Hey Peeps!
I Recently attended EGX Birmingham for 1st dibs on upcoming game releases. I’d attended an EGX a couple of years prior but hadn’t maximised the experience, It was just a laugh. This time the aim was to cram as many titles in as possible! However, there are nuances to bear in mind at such events that can and will most likely hinder your plans if you’re not wise to the game. So, for the convention novice I’ve prepped a little guide & (in parts) story of “How to Survive Games Conventions”. Along with some reviews of the titles and their presentations. Anyone attending a major games convention or any convention for that matter should most definitely read on, and heed my advice less ye be spared sweaty horrors!
I’ll be thorough, brutal & completely honest, covering the entire experience. You’ll find following points of interest.
Overview
The Guide
Book your accommodation
Get your Plan Straight
Download the app
Buy the right kit
Travel
Cash Money
Queues
Major Games
Inde Games
Retro
Freebies
Time
Girls
Games & Stand Reviews
Destiny 2
Forza Motorsport
NBA2K18
Battlefront 2
Fifa 18
Lego: Marvel Super Heroes 2
Raging Justice
Retro Time
The Guide
Book your accommodation
at the point you decide to go! We knew we were going but dragged our heels in buying the tickets and booking accommodation. Being rookies we didn’t realise hotels pretty much double their prices closer to the date you want to stay, especially if there’s a local event happening. Even the cheapest hotels and B&B’s that would usually charge £40-£50 a night where asking for £130 minimum for a room with two single beds. Muthaf%ck@*s! I can live with the mega chain hotels milking me for profit, whats new? but your supposedly wholesome family run B&B’s are clearly wise to the hustle. Mo Muthaf%ck@*s! How dare they make a living!!
Get your Plan B straight
If you miss your train? If you lose your ticket? If your girlfriend double books? What the fu%@! You gonna do bro? Plan for the above and more. Think Murphy’s law.
Download the app or brochure
and decide what games, talks, reveals, cosplay shows etc are most important to you and prioritise them! If you’ve gone to the trouble of paying for the event you should get what you came for. Take it from someone who knows. The pain of knowing you missed what got you excited enough to book the damn ticket for in the 1st place will override whatever pleasure you did have, and burn your cranium for a day or two depending on your ability to move on and general level of maturity. So when you get there head straight for most important agenda item! Naturally If you know the layout you’ll waist less time flaying around with a an angry gurn and & lost emptiness in your eyes like I did!
Buy the right kit
Ensure you have the necessary essentials in your anime cosplay utility belt or Rucksack. You’ll want the most comfortable baggage and a ruck sack with two straps is the way to go! Next is Handwipes or hand sanitiser gel. Go with the wipes though, this way you can kindly leave the controller cleaner than you found it. Remember its mainly adolescent men & boys attending these events who’ll take a piss and rarely wash their hands, sneeze and wipe the snot with their hands or (more commonly) reach down & manoeuvre genitalia with their hands kinda guys. not to mention the fact that gripping a controller highly generally induces sweaty palms..Capish?? Next is Snacks, These events are money pits! You’ll spend monopoly money on snacks from the onsite shops. I spent £2.00 for a sprite and decided i’d rather fast then pay 200% more than my local store for a bag of skittles. Last on my kit list is Phone Charger Pack. For obvious reasons you’ll want to document your day trip with a selfie or potential vlog post. Doing so will drain your already crappy smartphone battery & as you can imagine all the plugs are used up. That’s it, you could go balls deep and make provisions for your portable gaming devices or pack spare dungeons & dragons cards etc, but for your average like gamer like moi, the above should serve you well.
Travel
Mi buddy & I decided to make this a Road Trip. We got siked and loaded my sports-wagon with premium unleaded, fine munch, dope playlists then dusted off. The ride was sweet! Stone Roses at 80mph, Autumn red horizon, techni-colored sunset sky, Asphalt for days & man banter. But in hindsight perhaps the above could’ve been enjoyed a little more in a 1st class Virgin cabin with readily available pissing facilities, space to stretch with perhaps a little eye candy in an adjacent aisle? Draw your own conclusions. One little nugget of wisdom though! Because we had a car with a boot we could deposit our newly acquired baggage at intervals and return to said event skipping light and fancy free! The train-cru massive on the other hand were not as peachy.
