I was first tipped off that this week may not go according to plan when I realised (mere days before departing) that my hotel was slightly further from the convention centre than I initially thought - 5 miles to be exact. “Never mind”, I told myself. German public transportation is world class, I’ll compensate. It isn’t as it turns out (just FYI) but it still wasn’t a problem.
Having arrived at my hotel, wet, tired, and in danger of missing my first social engagement, I was stunned to find out that my laptop wouldn’t turn on! Bollocks! Whilst this only turned out to be a temporary problem (it started working again later in the week), it still scuppered my plans for daily updates and for speedy previews. Even now I’m still not quite sure what the problem is/was. A mixture of a worn-out battery and not being able to draw enough power from the mains seemed to be preventing it from booting up. Whatever.
Thankfully, the rest of the week more or less hiccup free. I wore myself out working the business centre by day, and either socialised or (when the laptop started working again) typed things up by night. My hotel tried to charge me twice for my room, and I spent too much on internet fees, but all in all it was a good trip. I was also surrounded by drunk German football fans at one point as well.
But enough of my tales of woe, you want to hear about the games, right? Well as you wait for me to write up all of the previews and interviews (some have already gone up), allow me to share with you some of my personal highlights for GamesCom 2010:
Guild Wars 2
Not only was this the best looking MMO in terms of art style and even the engine itself, but NCSoft are really trying to push the MMO envelope with this game. Dynamic events, interactive environments, the micro-transaction model… Hell, they’re even taking a page from Bioware’s book and doing character VO’s. As much as I’m looking forward to The Old Republic and even the 40k MMO, Guilds Wars 2 stole the show for me this year.
Instant Jam
This was the game that surprised me the most, although I suspect much of that was down to the fact that I didn’t really know what I was there to see. The PR guy just said I was to meet Louis Castle (which is great by itself), but when I realised he was showing off a rhythm action browser game, I was wide-eyed. This is good, and if they play their cards right this could really be a serious competitor to the Rockband/Guitar Hero franchises. My write up on this will be coming soon, so stay tuned!
Brink
I’d heard of Brink, but had never really paid much attention to it until Bethesda invited me to preview it along with a few other of their games at this year’s GamesCom.
Suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised - a sort of pseudo cops and robbers theme with some Battlefield and some Team Fortress thrown in. As an FPS, it’s looking very competent, and fun too. This is also the only game I’ve ever seen where a bunch of human players have been spawn camped, and subsequently owned, by an AI opponent.
End of Nations
Another title I’d heard about but not really followed much - the only difference being I entered the room already intrigued. An MMO RTS has been attempted in one form or another a few times over the years.
End of Nations however is the first one that’s actually looking like it’s going to be good. Graphically, it reminds me of EndWar, but there’s so much more to it in terms of gameplay. Stay tuned for our official write up, as I have a good feeling about this game.
Bioshock Infinite
I’ve never played a Bioshock game, I didn’t even know the second one was made by different people, but watching the presentation of Bioshock Infinite made me want to go play them, just to find out what all the fuss is about. Kudos, 2K, kudos.
Paradox Interactive
Well what can I say? They’re the only ones who fed me. Seriously though, a great bunch of people, some interesting games coming up if you’re a fan, and Johan Andersson was kind enough to confirm Hearts of Iron 4 to me on several occasions*.
* May or may not have been drunk, high or just plain kidding. Or all of the above.
And there you have it, a quick round up of some of my favourites this year. I know a lot of the AAA titles are missing, and don’t get me wrong they were good… but I expected them to be, you know? If they weren’t I would have been disappointed. The games above however actually surprised me, and that’s why they get a special mention.
