So I gotta say, I love what MLG has done for the game world. A lot of people disagree – saying that gaming has become more about being “famous” than just enjoying the game, but I see it as a way of legitimizing gaming. We can have a discussion about that another time though.
MLG Raleigh was pretty sweet in the set up; the room looked awesome. Of course, Halo took over the entire place, but there were areas for Starcraft/WoW, Tekken 6, and Brawl as well. I watched a little of the Halo, but what I really ended up watching were the World of Warcraft 3v3s. I had met Hoodrych and his team the day before at work, believe it or not, so I hung out with them (why did I not get a picture? I am so stupid.). They are incredibly nice! Check out more after the break!
MLG Raleigh is my first MLG event ever, but I knew there were not going to be a lot of “extra” events besides the tournaments. To be completely honest, if you do not really care about watching other people play, MLG events are not for you. One of the awesome features they did have was a Killzone 3 booth where you could test it out in 3D. I must admit: I found it odd that a PS3 game was featured at a place in which XBox 360 games dominate as far as consoles go. They were giving away a PS3 though, and, when I signed up for the giveaway, the survey asked if I would like to see Killzone 3 at MLG Circuit events. So maybe we will see the PS3 edging its way into the pro circuit, which I think would be great.
At this point, I bet you are wondering if I got to play Killzone 3. You will have to stick around until my next post to find out!
To finish up about MLG Raleigh though, it was a lot of fun for the little time I spent there. Here are some tips, though, if you are ever considering going to an MLG event:
- Go with friends, go with friends, go with friends. Bluntly put, you will be bored if you do not. The event is all about watching others play games, so it is even better if it is one of your friends who is playing. It is a great meet-up place, but it is not the event to go to if you are expecting it to be like a mini-PAX. It’s not.
- Bring something warm. It is cold in there! There is so much heat from the consoles and computers that they have to keep the air conditioning on a frigid setting. Not to mention they sell hoodies: so it is a great marketing ploy as well. So unless you were planning on buying a hoodie, bring one with you!
- Make sure you look at the schedule. Certain games are only going on at certain times. Starcraft II finished up on Saturday afternoon, with WoW starting afterwards. If you are an SC2 fan, and only wanted to go to MLG on Sunday, you would have completely missed out on the competition.
- Make some friends while you are there! The one thing I love about the gaming community is how we make friends with each other so easily! It’s like, “Oh, you play video games? We’re best friends then!” I love it!
Maybe I will see you guys at the next MLG Raleigh Event! There have been rumors that it is coming back!