Hurrah! EuroGamer, one of my best loved events of the year. Where my inner gamer geek can unleash itself like a Kun-fu monk fighting a mighty awesome pink dragon. But this year there was an added bonus and a sure treat for gamers all over the UK who came along. Queuing! Lots and lots of queuing! Now, many years ago, until 2012, EuroGamer didn’t have a big attendance during the week days (believe it or not). Queues for the biggest games were only 20 minutes long back in 2012 and you could play Far Cry 3 and Tomb raider ten times over before lunch time. Now though, the queue for Far Cry 4 was as long as the complete Lord of the Rings Sega and buying the early pas did no good… See the photos below.
Anyhow, enough moaning, here is what I got up too! Mostly, The Evil Within! Which I played twice and loved the hell out of it. A relentless return to the old school survival horror mixed with some elements of the new (the good ones thankfully). My first play through landed me in a spooky mansion where I learned that this game is terrifyingly sadistic. Its unforgiving in nature and will play you like a fool if your new to it. Booby traps, dead bodies coming back to life, a relentless foe known as Rubik who can kill you in one hit and of course puzzles. But these puzzles now feature a human brain and you putting a large pin into certain parts of said brain. I was stuck on the brain for some time and I died, a lot and quickly my time was up!
Sunset Over Drive: One word F***ing awesome! Well that’s two, sorry. I played the multi-player demo with three other people in the mode known as Chaos Squad. We had to battle it out with the OD (Over dosers) and protect some vats of delicious fizzy drinks that turn people into monsters. Lots of energy and insane antics as we unleashed the destruction with several boombastic weapons and powers which pumped the experience to ultra insane. The game was easy to get into and had well balanced nature of game play and mechanics. The game was delightful and a good combination of lateral thinking and complete mayhem .
I turned my attention onto something a little less destructive and cute and played Ori: The Blind Forrest. This was a delightful and wonderous gaming experience with a beautiful looking 2D world that immersed us gamers with its fantastic and captivating art style along with its fun and elegant platforming gameplay. Think Rayman combined with Limbo.
Alien Isolation: The game didn’t open until 11am, so those who went there first during their early entry were delighted to wait a whole hour to enter (Not me, hahaha!). I entered the booth and we were treated to survival mode. Playing as Amanda Ripley, I had to traverse an empty (not so empty really) segment of the ship and avoid the Alien nasty. The game looked beautiful and was completely terrifying as I hid, sneaked around a corner, hid again and hid under a table, in a locker and anything I could fit into. For the most part, I was sneaking around a lot. I thought I made it to the end until that alien douche jumped down from a vent and stabbed me in the back. I was hurt, until he made his way to face me and gave me a big kiss with his freaking tongue. Ewwww.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: Breath taking! I can’t talk about it and do any justice so just watch the videos. But I will say this game will be awesome! The series has progressed beautifully over the years and this is now the masterpiece CD Projekt have been suffering for.
Quantum Break exclusive video. Waited for an hour and discovered that I was waiting to watch a video and not play the game. So I was open minded and watch to see what new stuff there was. It was the Gamescom video again, just with a little more at the beginning and something at the end, a big boat crashing into a bridge. The game looked entertaining and Sam Lake does make some very compelling games. But I wished I could play it.
Dying Light: A fun FPS concept that gives a new dynamic to zombie games but really Its pretty much Dead Island mixed with Mirror’s Edge, but slightly clunky and less fluent than Mirror’s Edge.
Playstation stuff! Got to play the Last of Us Remastered (I want a Playstation 4 now, thanks Sony). This legendary game looks and feel more awesome than its PS3 release, less than a year ago. Still, great game. Destiny which is old news now. They did have a cool photo booth where you could ride the bike.
Bloodborne was a neat hack n slasher which protrayed itself as a darker, grittier and nastier version of Dark Souls. An impressive looking game which will satisfy the most bood thirsty gamer.
The Order: 1886 … Its just Victorian Gears of War and to be honest. Gears of War is much better. I hope this game improves before it’s February release and that its sluggish mechanics and gameplay are tweaked to bring a refreshing gaming experience.
Oh they had the Sony VR thingy too, but I prefer my reality to be real. Still, observing from the background it looked cool and people where happy to be part f this mad Matrix inspired concept. It did seem much more comfortable than the Virtual Boy many years back.
Farcry 4 looked impressive and will be a sure hit this holiday season. Building on the success of 3, Ubisoft have developed on the great design of the previous game to create a more dynamic and engaging FPS experience. From its combat to open world features, Farcry is set to be another series that gets better and better with each installment.
I didn’t bother with AC whatever number we’re on now. Principle that the game should just end and more Farcry, Rayman or make Beyound Good and Evil 2 already please!
The Evil within…. again! So second time, I wasted no expense. I skipped the video and dived in again, determined to beat the freaky brain puzzles. I got the hang of the game the second time round, but with certain elements changing with each play through, the game altered the experience and raised it to an unnerving intensity which fooled me every time. I got a sick bag for my troubles and was delighted I was able to play the demo again.
After all that, I wondered around with a box on my head and checked out the cos-players strutting their stuff, with one very causal Pikachu just chilling in the crowd. There were a vast amount of other activities and exhibits going on and by the afternoon, the place felt like an over crowded sweat lodge filled with hot, sweaty gamers. I normally don’t do crowds and so decided to hide in my box and leave the building for fresh air. Even though Eurogamer has become vastly over populated, it shows the huge impact games have now and that they will continue to grow as a thriving interactive media. Even if many publishers here fall to greed by offering pre-order bonus content *cough* Batman *Cough*. At least I got to play a few games on my wish list and become more eager than before for the Evil Within. Thanks Eurogamer!
A big thanks to the beautiful Anty Quinn for the photos!