Cash Money
Pretty self-explanatory really. Bring loads! I thought I’d try and practice self-restraint this time as I had personal expenses for the month. Whilst I only spent £40 on a Game of Thrones varsity jacket, I could’ve spent a whole lot more on some of the awesome items scattered across the event.
There’s usually everything you could image merchandise wise not to mention the wondrous tech! See pics for the god PCs you could acquire your money’s right.
There’s stuff you really don’t need and won’t ever use like the 8 inch figure replicas, but if you’re going to all this trouble to attend the event why deny yourself the pleasure of splurge? Save a month or so prior to the event. How much? really depends on your circumstance, but whether you’re a baby daddy with child support branded across your forehead or a playboy with disposable income, bring sum dough to play with!
Queues!
TAKE NOTE You will spend a great portion of your time in queues If you want to play the new games due for release. We’re talking at least an hour minimum! 45mins for less popular titles if you’re lucky! Unfortunately standing up, moving one step every 10mins is the least of your woes. PEOPLE! are the problem. Creating an offensive cocktail of body-odor, heat, noise, hunger, fatigue and anticipation. How does one survive? Good question.
1. Piss before you Cue! – The nerd behind you won’t save your place!
2. Bring over-ear headphones – You may be in earshot of very bad convo, why not make it easier on yourself. I had some 30+ crackhead with a loud voice, dreadful laugh, South Park sense of humour and a complete lack of consideration for those in close proximity of his shoddy banter and offensive wit. I spent a whole hour and 10mins wishing I had headphones and some poison.
3. Pack a snack for energy, you’ll get peckish just standing up for so long!
4. Handheld gaming device – PSP VITA, Nintendo Switch or your phone, whatever your fancy, It will help pass the hour. Of course you just chat with your mates, but there may be reason to split up and hit multiple games if you have limited time? Either way be prepared.
Body odour at Games Conventions is Real!!! – to thwart the beast, be the wise fox. Enter the cue and discreetly inhale near the person(s) in front. If your nostrils don’t sting you’re good. Wait a min to see who joins the queue (or “line” if you’re American) behind you. Should any person(s) show up, and the B O is real! Leave and re-join with no less than a 5metre gap of separation. You’ll have more success queuing Anti-Meridian than Post Meridian. Gamers have less time to work up a sweat! so after lunch muck about on the other games stands. Which leads me to the critique oneself at such events. Make sure you don’t layer up. Games conventions are venues filled with machines that generate heat. Tv’s, arcades, consoles, PCs and bodies, they’re anything but cold. Don’t add to the aroma, stay fresh and administer a spray of antiperspirant at intervals. Or you may find experienced convention goers dodging your smelly self.
Major Games
Part 1:
So to the nitty gritty. Major games that you’ve played before aren’t so much an issue as you’ll know what to do. But those brand new games with new control systems will be a complete waste of time if you don’t know the controls! When Alien: isolation came out and they demo’d it with the occulus headset I waited for 1hr to play the thing, didn’t know the controls, died and got booted off within 3mins! 3 fuc%in* mins!!! The developers stated each person only gets 1 life. So you can see there’s a clear way to do these things and a way not to do these things. Had I asked for the controls from a steward when forming the line/queue or looked them up online beforehand I wouldn’t have wasted precious time! You’ll want to make the most of your time or you’ll just leave the event racked off!! Like me!
Part 2:
The big releases with the big queues isn’t entirely where you should dedicate your time. Por Exemplo! After walking around trying to fine the Codemasters stand to play Dirt 4 I stumbled upon 2 kids on a bean bag playing the destiny 2 campaign with no queue behind them and no apparent time limit?!! I found two rows of Project Cars 2 Demo’s on Xbox & Playsations. Once again with no queue or time limit, and don't forget the PC areas typically have rows of high end PC's with headphones readily available for single or multiplayer sessions. There were also a good few other games that were available to play that were definitely worth one’s time, and would’ve provided far more entertainment and potential gamer-blog fodder or happy memories than the aforementioned Queue of suffering.
