E for All: Prelude to a Kickass Weekend

This coming weekend, GotGame’s packing up and heading down south to the second annual E for All Expo, held in the Los Angeles Convention Center, October 3rd through October 5th. E for All was delayed by about a month due to scheduling conflicts with the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Thanks to the delay, and the promise of new products to check out, anticipation is high for the event which has been tagged as being the spiritual successor to E3s of old. Since it is open to the public, (with a $75 charge for a three-day pass), the expo will no doubt be a massive affair. The potent lineup of sponsors, contributors and attendees has us nauseous with glee, but we’ve packed plenty of chlorpromazine and paper bags and are ready to go.

Some of the events that we’ll be taking our baggies to:

Meet, Greet and Beat the Champs: Attendees are given the chance to meet and try to beat some of the classic arcade champions like Todd Rogers, Paul Dean and Steve Wiebe King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters fame.. Thanks to the “Gamer Aptitude Test” that will be on hand, the results should be official and completely devastating.

Sharp/ProGamer Gamers Lounge: Play games and compete against others on AQUOS televisions that you’ll never be able to afford.

E for All 2008 Cosplay Contest: No witty commentary. Cosplay is this year’s hot button issue, and we intend to treat it with the delicate respect it deserves.

Into the Pixel: A digital centric art contest? Not judged by snooty gamers who can only judge based on lack of chiaroscuro shading? Finally, video game artists get the chance for some broader recognition. Expect to see some razzle and dazzle, as well as a discussion about games as art, art in games, and other sentence constructions of those two words with the President of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, Joseph Olin.

Chat with Fatal1ty: Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, pro gaming’s first mega-superstar, will be attending. After winning 12 world championships in five different games, Fatal1ty will be making appearances and helping out by running Gaming Bootcamp: Learn from the Pros. He’ll also be chatting with our own professional CoD4 player, zigzag, though hopefully not in cryptic gamer-sp3@k that only they understand.

Try on TN Games’ 3rd Space Vest: These vests have been floating around everyone’s twitchily excited peripheral for awhile now, but they’ll be in direct sight (and contact) at E for All. For the disconnected gamer who wants games to make him feel something, TN Games has created a vest which will recreate the sensation of “impact, speed, motion, and gravity.” Baller. Even better? It works with a mess of games, including World of Warcraft, the Half-Life series, Bioshock, F.E.A.R., and Crysis. We’re going to try it on, then try the creators on—interview style.

Gaming Bootcamp: Learn from the Pros: Love games? Suck horribly at them? Well, here’s your chance to get a quick lesson in pwnage from some of the world’s experts such as Fatal1ty, Chris Morell from GamePro, and Trina Schwimmer, CEO/Chief Editor of GamingAngels.com.

Upcoming games that we’ll be able to preview:

• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood [DS](Bioware-produced RPG? It has been compared SmaRPG™? Yeah, we’re excited.)
• Sacred 2: Fallen Angel [PC](People around the office won’t shut up about this game.)
• Legendary [PS3 & Xbox 360] (We might need two pills for this one.)
• Silent Hill: Homecoming [PS3 & Xbox 360](Banned in Australia. It has to be awesome.)
• Guilty Gear 2: Overture [Xbox 360](Guilty Gear Action game. I’m intrigued.)



• Gauntlet [DS]
• Tetris Splash [Xbox 360]
• We Cheer [Wii] (Watch this. Get excited.)

This is obviously just a small sample of what will be showcased at this year’s E for All (I didn’t even mention that Target will be there), but we’ll have more details and plenty of pictures to post up during the event, so look forward to it!