XBOX Event Report

Originally posted on D-Pad.co.uk

Microsoft brought E3 to a hidden corner of West London.

The company invited a select group of gamers and journalists to get hands-on with titles first previewed at last month's E3. I managed to wrangle myself itself an invite; here are some thoughts on the day:

Not announced beforehand, FIFA 15 made a surprise appearance at the event. A new feature touted by EA is Emotional Intelligence. Whenever players miss a shot, or a decision doesn't go their way, they are considerably more animated than before. But the issue of the 'dead eyes' persists. Other than that, the game looked great (the pitch degenerated through the match) and played superbly. Two new tactical options have been added on the side of Ultra Defensive and Ultra Offensive: Park The Bus and All-Out Attack, respectively. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to test out All-Out Attack, but Park The Bus is precisely just that. My entire midfield line raced back to the penalty box when I moved that slider all the way left.

Sunset Overdrive was the event's showpiece, with most of the screens in the room dedicated to Insomniac Games first Xbox title. What immediately stood out about Overdrive was the vivid colours. There wasn't a grey or black in sight. I was having so much fun blowing stuff up with the plethora of weapons on offer that I had to be reminded by an Insomniac employee on the objectives to be completed. Believe the hype.

Forza Horizon 2 continues to attempt to fill the hole left by Project Gotham Racing. Being quite rusty with the racing genre, I hit the curb once or twice (or fifty times). A neat addition for terrible drivers like myself is the rewind feature which allows you to turn back time and skid into a different hay bale.

The game that attracted the most attention was Evolve. The co-op FPS from the creators of Left 4 Dead garnered many awards at E3, including "Best of Show", and It was not hard to see why. Evolve is a five-player co-op game. One player plays as the monster whose role is to avoid the four others who seek to stop him. The beast gradually evolves (hence the title) throughout the game, with three levels in all. Expect the phrase "This isn't even my final form" to be uttered frequently. Playing as one of the chasing squad, I felt like a part of a sci-fi thriller. Eventually, we killed the monster just before it almost wiped out our entire squad. Evolve will be one to watch.

Fable Legends also implements the same four-versus-one concept as Evolve, but the two games are miles apart in terms of quality. The controls were muddled, and attacks didn't hit solidly. Granted, this was an early demo, but every other game on show is scheduled for release in a similar timeframe and didn't look as shoddy. It's time for Lionhead to leave Albion and create a game that is not Fable.

Assassin's Creed Unity and Halo: The Master Chief Collection were at the event but not playable to the public. The fellow demoing The Master Chief Collection for us displayed Halo 2 Anniversary's split-second toggling between the old and new visuals of the original Xbox title. This game is packed with features and will undoubtedly delight Halo fans.

Also on show was Alien Isolation and four ID@XBOX titles.

The Quest for Prestige

Activision arranged an unprecedented giveaway at this year's Eurogamer Expo: The first 500 people to play Call Of Duty: Ghosts would receive a free Prestige Edition of the game.

Every major video game comes in three flavours these days: The Standard Edition, which is just the game with no added extras. Decked out with a unique cover and/or extra in-game content is the Special Edition. And then there's the Collectors Edition or, as it's known to COD fans: the Prestige Edition. The Prestige Edition retails at £180 and includes everything in the Special Edition but with one lavish extra. For example, 2012's Black Ops 2 came with an RC Drone. This year's Prestige Edition is packaged with a 1080p HD camera.

I couldn't pass up this opportunity; I had to go. It didn't matter that I hardly play COD and have a negative K/D ratio, but they were giving away A FREE PRESTIGE EDITION.

Due to a bad sleeping pattern and paranoia, I arrived at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre at 6 am; doors weren't scheduled to be opened until 11 am. Despite being obscenely early, I wasn't alone. There were already 100 people in line; the guy at the front of the queue had been there since 8 pm the previous day. My friends arrived an hour later. The atmosphere was jovial with a hint of apprehension; no staff was present to maintain the queue. It became clear early on that I wasn't among hardcore COD fans; "I'm putting mine on eBay!" said one man.

At around 8 am, the crowd was ushered from the right side of the building to the left. An uppity security guard - with shoulder-length brown hair resembling a certain biblical figure - took the Call of Duty theme too seriously; "If you listen to me, we'll all get through this safely!" said Army Jesus.

A few minutes after the guard had finished preaching, the staff allowed us to enter the building. We collected our passes and headed for the turnstiles; the staff halted us and directed everyone to the stairs below. It was 9 am and only authorized personnel was allowed into the hall; we were stuck in the basement.

The queue had disintegrated; hundreds of men and scarcely few women were jammed into this tiny area. Press members and staff would walk by, bemused, disgusted, and intrigued by this mob. Some would snap photos, instructing us to wave and yelp for the camera. "You guys really love Call of Duty, eh?" asked an amused press member. The crowd collectively shrugged.

Thirty minutes before opening time, we emerged from the basement into the foyer. Loud, ominous stamping could be heard from the back. A few moments before the Expo was to open to the public; we were finally allowed to stand in the main hall. Only a steel barrier separated us. Army Jesus arose, "Okay, people! I want a nice and orderly entrance." The crowd chuckled. He outstretched his hands and motioned to the two entrance points. The salivating crowd drowned out Army Jesus's sermon. I was jostled by the ravenous mob behind me. The hours of waiting and endless queues had turned the playful bunch from earlier into freebie obsessed monsters.

A staff member let the first in line enter; it was then when all hell broke loose. The barriers slapped the floor; a storm descended onto the Exhibition Centre, an 50" TV was flung aside like a copy of Battlefield, rucksacks flew with wild abandonment. The staff pleaded for order in vain.

My eyes darted left and right; I had lost sight of my friends a few queues back. Bodies flew past while I tried to ascertain where the booth was. I spotted a familiar silhouette: A man with a gun. That must be the Call of Duty booth! I dashed straight to it. The queue formed fast. I quickly claimed my spot.

I lagged a couple of seconds; I couldn't be sure if there were 500 people ahead of me. A man in an official Ghosts T-shirt shuffled down the line handing a piece of card. He approached me with the card. I grabbed it. This was it. It confirmed that I was #Oneof500. All those hours, all those queues, the basement, Army Jesus. It was over...almost. I just had to queue for another hour to play the game.

The magic ticket

It was 11 am. I had just finished a second game of COD Ghosts on an Xbox One (the controller felt unsatisfyingly light). I approached the redeem station, entered in my details; it was done. Finally, I had the rest of the convention to enjoy. Unfortunately, my sleep-deprived body couldn't handle a post office queue (although those are pretty brutal). I made a few rotations of the convention before heading home. Battered. Bruised. Alive.

I later sold my Prestige Edition on eBay.