Indie Games
Surprisingly this was an area offering a welcome plethora of surprises. You’re not going to find the kind of graphics delivered by major studios but you will find a level of originality unsurpassed. These are the do-it yourself developers. The people who saw a need for something and invested time, money & love to make that something real. I found this area quite inspiring, and an excellent place to generate contacts and possible leads for work opportunities & collaborations. I strongly suggest dedicating a significant amount of time to this area. You’ll find the wait times are a small fraction of that for major releases. The length of time you have to get stuck into each game or software is also far more ideal. Most developers will prefer you to spend as much time as required to get pass the learning curve to the point where you “get it”. Furthermore, as you’re doing so you get a presentation of the history, inspiration and hopeful future of that particular game or venture, which you’re hopefully going to be a part of. So yeah, I can’t stress the importance of the Inde- section.
Retro
If you’re a fan of gameplay over graphics or an overall lover of just video games regardless of the package then the retro section (most self-respecting games conventions will have a retro section) will offer a little nostalgia or prompt an appreciation of how far we’ve come from the days of 8,16 and 32 bit consoles. Retro offers excellent gaming as they’re usually the very best of earlier consoles. Unfortunately some of the controls end up battered or broken by a certain point of the day. Most likely because these areas tend to be unregulated and unsupervised? I’d advise packing a Megadrive, snes or other controller for whichever retro console you may wish to play with. So when you find the d-pad missing or the l shoulder button stuck, you can rock on! Just be sure to disclose you have these when you arrive to avoid suspicion from security. Something else to bear in mind is the that you may find a retro game stand/shop so bring a spare £30 to pick up a golden oldie? Just be sure to haggle before you part with coin!
Freebies
Following on from the above section just a very minor mention of the freebees found at these events. You don’t get many from the larger developers. Perhaps the odd download code for a minor perk in a game but that’s it. T-shirts are quite rare but you might get lucky. Posters once again are quite rare, just be conscious of storage. Pack a few elastic bands for posters or you’ll ruin them before your get home. The rest you can probably bung in the backpack. I landed a few coasters and that was it.
Time
The major currency to consider at any convention. But it’s reeal simple see! One day is NOT enough! There's a really good reason why they sell multi day passes. In fact following this most recent experience I'll be looking to buy multi-day passes for conventions in general. It's just a better way to get the most out of the experience. I found myself checking the time throughout the day, thinking of how long i'd been there and how long I have left. Towards the end of the day I kept wishing I had one more day. A just to have a 2nd go at some of the more desired titles or time to just enjoy one element of the convention without knowing I'm sacrificing time for something else. This event was split into 3 Zones. I would have been happy to spend a day in each zone. Milked all three and got my monies worth. Or spend the 1st day grazing and getting a feel for the layout & the 2nd day going for what really mattered. I highlighted 15 titles to check out and managed to see or play 5. A measly one 3rd of what I wanted, and that was whilst trying to be as economical with my time as possible. Furthermore, I'd also recommend going during the week if you can. This convention ran from Thursday to Sunday. I would go on Thurs - Fri at least. Why? Because kids are or should be in school! You'll see small groups in school uniform who clearly have quite progressive parents, and any that do attend tend to leave a good hour or so before the end of the day leaving you to enjoy lesser waiting times. There's also the obvious fact that weekends will be the busiest with Saturday being the worst!
Girls
Not many, it's a video games convention! The most attractive women are those paid to be there at certain stands and they most don’t want to be there! Cosplay shows however bare unusual fruit. see for yourself.....
Games & Stand Reviews
For the purpose of this guide i’ll give a rundown of how you would’ve experienced each game at the convention, allowing you to make informed decisions when either planning or during your own conventions.
Destiny 2
Two options were available, Strike or Crucible in two separate cues. I should’ve gone for the Strike in hindsight but the crucible queue moved quicker (obviously). For those uninitiated,Sony paid or continue to pay Bungie top dollar for Destiny exclusives. So public events featuring destiny are typically played on Playstations. I don’t know if it was those particular pads or if all Playstation analogue pads are just like that, but the controls where terrible. There was a real lag in movement that made aiming accurately and quickly almost impossible. CAUTION! Before the game loads check the controls. My 1st two “precious” minutes were spent playing with someone’s custom controls and probably sensitivity. The match was a team-battle i.e. team with most kills in a set time frame wins. Graphically the game was superb. The new colour grading in games like Horizon Zero Dawn, a kind of exotic pastel hue that looks modern, fresh and crisp & really suits Destiny. The team at Bungie had done a marvelous job of turning up the wick for their sequel. Such effort & design should really be appreciated on a high end 4k UHDTVs.
