Over the bank holiday weekend, SFL headed over to London’s Excel Centre for the MCM Expo not only to witness the incredible cosplayers queuing up to give each other free hugs but to also get our hands on some soon to be released games.

Our overall impression is that this year, the content was decidedly aimed at boys with loads of fighters on offer but there were also plenty of anime inspired titles, some hidden gems as well as a couple of classics making a welcome return to keep us happy.

First of all, we headed over to the Nintendo Unleashed Zone where there was already a queue for the eagerly anticipated Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D which is due for release on the 3DS, 17th June. Fans will be glad to hear that the charm of the original N64 version remains and the touch screen brings a new dimension to play like being able to equip and swap items with much more ease plus you can see dungeon maps without having to visit a menu screen. There have also been some other welcome tweeks and additions including a new Boss Challenge, which allows you to face off against the monsters from the main campaign in a separate gameplay mode whilst the overall graphics are crisper and movement is smoother. Also in the zone was Dead or Alive: Dimensions on the 3DS which with two buttons for basic attacks and a mighty list of potential combos on the bottom screen is perfect for newcomers to portable fighters and has some colourful anime characters but the game we were really looking forward was the massive futuristic Japan RPG Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. Though the colours looked a bit muted (the palette in the trailer is soft with warm tones but perhaps didn’t come across as well as expected on the screens under the lights of the Expo), the scenery is amazing with long grass and lakes providing the backdrop to a huge world just waiting to be explored. The robotic baddies are swiftly felled by a mammoth energy sword in some semi-automatic battles and it plays really well with the classic controller attached to the Wiimote – certainly a title to look out for when it finally hits our shores later this year.Elsewhere in the Expo, we stopped to admire the latest designs on the Insert Coin Tees stand which was nestled in amongst the manga, comics, anime films and retro gaming stalls before checking out Atari’s remake of Warlords (due on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network this summer) which now looks madder and more frantic than ever and Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale. We didn’t get much playtime on this and the overall story seems to be average fantasy fair and we weren’t very impressed with the co-op. Other games we briefly encountered included the all female anime fighter Arcana Heart 3, the brilliant latest version of Mortal Kombat that has an engaging storyline and some awesomely gruesome X-ray moves where internal bones crunch and snap and F.3.A.R which is out at the end of June. We played the “Soul Survivor” multiplayer mode (one of four modes) which has one player as the spectre, pitted against 3 other players that you have to possess and it’s dark, tense and scary good fun.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 had more lovely anime featuring over 60 robots and 70 human characters many of you will recognise from the TV series fighting waves and waves and yet more waves of baddies. The speed of movement around the map is great but the battles are a real challenge as the onslaught is relentless. We’ve been told the co-op mode really brings this game to life so can’t wait to see if this is the case when it’s released on July 1st.

Our first of our two highlights though is the psychedelic multi-sensory shooter Child of Eden. Essentially a musical, kaleidoscopic mission set in the near future to protect Lumi the first girl to be born in space, who has her personality stored inside Eden, the archive of all human memories. You have to use your body to move the camera, and both hands to lock-on and shoot at various targets, which produce melodic sounds upon destruction in order to save Eden from an unknown virus to restore hope and peace. It’s fabulous, bright and strangely emotional. Will be available for Xbox360 and Kinect on 17th June.

Finally, The Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters. Happily it’s not a rehash of the upcoming film but does feature the likeness and voice of Ryan Reynolds as cocky test pilot Hal Jordan. Armed with a power ring charged by will, there’s a huge array of weapons built from green energy on offer including some giant spinning razor disks and a massive war mallet that you can switch between with ease. We played against the end of level boss, two vengeance seeking Manhunters – a corrupted android race of interstellar police who were exiled when they took their mantra of “No one escapes the Manhunters” a bit too far and wiped out all life in space sector 666, believing it to be evil. They’re now solely bent on destroying the Green Lantern Corps and the section we played was tough and required a bit of quick thinking but very satisfying when they were finally defeated – yeah! Unsurprisingly, with the film and game both being released soon the Green Lantern cosplayers were out in force but it did make us feel more secure, even if they were wearing tight spandex. All together now “In brightest day, in blackest night…….”