GAME1 Melbourne

Game Event from AJ - Monday, 20 November 2006 @ 12:00am

So, about that Game1 thing. The Australian Gamer booth was without a doubt the highlight of the event, or so we’re told. We had an SNES with no power supply, a Megadrive with no video cable and only one controller, a TV with no remote control and a booth with nothing to sell or show off. But we had Mario Kart, Beanbags and Lollies. That should give you an indication of how exciting Game1 was as an expo. Truth be known it wasn’t all that bad if you’re a competitive gamer. There was actually a marathon 36 hour gaming tournament going on in the background, but unless you were in the tournament or watching the finals on the big screen, it wouldn’t have held your interest for long.

---

Assuming you weren’t going to Game1 for the gaming tournament, you would’ve gone with the hope of seeing some big names like Gears of War, Lost Planet, Spore, Gran Turismo, PS3, Mario Galaxy or even maybe a little bit about Halo 3. Instead what you had was a long list of already released titles with the odd gem like the Nintendo Wii or Guitar Hero 2 thrown in. I don’t know whether the publishers are holding out for eGames later in the month, but it was a pretty poor showing from most parts. With the exception of titles from Activision and Nintendo, every title on display was available before the expo or at the latest available this week. THQ (who also look after Sega) were highlighting Destroy All Humans 2 which came out last month and Saints Row which was available a long time ago, but eagerly awaited titles like Lost Planet were strangely absent. Even stranger was the fact that Ubisoft (flying under the banner of Xbox 360) were only showing off the Demo of Rainbow Six even though the game is released next week and everyone who is anyone has already played the demo at home courtesy of the Xbox Live Marketplace. On the same stand we had the Xbox ute showing off such titles as PGR3, Dead or Alive 4, FIFA 07… again, all available in most players lounge rooms. EA were also there pushing the NFS:Carbon cart and showing off titles like Fight Night and NBA 07, but no sign of Spore, Cricket 07 or any other upcoming title.

If it weren’t for Nintendo and Activision, nearly every game playable at Game1 you could try down at your local EB or K-mart, but without the crowds. The timing couldn’t be better for these two with Activision’s Tony Hawk Project 8, Call of Duty 3, Guitar Hero 2 and World Series of Poker all getting a lot of attention with releases in the coming month. Similarly, Nintendo were there pushing the upcoming Wii consoles in all their clean white clothing, another big draw card. Local developer Auran drew the short straw with their awesome title 'Fury' being set up next door to Nintendo facing the opposite direction. A fantastic game that really should've been given a better position in the expo. Hopefully, for the Sydney event and the upcoming eGames they will get a better position.

---

So other than that there were dancing girls, “free stuff” and more scantily clad females than really should be present at a gaming tournament. But I guess that is the upside of the event tagging along with Auto Salon. Speaking of Auto Salon, if you came along to Game1 without having a looking at Auto Salon you really missed out. Although they are not my style, you can really appreciate the paint jobs, the body mods and the in your face attitude on display at Auto Salon… and that’s just the models! If you’re in Sydney and want to pop down next month for the Sydney event, it is worth the effort if you’re into games AND cars or games and girls… one or the other.

Back to the games again! The highlight of Game1 was easily Activision’s Guitar Hero 2 and the Nintendo Wii. Both booths were always busy and there was always a wait to get hands on with either of these. I might say it didn’t help the situation when you have the same two guys queuing up again and again to show off their l33t Guitar Hero skillz. Yeah we’re sure that you can play Freebird on Expert, but guess what… we don’t want to stand here for 7 minutes at a time while you try ok? And for god sake, if you’re gonna play co-op with someone who has never played Guitar Hero before don’t pick the hardest song possible. Yes we know that this version has individual difficulty settings, but even on easy Psychobilly Freakout isn’t the easiest track for a beginner to start on. Yes, you will fail if you play co-op mode because the 6 year old you’re playing with doesn’t know that you tilt the guitar to use Star Power, he’s just trying to have a bit of fun like the rest of us, choose an easier song. And, if you don’t like it, piss off outside and play with your free Samsung Frisbee you asshat. Don’t be a wanker, you’re not a real guitarist and you won’t look like one no matter how far about your legs are when you play Guitar Hero. Yes, I’m talking to you, you little try-hard Brit punk hobbit!! And if you’re camped in front of the Activision stand again at eGames I will jam the plastic Gibson SG fair up your arse and you’ll be using the whammy bar to shit like a soft serve machine!! Try playing Freebird then moron!

Where was I… oh yeah.. Guitar Hero 2 is fantastic and I can’t wait till I pick up my copy next week. Ahem.

---

Alongside the Activision stand was the Nintendo Wii. There was always a long wait to get hands on, but it was well worth the wait each time. There were 4 Wii (what is the plural of Wii?) setup playing titles including Zelda, Wii Sports, Wii Play, Wari Ware and Excite Truck. No Mario Galaxy or Rayman unfortunately, but the titles that were there were an absolute hoot. Initially the controller does take a bit to get used to as it is far more sensitive than you’d expect, but once you’re used to the movement it becomes extremely fun. It remains to be seen how long the novelty lasts for before Excite Truck becomes “just another racing game”. At the moment I can see a lot of “mini games” arriving, and a lot of games that are just remakes of existing genres with a new control method. Neither of these groups will continue to hold interest for most gamers. It won’t be until games being to arrive which take full advantage of the controller that we’ll begin to see real value in this console. Nintendo obviously consider the DS a good experiment.

Other than the big names there were a few locals showing their face; Auran (makers of Fury), GameOn Xbox lounge from Sydney, GamesHorde game rentals, our new friends at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment looked extremely bored but gave us lollies, and Irrational were there showing off the amazing Bioshock. It would be pretty easy to dismiss Game1 if you were only looking for the AAA titles, but strangely the lack of AAA games gave many folks a chance to look at some gear that they’d probably ordinarily not look at. Let’s face it, the Australian Gamer booth would’ve been pretty damned empty if Halo and the PS3 made an appearance!

---