MMXI Week 7–MCM Telford 2011

So Saturday morning we woke up early, threw ourselves into Wessies car and begun the drive to Telford for MCM Midlands 2011. I had my costume in tow, which you may have already seen in parts. Here it is before I put it on:

And here I am wearing it outside the International Center:

The convention was an amazing experience, especially as it was my first time in Cosplay. Everyone was so nice and it was so weird having people ask to take my photo! I saw some amazing costumes including a Sonic team;

Some amazing Bleach cosplay;

And one of my favourite outfits, cardboard storm trooper;

There were so many awesome costumes, so I’m going to have to do awards for three categories; video game, anime/manga and film/comic book. First, best video game cosplay:

Third Runner Up

Medic, Heavy and Scout from Team Fortress 2

Second Runner Up

Desmond and Two Altairs from Assassins Creed

First Runner Up

Link and Midna from Twilight Princess

And First Place

Faith from Mirrors Edge

I liked the Faith costume the most because of its simplicity and accuracy. She just looked the part naturally.

Now for the best anime/mange costumes:

Third Runner Up

Giselle from Enchanted

Second Runner Up

The Flash

First Runner Up

The Goddamn Batman

And First Place

Kick Ass from, well, Kick Ass.

Just an amazing costume that looks like he walked off set.

Finally, the best Anime/Manga cosplays.

Third Runner Up

Grimmjow Jaggerjack from Bleach

Second Runner Up

Sajin Komarmura, 7th Division Captain, from Bleach

First Runner Up

Nappa, Goku and Frieza from Dragon Ball Z

And First Place

Super Sayan Goku from Dragon Ball Z

I loved this costume simply for the wig, it looks so perfect. He could have done without maybe so much foundation, but that’s just a minor complaint.

Aside from the costumes, there were some great stalls, including two Nintendo stands, one for the somewhat underwhelming 3DS, and another for various Nintendo games, which I didn’t really interact much with. The retailers were quite homogenous with a lot of the same stuff on sale at each stand. The two that stood out the most was the Spit Like This/Smell Your Mum t-shirt stand and the Magic the Gathering card stand, where I found these amazing cards to complete my Myrcraft deck:

Can you see where I’m going with this?

That’s 3 Masters Call from Mirrodin Besieged, 2 Palladium Myr, 1 Myrsmith, 2 Myr Propagators and 4 Myr Galvanisers. I’ve been dying to get hold of these cards and they make for a devastating combo of infinite Myr tokens.

All in all, it was a fantastic day and I’m so glad I went. I enjoyed it even more that I was with Viv, Vinki and Wessie. Being in costume gave me a sense of belonging that I’ve not had before. I’m totally planning on going to MCM London in May, with some additions to my costume, I may even try my hand at the masquerade!

Here’s a youtube video of the pictures I took:

And you can see them all here on my Flickr stream.

GamerPost #04 Assassins Creed 2 Review

Well, I’ve done it, I’ve finally fully completed a game. We’re talking 100% in game completion. We’re talking 1000/1000 gamer points. We’re talking EVERYTHING. As such, I feel I can offer my best possible review, breaking it down into what I loved and what I loathed.

LOVED IT

Some of the Old – This game took everything that was great about assassins creed and brought it back. The free running, the stealthy assassinations, they sick sense of pleasure you can get from using a throwing knife to send a guard toppling off a building. It was all there.

Something New – And it takes all these old classics and expands upon and adds to them. You now have access to poison blades which can be used to ‘indirectly’ kill guards. You can use the grab function in close combat to throw people off buildings. There’s a much wider selection of weapons, allowing you to choose between sword, spear or axe. The game adds so much to the experience it is simply fun to think up creative ways to off random guards.

Less Repetition – One thing Assassins Creed suffered from was being repetitive. AC2 does away with this. Each mission and side quest feels unique. I never once found myself thinking “Oh no, not this again” It was all fresh as a daisy.

Now He’s Got Character – The entire cast was well written and engaging, with a nice touch of dry, adult humour. You actually watch Ezio, the character you play as, grow and mature, from a rowdy teenager into a man, into an assassin.

Not Shying Away – The story doesn’t cut corners with plot. Ezio drinks, he has sex, he seeks revenge. It doesn’t gloss over anything. The best bit was a quick time event to take a girls top off (not that you actually saw anything).

LOATHED IT

Story? – I often at times found myself wondering ‘why?’ Why did I have to kill this man? Why was I listening to this person? There wasn’t a compelling story, which was a shame considering the wonderful characters that populated it.

Hmm, wonder what I can use that for? – The game also had a handful of items that just seemed tacked on. This includes two Da Vinci inventions, the wrist pistol and the flying machine. Apart from when you’re forced to use them, I found them inconvenient compared to the more ‘traditional’ hardware

Crystal Skull Syndrome – Spoiler Warning Right Here! The ending left something to be desired if I’m being honest. I think they gave away too much too quickly and have dimmed my interest in the third in the series. The alien/time travellers just leaves a bad taste in my mouth like at the end of the last Indiana Jones movie. I like my mysterious organisations surrounded in more, well, mystery.

Well, that’s convenient -  Some of the Puzzles just seemed a bit too conveniently set up. For example, you’d be expected to navigate a jumping puzzle that was supposedly set up when the building you’re in was first constructed, yet the puzzle would require  jumping to and from objects placed there during the renovation of the building. It just breaks the suspension of disbelief a little.

THE FINAL SCORE

Graphics – 8/10 – Nothing ground breaking, but still impressive and breath taking in places

Gameplay -  9/10 – A wonderful free running experience

Audio – 8/10 – I didn’t really notice the music much, although at times it did pick up quite nicely

Story – 6/10 – Like I said, I felt a little lost by the story at times and felt that I was just being dragged along for the ride.

OVERALL – 8/10