The bi-yearly London MCM Expo has slowly built a reputation for being a great place to promote video games. Around 40,000 visitors were attending this year and publishers such as Sega, Capcom and Ubisoft were keen to showcase the titles that would soon be hitting UK stores.

The Expo is known for having a heavy emphasis on anime and manga, so the gaming village reflected this by showing a diverse range of Japanese titles. Nearly everything on offer was playable and those that weren’t were demonstrated by staff first hand.

Namco Bandai were boasting a hands on two player mode for Tekken 6. It looked visually stunning, with a photorealistic style that contrasts the paintbrush aesthetic in Street Fighter 4. At one point I was fighting on top of a building in the pouring rain and the weather effects for this were particularly beautiful. Playing with Bryan had a satisfying, weighted feel to it that was slower and more strategic than rivals like Blue Blaze. Each face button is assigned to an arm or leg, making it easy for veterans or newcomers to start stringing together combos. I know Tekken has a loyal following that will pick this up regardless, but casual gamers would do well to check out this exciting sequel.

The Borderlands booth was an exciting hub of activity as representatives from 2K Games offered t-shirts and badges to those who performed well in the tech demo. In two player co-op you were given the chance to traverse a barren desert world and play through a seemingly endless array of missions. Marketed as a mix between FPS and RPG, the focus was heavily on customising your character and exploring the large apocalyptic wasteland. There was no storyline of note, instead enticing you with unlockable skills and weaponry. I would have liked to have had some kind of motivation for completing the missions, or explanation as to why the world of Pandora has become such a place of disarray, but I presume these are being saved for the final build. The combat felt very solid and the co-operative elements worked very well. Many will criticise the cel-shaded graphics as an excuse to cut down on texture detail, but I felt that the visuals made Borderlands stand out from the other games at the convention. A cel-shaded FPS hasn’t looked this good since XIII.

I can’t help it. When I played Sega’s Bayonetta, all I could think of was how closely it resembled Devil May Cry. The control set up, over the top stylistic combat and demonic bosses constantly echoed its one and only influence. Then I realised that DMC creator Kamiya Hideki was directing the game – and everything made sense. Devil May Cry 4 came out some time ago and those looking for a new thrill will feel right at home with Bayonetta. The world had a great draw distance, the control was system was tight and the enemies had just enough variation to keep the combat interesting. You’ll be stringing together combos with a variety of fantasy weapons, though the classic ‘two long range handguns and a two handed katana’ will be more than familiar to Dante lovers. While there was nothing glaringly wrong in the demo, there also wasn’t anything to really grab your attention either. It is what it is - an unoriginal, but very polished Devil May Cry clone.

Avatar was my surprise sleeper hit. Marketed alongside David Cameron’s upcoming film, Ubisoft were encouraging visitors to put on 3D glasses and experience the demo in front of a 3D compatible TV. The player’s character, HUD display and occasional gunfire did appear to pop out from the TV screen in 3D, but the rest of the landscape was in a flat but respectable high definition. It was interesting to see the technology working this well, but as the lead script writer explained, not many people would be experiencing the game in this format. 

However, unlike many other movie tie-ins (which are usually short in length, rushed and glitchy) Avatar looked incredibly polished. Ubisoft has been developing the title for three years, expanding the Avatar universe with a fresh, original storyline (rather than a simple rehash of the movie plot) and with an engine reminiscent of Gears of War. Taken from an over the shoulder viewpoint, you take on the role of a soldier who chooses to support either the native Na’vi or the military RDA. Each side has a different story and game play style, effectively giving you two games for the price of one. The fire and water effects were fantastic, hopefully raising the bar for future games based on movies.

Rising Star Games had a fantastic Japanese showcase. The popular Little King’s Story and Muramasa: The Demon Blade were free to play on the Nintendo Wii (both worth checking out if you haven’t done so already) but by far the biggest feature was the unveiling of Fragile. The post apocalyptic adventure has been out in Japan since January, but targeted a fairly niche audience on the Nintendo Wii. I had assumed that it wouldn’t get the attention needed for a western release, and was therefore overjoyed to hear that Rising Star Games had picked it up. I can only describe it as a mix between Fallout 3’s barren, lonely atmosphere, a typical JRPG and the spooky game play of Silent Hill. The demo placed you in a dark and abandoned hospital, free to explore by moving with the nunchuck and angling the Wii-remote as your trusty flashlight. It’s a simple concept, but offers an engrossing sense of mood and atmosphere as you light up an otherwise untouched world.

Assassin’s Creed 2 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction had promising demonstrations from Ubisoft officials, but these were dwarfed by the huge queue lining up to play EA’s Left 4 Dead 2. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to wait in line, but if any of the huge grins from gamers were anything to go by – it was darn good.

I haven’t even touched upon Lego Rock Band, Scribblenauts, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, or any of the other standout developers that were impressing expo visitors. Just believe me when I say it was a fantastic opener for the London Games Festival. I’ll see you at the next Expo in May.

Check out pictures from the event here.