It's looking likely I'll write more about Halo in the next eighteen days than in the entirety of my OXM career.

Today, a genuine career high point: interviewing a man while he's in the very act of cross-dressing as Chun-Li. Thank you, games industry, for changing lives in this way.

Today, the doors opened, the demos started, and the free T-shirts were given out in earnest. It has been a day of endless meetings and no food, with nutrition provided only by drinks stolen from stands.

After a budget flight, an adequate hotel breakfast, a massive row about press accreditation and an ill-advised night out with Codemasters we were ready to face Europe's premier press event.

Back in the dark period when I played World of Warcraft to the exclusion of almost everything else, including sleep and basic nutrition, I came across a phrase that still describes my approach to in-game fashion: hobo clowning.

It'd be fair to say we're comfortable with the idea of Xbox 360 Dashboard updates these days.

E3 has long gone. Its legacy: all the stuff we managed to cram into the latest issue of the mag, hundreds of dollars worth of cab receipts, and all the text messages still in my phone's inbox.

I reneged on an earlier decision to play Red Dead's multiplayer first. A half hour dip into SP to familiarise myself with the controls is now in its eight hour and counting.

When we get retail games in the office, they're slightly different to the ones you buy off the shelves. They're known as promo games and they have a washed out cover and special cover with 'NOT FOR RESALE' printed on it, so you can't just trade them in.

At this very moment, we're watching OXM Mightyseven being beaten to death by a teddy bear dressed as a police officer. There can't be many stranger ways to spend a Friday morning, although A2M's new beat em up Naughty Bear has a few more shocks in store.