LIKE A BOSS.

Ive finally made a new blog post, and to kick it all off again, its my Gamescom post.

I'm back once again with dry mud from Germany on my trainers and my worn camp festival band loosely dangling from my arm. And yes there actually still is dry mud on my trainers from two months ago. That's just how special the Germany gamescom is. And also, how weird I am.

And even though last year was pretty fantastic; taking the tram with Jessica Chobot, eating out with Gamespot, Fallout demo. I actually preferred this years event. To cut a long delayed story into a short photo blog post, here's how it went...

-Me getting pumped for the Gamescom! And yes that is a NES controller.

-Reuniting with Fran

-Preshow setup

-Cool tent

-Retro gaming clothes day

-Gamespot golden age member number 3

- The unofficial IGN fan club

- German girls FTW!

- Germans are always trying to make me laugh

- on the Main pretty bridge at Koln, there's this tradition of locking padlocks on the grill fence. Hopefully next year I can revisit this location and unlock the padlock.

- Playing Mario Kart DS with some random fellow gamers at the queue for Dark Void.

- The coolest.

-My wrist wear attire for the show.

-Once again we beat the Germans

These are just some of the photo highlights from my Facebook photo album where you can catch the whole shindig.

Ive even got some fantastic videos behind the scenes of 'The Daily Fix' shot at Gamescom this year (yet to be put up). Oh yeah and that was me at the intro and background of both Fix videos at the con.

So yeah, it was pretty fantastic. Chobot taught me how to have sex with multiple partners in Fable 2, Fran introduced me to Peer, I showed off my cool Nintendo belt to Matt Casamasina, all the gamers that had taken photos of my space invaders t-shirt and when I told Alex Navarro how awesome Gamespot used to be and, well, the list goes on.

Your probably thinking wheres the games talk/photos. But I think at this point in time a more personal blog on the event was more appropriate and well a better read.

And it was a much more personal holiday then that of the previous also.

Having left planning to last minute, I was once agian left to huddle in my small tent 'little Britain' at the official camp grounds.

And what a great decision it was, I can genuinely say that from my experience this year, I will now attend every future Gamescom at the camp grounds. My experience totally excelled that of the lone wolf adventurer of 2008 Leipzig. It was a much more social ground. And thanks to Red Bull sponsoring it was a much more comfortable ground too.

Bean bag tent, open camp fire, volley ball net, outdoor/indoor showers and toilets, adventure park, youth center building. This was a great camp site. The move to Koln was a good one based on this alone.

Then the Gamescom itself. Whilst there weren't as many playable game demo's as there were in Leipzig, the air con at the expo halls was fantastic. That's right, I'm putting air-con over playable game demos and if anyone reading this has been to the Leipzig Gamescon before, they know what I'm talking about.

The Leipzig expo hall was essentially one giant green house.

But it was the overall experience that made this con stand out to me over last year and pretty much any expo this year. Little things as well as the above such as the PC parts that decorated the morning breakfast tables. Making a ton of friends with gamers from all around the world. Seeing the main guy behind saboteur (the one with the awesome Mohawk) sit at dinner with his crew like a king, and pulling that hot German girl whom was way above my league.

I cannot recommend all gamers to attend Gamescom enough. No matter where you are in the world, whether or not your going to E3, and especially if you like Fanta; You should go to Gamescom.

It a gamers event. And the campsite brings a great festival feel to the event which none other offers. And seriously German Fanta is so much better then crap they give us.

That's it for now. I'll leave with something more present. A photo of my Halloween costume.

And a link to a video I did on Bayonetta.

You know that scene in 'Last Action Hero' when the main kid walks ino the police station for the first time and and then Sharon Stone walks past him followed by the T1000, and he kinda just follows them with a turn of his head in disbelief. Thats what it was like when I saw Alex at the Gamescom 'Germany' this year.

I just didnt expect to see him, even though I knew that Rockband Beatles was making an attendance and the knowledge that Alex works for them (or at least some form of music game). As huge fan of the oldschool 'original' Gamespot, it was a great moment I wont forget any time soon.

I stopped him, told him Im a fan of his gamespot years, and that himself and the rest of the crew (Rich Gallup. Greg Kasavin, Jeff Gerstmann etc) were at the top of their game when they were at the helm, and overall that they rock. This photo soon followed.

Unfortunately I didnt see Alex again, dispite his invitation to perform at Rockband Beatles. But I'm happy enough just bumping into him. Bumping into one of the old school crowd could be compared to finding Deoxys in Pokemon, they are spread out and are rarely found in public expos like this since leaving games journalism.

