade in visuals (it will lose the ‘sheen’ that the 360/PS3 character models carry), all versions will be near identical. Having said that, the Wii title has the bonus of added Wii-remote functionality, which is still being implemented and could be added to. At present, however, Indiana’s whip can be activated with a sharp thrashing of the remote, and you’ll build the LEGO pieces together by vigorously shaking the remote up and down for a brief period of time.
I got a brief glimpse of the game’s central hub, which is set inside a big mansion. Once the various levels have been opened up, you can approach the 3 big maps hanging on the walls, each map representing a different Indiana Jones film. Load times are cleverly disguised by tracing Indiana’s journey on the map to the location you’ve selected. Having said that, the load times were noticeably a little lengthy, although again this comes down to the matter of it being an alpha build. Overall, I was very impressed with LEGO Indiana Jones, and certainly look forward to its projected June release, which it is currently still on target for.
It’s worth pointing out here that the event was very Xbox 360-heavy, as you may have noticed from this report. Nintendo were hardly represented at all, with two Wii stations set up in the THQ stand with Battle of the Bands and DeBlob (neither of which I was able to try) and a small smattering of DS demos, such as Mario & Sonic at the Olympics at the SEGA stand and MySims by EA (which has been out since the summer, so a demo here was questionable). Being a self-professed Nintendophile, it felt odd to have a whole day of gaming and not pick up a single Wii remote. Sony were fairly represented, but it was the 360 in the clear majority. For those that don’t know, one of the founding partners in the multi-million pound refurbishment of Wembley Stadium is Microsoft, so it kinda makes sense in that respect.
Next, I sprinted over to the Capcom suite, and was disappointed to find that both Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 were only shown in video format, alongside Bionic Commando and Dark Void. Playable versions of Lost Planet and Devil May Cry 4 were available on PS3, but this didn’t really interest me as I’ve already played both.
Ubisoft had another station upstairs, dedicated solely to the PS3’s Haze, which was drawing crowds all day. After queuing for a good while, I finally got a chance to sit down with the game for around 10 minutes, and I definitely liked what I saw. The title is extremely Halo-esque, and I guess it’s a matter of opinion whether you take that as a bad thing or not. Whatever the case, it works very well. It wasn’t clear how far along the build was, but I didn’t detect any bugs or glitches, so it’s likely a near final version. Graphically, Haze is a sight to behold, with lush environments and some nice textures, plus stunning lighting effects, which is especially evident when trawling through an area of undergrowth, with the sun peeking through a canopy of trees overhead, casting shadows on your team-mates faces.
If I were forced to make a criticism, I would pick out the faces themselves of your fellow troops. Whilst the bodies of your comrades are set firmly in realism, the faces retain a slight stylised/cartoonish look to them that developer Free Radical are known for. That seems to be how Free Radical like to do things, but the fact of the matter is that it looks a touch jarring, as you expect the faces to be more detailed. In the scheme of things, however, that’s a very minor nitpick, and is completely overshadowed by how much personality each of your team members have. I made the Halo reference earlier, but in regards to this aspect, that is totally unfair, as Haze has a much stronger sense of character, blowing anything Halo did out of the water. There was a definite Gears of War vibe as one of your sidekicks unleashes a frenzy of bullets on your enemies, all the way spouting off a pretty humorous rap about how much ass he’s kicking. Each character is well defined, and within 5 minutes I’d gotten a sense of where each member fits in the team, and what their personality is like. The leader of the group has a particularly poignant speech after one mission, drilling in the point that you can’t save everyone, so you better forget all those ideas about being a hero. This comes shortly after an unsuccessful attempt to rescue an injured pilot, and is really quite touching, as it dawns on you that despite all the guns and armor and special capabilities, you’re just a pawn in a bigger battle. The dialogue is extremely well written; Haze is clearly very story-driven, meaning that you’ll hastily immerse yourself in the game world and won’t want to come out again until it’s all over.
The driving sections were exceptionally reminiscent of the Halo series; it probably didn’t help that the buggy your team commandeer looks exactly like a chunky version of a Warthog. The difference here, however, is that up to 3 team-mates can join you in the vehicle. In my playtest, I drove the buggy, whilst one member took the rear gunner position, another joined me in the passenger seat with his rifle armed, and another crouched down on a little step on the side of the vehicle, holding onto the frame with one arm, leaving his free arm to wave his gun around. What followed was a fun jaunt through a canyon as I sought out the exit, all the while my team-mates dealt with the goons that got in our way (well…the ones I didn’t run over, at least). This carried on until our buggy was forced into a compact warehouse, where my reckless driving led to us ploughing headlong into a bunch of explosives that had been set up by the enemy. Needless to say, we all blew up in spectacular fashion, and I noted some pretty cool ragdoll physics as my crew were literally blown out of the moving vehicle, limbs flailing in the air as they met their untimely end. At this point, my play session came to an end, and the joypad had to be just about prised from my fingers. Despite the sense of “I’m sure I’ve seen this somewhere before” that hangs around you as you play, Haze is definitely a strong title, and one to watch as we work towards its May launch.
