Was the Playstation Experience any good, then? It had its good points and its bad points.

The exhibition was very well organised, and the amount of people let in was probably just about right. It was set up so that each games publisher (Eidos, Codemasters etc) had a wall of PS2 screens with controllers, displaying games that weren't out yet. And some of the racing games had logitech steering wheels and pedals, too. The design was great, with blue themed graphics throughout, smoke to create atmosphere, and screens showing game highlights.

All the games had several screens, so you were usually only third or fourth in a queue. There were a few games it was hard to get close to, but that was generally due to the fact the games took too long to play. (In the context of a "hands on" gaming exhibition!) One example of this was Stuntman. It was impossible for anyone to try a section once and then walk away. You had to keep trying until you got it right. (I think that's pretty much the basis of the game! I think it'd drive me mad, but other people seemed to be enjoying it!)

I didn't actually play many of the games - I like to watch other people. That's my excuse anyway. Perhaps I just didn't want other people to laugh at me! I did try Shox, which seems to be a rather fun little arcade style rallying type thing. And also Timesplitters 2, which was great fun in four player mode. Apart from that dratted monkey. Boy, he's hard to kill! What else did I try. Oh, Burnout 2, which I didn't think was so good. It wasn't all that substantial. There were some completely unavoidable crashes, which was a good thing in some ways, since they looked fantastic! Mwahahaha.

Out of the games I watched, I think Colin McRae 3 was the best. It looks like it'll be the best in the series. And it is the best rally game series ever..! One thing I particularly liked was the way you accrued damage. I was watching my brother's friend Chris, and towards the end he was driving along with his left front wheel wobbling disturbingly, the passenger side door swinging open, and the bonnet flapping about. Cooool..!

The best game from a network point of view was SOCOM: US Navy Seals. There were loads of PS2's set up, with half the people playing Seals and half playing terrorists. And apparently, when it's released, there'll be headsets too, so you can communicate with your other team members. Classy stuff.

The most eagerly awaited game there, possibly, was Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. I spent quite a while watching the trailer - I've had a thing about Tomb Raider for a while, but I'm really awful at the games! Considering they decided to kill her off, the main reason for bringing her back has to be to make money. But I think it has the potential to be a great game. Lara deserves an opportunity to shine on the PS2. And it looks like there's a really good storyline. (Well, as games go, pretty good! It has to be better than the film, right?!)

The most peculiar game was Auto Modellista. (Which is another game that can be played in a network!) Yes, it's another racing game, but it's unlike any other racing game in that it's cel shaded. It looks really odd. I don't know if it looks good or not - I couldn't decide. It's certainly different!

Yes, there were a lot of driving games. But there were lots of other games too. I can't possible name all the games that were there. Or talk about them all. I've talked enough already as it is! There were those dance mat games, and some where you wore boxing gloves and were integrated into the graphics on the monitor. Clever, but not really my cup of tea. For the kids, perhaps. :-)

Oh, and there was a PS2 Linux area, too! Nice to see Sony getting behind the use of their machines for home programming. And other Linuxy things.

Apart from the gaming, what did I get for my £8? Well, there was some bloke, possibly from the So Solid Crew prancing about on the stage. There were some games challenges, although the sound was set up so badly that you couldn't really hear the presenter people. Um, that's about it. The most amusing thing was the demo for some Formula One 2002 racing game that was in the lobby. All the consoles were constantly loading! And they had a thing on the screen that said, "Loading times will be reduced significantly". It made me laugh, anyway!

Oh, there was the goodie bag. Which was good. Although I think it might have been better value if I actually owned my own PS2, so I had something to play the demos on. And even then, my brother would have the demos too. The free magazine costs £5.49 in the shops, so that almost have made the entrance fee back. Not that I would have bought it. Heh. There were fairly awful stickers, postcards and leaflets, a yo-yo, a fantastic lightup PS2 pen (eerie blue glow, yay!), and a PS2 T-shirt. It's a good T-shirt, although it'll probably look like a dress on me.

Would I go again? Probably not. Travelling around the hot, grimy underbelly of London to play games that are almost ready to be released for three hours or so wasn't all that fun. But I'm sure a lot of people had a great time! So...

It's on until 31st August.

Go, get the T-shirt, if you want to!