Apr 25, 6:05 pm
If there’s one thing I like more than sitting playing games all day long in my house it’s going on a weekend trip to play games all day long. A while back Frag Dolls had the prospect of making another trip to the best LAN party around, Multiplay’s i series. With one thing and another that didn’t happen but luckily I was able to tag along with the Frag Legion anyways and what a time we had!
The Big Frag Bus couldn’t make it all the way to PrinceOfEternia’s house where we were staying without stopping at one arcade, at least. We headed for the biggest gun peripherals we could find (natch) and spend all our change getting sore arms. I bought a purple pillow in the shop. It was one of those Cushtie pillows that feels all squashy and jelly like. It smelled like marker pens. We also bought Pokemon toys in little plastic balls and then threw them at each others feet shouting “I choose you!”
Once we got to Prince’s house there were lots of introductions to be made. It’s weird that it’s not weird meeting people off your friends list, if you see what I mean. I mean you’re already friends and know lots about each other and everyone was exactly how I imagined. Awkwardness came not in the form of breaking the ice but in deciding what to play. Simes managed to blow away any other option by pulling out his Guitar Hero controller. Once the wine started flowing and we were all hopped up on purple pillow smell we were playing that guitar for all it was worth until 6 in the morning.
Once we arrived at i27 the next morning… err afternoon I headed straight for the GRAW PC stand, said hello to my Ubisoft buddies and sat down to play. I can tell you this - the game looks unbelievable, plays beautifully, has totally bitchin’ explosions and the overhead map beggars belief. It’s so detailed it made my eyes water. However that is all I can tell you. A whole night of rockin’ out, wine and purple pillow put paid to me spending any real time playing anything that required more than the most basic brain functions.
Our fragile state in mind we went to the bar and had our own LAN tournament on Nintendo DS! We played Bomberman in which I died first in EVERY game and then Mario Kart in which I came fourth in EVERY game. We even attracted a bystander who pulled out his DS and joined us for a few games so it was officially an open tournament. We should have probably had Participant Passes instead of Spectator!
We managed to come 7th out of 28 teams in the pub quiz which is no mean feat considering the super geeky questions but it did break my 100% win ratio for the i Series quiz that Frag Dolls set back at i25. After a sterling effort in the boat race by the Legion we spent the remainder of the evening watching the Pro DDR tournament which was a sight to behold. I spent my very first night in a tent ever on Newbury Racecourse and watched the various glow in the dark lights, lasers, and Frisbees that other veteran campers had brought along as they wheeled around in the dark. The next day after a giant Sunday roast in a lovely wee pub we all went to Prince’s house and played Top Spin 2 before it was time for me to head back to the airport. Even at the airport I felt the need to have a go at DDR in the arcade inspired by watching the experts the night before. I was rubbish.
It was a games intensive weekend and I loved every minute of it. I couldn’t have enjoyed it as much if it weren’t for being surrounded by friends with as much passion for gaming as myself.