After such frivolities, it was time for a quick bite to eat. Wembley do darn good hot dogs, I’ll tell you that!
Sony’s stand comprised of 5 pods, decked out like the inside of a racecar, with demos of GT5 Prologue inside, which evidently turned out to be very popular, as I didn’t get a chance to play it all day. What I saw looked good, though. Being a Nintendo guy, I don’t know the Gran Turismo series well enough to say where any improvements lie, and it’s obviously hard to tell anything from watching others play it, but as I said, it drew crowds all day long, so it must be doing something right. Elsewhere on the stand, a video of LittleBigPlanet was on a loop, which was again a disappointment as this was one of the titles that was expected to be playable. I didn’t catch anything new in the trailer, but it nonetheless never ceases to impress. Seriously, it was one of the prettiest games at the show.
After that, I stopped to watch one of the bands for a short while, You And Me At Six. I’d never heard them before, but they had a good set and the crowd seemed to be into them.
Following that brief interlude, it was back to the gaming! Next to the Rainbow Six Vegas 2 set up, 8 HD TVs were stationed with comfy stools positioned around them, all containing playable demos of Soul Calibur IV on the Xbox 360. I queued for a little while before a seat freed up, where I was matched with a 13-year-old kid. A walk in the park, right? Actually, the son of a bi…*cough* the lovely young man nearly had me beat until I whipped out a devastating combo, ending in a throw that knocked him off the stage, giving me the Ring Out victory. I was approached by one of the Ubisoft representatives, who said that my performance was apparently worthy of a “golden ticket”, which meant that I had been entered into a 16-man Soul Calibur IV tournament, with the winner walking away with a mighty fine Dodge Nitro. High stakes indeed! The tournament took place later in the afternoon, and I made it into the quarter-finals (yeah, OK, I was knocked out in the second round, but quarter-finals sounds much better!) before graciously losing to some guy who was quite clearly a robot, as he was just unstoppable. Alas, the Dodge Nitro evades me once again…
As for the game itself, only Mitsurugi and Cassandra were playable (Boo! I wanted to see Yoda!), and I controlled Cassandra for my bouts. To be honest, I didn’t notice anything dramatically different over past Calibur titles. I still play Soul Calibur II on the Gamecube to this day, and honestly, I didn’t see anything new, save for the visual coat of paint. One could argue the whole “if it ain’t broke…” thing, which is reasonable, as it’s still undoubtedly a great fighting game. I guess the online play is a big factor in the finished game’s appeal, which I didn’t get to try. No sign of the “finishing moves” that are apparently tucked away either. As I said, it’s still a good fighting system, but whether or not it has enough to appeal to anyone other than diehard Soul Calibur fans remains to be seen.
It was at this point that I realised I had no chance of getting to play Rockband, which was a definite downer. The reps only seemed to be taking groups that came to the event together, and as I was there by my lonesome, it was looking unlikely that I’d get a shot at testing the game out for myself. Not to mention the fact that the queues were HUMONGOUS! Rockband was easily the star attraction of the show, and it’s easy to see why; the game simply radiates the word ‘FUN.’ We all know how awesome the Guitar Hero series is, especially in multiplayer, and Rockband is the same idea, but on steroids. The players who did get a go were clearly having an absolute blast, and their sense of pride when everything synchs up is plain to see. As a multiplayer offering, Rockband is going to take over the world.
It was fast approaching 4pm, and with 2 hours to go until doors closed I realised that there was still an entire floor unexplored. Much of this floor was dedicated to entertainment companies such as SanDisk, Blu Ray and Warner Bros, and had nothing in the way of gaming-related goodness. Then…THEN I saw the sign. “Far Cry 2 - THIS WAY!” It was like a choir of angels singing in my head. I zoned out from the rest of the room and headed straight for the Far Cry 2 suite, joining the loooooong snaking queue. 30 minutes later, I was permitted into a darkened, curtained-off room, where Far Cry 2 was unveiled to me. My thoughts? You’re going to have to wait for the full preview I’m afraid, which should be up on Wednesday. Oh I’m such a tease! Suffice to say, it’s looking phenomenal.
