Play.com Live

Our report from a wind-swept Wembley

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Wembley Stadium may be the home of England's prodigal football team for most of the year, but the giant North London ground was for this weekend a mecca of the decidedly less sporting; the great and good of the gaming world descending on the perhaps ever-so-slightly crowded conference areas of the absurdly expensive stadium for a couple of days showing off their wares at retailer Play.com's invitation.

Given that the show was cobbled together in a speedy four months a few teething problems were fairly easily forgiven, the massing crowds which queued outside in the rain paying tribute to the fact that London still has space for a consumer-business gaming expo, with Game Stars Live and ECTS long since gone.

Given the slightly cramped, non-central locale, the weather, and the haste in which the show was organised, the droves of eager gamers (both of the very hardcore and the very casual variety) in attendance was pleasing to witness, as was the number of big-names showing-off their games. Activision, EA, Vivendi, Codemasters, Capcom, Sony, Microsoft, Sega, and others all had glossy presences, and there were even a few of the eponymous 'booth babes' which usually de-mark these occasions.

Your intrepid reporter was on-hand, complete with a Connect 08 induced hangover, and hangover-releaving bar vouchers, to take in what the show had to offer consumers and the press; who battled to play preview versions of new games, chatting with representatives from various game makers and generally soaking up the intoxicating show ambience.

A few picks, then.

Codemasters - GRID: Racer Driver

Grabbing a few minutes with GRID: Race Driver on the Xbox 360 was certainly one of the best few minutes of action Play.com Live had to offer. Codies new racing series is really shaping up rather nicely, the detail of the very "next-gen" visuals, handling ad AI perhaps hinting at a racing title that can finally help the British publisher crack America.

The damage modeling is particularly impressive, and while the handling, that all 'important' feel of the vehicles, could perhaps be tweaked still, the realism, especially as you crash into tire-walls and duke it out with enemy drivers, is palpable. Worthy of particular note is the in-car view point, while the rival drivers finally behave in a convincing and unpreditactable manner.

Watch with pleasure as rival drivers crash and spin, collide, go-wide, cut corners, et al; just like a human competitor might. The stunningly detailed cars and tracks also seem to be pushing the Xbox 360 nicely, and all-in-all a very slick release seems assured.

Sierra - Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy

High Moon's movie-based action game was also available to play and, along with Haze, was perhaps one of the most popular action titles with consumers flocking to Wembley.

Taking its cues from the popular trilogy of Matt Damon films, the game appears to include some very interesting hand-to-hand combat, that may or may not come-off still, along with some shoot-outs of the decidedly gritty variety. A third-person viewpoint is planned, with plenty of tense action which the lead designer was on-hand to tell us is in the main inspired by the events of the first film.

Predictably, cinematic sequences look to deliver the Bourne-action we're all hoping for, with accurately modelled locations forming the back-drop to Bourne's adventures, Paris in particular looking good in the levels we played.

For fans of the films there will be some interesting flashbacks to Bourne's life before he lost his memory, and with story-furthering instances delivered in-engine the game should be immersive at very least. What remains unclear is how well the game can compete with other third-person shooting titles, without the undeniable strength of the license to keep players hooked, and only time will tell on this front.