An annoying re-occurring issue with many stands is how close they place you to the screen (see Battlefront 2 below). Nevertheless it looked amazing, whether the in-game content & campaign justifies the price tag remains to be seen but I’ve heard positive reports from clan-mates who’ve bough the game already so it seems like a title worth getting into. Bungie kindly stacked our characters with a couple of exotic weapons & armor pieces to fashion, but you’re thrust into battle so quick that you won’t have reasonable time to look at the menus, new talents, or any other options on offer. I couldn’t even recall names of the exotics, annoying! In terms of the gameplay, most gaming enthusiasts attending these events will hand your arse to you. So understand you’re more likely to lose than win, unless you’re with your clan of course? If not, people tend to rogue it out and picked off easily. I was at EGX when Destiny launched back in 2014. They took care of their visitors back then with a simple t-shirt, paper posters and some downloadable content. Bungie not only maintained the love 2 years later, they aired their success with upgrades. High quality t-shirts, high quality laminated posters, a choice of x3 inflatable toys and more downloadable content.
The stand’s presentation was also impressive, a sizeable footprint within the arena featuring two semi-circular rows of screens with chairs & headphones surrounding an elevated centre stage with x3 life-size model guardians for photo ops, a display cabinet with model rifles & a quaint little chill-out spot with bean bags. Expect no less from the Halo pioneers.
Forza Motorsport 7
Simply put, the Forza series has taken driving games to a place no other simulator has managed to in terms of licensing package & overall presentation. Refering back to Forza 6 the game feels premium, sophisticated and completely modern with its minimal soundtrack, clean menus, fonts and colours, recognizable top gear voice overs and that sexy female announcer. It feels like if you were that billionaire playboy shopping for a Lykan here or Bugatti there, this is what your personal car concierge would feel like. It’s no surprise Porsche, Lamborghini & McClaren to mention a few, have collaborated with Turn 10 over the years. With the progressive move towards digitisation of entertainment the tops brands what their investments portrayed in the best forum & fashion, and Forza delivers with precision& style. If Forza 6 was Ipanema-chic, then 7 feels more Led Zepplin Immigrant Song! It’s more rampant, alive & asserting its dominance over the genre.
Whilst waiting for demo I felt mixed feelings of anticipation of the game’s graphical prowess on Microsoft’s new gaming standard, and the hope that it would provide progressively innovative gameplay and not be just a “shinier” version of Forza 6, which I might add still looks amazing to date with a seemingly endless single player campaign. Not to mention the additional Porsche and Nascar DLC’s. If you own an Xbox One or you’re contemplating investing in a gaming console to occupy your downtime between life goals & achievements then Forza 7 may be the perfect incentive to pursue & acquire your dreamsports/hyper car or at least simulate the ride. If you’ve seen the cover for Forza 7 you’ll know it features the formidable Porsche 911 GT2 RS and Turn 10 didn’t muck about with their stand at this year’s EGX either. Right out front to my surprise & delight lay the very beast itself.
Seeing such a machine in the flesh is an experience. Those who love cars know this feeling & appreciate it even more so when you don’t see it coming. The Heightened pulse, wide eyes, tingling feeling in the finger tips and chest, and that distinctive smell of fresh tires and polished metal was all apparent for onlookers to relish.
I won’t digress the machine’s insane performance stats as you can do that via a more informed source or purchasing the game?!
It ran on the new Xbox X with two control options, Generic controller or a full steering wheel rig. Of course I couldn’t deny myself the rig. The demo offered different 3 tracks paired with cars in different environmental settings to showcase in-game physics with glorious effect on 4k resolution UHDTVs. I chose the Porsche GT of course and drove the beast across a desert/city track. Visuals, controls and sound where all on point! I made use of the rewind option a few times to ensure I represented with a 1st place finish in case this prompted some freebees/rewards.
Alas I left the stand nil by mouth. I suppose 10 Turn spent their disposable income hiring eye-candy to shuffle the nerds I mean herds of gamers along whilst policing each turn.
