With the honour of opening the London Games Festival this year, the MCM expo blitzed attendance records yet again by hosting a number of over 38,000 visitors throughout the weekend, a staggering 11,000 alone who appeared within the first hour of opening. The scene was set for yet another spectacular showcasing of well loved favourites as well as the latest in movies, games, television shows, anime and comics, proving exactly why people continue to flock to the MCM every year. So let’s check out the events of the day and what this Angel’s highlights of the weekend was.

This October’s special guests included the legendary Ronny Cox, famous for his roles in Robo Cop, Total Recall and Stargate; True Blood’s Nelson Ellis, the cast of Warehouse 13 as well as the leading ladies from the BBC’s Merlin. The panels were diverse and interesting. Ronny Cox and his band entertained the crowd with music from his new album and Nelson raised the audience’s temperatures with tales from the hit show True Blood. Seats were packed for Warehouse 13 and the ladies’ reception for Merlin was as electric as last year.

But as always, we were spoilt for choice; a chance to meet and talk to the amazing guests being just the top of the list.

With gaming exclusive previews from the likes of Ubisoft and James Cameron’s Avatar on a 3-D television wowing spectators, as well as playable demos of the amazing new Nameco’s Tekken 6, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed 2, SEGA’s Bayonetta – from creators Devil May Cry – and Capcom’s Monster Hunter Tri, Gamers were well looked after. The gamestands were packed, the queues to check out playable demos often long but the atmosphere and vibe so friendly and fun that no one minded. Plus, with the massive range of cosplayers showcasing their spectacular costumes, there was no threat of boredom.

Universal Pictures’ statement of the MCM being “The biggest and most interactive show of the year” could not be more true and as you check out the following highlights and pictures from the event, I am sure you’ll agree!

Angel Highlights:

Interviewing Ronny Cox at a roundtable:

Ronny’s first passion has always been music, he told us and his panel was proof of this. Treated to a concert of country and western music at his panel, we fell in love. In our round table interview we got to ask Ronny:

GA: Throughout your entire careeer so far, which character has been most enjoyable for you to play?

RC: I can name two. I loved being in Bound for Glory, I loved the folk music and Hal Ashby, for my money, was the great American Director for that period of time. Working with him was great. The next one will be a surprise for you – I absolutely adored playing the Chief of Police in Cop Rock…it was 10 years ahead of its time, I have never had so much fun. It was a glorious failure, we were guaranteed 13 shows and we got to 11 shows and they said – we’ll pay you not to turn up. But I have never had so much fun on a shoot, ever. I went to work every day, whether I was called in or not.

Avatar playable demo:

Playing on a similar vein to Halo, the FPS format worked brilliantly well with the theme of Avatar. Stunning lush, jungle backdrops with multiple arenas, including negotiating through a hover level, navigating dangerously beautifully rendered stone columns and snaking the machine inbetween slim passages kept our cameraman Rhodri hooked for hours on end. With the demo presented on a 3-D television as well, the overall image and feel of Avatar is that it’s a smooth, beautiful and challenging game. We’re looking forward to experience the full thing when the game comes to launch at the end of the year.

Photographic evidence:

Ronny Cox and Co.’s awesome concert.

 
True Blood’s Nelson Ellis.

Fantastic Rorscharch cosplayer

Our camerman, Rhod and the new love of his life – Avatar on the XBOX 360

Yours truly and the love of my life – Jin Kazama

Brilliant Vega cosplayer at the Cosplay Masquerade

You know who you’re gonna call!

Lego Rock Band – these guys were performing Kung Fu Fighting. And the crowd loved it!
 

The MCM will be back again in London again on May, 29-30th so be there for more explosive, amazing and awesome fun. We will!

 

Yes, it’s back and with every aim to be bigger and better than any other MCM that has come before.

The London Movies, Comics and Media Expo is exploding back onto the London scene this October with a dazzling display designed to welcome back regulars and wow newcomers. Now incorporating a extra hall, the MCM is growing and this year promises to be nothing short of impressive.

Leading guests showcasing the weekend will include the cast from Warehouse 13, the US hit show, Ronny Cox of Total Recal, Robo Cop and Stargate fame, the leading ladies from the UK hit Merlin, as well as stars from shows such as True Blood and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

In the far side of the ring, Games contenders looking to seduce the visitors will include playable previews of Tekken 6, Assassin’s Creed 2, Borderlands and Monster Hunter Tri as well as the staple, dependable presence of the Namco, Koei and Ubisoft stands.

