I’m on my way home as I type, so it gives me the perfect time to type up what’s happened. This won’t be posted until I get home, as my mobile phone is dead, which means I don’t have a signal to jack on to, to access my blog suite.
First off, I have to make a comparison to Anime Boston. This was tiny compared to AB. Where AB took an entire convention centre up, MCM took up four rooms; two of which were just registration areas. To be honest, it was basically a couple of tiny cordoned off areas for both the panels and the cosplay, and the rest was just one big dealer’s room; the artists were put in there as well, and it felt rather rushed. Considering how long they have had to put it together, I was a little disappointed. But this is coming from someone who went fo a full convention recently; people who have only known MCM Expo will no doubt say it was awesome, and it was. Just not as awesome as AB was, Ashley’s cigarette breaks (at what felt like was every half hour ;] ) and all. But was it worth spending a few hours on a train for? Heck yes.
All this Gundam, and ONE Armored Core Kit!? COME ON!
The place was absolutely bursting. The main reason I didn’t get much video footage was that I couldn’t get a steady shot; I kept getting jostled down the current of people, and I almost ended up dropping my camcorder. I’m glad the person who did that was a cosplayer, and quite frankly, a hot one at that. Otherwise I would’ve gotten angry. I got a couple of shots, but that’s it.
Photos I did a bit better with. Once again, a steady shot was hard to come by. But at the same time, the image stabilisation on the camcorder made it much easier to get a decent shot. The automatic focussing put a few shots out of focus though, although you could see what was happening quite easily.
Onto what I actually did at the Expo, I will admit that a whole lot didn’t actually interest me. Once again it broadened my horizons, but at the same time I found myself having to deliberately search for something in order to get anywhere close to where it was. The main problem with the event was organisation. There wasn’t even a plan available of the rooms and what was happening. No timetable, no nothing. The £13/£17 seemed to go nowhere but into MCM’s pocket, as the stall holders were no doubt paying for the space at premium rates.
"...What, like a Puma?"
Back on topic, I played Tekken 6, Left4Dead 2 and Bayonetta. Tekken just felt like Tekken, which is a bland statement coming from someone who hasn’t played a beat-em-up on the Playstation platform since Tekken Tag Tournament. I played as Lee, and I did pretty well against someone who actually owns the game. I lost 2-3 with the opponent playing as Jin with a quarter of his health left. Speaking of, I got played; someone showed me a sign that said “THE GAME”. I replied “Damnit!” and they laughed. Almost as much as I did when I showed Ashley The Game.
Left4Dead 2 had a dedicated ‘Vault’, and I’ll admit it looked the part. But the queue was at least an hour long. The deal was that you played for five minutes, and then handed it off to someone else until the first Chapter of the first campaign was finished, then it restarted. To be honest, I actually found the game bland, at least compared to the revolution that was it’s predecessor. They didn’t link together the four consoles to play as a group, nor did they allow enough time to play in order to get a decent idea of it. To put it bluntly, it felt more like L4D 1.5 than L4D 2. There was a drop in framerate, the Infected looked bad, and they were still using the E3 code despite how the game is only a few weeks from release. People who liked Left4Dead will like Left4Dead 2. I liked it, but it was just more of the same. When it falls in price, maybe I’ll get it.
The Left4Dead 'Vault'. Took a lot of room for four players.
Bayonetta was the last game I played, and I have to agree with what other people were saying; it’s Devil May Cry, but faster. The character model is insane(ly gorgeous), and the combat was modular enough for anyone to grasp it. However, it’s one of those games that just does not work in a convention/expo environment. It has to be played at home; the graphics and sound are just too good to be appreciated standing up, after waiting in a line for half an hour in order to play it. Will I buy it? Probably.
The SEGA Bayonetta Stand
What am I bringing home with me? As I said, there was no goodie bag, map or anything of the like. It was sorely missed, as I’m sure it compares with price to Anime Boston. So, after signing up for Train2Game, I’m a bit short on cash and stayed reserved. I bought .hack//G.U.+ Vol 5, as Amazon don’t seem to keep many of them in stock, and I got an Armored Core Delta Ver. construction kit. I can’t wait to dig into it, but I know I’ll have to be patient and at least wait until the move of the wardrobes and bed is done on Tuesday.
Next up is the EuroGamer Expo. Since it’s a finite amount of tickets for the event, unlike MCM, it shouldn’t be as crowded. And I’m still in as Press. Booya.
KAECY.US is the freshly resurrected blog of Allan 'Kaecyus' Bowden-Smith; an Aion nut with too much time on his hands. 