NBA 2K 18
I hadn't played a 2K basketball game since the Dreamcast version way back when. This was studio Visual Concept’s 1st 2K release, and a beast of a title it was. Graphically superior to anything before and extremely pick-up and playable, offering hours of fast paced arcade style 1on1 or 2on2 action via the console’s out-the-box four controller port capacity. Revolutionary for its time and now a modern classic for any retro collection. For a newcomer to the recent series the game features some damn fine visuals. I almost felt like puppet master controlling people in game & a spectator of a real match during the animated cut scenes. If that sounds odd, then play the damn game and see what I mean. For real basketball enthusiasts the realism may even you make dribble (sorry couldn’t help it) Anyway it’s as good a digital simulation of the game as you’re gonna get, and whilst the menus are a little garish at first, but you’ll soon adjust and appreciate the in-your-face presentation. The demo on offer was a 1 on 1 exhibition match & stand presentation was the best I’d seen across the convention.
One long row of large two-seater sofas with banging 55inch UHDTV screens a few feet in front. This felt more VIP & welcoming than any other setup on offer & it being a Basketball game made the experience feel like premium man cave stuff. With no opportunity to explore the menu, we picked the teams with the best stats available. They’ve listed all teams with offensive & defensive rankings in order of prowess i.e. Chicago Bulls Off: 1st Def: 8th etc against the other teams in the league. Once picked you get the typical cinematic and theatrical intro where the games shows off its graphics. See the video for examples of how the game renders cheerleaders with deliberate realism. I’ve not played an American football game recently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a rivalry for who can provide the best perv-worthy cheerleader sequences. I was expecting an evolved and modern version of the original 2k and so far this felt like it. The match itself looked stunning! The frame-rate is superb at all times with impressive crowd movement. Controls were simple enough, pass, sprint, skill, you know “drill”…..get it? (really I’m sorry…I’ll stop now). Overall the pace and flow of the game was dope! A friendly gaming session could easily be reduced to vicious cycles of rematches. Mix this with alcohol or some other vice… and you have a perfect man cave go to.
Start Wars: Battlefront 2
Prior to the launch of the Battlefront I remember seeing screen shots and eventually video footage. Being a pseudo Star War fanatic I know I wasn’t the one aroused at the thought of a PROPER fps simulation of famous Star Wars gunfights presented via the awesome frostbite engine. So when mates fed back the game “sucked” for want of a better term, I was reluctant to pay the game’s £40 price tag. Then I found out there was no single player campaign! and instantly abandoned plans to buy the game when the price dropped. Fast forward to present day and here I had an opportunity to see what the 2.0 version had to offer. Some titles at EGX don’t have an elaborate front stage display, just a large box with the game’s title plastered along its walls. Battlefront adopted such a stand. These stands always have large cue’s wrapped around them with a sign saying “1hr wait”. For your info, this was the cue with the nob I spoke about earlier! Skip to the front of the cue and you were presented with a 2 team death match experience. 40 players, 20 on each side with massive screens to play on, But wait! NO SEATS! awfully budget, downright mean and surely against health & safety? They made us cue for over an hr and couldn’t offer so much as a stool. Moans aside the Game looked impressive in both gameplay & graphics, I loved the finish on the guns.
The level could have been bigger though. It felt like the raid on the imperial palace from Episode One : The Phantom Menace with Clones vs Drones (I could be wrong). The character selection menu was a mix of battlefield and Star Wars-eske styling which made sense given the studio producing the title. I can’t really comment on the gameplay extensively because once again, this review is of the convention more than the game itself, but you were given the choice of a number of class or character types. Medic, engineer, heavy gunner, sniper with different strengths, weaknesses and gun types etc…Straight into battle we all herded towards the red dots on the radar and pitched at what looked like a safe distance til a grenade landed in our hideout and our congregation of bots jammed the exit & couldn’t scramble away quick enough. I died, picked another class type, tried to make a difference and died again. That was it for roughly 15-20mins. Maybe I suck at FPS, perhaps I had no concept of strategy? Personally, I think it was cos I was A - Nakered & jacked off from being asked to cue for 1hr then stand for a further 20mins and concentrate on a 40 player imperial royal rumble moving at a gazillion frames per sec on a massive screen less than a foot away from me and B) Because they placed me next that tw@%^ from the cue! I’m sure the single player campaign will be nothing short of breath taking. Star Wars storylines ready-made winning formulas coupled with a frostbite engine and epic soundtrack, now you have a viable reason to cancel date night and spend that £50 on a cause more guaranteed to please you.
