The Jones Report: Leipzig 2008

8/20/2008 9:18 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 1

So after eight hours on a crummy Singapore Airlines plane stuffed into a seat that would have made Verne Troyer claustrophobic -- the things I do for you damn people -- I arrived at the Frankfurt airport in Germany for a six-hour layover.

Anyone who's spent any time in the Frankfurt airport knows two things. One, there's free coffee in the Lufthansa terminal. And it's good coffee, too! Nice. Strong. The kind that makes your shoulder hair grow 40 percent faster. And two, trying to find an outlet to plug your laptop into is on par with trying to find those fish scales in that one particular side-quest from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

In other words, it's not easy.

It's clear that when they built the airport, someone said (in German), "We must eliminate every last outlet from this terminal! We must not give them any power! If they take any power from us, that means we have less power, and that is not acceptable! If I see even one outlet, I will become incensed and I will begin shouting at random people until my face turns red!"

That's a rough translation, of course.

Finally, after nearly four earnest hours of searching, interrogating terminal employees, looking under chairs, and scanning concrete walls, I did finally locate an outlet, not far from gate A10. I'm not telling you exactly where it is -- let's just say it'll require something akin to an Ashtanga yoga pose to get the plug into the outlet -- because the next time I'm there, I plan on using it again, and I don't want to find you people using it.

My traveling companions are a copy of "A Prayer for Owen Meany" -- terrific John Irving novel; even if you've read it, re-read it, as I'm doing -- and my Nintendo DS. Geometry Wars: Galaxies got plenty of play in the past 24 hours. In a great many ways, Galaxies, even on the DS, is superior to Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2. It has that great RPG quality to it, which has the effect of making you feel like you're accomplishing something, even when you aren't. ("I only got 400,000 points, but I upgraded my Drone to Level Three. So, woot!") That's sorely missing from the new game.

Checked into the Best Western Hotel Leipzig, located out near the airport. Ran into some LucasArts employees who are also staying here. (Hi, Barbara Gamlen!) Had a late meal by myself in the bar downstairs that for some inexplicable reason reminded me of my grandparents' basement. If I had a Euro for every lonely dinner I've eaten in hotel bars that reminded me of my grandparents' basement, I could probably buy myself something pretty nice by now, like an iPod maybe.

Heading over to the show floor to connect up with CG Game Truster Billy "Dr. Leipzig" Berghammer now. Today is "press-only" day, which means tomorrow the gates swing open, and the public comes in. Should have more to report later on. Stay tuned.

Read The Jones Report: Leipzig 2008, Day 2.