I should preface this piece with the statement that I really don’t consider myself a games journalist. I primarily review games for GameShark.com and also do preview pieces on occasion. “Confessions of a Game Reviewer” doesn’t have the same snap to it though, and in my recent trip to Vegas I did bust out my paltry interviewing skills, so I’m keeping the title.

But I digress. Last week I was invited to go to Las Vegas to play the upcoming open world gang masterpiece Saints Row 2 for a full day and I figured I’d share my experiences. As a gamer, I’ve always wondered what these big preview events are all about, and I imagine other gamers are similarly curious so here we are. I’d like to say that it was a non-stop tour of PR funded debauchery but it’s far, far less interesting. Onwards!

When the trip was first offered to all of the writers, my initial response was “Woo-hoo! Free trip to Vegas!” Why this was my first thought, I have no idea. I don’t even like Vegas. I am a horribly unlucky gambler capable of losing money faster than you can flush it down the toilet. I don’t like the heat, I don’t go to strip clubs, I’m not about to pay nineteen bucks for a watered down martini and the game I’d be previewing was a sequel to something I never played in the first place. On paper, there was no reason for me to go other than to get the experience and to continue my trend of being as open to assignments as possible. I mentioned it to my wife and she said I should go. Honestly, leaving her behind with our two young, rambunctious children was my primary concern, given that I’d be going for something as silly as playing a video game, so when she said I should go, I figured that I should go. I’ve done quite well by listening to my wife so far. No reason to stop now.

So I offered to go and due to a fellow writer’s Canadian passport problems (oh Office of Homeland Security, what horrors you have wrought!) I was given the chance. Once the initial feelings of “yay, I’m going to Vegas” wore off, I started to feel somewhat bad about the whole thing. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the video game journalism business is seen as fairly corrupt. Big name publishers pay for ad space, or to send writers to lavish events and as a result end up “buying” positive coverage of games that really don’t deserve it. As a gamer, I always thought that these events were pretty low class, but here I was, slavering at the chance to go to one like I’d never been on a plane, or had a meal purchased for me. Shouldn’t I refuse to go, opting instead to maintain my journalistic integrity? Did I even have journalistic integrity? I’m just a reviewer, it’s not like I’m ever in a situation to cover up some massive scheme to defraud the American public. I play games called “Time Ace” and then tell people how crappy they are. In the end, I figured that if my editor wanted someone to go, he wasn’t concerned about how it appeared for the site, and if he wasn’t concerned, then I shouldn’t be either. And so I wasn’t, that is until the details came out.

First, I found out that they were putting me up at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas. This ain’t no Holiday Inn. The Four Seasons doesn’t have it’s own physical building in Vegas, it’s the top four floors of the Mandalay Bay Casino. That right there should give you an idea as to how nice the place is and the level of expense. Plus, it’s the fraking Four Seasons. The plan was that they’d fly me in on Wednesday, put me up at the hotel Wednesday night, bring the console to my room on Thursday so that I could play the game on Thursday and then we’d have a co-op event in the penthouse suite (again, expensive) on Thursday night and then I’d fly home on Friday. When I was booking my travel, the travel agent said they’d get me a car service as well. The airport in Vegas is about five minutes away from the strip, and as it turned out, I could see it from my hotel room and could have walked there if I didn’t mind being crushed by the occasional jet landing. The idea of having a car service for such a short distance when undoubtedly the hotel would have a shuttle seemed absurd and a waste of money, but not wanting to raise a fuss I said “Er, OK” and that was that. Car service it would be.

Again the feelings that I was whoring myself out came out. This was an expensive hotel! There’s a car service! They’re spending a lot of money on my stupid ass! To an outside observer, would it look as badly as I thought it did, that I was essentially, being bought? Maybe. Maybe not. I have no idea. My coworkers, many of whom are gamers, thought that it was pretty cool and didn’t give a damn about integrity, probably because they think I never had any in the first place, or they don’t read the site I write for. Again, I figured that if my editor was OK with it, I should be as well. Plus, this was my chance to show myself that I don’t give a damn about fancy hotels and nice dinners. I was going to play the game and when the time came to write the piece, if the game was a piece of crap, then it’s a piece of crap and I’d call it like I see it. I’d be the most integrity laden motherfraker that ever put words to paper. They’d see! They can’t buy me! Not this guy!

With that, my travel was arranged, my itinerary was set and I was ready to go.

Or so I thought.

Tomorrow, comes Part 2: Voice Recorders and Business Cards and Expensive Steaks, Oh My!