I'm just back from Games Market Europe, the rather ponderously titled new UK event for the games industry. With only 35 exhibitors and a large percentage of the floor plan taken up by a bar, it's clear that networking, not flashy stands, was GME's focus. But thankfully there were some new games on show that made the heat – the show was held under the glass roof of Islington's Business Design Centre – more bearable. The pick was probably Ubisoft's King Kong. A 30 minute play on this was enough to appreciate the lush forest atmosphere which made whacking at dinosaurs with a spear all the more enjoyable. A level where you control Kong was also playable and the overall impression was positive – this could be that rare thing, a decent film tie-in.
Elsewhere FIFA 06 was pleasantly surprising. The game still lacked the exquisite player control and accurate ball movement of Pro Evo, but FIFA 06 felt much more rounded than previous incarnations. The pace seemed to have been upped from last year with the ball zipping around in a more satisfying manner. As you'd expect, the presentation was spot on – despite the ugly sisters on the packshot – and the package as a whole seemed to offer more. There was an amusing retro section with a playable version of FIFA 94, while the management elements looked even more prevalent this time round. I say look because, as is normal at games events, the queue to get on the game meant a closer look at these sections was impossible. Perhaps most telling of all though, was the option to map Pro Evo's controls to the game – EA Canada's final acknowledgment that Pro Evo is the benchmark.
Elsewhere the pickings were slim. The new EA Bond, From Russia With Love, crashed before I could get a proper look, but if the thought of Sean Connery with a machine gun doesn't put you off then this looked solid enough. The Nintendogs demo showed off the cute n' quirky canine action, but whether anyone older than 12 will actually play it in public remains to be seen. Eidos/SCi/whatever were showing some stuff, including the rather amusing Total Overdose. Amusing, mainly because the game is so utterly shameless in its "influences". So we get a GTA-style free roaming environment, Max Payne slo-mo shooting and a Sands of Time rewind time function. However, a quick go suggested this could be decent post-pub entertainment.
As an event GME is clearly a stopgap until the political wrangling which prevented a real successor to ECTS has been sorted. The low key atmosphere and relatively sparse attendance were a shame considering the imminent launches of PSP and Xbox 360. But as a place to gossip and grab a go on some pre-Christmas titles it was worth the journey.
