June 4, 2010

Last night’s 1C press event, Another Night in Moscow, was the first time Game Chronicles has been able to attend the event of the three years we’ve been invited, and 1C’s staff told me that this year’s was the largest one yet. It was held at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco, and security may have been a little unusual that night because the President of Russia was in town (or so we were told), but the evening proceeded smoothly.

It was interesting enough to have the opportunity to step inside the stately consulate building with its metal detector, immaculately dressed security men, opulent pink curtains, and beautiful view of the Palace of Fine Arts; but 1C saw to it that we journalists were all well fed with tasty Russian hors d’oeuvres (the blini with the sour cream and caviar were my personal favorite) from California’s best Russian restaurant and provided with as much vodka as we cared to drink.

The main course, however, was a showcasing of 1C’s new games, including a number of strategy (such as King’s Bounty: Crossworlds, Men of War: Assault Squad, Men of War: Vietnam), action (Captain Blood, which appears to be finally coming out after much anticipation; Death to Spies 3), and racing/driving titles (Off-Road Drive, Rig’n’Roll). Of those titles, the most attention seemed to be paid to Captain Blood, an attractively bloody hack-and-slash pirate game reminiscent in style to the God of War series; Men of War: Assault Squad, a promising military (and micromanaging) strategy title; and Death to Spies 3, a stealth-oriented action game.

The AMD multi-monitor gaming stations, showing off the hardware sponsor’s new Eyefinity technology, were also very cool to experience, the most drool-worthy setup being an amazing Samsung 6-monitor arrangement on which I tried out Men of War: Assault Squad. I could definitely get used to that sort of gaming rig – finally, peripheral vision!

All in all, it was an enjoyable night of previewing games and Russian hospitality, and we’re looking forward to attending again next year.