ECTS 2000: The Experience

Written by Daniel Ekman on September 13, 2000

ECTS 2000: The Experience: PS2? Nah, not even close...

I wrote the following article on the night I arrived back home from this year's ECTS event in London. I was weary and blurry-eyed, but did I forget about you? Of course not. I brought ECTS news live from the show floor, and was the first site to post the impressions of GameBoy Advance, which was playable at the show.

Well, I just arrived back in Sweden after a day of travel. It's early in the morning and I'm longing for my bed. However, I can't leave you without writing something down, can I? Of course not...

During my time in London I've seen many great things, and it hasn't been only games... Heh, I think there are some pictures lying around somewhere if you care to look for them. Anyhow, I've seen games for all different platforms and I must say that Nintendo is looking good. The PS2 games didn't impress me at all, and I even saw the infamous 'jaggies' that have been the cause of many a discussion. Sure, some games looked better than others, but not more so than some of the Dreamcast games I tried out. Not even the MGS2 video managed to convince me that PS2 was a console I must have, and that should be worrying the executives at Sony.

As for games on Dreamcast...I have to admit that both Shenmue, Virtua Tennis and even the 'old' Crazy Taxi had me wishing for longer playing sessions. Nevertheless, it was good old Nintendo that held me at its booth most of the time.

The games I played, some at length and some for a very brief amount of time, were not as numerous as one would have hoped, but enough to satisfy my Nintendo cravings. I very briefly tried out Pokщmon Stadium, which I had played before, and I don't think that there's anything I can tell you that you don't already know about that game. Then there's Kirby 64, which is an admittedly good platformer but seemingly all too easy. Mario Tennis, the game I had the most fun with before getting thrown out of the booth (after just three consecutive hours, what's up with that!?). OK, I didn't get thrown out and I didn't play three hours straight, but at one point I was nicely told to leave room for others... Trying desperately to get hold of another controller, I edged over to a stand at the other side where I had the pleasure of giving a 40-year-old executive a serious trashing (6-2, 6-0), all the while ogling the nice Nintendo girl who stood beside us...

I also played other titles I've told you about like Conker's Bad Fur Day, Dinosaur Planet, and Banjo-Tooie, and they were all looking good. Both BFD and DP felt fresh and innovative, while Banjo-Tooie felt like more of the same. Don't get me wrong, there are probably tons of new things in B-T that I didn't see, and if you liked the first game and feel that you'd like some more... well, I can't really see a better alternative than Banjo-Tooie.

Mario Party 2, Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Mickey's Speedway USA, and possibly some that I've forgotten, were all games that I had a go on. While time didn't allow extensive play on every single game, I think I was able to get a good impression of almost every game. Although I liked most of what I saw at the show, there were some major disappointments.

I couldn't see or play Excitebike 64... the bastards have delayed the European version and now it won't get here until next year! What Sin are we guilty of to deserve such Punishment? Yes, you are correct if you think that there was no Sin and Punishment at the show. No hands-on, no nothing... Another major letdown was that many of the GBA games shown at Space World didn't turn up here. The four playable games were Pinobee: Quest of the Heart, Mario Kart Advance, a puzzle game called Kurukuru Kururin, and Konami All Star Racing. Although those were good games, I would've liked to see some more. Anyhow, I'm going to give you some brief impressions of the GBA game that felt like the most original of the few at the show:

Kurukuru Kururin is said to be 60% complete and is a puzzle game of sorts. It's highly original and shines with simple yet brilliant design. You steer a kind of white bar - just imagine a long, thin stick - through a course that's changing in size and appearance. The bar is constantly spinning and the trick is to steer it safely through the passageways without touching the walls. It actually gets kind of tricky after a while and demands your full attention if you don't want to end up dead. This game is addicting while at the same time having an excellent ability to make you frustrated. The thing it lacks the most is diversity, though this can't really be held against it, as it's not claiming to be anything else then a 'simple' puzzle game.

Apart from playing GBA games and just generally hanging around at the Nintendo booth, I also did my fair share of harassing poor girls at the show floor. They must have been thinking I was insane, walking around with my camera in hand claiming to be their key to fame and fortune. Of course, I think that there were also a lot of girls at the exhibition desperately wanting nothing more than a picture together with me, even if I didn't see them. So, I say to all of you British girls who failed to spot me at ECTS this year: Don't cry, I'll probably come back next year. Oh, and as for pictures of my own private encounters you just have to scroll down and click the links.

Altogether, ECTS was a rewarding experience; I got to meet Michael Schumacher and Michael Owen, play a lot of games, test a lot of new products, and most of the time I also had a lot of fun. Meeting new people and having a good time, what more can a person ask for? Well, it'd be a new Zelda on GameCube, then...