The major attraction for many people coming to FanExpo is the guests. A convention like this offers fans the chance to get up close with their favorite celebs from their favorite shows. The guests will (usually for a fee) pose for photos and sign autographs, which thrills most convention goers. Running through the list of guests at FanExpo 2009 would be a bit tiresome and also it's a matter of public record that can be seen at the event's site. However, of those guests, there were a few who stood out more than others.

If there's one constant in the world of geeky conventions, it's that there will invariably be girls dressed in the gold Princess Leia bikini. And likewise, they invariably can't pull it off.

Welcome to the world of conventions!

They say that FanExpo in Toronto is the third biggest event of its kind. I can only assume that San Diego and New York's Comic-Cons are larger. In any case, the first thing that hits you as you cross the threshold onto the convention floor is the size of the place. I've been to E3, back in its huge days, and obviously that's much bigger. But for a nerd convention, you'd think you died and went to Sto-vo-kor. As you walk into the hall, you're presented with noise and colors on a grand scale. Seemingly endless aisles upon aisles of comic and toy shops are hawking their wares. You want Amazing Spider-Man #2? Somebody's got it. In fact, I saw a guy examining a copy, deciding whether he should plunk down the small fortune for it. You want Marvel Bishojo statues? Somebody's selling them. You want hard to find Mighty Muggs? They're there. Want a $425 Jabba the Hutt? You're in luck!

FanExpo in Toronto is one of the biggest conventions of its kind in the world. This year more than 59,000 people came to celebrate their love of science fiction, comics, anime, horror and even videogames. People in attendance dress up as their favorite fictional characters, stalk the actors who have portrayed said fictional characters, and shell out their hard earned money to get their autographs. There are even giant screens setup by our favorite videogame companies so we can stare in rapt wonder at games like God of War III. Retailers sell everything from comic books to videogames and action figures (many of these very obscure). Essentially, FanExpo is where geeks spend the rest of eternity after they die. Even if you’re not a fan of any of the genres represented, I don’t think it would be possible not to be awed by the spectacle of the event. In many cases the costumes are out of this world, quite literally, and in my opinion would have been worth the price of admission alone to see. But no FanExpo would be complete without a chance to interact with the celebrities who bring our favorite works to the page or to the screen.

One of the best first-person shooters I've played of recent is FEAR. I was so enamored with the bullet-time gunplay and supernatural horror story that I went out and bought the expansion pack set for the 360 as soon as it came out. So imagine my thrill when at this year's E3 I got to checkout Monolith's sequel – Project Origin. With more open environments and tons of gun fighting action, Project Origin is set to be the true sequel every FEAR fan has been waiting for all this time.

Were you a fan of the movie The Rocketeer growing up? If you haven't seen the film, shame on you. If you have seen the film, however, you'll feel right at home with the gameplay style of the upcoming game Dark Void. The Rocketeer never fought robots, scaled cliffs, or hijacked UFOs, but still the essence of the game feels very similar to the film. With a jetpac on your back and the skies your limit, Dark Void is shaping up to be quite the potential hit.

Before my chance to see Fallout 3 at this year's E3, I wouldn't have believed the concept of time travel was possible. Much to my surprise, however, Bethesda managed to create a time travel machine with their latest offering – Fallout 3. Fallout 3 not only transports fans back to the olden days of the franchise's heyday, but you'll also find yourself exploring the world, wanting to try one more thing out, and the next thing you know thirty minutes have gone by in what only seems like ten. I literally lost all sense of time when playing the game.

Before Left 4 Dead came along, I would've never thought it was possible to be in the same room with three other people and yet still feel so very alone and scared. Though there have been a number of horrifying FPS and survival horror games over the past years, Left 4 Dead is the first one to actually make me "feel" as if I was really transported into the game, living out the actions of my character. You can chalk part of that up to the atmosphere and immersion level, but part of it also comes from the frantic gunfights and team cooperation gameplay. Left 4 Dead – proof that running zombies are always more frightening.

Sonic has enjoyed a long and storied history throughout gaming, taking part in a number of different videogame genres. Sonic got his start on the Genesis with a platformer, but since then he's been involved with kart racers, sports games, and even pinball! The one genre Sonic has never tackled, however, is the role-playing game genre…until now. The game wasn't even on my interest radar up until now, but after getting some quality time with the game at E3, I'm already anticipating plunking down money for a pre-buy.

What’s black and white and red all over? I would’ve thought the answer was a “newspaper” before E3, but after seeing SEGA’s MADWORLD demoed I have a new definitive answer. MADWORLD is a crazy, sick game that has players taking on the role of Jack, a man who finds himself in a Running Man like game of death, where the only way to win is to literally kill off the competition. Stylish and violent, MADWORLD looks to show the world that the Nintendo Wii is far from being a kiddy system.

I rolled into Sega’s meeting room expecting to see nothing more than a new Sonic game. I had some time to kill before my next scheduled appointment, so when a nice woman asked if I’d like to sit-in on a demo of a game called Bayonetta, I went ahead and said sure. I wasn’t expecting much from the game, considering the fact I hadn’t heard of it before, but soon I found myself enamored with a remarkably stylish and action packed game. If you haven’t heard of the title either, read on and find out why you should remember this game’s name.