As we wandered around gaining our bearings, we stumbled across a little game called Rage. With around 50 TV screens, id Software had one of the largest stalls at EuroGamer this year. The level I played was in an abandoned and destroyed hotel which was crawling with charging orc type enemies. The first thing that struck me was that the much applauded graphics didn't seem to be all they are hyped up to be. Yes it runs smoothly and even in the more chaotic scenes there was not one shudder, but the textures seemed slightly flat and the particle effects average. However, you cant judge a game by its graphics! The gameplay was smooth and the weapons were great fun, likewise, the driving sections fitted in well and vehicles handled realistically. Whilst it was only a short 10 minute experience, Rage, for some reason, didn't impress me. I think it may have been the disappointing visuals, but we can decide the final game when it is released on October 7th.
After Rage we continued to wander where I found a spare seat for Uncharted 3 online but this time in 3D. The 3D worked well as a novelty but I cant really see it working as a main gimmick, especially in multiplayer which requires less admiring and more action. Behind Uncharted (which Sony was pushing extremely hard) was a little indie game by thatgamecompany, the creators of PSN classics like Flower and Flo. It was called Journey and followed a little mysterious figure wandering through a large, shape shifting desert. The experience was pristine and you were taken away from the crowds as you wandered carelessly as a cloud. One to keep an eye on I'm sure.
Whilst we considered whether to queue for Skyrim or Batman which were. by far, the most popular games at EuroGamer (both had a queue over an hour long), we popped into the indie section. If you could fight of the pungent smell of sweat and energy drinks, you could find a couple of real gems within the barrage of little downloadable games. There were a few hit and miss such as a Minecraft copy but with dots to make up the graphics and a tedious puzzle game involving hearts, but overall the quality was outstanding. The inclusion of the front facing camera from an Ipad 2 meant that one game had you tilting your hands to guide sand into a box. These beautiful, intuitive, new ways of playing made the future look bright for indie developers. On a similar note, Hello Games were there with their amazing Joe Danger 2. I don't really know what else I can say about that apart from, its another Joe Danger game!
So, after an hour and a half of chilling and relaxing, we decided to step up ante. Although the queue for the PS Vita was an hour long, we dived in and stood there patiently, drooling at the sight of Sony's new handheld. Compared to the other demo's at EuroGamer, PS Vita gave you a 10 minute session with a helper who guided and explained the device in great depth. They were really friendly and made you feel at ease with the new device. The first thing that struck me was how light the device is. it must have weighed around 20 grams, without the 40 gram battery that is. Much like the iPhone 4 though, it is light but feels sturdy in your hands and sits well, resulting in a natural holding position which, after the arm bending 3DS, is a miracle. I got to play WipeOut which beautifully showcased the 5 inch OLED screen which produced strong and vibrant colours that could stand tall next to Apple's retina display. The back touchpad works really well as your fingers fall there naturally, I hope developers use the touchapd as it really could add some true innovations to handheld gaming. Whilst the Vita blew my mind, the one little niggle i had was its shoulder buttons which felt a bit clunky and didn't really 'click'. I'm sure you can get used to this, but for a console which utilises the shoulder buttons a lot, it was a bit of a shame. Overall, the Vita is a gorgeous bit of kit that is sure to succeed, I know for certain that my pre-order is going down as soon as Sony sniff at Europe! 
To help us recover from a melted face we decided to check out some of the other AAA titles, but not the really really busy ones! The first game I spotted was the rock hard Dark Souls, spiritual successor to 2010's monstrous Demon Souls. As you may know, I am not the biggest RPG fan of all time, I struggle to enjoy them and get properly involved. Because of this, I wasn't really expecting anything from Dark Souls, apart from it to be ridiculously hard. The demo lasted fro around 15 minutes but I couldn't defeat the first 'boss', a giant warthog. You may laugh, but then my friend Toran played it and, regarding that he has Platinumed Fallout 3, he couldn't beat the damn warthog either. So, to conclude then, Dark Souls looks really nice, but is so darn hard that I cant say anything else about it! To recover from the post-traumatic experience that was Dark Souls I then jumped into a quick Team Deathmatch on Assassins Creed Revelations which was pleasantly surprising with bold visuals and the most tense online component that I have ever played. 
James :)
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