Fifa 18
For some the thought of football brings about painful memories of horrible coaches, being picked last, or wet & frozen winter mornings in short sleeve shirts? not referring to myself of course. Regardless your affiliation with the sport. The game gives sporting invalids and prodigies alike control over teams and players of the world’s most popular sport. For this reason This was the most popular sports title at EGX by far. Standing within the Fifa stand felt like a teeming beehive with hordes of buzzing Fifa bees tending to their stations. I don’t know how many Fifa’s there’s been but I do have the very 1st on Megadrive amidst a growing retro collection waiting for its value to rise, have faith fellow collectors! Within the hive EA offered screens with controllers & unlimited short exhibition matches. The un-policed gamer time felt nice and deserved, this experience was what you pay for. Staff only directed people to available consoles to limit wastage and that was it! I whizzed past spectators and buddied up with Tim an unassuming 10yrs old from bath and agreed we’d do a Manchester derby. He was City, I was united and so we began. Tim presented as polite & innocent, asking me questions like “how do you like this new version”, “I do hope it has bla bla from bla…” I don’t keep up with the premiership these days so I don’t have a clue who’s who. Regardless, I felt a forgiving presence in the force with young timothy. The whistle blew and the little sh%$ ran past my entire defence and netted a goal. I turn my head to the 4ft foot-wart to see a goblin like grin drawn across his mug. “Ooh I’ve scored” he said. In this moment I astral planed outside myself, spoke to my soul and preached sense to my intrusive thoughts of clapping young Tim upside his head and camouflaging solid-snake style amongst the crown to prevent my ego from further rape. I returned from the plane to find tim had scored another goal. I didn’t really know what to do at this point. I found myself wrestling a number of thoughts & emotions all at once. Surprise that my age & experience alone didn’t trump the rug rat’s abilities, this must be how the oldies feel at work. Why was I still holding the controller? not sure, but In the end my mature nature over-rid my hatred for Tim. The final score serves no purpose to this guide. Regarding the game itself, I don’t mean to take anything away from EA for their latest efforts but it’s pretty much the same game its always been. Throw in some marginal graphical upgrades, updated playlist of pop hits and new team rosters. A more adept Fifa fan may tell you about technical updates or in-game mechanics but to me, it plays like its predecessors. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that formula. As you get older certain things change, you listen to talk radio, appreciate to jazz and we find yourself quoting sayings like “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”. Thats pretty much Fifa up & down. Tip of hat to EA!
Lego: Marvel Super Heroes 2
I’d never played a Lego game before EGX 17 so this was a new experience for me. Not sure what pulled me to it, oh yes the graphics! If previous lego games look this polished then perhaps I shouldn’t cast off Lego games as entertainment for primary school kids coming over for tea…
The available demo was the level featured in an IGN review, See videos.. The ship, the characters, colours and effects all looked stunning. I felt like I was controlling real moving lego pieces. Just to backtrack slightly, the stand was part of the Playstation area, with a few screens lined up next to each other. Nothing ott, Hot tip! Heading over to these areas is a quick win to get turns on multiple games. People tend to move on rather quickly due to the number of options available, happy days. After this area you do find yourself feeling like the larger releases with their 1hrs cues really aren’t worth the wait. With only a very short time to experience the game, if you do have only a day, you might enjoy the convention more if bounce around these kind of areas with a mate, or on your own. Back to Lego, the game feels bouncy & responsive. Its a platform game with typical mechanics, jump, action, melee etc. What did make itself apparent early on, most likely due to my inexperience, was the lack of “clue button” or some prompt of what to do next. Perhaps if i could hear the characters speech i may have figured it out, but after bouncing aimlessly around the ship for 5 mins with clearly nary an ape’s inclinations of what to do next a playstation staff member kindly explained the game’s puzzle mechanics. Which like most things is extremely obvious once you know how and notably quite cool to watch as bits of Lego pull together to form levers, switches and all manners of random but useful objects. Apparently most people found the lack of ‘in-game help’’ frustrating and lost interest in the demo, but this very “Lego” style of gameplay was in opinion ingenious.
