However, there was only ever one real highlight of the show for me (though Rainbow Six 3 came close) and even though I couldn't get hands-on with it I was still left somewhat in awe of and ION Storm's lovely 2. Backstage on the Eidos booth a small gathering of us were treated to a walkthrough taking in various aspects of the game from the excellent new control system (which appears in the style of a HUD burnt onto the player's retina) to the typically deceptive plot-lines that our hero will become embroiled in. The addition of nanotechnology is a positive one, too, allowing the player to induce a temporary state of, say, thermal-invisibility - once the technology is collected, that is.

This new addition makes for some clever moments in the game, such as jumping huge fences, sneaking past a heat-sensitive gun placement or creeping up undetected on a guard whilst invisible. With in mind, and given it's current popularity, Deus Ex 2 includes a visibility meter which allows the player to gauge how stealthily they’re moving through the environment a la Splinter Cell.

Choices, however, once again form the foundations of the Deus Ex experience and its pleasing to note that the developers are clearly spending time catering for different styles of play - and in doing so - adding replayability. One example offered to us was the three separate ways a player could gain entry to a building in an Arctic cave, either by using a one-use only tool, blowing the door with an explosion, or by climbing a ladder and dropping through a hatch in the roof to surprise the enemy inside. Of course, the decisions you make are more important still in the storyline you follow - choosing who to trust and side with as you're presented with conflicting and multitudinous ideas, opinions and images at every step of Deus Ex 2's paranoid way. This is the future, ladies and gentlemen, and with the massively improved graphics I was very impressed with even the pre-alpha content I witnessed.

And so draws to a fairly sedate end as I sit here in the Media Centre sweltering in the afternoon heat of the south of France - there were other highlights; Codemaster's surprisingly good Club Football games, Microsoft's Live–enabled Top Spin and even Ubi Soft's imminently due XIII which I spent some quality time with. Even Eidos' Whiplash proved a pleasant surprise, with comical animation and frenzied that should ensure success this Christmas. Will be worried in the X03 aftermath? Probably not, but this was never an event designed to change the gaming world - merely a state of intent that are here to stay and will continue to build solidly towards making the Xbox number one - something that probably does send a shiver down Sony's corporate spine. Nice beer, too.

By Luke Guttridge