And if that wasn’t enough to bowl anyone over, this years comics and anime feast will play host to names such as Alan Grant, Andy Diggle and Jock and Ben Templesmith. Special Japanese guests will be Studio BONES president Minami Masahiko and director Ando Masahiro who have worked on excellent series such as Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Fullmetal Alchemist.

So come on, get your movies, game and cosplay mojos on and join the UK Angels this weekend, 24-25th of October for all your MCM needs!

2009

The annual London Film and Comic Con is happening this weekend, and with a stellar line up of guests and events, it looks set to be pretty impressive, as you can see from the link below:

http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/

The cast list is extensive, featuring stars and celebrities from a range of media genres from Scott Bakula – Of Quantum Leap and Star Trek Enterprise fame and Michael Shanks – Stargate – to comic writers and artists like Arthur Suydam and Phil Jiminez amongst the many. In this environment, fans will get to see all of their favourite stars, meet and greet as well as attend free talks which will be made available. And for us Brits out there, we’ll be graced with the presence of the legendary Tom Baker and Paul McGann, both of Dr Who status.

The con will also be holding its own Anime Alley, with the Anime League heading the scene as well as a Gaming Zone and competions from sponsors and exhibitors will be running throughout the day.

So Angels, grab your cameras, don on that cosplay costume you’ve been considering for a while, and wing your way to Earls’ Court for the weekend and join me for what’s got to be a good weekend!

Monster Hunter Unite

Monster Hunter has long been dominating Japanese social gaming since it’s arrival on the PSP, outselling Pokemon and the Wii Fit to carve itself into a social gaming phenomenon. Players connect for mutual hunting in tube compartments, cafes and eateries; festivals have been held for it and even specific package holidays can now be booked, if a warrior ever wants to don on their virtual armour and get a taste of the monster wild.

Now, with the opening of the Gathering Hall, this Friday the 4th of July, Capcom is offering a solid sample of this environment to the UK audience.

Located at 121 Charing Cross Road, London, the Gathering Hall is hoping to provide people with the social gaming interaction that is so prevalent in Japan. It offers the chance for gamers to meet, enjoy committed tutorial nights, exclusive quest downloads as well as the opportunity for meet and greets with the developers. And with the Gathering Hall exclusively opened just until August, this experience is for a limited period only.

So we’re urging all UK Hunters to grab their PSPs and join us at the opening night and through the summer for this gaming experience!

For more details, hop on to Capcom’s site via the link below and see for yourselves.

http://www.capcom-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16831

Happy hunting, Angels!

2009

Yes Gamers and Gals, it’s that time once more!

The London MCM Expo has rocked around again for its May time extravaganza and yes, your UK Angels are on another mission to scope and report on all of the days’ events.

This month’s expo is setting out to bedazzel us all with the gems in guests, games and events that are happening. Confirmed guests are looking to include the legendary Hollywood star that is Tony Curtis, the awesome Linda Hamilton (of Terminator fame) as well as guests such as Lindsay Wagner (Bionic Woman) and James Duval (Donnie Darko). Games available for road testing include Tekken 6 (this Angel cannot contain her excitment over this news), GhostBusters, Afro Samurai, Ready 2 Rumble and many, many more!

And it can’t be left unmentioned that there’s something else that’s extra-special about this Expo. The MCM is attempting to break it’s last World Record for the most people in one place dressed as Games characters. Last year’s record took the score to a total of 342. This year, the challenge is to break that number and we’ll be there to take the snaps of all the brightest and most awe-inspiring costumes!

For further information, follow the link to the MCM homepage and find out all the juicy details of the days as well as the guidelines to cosplaying if the idea takes your fancy.

So come along, meet the UK Angels – Sugar_Ninja and Petra – and join us at the expo! If you’re especially in the mood, come along in Cosplay and break a World Record.

The MCM Expo needs you!

Ahead of the release of Street Fighter IV, this Ninja was given a task. The mission that I chose to accept involved a treacherous journey, full of the dangers of British public transport and its minions – human, metal and elemental – across the city to where a particular championship was being held.

In the lair of Oxford Street’s HMV, an age-old combat of skill, strength and endurance was being fought. There, through the thick dust of testosterone, I played witness to a host of warriors who would stand up and stake their bids to be declared an ultimate Champion of Street Fighter.