If I was a Lego fiend I’d be in my element, the game felt like a pumped up anabolic / 3rd person action rollercoaster reminiscent of the 2D Marvel v Capcom beat em-ups where animation was taken to the extreme with a gazillion elements moving on screen at once. It was glorious. My run ended in some large seafront area with a huge villain evidently someone from the Marvel Universe who kicked my arse. I didn’t really mind. I was so in awe of the onscreen complexity and liveliness i just sat back and admired the game. I can’t say i’d personally go and buy this, but for those affiliated with the series i’d say jump in.
Raging Justice
Given the inde-section was such a delight I couldn’t complete the review without a mentioning one of the many innovative games I had the pleasure of trialling. Enter stage “Raging Justice”.
This bad boy is developed & published by Makingames ltd. I had the honour of meeting the game’s developer and hearing what inspired the title. From the onset the game struck a cord both my Bro & I as we’re both familiar with the Mega-Drive classic “Streets of Rage”. Anyone who knows this game knows how addictive the gameplay is. Despite the genre of side-scrolling beat’em ups dying a death amidst today’s market, the game still has mass appeal for those with a sense of humour and camaraderie. With Streets of Rage having a myriad of classic elements like the best soundtrack ever, fight sounds more ott than 70’s kung fu flics and a memorable set of characters and villains, Raging Justice provides a universally recognisable win factor. Humor! This game is hilarious! You must play it! Its unapologetically ridden with street stereotypes from hookers, pimps, rogue cops to 80’s biker punks. Add to the mix some silky modern graphics and a cool soundtrack and you have a dope game worth your money and time. Having grown up in the mega-drive & playstation eras I feel like i’ve grown up with the games industry enough to talk about the ups, downs, failures and successes of numerous consoles and handheld devices. Across that history i’ve concluded Big triple A titles are for experiencing the pinnacle of games technology. You play them, they’re awe inspiring but then the campaign finishes and you move on to the next one. Too often with little that sticks in the mind just the overall enjoyment of how insanely realistic they are. Then theres the less illustrious outings. Those with more heart than budget, the brain child of someone who “could” as opposed to a group of coding Jedi on a capital venture. The developer shared his memories of legendary all-nighters playing the Streets of Rage games. You couldn’t save and come back later, you either did it to death or paused the console, left it on and hoped it didn’t crash before you got home or woke up. These were golden gaming moments today’s consumers are unaccustomed to, but Raging justice is an excellent representation of that classic magic & today’s Inde market.
You’ll find Inde games like this to be accomplished and fresh, they’re clearly someone’s passion and therefore offer an insight into the brain of the developer. Choice items to collect and share with close friends in a way that you wouldn’t with big budget titles because the control systems & puzzles are typically unique each game giving them longevity. Theres many titles you’ll pick up play, trade and sell, but only a few really stick in the mind. I played a few levels but they resonated more in my mind than the 20mins battlefront frenzy or the 15min Destiny 2 slap in the face. Perhaps is a sign? Without giving too much away you play as either cops Nikki or Rick and fight your way through waves of bad guys & gals in various locations of a crime ridden city until you reach a boss. Pretty simple, but with this comes the twists, puzzles and hordes you must overcome to reach the next stage. I loved this title from the moment it started. One moment seared into memory is the battle against the purple-suited pimp in flares and platform shoes swinging his pimp cane in tornado motion across the screen forcing you to find safe zones until he stopped and fell dizzy giving you a small window to land hits on him before he’d start again. Stuff like this you just won’t get from a major title, they’re too concerned with commercial appeal to take such risks. Hence why we need outfits like Makingames ltd and Raging Justice to remind us life shouldn’t be taken so seriously, and video games aren’t all about true-to-life simulations.
Retro Time!
Just a quick run through of the amazing retro titles on offer.
Dead or Alive 3
Iconic and graphically excellent beat-em-up, available to play in the game library for as long as you like. Since the convention i’ve found a copy on eBay for cheap. amazing title.
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Classic port of the saturn classic. This was one of the best titles on the original xbox and a worthy addition to ones retro collection.
After Burner
An arcade classic with wondrous high octane sprite action delivered in a unique flight-sim style carriage. Couldn’t figure out how the play the darn thing, but that didn’t stop it being monstrously cool with an understandably long cue.
Mortal Kombat 2
Daddy of beat-em-ups, the arcade version of mortal kombat 2 still surpasses all other versions and seemingly superior hardware. brutal, extremely playable and a golden standard among classic games. EGX came correct for the retro fans!
See you at EGX Rezzed
K