I needed a coffee after such exhilaration, so I bought one and then went for a chill out in the Over 18s Area. So there I am, walking around, checking out what’s on offer, passing the stations for Assassin’s Creed and Devil May Cry 4 (on 360 this time) when suddenly, out of the blue, I am confronted by a sole demo pod for Condemned 2. It was literally tucked away amongst multiplayer demos of Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, so I’m betting a fair few people missed out on this one. If that is the case, that is truly a crying shame, as Monolith clearly have a winner on their hands with this one. Now, bear in mind that I’ve only spent limited time with the original, but this has all the makings of following in its footsteps as a terrific (and terrifying!) first-person experience.
For starters, the survival-horror aspect looks to have been ramped up, and let me tell you, even with the sound muted it is still incredibly atmospheric (read: I nearly pooped my pants). This is mostly due to the graphical style, which has a coarse and grainy edge to it. The section I played was the second mission, I believe, which sends you into a derelict, decaying house alongside your SCU buddies. In a nice touch, prior to entering the building, the squad leader takes a quick jibe at Ethan (that’s you, by the way), warning him not to “fuck things up just cos you’re a drunk.” Ethan may be armed with a gun (throughout the first portion of the level, at least), but that doesn’t help conquer the sense of dread that plagues you as your thin flashlight beam searches for whatever nasties lie in wait for you. I met precisely two disfigured zombie-like mutants during the level, and the tension leading up to these meetings is palpable. At each turn of a door handle or tiptoe round a corner, you expect something to leap out at you…and yet it seemingly never does, until you begin to get complacent, at which point “YAAAAAARGH WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!” is a commonly uttered phrase. Monolith
It’s especially disconcerting when your beam of light only picks up a tiny bit of movement; you know that something is RIGHT THERE, and you furiously scan the area until the thing lurches at you from the darkness. Scary stuff indeed! My playtime ended as Ethan gets cut off from his team-mates after falling down an elevator shaft, during which he manages to lose his gun. Uh-oh. Time to ramp up the scare-factor! Condemned 2 is out now and gets a high recommendation from me.
Army of Two was the next title to catch my eye, and I tested out the PS3 iteration. I wasn’t quite so keen on the AI commands to be honest; the AI simply didn’t seem all that intelligent, getting caught up and running into gunfire. When the entire game is based around the concept of you working with a CPU team-mate, this can be troublesome. To be fair, the game’s main selling point is the co-op play, so it’s perhaps a little harsh to just judge the single player. I could see the game getting a little repetitive, with the same criticisms levied at it as Gears of War, which also suffered from the run-cover-shoot-repeat gameplay tactics. Having said that, I only played the training mission and first level, so it’s hard to tell how much changes in the later stages of the game. Graphically, it’s hard to fault, especially the outstanding character models. If anything, the presentation is brought down by a clunky interface and cumbersome controls, which I found pretty difficult to get accustomed to. Army of Two is now available, and is worth a look if you’ll be spending the majority of your time in co-op with real human players.
Shortly after exiting the Over 18s area, the band We Are Scientists took centre stage for the final act of the day. I was only half paying attention, as there was one more stand I had yet to get to, but the 5-song set was very strong, mixing the classics that everyone love from their debut album, whilst giving a preview of their new album that has just been released in stores, entitled “Brain Thrust Mastery.”
I passed through the Square-Enix stand, which unfortunately was just a reel of video footage from titles such as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates, FFVII: Crisis Core, The World Ends With You, Dragon Quest Swords and more, all of which we’d seen before. Nothing to see here people, move along!
With under half an hour to spare, I made it to the Sierra booth, where discontent struck once again, as I found that both Ghostbusters and Prototype were only shown in video format. Ghostbusters in particular was hyped as one of the main attractions for the show, and the press release even mentioned that Sierra would be “shown for the very first time,” so this was frustrating. However, the saving grace was right around the corner; The Bourne Conspiracy, for Xbox 360. I’d seen it in the distance periodically throughout the day, and there were masses of people queuing up to get their hands on it at all times. At this point, however, it seemed that all eyes were on We Are Scientists, giving me free reign for a 20 minute+ session with Jason Bourne. Allow me to say right now that it is FANTASTIC. But to find out more, you’ll have to tune in tomorrow for my exclusive hands-on preview!
And that brings us to the end of the day! One final glaring omission from the day was Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, which was absent save for a large piece of artwork by the Activision stand. Play.com had warned that exhibitors and all content were subject to change, but it was disappointing to see quite a few of the big names not appear in the capacity in which they were advertised. Nevertheless, it was an incredibly enjoyable day, and a very successful event overall, showcasing some top quality games that will rock your socks throughout 2008, including Haze, Far Cry 2, Rockband, Condemned 2 and The Bourne Conspiracy. The gate was obviously a success as well, as the event hosts confirmed that Play.com LIVE would be back next year.
Many thanks for reading, and please remember to check back with us here at 411 Games over the next few days for exclusive previews of Far Cry 2 and The Bourne Conspiracy, as well as your usual dose of Nintendophiles this Thursday!
