Gamescom 2010 really didn’t have many huge games playable on the show floor. You could cue for two hours to watch a trailer for the new Medal of Honor, but only a handful of developers were willing to put the controller into peoples hands. However, over the four days we played a host of great games across all platforms and after much airport deliberation, these are our top games of Gamescom 2010

Kung Fu Riders
Most of the Sony Move games we played felt like HD Wii games. Both the controls and party-game sensibilities of most of the Move games on the show floor were very familiar and quite disheartening. Maybe thats why Kung Fu Riders, a game where you navigate a Japanese office worker down hills atop of a standard office chair, was so much fun to play. Pumped full of random Japanocrazy, you roll you chair down streets collecting cash and kicking middle-aged asian women as you go. Press the trigger button and your guy leans back in the chair, allowing him to duck under objects as his shocked face wobbles upside down in front of the camera. The craziest thing, is it’s a full retail game. Like Katamari before it, it’s so crazy it just might work.

Pro Evolution 2011
I don’t think either myself or Mark expected much from PES 2011, but within a minute of kickoff we knew we were playing something special. Konami understood that nothing less than a complete refit could help make up the lost ground on FIFA, and the result is a game that feels like a new way to play football. Player movement is sharp but looks natural. Passing is a lot less forgiving and thus more rewarding. Players can retain the ball more like their real-world counterparts, and shooting accuracy depends highly on well set the ball and the player are. Whether or not games against the AI are as satisfying is unknown, but for the first time in three years myself and Mark will be buying two football games this year.

FIFA 11
Mark says; Unlike the instantly noticeable changes in Pro Evolution Soccer 2011, FIFA 11 already has a solid base and this is very much another iteration on the formula. Graphically FIFA 11 isn’t much of a step from the recent World Cup edition but it’s in the weight of passes and shots where the changes are felt. The pinpoint accuracy of passes that enabled gamers to pinball the ball between players feels less automatic, with greater input required to craft a pass and split open a tight defense. User-controlled goalkeepers are another addition to FIFA 11 with the focus on making sure you’re in the correct position at the right time. Like with penalties, the actual saves are heavily aided by the computer, but it even if you won’t diving into goalkeeping Be-A-Pro mode, the two player loading screens now have something for both players to do.

Enslaved
I didn’t know much about Enslaved before the show, but the developers past work was instantly recognizable when watching Tamoor play. Created by the team behind the enjoyable but disappointing Heavenly Sword, Enslaved is a third person action-adventure game with more than a wink and a nod to the Uncharted Series. A superb graphical style is matched with stunning character animations and a dynamic camera to create a movie-like experience as your character climbs and sprits across the top of an airship, slowly falling towards a large city. This one is out pretty soon, lets hope the full game is as impressive as this show-floor demo.

F1 2010
Tamoor would probably like to see this in most disappointing games, due an ill-judged corner-cut that had him disqualified from our multiplayer match on the second lap. Our three lap, four car race took place on the Dubai circuit with the sun melting the horizon as we pulled out of the pit-lane and onto the starting grid. Though our match had damage physics turned off, the realism of the track and car physics were impressive. Your car feels heavy as you weave in and out of corners. Aggressive acceleration after braking hard into a corner will see your back-end flip around time and time again. That being said, the cars were easy enough for three F1 game newbies to get to grips with. If only Tamoor could say the same about the rules.

Runners Up:

Good, but not quite worth a thumbnail.

Great Giana Sisters
Tamoor had his first taste of the wonderful Commodore Super Mario rip-off, among other classic games we had the opportunity to play in the retro museum in halle 8. Basically every console and computer since the dawn the time is either playable, or locked away in glass cabinet.

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Another sidebar game that Tamoor jumped at and enjoyed for a good ten minutes. Some stealthy action-adventure mixed with hack & slash fighting alongside a massive lumbering Ent. Looked pretty too.

Spiderman Dimensions
For some bizare reason this was only playable via 3 screens crammed into the side of a makeshift comic book store. We took the oppertunity to play two of the games four “dimensions” including a film-noir stealth level and your more classic spiderman shit-kicking affair. Both were unique and satisfying.

Marvel Vs Capcom 3
Tamoor played this behind closed doors and we think he may have orgasmed. It doesn’t really count though since it wasn’t publicly playable, but he swears it was brilliant.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
None of us actually played it for fear of relapse, but the massive Blizzard booth was packed to the rafters for all 4 days. Hundreds of fat virgins can’t be wrong, right? (I kid!)

•