As the battles waged, I tracked down the mastermind behind it all; placing him under my barrages of questions. I now report back and bring you the interview with UK PR Manager of Capcom, Leo Tan. Here, we duel it out and discuss the eternal lure of Street Fighter, his views on the long awaited release, who the love of his Street Fighter live is and the character of his dreams:

S-N: Firstly Leo, thank you for taking the time out to talk to me. Let’s make a start with the first question! To me, Street Fighter has always been the longest standing fighting game. What do you think makes the games so enduring and appealing to both old and new fans?

LT: On the most primal level, I think it’s that people like to beat each other around the head. On a slightly more considered level, I’d say Street Fighter has endured because Street Fighter had solid character design, easy to understand rules and, well, maybe because it was just the most popular. Almost everyone knows the rules – Ryu can do fireballs, Blanka can do electricity, etc – so it’s easy for most of us to play. And the rules haven’t really changed, so the barrier to entry is quite low for anyone who’s played any of the Street Fighters. Which is quite a lot of people. That’s for older fans, though. I guess for newer fans it’s mostly the beating other people around the head.

S-N: For you personally, what has been the most significant event in SF history?

LT: The discovery of combos, I think. When Street Fighter II first came out the concept of combos in a fighting game didn’t really exist. You could link a jumping kick with a sweep, or maybe a dragon, but that was it. Until somebody discovered that you could cancel the recovery frames of a big hit by quickly inputting the command for a special move. It was an unintentional bug, but the developers realised it was brilliant and incorporated it properly into subsequent Street Fighters and the fighting game genre was born.

S-N: On SF IV, why has there been such a delay of 15 years in releasing a new game?

LT: My PR instincts tell me that I need to say it’s not a delay, since we never announced another Street Fighter, but you’re right. 15 years is way too long between Street Fighters. And actually, I thought that was probably it for Street Fighter. Fighting games had become so hardcore and niche, arcades had all but died and it reached the point where I was really struggling to find people to play against on the same level as me. Everyone was either much better or completely rubbish. I don’t think it would have made any kind of sense to release Street Fighter IV directly after Street Fighter III. For many of those still playing fighting, Street Fighter III had mastered the art form. Even today people are still playing Street Fighter III, and probably will continue to do so for quite a while yet. So there really wasn’t any need for another Street Fighter. But what our producers found over the years is, every time they had an interview with a journalist about any game, they were always asked “when’s the next Street Fighter?” It was a relentless attack from journalists from all over the world, so I guess 15 years is just how long it takes to break the will of our developers and force them to do our bidding.

S-N: What is your most and least favourite feature of the new game?

LT: The Focus is the best thing ever! Anyone can do it, it’s easy to fit into your game and it doesn’t die with minimal online lag like parrying does. So it allows the flow of game play to move backwards and forwards like a sort of Parry Lite, but isn’t a complete wall that shuts out beginners. And I guess after several months of dedicated play I also love how easy it is to do combos now. The timings are so relaxed in comparison to the older games. And love how much scope there is for creativity and stylish play, and the damage scaling stops it from destroying the game.

My least favourite is probably the difficulty of the AI on Medium. Seth is such a wall in comparison to the difficulty of the rest of the AI up to that point, and even though I’m pretty good, I struggle with any of the challenges on Hard. And I’m maybe top 50 in the UK at Street Fighter, so if they’re hard for me, they must be nigh on impossible for the other 99.9 per cent of the population trying to unlock all the colours and taunts.

S-N: Which new character impresses you the most and why?

LT: C. Viper. In the beginning everyone was so down on her. “She doesn’t flow”, “she doesn’t have good combos”, “why is she even in Street Fighter IV?” Now, though, the tournament players have completely torn her apart and I think she’s the most exciting to watch. Her rushdown offensive game with the feints and her combo potential make all her matches thrilling – she’s top tier! I love Joe the most, definitely check out his C. Viper on YouTube.

S-N: Are there any major differences between the platforms that the game is on and which one would you recommend?

LT: I can’t see any, to be honest. I’m sure that the rendering or shading or texturing is subtly different on each one, but then so is how it looks from TV to TV. So I’d say first make your choice of platform according to what your friends are playing it on, since you’ll probably be online a lot. If that’s not an issue and you’re going to play on a pad, make your choice according to which pad you like best. Though OBVIOUSLY you should be aiming to play on a stick, as God intended. And then finally, if you still can’t decide, buy both. If everybody bought two copies, we’d DEFINITELY make another Street Fighter!

S-N: For me, Chun-Li has always been the first lady of gaming – who was your first Lord and Lady of gaming?

