Sony’s 3Rooms is still a remarkable place though — pretty much anyone’s ideal flat if they’re at all into technology or gaming. Sony uses it to show off its new releases, and with an abundance of large flat-screen TVs and PS3s, there’s never any trouble finding something to play with. Impressions of LittleBigPlanet and PlayTV should follow shortly, and in the meantime here are some shots of 3Rooms from an earlier event.

For anyone who isn’t privy to the world of games journalism and/or PR, here’s how a typical preview event goes down. You and an assembled throng of journalists will be invited to a central-London location. There, you’ll be given a short introduction by the game’s designers, after which there’ll be the chance to ask some questions. If you’re lucky, or the game is due for imminent release, you’ll get to play on the game while anxious PRs look over your shoulder to make sure you’re not breaking anything. You may also have the chance to have a one-on-one interview, although you’ll invariably have to wait around for the publisher to fit you in.

Rockstar works differently. When they invite you to see their game, they invite you personally and put you in a dark room with an awesome home cinema setup. They spend ages with you (two and a half hours with GTA IV), talking you through everything they’re showing you and answering any questions along the way. They give you time to explore at your leisure, allowing you to have an experience that’s different to everyone else who’s played the game. They even have bowls of sweets lying around in case you need a sugar hit. There’s a passion and a buzz about everything Rockstar does, and while it obviously helps when you have one of the most anticipated games of the year, the way they demo things serves as an example to the rest of the industry.

Sadly I can’t talk about anything from the game itself as it’s all under embargo, but rest assured, the coverage will be up on GameSpot in the next couple of weeks. Instead, I’ll leave you with some random shots that I took from the company’s office. Sorry they’re a bit…rubbish, but the office itself is pretty secretive.

I got the recipe from my mum, who says that they’re actually more like rock buns. Got any good scone/cake/weekend lunch recipes? Let me know!

Ingredients

• 8 ozs plain flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder
• 3 ozs butter
• 1 oz caster sugar
• 3 ozs cherries
• 4 fluid ozs of milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add caster sugar and cherries( cut into halves or quarters) and mix in approximately 4 fluid ozs of milk. Bring the mixture together with a fork into a ball (do not overwork). The mixture should be soft but not sloppy. Take off small amounts, slightly less than ball of your hand, and roll gently around in your hand until scone shaped. Place on the baking sheet and bake in over at 200 degrees centigrade for approximately 10-15 minutes until well risen and golden in colour. Look at the bottom of the scone to make sure it is cooked. It should look and feel firm to the touch. Serve whilst still warm with butter and jam and, of course, a nice cup of tea!