Though more and more people are pulling out of the show each year (I hear that next year Guillemot won't be attending ECTS either, only CeBit and E3), there's always something worth seeing. This year's highlights included the atmospheric and promising title Call of Cthulu, the dizzyingly fast Ballistic and the innovative Battle Realms. Way too many game press releases describe what is often in fact rather mundane gameplay as "innovative" but I really think Battle Realms deserves to be called innovative for its unique take on resource management and troop development.

As a bonus to tie up the article I've included a photo of some mad German in silver body paint and few shots of some of the weirder input peripherals of the show. One is a fighting controller from Guillemot, the other a mad dancing game ala Dance Dance Revolution, except this one has the added novelty of breaking laser beams with your hands in time with the music and on screen instructions. I just wish I had a photo of the mad Korean dance game fanatic (I swear there's always one at these shows) who was as one point breaking the beams with his FEET. Plainly bonkers, but great fun to watch.

By Pete Closs
Editor