The C-E team are at ECTS, we give you the low-down on all thats happening (or what isnt as the case may be!)...

Right now we are all gathered in the press office, now this would normally be a scene of excitement in bringing you guys exclusive news and reports.. this year however the scene is rather glum, Steve is leant falling asleep on the side, Tim is drinking fountains of water.. probably to stay awake, and well, the rest of us are dont really know what to do with ourselves. Why the depression and negativity you ask?

Put simply, theres nothing here! Nintendo have just the net bar with a few games like Wario Ware, Harry Potter, Pikmin 2, Spiderman 2 and on the SP, Mario Vs Donkey Kong and Mario Golf. Now, fair do's, these games aren't all that bad, but they aren't enough to cause an ecstatic buzz. What is managing to savour a scrap of excitement however is Resident Evil 4 and Donkey Konga in the Gamers Most Wanted section of the show.

 

Donkey Konga, a favourite amongst the C-E staff we must say, is great fun to play as usual, here at ECTS though, only single player can be played which draws a lot of the fun out of the whole experience. The bongo bashing fun was far more frantic at GameStars Live, as you'll be able to check out when vids of yours truly soon. The other attractive pull of ECTS that is Resi 4 already has a small queue of eager gamers drooling as they wait to take control of the crisp lush graphics and take a go at out smarting the somewhat cunning becrazed villagers the game possesses. Countless 'You are Dead' screens bring a tear to gamers' eyes. Truly the best game of ECTS, not a big feat but it's the best by far.

Microsoft are present at the show also but again they have nothing outstanding to wow the visitors with either. There's also the odd other stands here as usual, there's an X-Box surround sound test box and a test car driving seat and the various videos of smaller games like the Legend of Mire 3 and PC games. In fact, the world's greatest gamer happens to be here challenging folk to test their skills against him in a Doom 3 deathmatch, humiliation guaranteed for the challengers but all in good fun (what makes him so good anyway, I bet he's not good at everything, should challenge him to Britney Spears Dance Beat or something!)

 

In summary, aside from Donkey Konga and Resi 4, ECTS is rather bland, a real disappointment to last year when Nintendo had their extravagent truck and Mario Kart madness going about the place, essentially, there was a buzz. This year, the buzz is more a zzzzz. Check the yawns on our faces, Kirby eat your heart out.