The Jones Report: Leipzig 2008 -- The Mr. Tom Awards

8/22/2008 8:10 PM | 1 Comments | Page 1 of 2

Read The Jones Report: Leipzig 2008, Day 1 and Day 2.

While loitering in the Capcom booth yesterday afternoon, I spotted a bowl of candy bars and decided that I very much deserved a treat. Before unwrapping my bit of afternoon delight, I inspected the packaging and noticed that the candy bar was called a Mr. Tom.

Next to the Mr. Tom logo was a starburst that had the word "PEANUTS" inside, rendered in a crazy, circus-like font. Honestly, has the word "PEANUTS" ever enticed you to buy anything?

Scattered across the packaging were tiny photographs of the scariest-looking clowns I've ever seen. I ate my Mr. Tom thinking, "If there was ever an official candy bar of child molesters, it would be the Mr. Tom."

Truthfully, the Mr. Tom was very tasty, and quite full of peanuty goodness, just as the label had promised. So I've decided to spend my final day in Germany handing out Mr. Toms to the people, the games and the moments that made Leipzig 2008 memorable.

To Heavy Rain, the first game on my radar in a long time (since BioShock, probably) to baffle and intrigue me at once ... a Mr. Tom.

To Call of Duty: World At War, which, with its darker subject matter and well-developed cooperative play, is a COD that even a Democrat can love ... a Mr. Tom.

To the counter girl in the press room with the very nice ankles who served me a beer yesterday ... a Mr. Tom.

To producer Ben Judd of Capcom for listening to me grouse about how difficult the Challenge levels are in Bionic Commando: Rearmed ... a Mr. Tom.

To the slowly rotating (and well-stocked) bar in the EA booth ... a Mr. Tom.

To the GCDC for having the good sense to devote a large portion of the Leipzig show floor to space where the press and developers can meet in relative peace ... a Mr. Tom.

To the German woman at the front desk of the Best Western Hotel, who (after I'd spent a sleepless night in my stuffy room) patiently watched me draw a picture of a fan, and then watched me make a turning motion with my index finger while blowing air in her direction ... a Mr. Tom.