LT: For me, it’s Chun Li too. She was my first Street Fighter character, because mashing kick buttons was an easy way to do damage and I liked to jump in and mash Mid Kick a lot. My first Lord was, predictably, Ryu. I still play him as my main, because I understand him the most and I’m too old now to really change my ways. I could learn another character, but then I couldn’t challenge any of the players I know, because I’d be rubbish. And I’d rather play them than spend time on my own in training mode.

S-N: If you could create any character of your own, who would it be and why?

LT: I am currently campaigning to be a character in whatever the next Street Fighter game is. This is a horrific abuse of my position but I don’t care. If any other Street Fighter player was in my position they would do the same. Deep down inside they know that, and so I know they’ll eventually forgive me if I succeed. Which I probably won’t. I am INCREDIBLY jealous of Seth Killian having a boss named after him, even though both he and the producer Ono-san are pretending that’s not the case. But it is. You know, I know it, they know it. The thing about that is, Seth has done loads for Street Fighter over the years, way more than his position at Capcom requires. He loves the game, he’s intimately involved with Evolution and the shoryuken forums and deserves to have some sort of presence in the game. I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I can’t try, right? Right?

S-N: It’s very hard to button bash with SF – something that I have always respected and liked about SF. Do you devote time to learning the moves off by heart, how do you memorise them and can you quote some of your favourites?

LT: Like most Street Fighter players I know every character’s moves. I also know most of their basic combos and roughly how they should play. I wouldn’t say I devote time to learning them, I just see them and then can do them. Perhaps when I was at school when it first came out I spent time going through a guide book trying to memorise everything but now it’s like a language I speak, and I can assimilate that kind of information as easily as I can assimilate new words into my vocabulary.

I don’t really have a favourite move, but I really love the dynamic that Makoto’s Hayate creates in Street Fighter III. It’s fast, does decent damage and leaves her opponent in slight disadvantage. And the pressure it creates is too much! I love it when the person receiving it falls into disarray and ends up randomly jumping and freaking out, or just eating an endless procession of them. It’s mind games at an incredibly fast speed and is right at the threshold of my ability. Which is where everyone should be when playing fighting games, because that’s when they’re at their best.

—

I want to thank Leo again for giving me such an excellent interview; he’s been a fantastic opponent indeed. And let’s all keep an eye out for any new characters coming, who will showcase the true and deadly persuasive powers that Leo really has!

The aim is to allow audiences to explore great anime on the big screen, and this week is focusing on the work of the Gonzo production team – famous for series [i]Hellsing[/i], [i]Samurai 7[/i], [i]Witchblade[/i] and [i]Gankatsuou[/i]. The season will continue with more anime, including the movie version of [i]Revolutionary Girl: Utena[/i] and [i]Tetsujin[/i]. The season is being curated by well-known anime author and enthusiast Helen McCarthy. (Stay tuned for our interview with Helen, where we talk anime, Gonzo, and … cross-stitch?)

Tonight your UK Angels (Sugar-Ninja and Petra) are off to check out Blue Submarine No.6, or ‘Blue 6′ as it is affectionately known to fans. Aired between 1998-2000, it is among one of the earliest computer-led animes.

For a full list of the great anime on offer, check out: [url=http://barbican.org.uk/film/series.asp?ID=379]Japanimation at the Barbican[/url] and book your tickets!

Have you seen much of Gonzo’s anime? What did you think of their recent foray into the movies with [i]Origin: Spirits of the Past[/i]? Stay tuned as we bring you discussion about the Japanimation season at the Barbican.

The set up on the HMV platform allowed four arcade machines to be backed against each other – two for general public play, where those perusing could have a taster game and two for the more serious gamer who wanted their skills seriously tested against a attending UK Street Fighter champion. Large overhead screens displayed snapshots of the new game.

Street Fighter IV looks and plays mightily impressively – it’s shiny, it’s agelessly brilliant, it’s long been expected and the fans that gathered, new and old, all displayed the same excitement at the latest installment of the franchise that’s had a 15 year wait.

Throughout the day, the stage got busier, louder and crowded. The atmosphere was fun, excited and very much fuelled with testosterone as I watched fighter after fighter take their place next to Zack, the Street Fighter champion in question, in an effort to defeat him.