Next up on on the spot, Rich Gallup. I wish.

p.s. should be getting photos and vids up on here on the next following days

- For out first game review, we'll review 'Flight Control'. See... theres a man behind me...hes enjoying it...I give it an 8. End Review.

-You know if there was one person in this room that I had guess made games, it would be you.

- I really enjoyed this one. Casual and laid back.

Unfortunately it looks like I may have to drop Tina like a wife on Fable 2. Shes broken and funny looking.

STUPID GAMESPOT CROPS THE PHOTOS, WILL RESIZE THEM LATER

The Past decade has seen the video games industry blow out of control; further into the mainstream and deeper into the pockets of the world. The games at the frontline on the whole have received notable awards for their achievements in the standard GOTY (game of the year) awards. But what of the best over the past ten, a look at the grander scheme of things. Games that change the medium, 'turning point' games, evolving the medium from Warcraft to World of Warcraft.

The 90's saw what most heralds as the best game of all time- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time. The game by which most 10/10 games get compared to, the "citizen cane moment in gaming history"* (*Edge magazine).

And with this decade dwindling out, I don't think there has been a game to match it, albeit against the view of some high ranked video game review sties* (*IGN review on GTA IV).

This is not to say that this decade has been a letdown in terms of medium accomplishment, in fact far from it. In 2005 Shadow of the Colossus brought about the discussion of video games as art. 2006 saw Wii sports being embraced by a wide age range most notably among them old grannies. And in 2007 Halo 3 unofficially slowed down the box office during its opening weekend.

Dare I say it, but I believe this decade has seen the most accomplishments in the gaming medium, and not so much through singular games that are groundbreaking in their genre, but on the industry as a whole.

I mean, old grannies getting a turkey in Wii bowling! I would never have imagined that back when I was riding through Hyrule field in the late 90's.

Jokes aside, these really are some great accomplishments, and here's my personal list of nominees for GOTD '00-

*Split into 'personal' and 'professional' opinions. Personal being more to my own unique taste, and Professional where I aim for the gaming community as a whole. Both recognise originality, quality and achievement.

*Games listed under 'Notable mention' are games that would have won it, if not for the tough competition that year.

Year- (Developer/ Publisher)

2000-

Personal-No One Lives Forever (Monolith Productions/ Fox Interactive)

Professional- The Sims (Maxis/ Electronic Arts)

2001-

Per- Silent Hill 2 (Konami/ Konami)

Pro- Grand Theft Auto 3 (DMA Design/ Rockstar Games)

Notable mention- Halo: Combat Evolved ( Bungie Studios/ Microsoft Games Studios)

2002-

Per-Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar North/ Rockstar Games)

Pro- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar North/ Rockstar Games)

2003-

Per- Beyond good and evil (Ubisoft Montpellier/ Ubisoft)

Pro-Star Wars: Knights of the old republic (BioWare/ LucasArts)

2004-

Per- Metal Gear Solid 3 (Konami/ Konami)

Pro- World Of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment/ Blizzard Entertainment)

2005-

Per- Shadow Of The Colossus (Team ICO/ Sony Computer Entertainment)-DRAWN WITH-Fahrenheit (Quantic Dream/ Atari)

Pro- Resident Evil 4 (Capcom/ Capcom)

Notable mention- Guitar Hero (Harmonix/ Red Octane), Psychonauts (Double Fine Productions/ Majesco Entertainment)

2006-

Per- Dead Rising (Capcom Production Studio 1/ Capcom)

Pro- Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks/ 2k Games)

Notable mention- Wii Sports (Nintendo EAD/ Nintendo)

2007-

Per- Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/ Activision)

Pro-Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward/ Activision)

Notable mention- Halo 3 (Bungie/ Microsoft Games Studios), The Darkness (Starbreeze Studios/ 2K Games)

2008-

Per- No More Heroes (Grasshopper Manufacture/ Ubisoft)

Pro- Little Big Planet (Media Molecule/ Sony Computer Entertainment Europe)

Notable mention- Fallout 3 (Bethesda Game Studios 2K Games/ Bethesda Softworks)

*List as of time of writing- 8/4/09

*Games listed by earliest international release date

*GOTD 90'S

Per- Final Fantasy VII (Square/ SCE Europe)

Pro- The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time (Nintendo EAD/ Nintendo)

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