Eurogamer Expo 2013

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Hi!

Sarah and Laura at Eurogamer

 Last week we made our annual pilgrimage to Eurogamer Expo - at Earl's Court. This time our group had grown - as well and Myself, Nathan, Laura and Mawb - this year we were joined by Jo (Mawb's significant other ) my brother Dom, his wife Sharon and daughter Sarah. All keen or budding gamers!

We managed to find a hotel even closer to Earl's Court than last year. In fact when you stood on the front steps of the hotel you could see Earl's Court at the top of the road. The rooms were small (like last year) but the staff were always there, very friendly and would help you with anything. I think a lot of gamers were staying in the hotel - as Jo and Mawb were kept awake the first night by five likely lads enjoying vodka and singing along to Britney Spears.

The hard-core gamers among us had super-duper blue sparkly wristbands that allowed them in an hour earlier EVERY day of the Expo. The less experienced had an afternoon wristband for Thursday and a full day on Friday. We had a day off on Saturday - and packing-up duties Sunday morning!

It wasn't too busy when we first got there on the Thursday - after the fast train down from Stoke Station. After telling Sharon how interesting the Developer Sessions in the lecture theatres were - we went to the first one for The Evil Within - the latest in the Resident Evil franchise - and nearly put her off for life. It was extremely graphic and gruesome - the highlight being someone being disembowelled by a chain saw. Nice.

Lau and Sar playing Tearaway

Luckily the following day we saw a presentation on Tearaway -  a very cute game available on the PlayStation Vita. Made by the people who made Little Big Planet - it is just my kind of game. Puzzles, challenges, music, art and a story. I will have to borrow Nathan's Vita so I can buy a copy!

Cosplay!

Another interesting one is Beyond: Two Souls - which is a psychological, movie-like game where you get to live someone's life and make their decisions. it is from the people who brought us Hard Rain last year. I did play that - very badly - and got quite a traumatic ending. That's the thing with these games - everyone gets a different ending. This one looks intriguing and beautiful. it as made with real actors - Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page, who spent three years making it. The characters do look very like them. We listened to David Cage, who made it, talk about his labour of love. We are all looking forward to trying it. Hopefully I'll be able to keep my characters alive a bit longer this time!

There were a lot of people there is costumes from various games. There was a whole Cosplay (as this is known) competition running throughout the Expo - and we watched a couple of the events on stage. There were some VERY impressive outfits - there are some very talented folk out there! Nathan was particularly impressed with a chap in shades, a purple suit wielding a large purple weapon (!) from Saints Row.

I don't know enough games to recognise everyone - but they were very pretty to look at. There were also a lot of zombies around (yes - they let them in Earl's Court - no problem). Sharon got stalked by one - but managed to shake him off before she got bitten and turned into one herself! Well, I don't think she got bitten....

Visiting the Queen

On our day off, Dom and Sharon wanted to see Buckingham Place. I took them off to Hyde Park Corner on the tube and we walked through Hyde Park. It was a glorious sunny day - very warm for late September. There were tame squirrels running around and digging in the ground - oblivious to tourists taking close-up photos of them. We walked down The Mall and admired the Canada Gates outside the palace. We saw the Union Flag flying - and found out later that Prince Edward was at home.






Horseguards Parade

There were lots of people milling around - and a group of foreign film-makers in various military uniforms who seemed to be making some kind of movie outside the gates. We watched for a while and tried to work out what was going on - but I still have no idea what they were up to!  Then we saw some soldiers in red jackets and highly polished helmets on beautiful horses trotting over the road. We followed them through St James Park, past the lake with the pelicans, to Horseguards Parade. After watching them face down another group of horseback soldiers in blue jackets for ages,  we wandered off to see what else we could find.



Sharon on top of the World

We walked past the Downing Street, but a machine-gun toting police officer put us off trying to have a walk past Number 10. We went over to Trafalgar Square and saw the fourth plinth with its huge blue cock by German sculptor Katharina Fritsch I was telling D and S that it changes every so often - but didn't know how often exactly. I do know that the next one will be there for 2014/15 - once it is chosen. They have a shortlist already!

Seeing the London Eye in the distance Dom said he wanted to go on the London Eye. We headed in that general direction - then crossed the Thames over Hungerford Bridge. There was a Food Festival going on down the South Bank - there were some gorgeous smells as we walked towards the London Eye booking office. There was Korean, Japanese, French and many other kinds of food. Even a marquis where Jamie Oliver's chefs were going to give cookery demos.

We saw a Duck Bus - and I was telling Sharon what fun they were - taking you round the streets of London to see all the sights then drive right into the Thames! Sharon seemed quite keen - so we said if the queue for the Eye was too long we'd go for that instead.



In the Victoria and Albert Museum

Luckily we got on the London Eye  - as the next day we saw on the news that the Duck Bus had burst into flames while in the river and everyone had to jump off into the Thames! That would have been a trip to remember :-)

The Eye was fun - we enjoyed the entertainment in the queue - especially the clown using a banana to phone his mum! The views were wonderful - although it did go a little misty and cloudy when we got up there. After that we tried one of Tom's Pies - from a pop up street stall and walked over to Embankment so that we could get the tube to Harrods. We got there, via the Victoria and Albert Museum, where we had a look around the Jewellery exhibits.

A bit of retail therapy later we arrived back at the hotel tired and ready for a sit down before our night out.

Beer at Belgo's

We had some great meals out. The first night it was Belgo's - the subterranean Belgian bar where you get served by monks. They have a massive selection of continental beers (my personal favourite is Floris Honey Beer) and does great sticky chicken, moules and frites. Jodie - who used to work with Nathan and me at Leek, came along too - with his lovely girlfriend Clare from California. it was nice to catch up with them.


The second night, Friday, we went to Pearl Liang, a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Paddington. It was a great choice by Mawb - we all enjoyed the food and the table had one of those lazy susans so the waiter put down the food and we turned it round until it got to the correct person. I went for sweet and sour chicken with pomegranate seeds. Also it was the night that Sharon learned how to use chopsticks! We have the evidence!!

Talented News Review Team


Then after food we had a very pleasant walk over to Little Venice, down Regent's Canal and then to the Canal Café Theatre to see the News Review there. We saw it last year - so we had to bring everyone to see it. It changes every six weeks, and it had different people this time. We were sat right at the front - and it was hilarious! A mixture of jokes, sketches and songs.









Friends Reunited

On our last evening we went down the South Bank to the Founders Arms. We have been there many times - but it is always good. Si came along too - although Heidi was feeling under the weather and stayed home to watch Strictly Come Dancing. :-) We took this photo - not realising that the chap outside was getting in on the act! I believe it's called photobombing :-)





Then all too soon it was Sunday morning. We had  our final continental breakfast in the Lord Jim and packed our rucksacks ready to go to the station. Nathan, Sarah and Laura went over to Earl's Court for a final hour at the expo - before we had to head off home. We had a short stop off at the British Library Piazza and then lunch at the Euston Flyer before catching our train back to Stoke.

We are already looking forward to next year....

Fun on the tube :-)