With the solid and dependable use of Sagat, Zack won a total of 28 games before a competitor managed to snap his winning streak – much to a wave of disappointment from the crowd. I think, having stood for there for at least 10 of the matches, I was disappointed that Zack couldn’t have carried on with his wins; purely because I wanted to continue watching how he fought. His competent, quick and fast knock-down use of Sagat was more than impressive. The fights tended to be brief, he stuck to the moves he knew and was comfortable with – they weren’t flashy, they were safe and they were effective.

It was a genuine joy to watch a pro at his work and I watched as grown men left the arena to their lingering girlfriends, the defeat more than clear on their faces and slumped shoulders that they tried valiantly to shrug dismissively. It really is more than a game sometimes.

It’s Street Fighter.

In addition to watching the battles take place, I also had the great pleasure of meeting and talking to Leo Tan, PR Manager of Capcom Europe and an avid fan of the Street Fighter series. Kindly, he allowed me to ask a few questions on the game and its release, which I will be publishing in a later article. In the meantime, take a look at the snap shots and hopefully, you’ll get a taster of the thoroughly enjoyable day that this Angel had.

Battle stages:

[img width=300]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/kunoichi_21/CIMG1802.jpg[/img]

[img width=300]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/kunoichi_21/CIMG1804.jpg[/img]

[img width=300]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/kunoichi_21/CIMG1803.jpg[/img]

[img width=300]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/kunoichi_21/CIMG1797.jpg[/img]

Attending SF champion, Zack after his 28 wins:

[img width=300]http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/kunoichi_21/CIMG1805.jpg[/img]

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The London MCM expo occurs twice a year around May and October with hundreds attending on both days. It’s loud, it’s colourful and guaranteed to entertain. There is a definitive set of elements that come together to make the expo. And this year, the classic ingredients stuck true:

The Movie Screens showcasing the next blockbusters. The Comic Artists stalls. The Merchandise alleys packed and selling everything from anime collectables to hardcore sci-fi memorabilia; keyrings to clothing, mini Daleks to life-sized cardboard Frodos. Audiences with the TV stars of great shows like Battlestar Galatica, Heroes; meetings with voice actors for popular anime series, like Death Note. The amazing plethora of Cosplayers and equally amazing costumes. The Game Stands.

And of course, being the diligent Angel that I was, the Game Stands where were I loitered for the better length of a day.

Every year, there are set game stands that are a part of the Expo staple diet such as The Xbox stage, the Koei stand, the Dance arena. But each year, there’s always something additional, something different and this year, it was the time of the Monster Hunter Hut, The Dead Space Cabin (complete with terrifying solder-with-no-face that followed your every step) and the Rock Band Stage. And it was busy and packed and utterly enjoyable watching gamers battle it out over Jon Bon Jovi; Guitar Versus Drums. Fight.

And of course, there was Gaia Online. With a queue for it so long I thought it was the line for the cosplayers masquerade, which, when you consider that well over 60% of those that turn up at the Expo are cosplayers, is pretty impressive. I was in awe of it. And it seemed that everyone else thought the same.

In the previous times that I’ve been at the Expo, I’ve found that the number of Girl Gamers still remains significantly lesser than that of Boy Gamers. But it’s a number that’s growing over time, and on my mission for GA, I took time to speak to a few, passing on the GA name and asking them a couple of questions about what they felt of the current releases of games and what they thought of the presence of Girl Gamers as a whole.

And it was great seeing girls take some of the centre stage this time, some who didn’t have much experience of gaming having a brilliant time trying Naruto, on the Xbox, Warriors Orochi on the PS3 as well as pros owning the stage at Dance Revolution and Street Fighter.

With my new-found Angel powers, I additionally got to sit in for interviews with one of my favourite characters from one of my favourite SCI-FI series – Michael Hogan, A.K.A Col. Saul Tigh of Battlestar Galactica. Who’s presence was incredible; so incredible in fact that I could only stare at him in awe and was puckering up the courage to ask him a question when it was time over and he disappeared, but not without first complimenting us on our Game cosplays!

And on that note, this write up can’t really end without the mention of a particular event that happened at this specific Expo. A World Record breaking attempt that proved a success. Indeed, in my enthusiasm to get into the spirit of it all, I became amongst the number of 342 people gathered to break the World Record attempt for greatest number of game cosplay characters to be in one place at one time.

We broke the record previously held by Germany ” a mere number of 337 “ and celebrated in true style. By going off to have another battle on Rock Band!

So peruse a few of the pics mysef and my camera girl, Petra, snapped of the day and take a look at the days! And indeed, that cosplayer of Nariko is none other than yours truly