Afternoon one and all,I did promise I would post about my adventures at GAMEfest and I am sorry it took so long but it got busy all of a sudden and this is my first chance so without further delay I present to you a day at GAMEfest.
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So the journey began the night before with myself and my mate trying to work out what time we should be at the train station, after hearing it was going to be crazy busy we decided the train we picked earlier on in the week would not do (especially if it was late or if we missed it since it would be after 9 when we would arrive). Plan was set to get the train before which would leave at 7.40am, two changes and get us there for around 8.40ish.
Got to say that night I felt like a kid at Christmas, trying to sleep was impossible so I found myself packing my bag and making myself a pack lunch ready. Anyway the big day come and we left earlier to the train station then planned, in fact it was 7am when we was in the car and on are way to the station which is only a ten minute drive. With plenty of time on are hands we grabbed are tickets and checked out to see if any trains where going are way, lucky for us one pulled straight up as we looked at the board.
Now I’ve got to say this had to be are lucky day because soon as we got to are first stop we walked over to the next platform to find another train waiting for us to the next station. So we was at New Street in no time, in fact when we arrived it was just after 7.40 which was the original time we wanted to leave. So a quick cup of tea break and we was on are way again to Birmingham International. Walking through the corridors we had a great site waiting for us!
So we had made it with nearly two hours to wait and pretty much front of the queue as well.
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Anyway let’s skip ahead two hours and the time had come to be allowed in, well sort of they scanned the tickets and we had to wait in front of the entrance which allowed us to see in and see this lovely view.
Soon as they allowed us in and everyone just ran, it was like a scene from a zombie game and I kid you not. No guessing where everyone was going, me and some of my mates just walked in shaking are heads and went in the opposite direction.
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That would be the last time I see the entire group together since most of us split up and went to go check out are favourite places. First up for us was the Ubisoft stand to check out the Assassin’s Creed Revelation game, loved the setup for the multiplayer with the tent and floored logo.
We had a 30 minute presentation of trailers for Ghost Recon which looked outstanding, no joke I’m happy to wait now because that game looked amazing. We got to watch the Ghost team rescue a hostage then escort him through a rundown town, nice feature if you escort someone and get shot at you find yourself unable to move since you go straight into protective mode until then threat is neutralized. After the video we got to see a small demo of the Assassins Creed Revelation single player and I must say I cannot wait for the November to play this bad boy. The graphics were mind blowing and some of the new kill moves where brutal, I would describe some but I would be worried about the age of people reading this.
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Also got to see some of the new bomb making kit in action which I’m not so sure about, in a way it was awesome and would be helpful but at the same time it did feel a little out of place. For example the rep put together a bomb pot which acts like a mine, planted it next to a body and it took care of a patrol. Then there was several hand thrown ones, smoke distractions and proper grenade types that can take out 1-3 people when it hits them. My favourite one had to be when he was getting chased he threw a pot at the floor which exploded into hundreds of metal shrapnel which the guards could not walk across. Pretty sweet if you need to lose a tail but as I said it did feel a little out of place.
The last of the demo we got to see the seal in work with Ezio using it to relieve Altair life, shocking part you ask? It’s before Assassin’s Creed one!! Sorry folks I won’t say what happened (not much was revealed) but it will be awesome.
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After that I really cannot remember where we went next since it was giant amazing dream, honestly we walked around for hours checking out all the sights and there was plenty. So I will describe some of the stands and things that impressed me but I am sorry they are not in order.
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Around the corner was the Warner Brothers stand and to be honest I felt like they could had done more, especially with Batman Arkham City which could had easily stole the show. But it was still awesome from what we could see, unfortunately could not get a go on since it was only three consoles and the crowd around it was huge. We did come back twice later but both times the consoles had overheated since how they were being stored meaning they had to keep turning them off to let them rest. From what we heard and saw the combat is now a lot more smoother and blows Arkham Asylum out of the water, well done Rocksteady! cannot wait for 21st October now.
Also at the stand was a huge Lego Hogwarts Express which housed three consoles with Lego Harry Potter Year 5-7, caught a glimpse and it just as good as the last one. It looked like the attack of the burrow level from what we saw anyway.
Finally at the stand was Lord of the Rings War in the North, again did not get a chance to play it since only three pods again but it looked just like the gameplay trailers. Jaw dropping and could be a good contender for game of the year. We only saw a glimpse of the combat before the crowd completely covered the view so was a bit disappointed not to see more.
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Did get my hands on Binary Domain at the SEGA booth, had to wait 30 minutes to get into the booth but it was worth it. The level was taking on a giant mech that would dwarf your house (unless you live in a mansion then I’m just jealous). Straight away I started blasting away while running off to find cover and I can say now the assault rifle is useless against the bosses, had to grab a rocket launcher and start blowing chunks of armour of its legs. By doing this this reveals power cores built inside the leg which you can then shoot out which shuts down the legs. Of course this increased my threat and next thing I knew I was going flying thanks to a barrage of missiles, my squad did not come to help me (if you been following the game you have to build up loyalty with them and in this case I was guessing there was none) anyway I did have an health pack and quickly got myself up. Just in time to watch the thing loom over me and try to stamp on me, quick dodge and I started emptying every rocket I had left into it. Victory was at hand as I took out three of its many legs and watch it start to tumble to only watch in horror as it stamped on a squad mate and end the level. Word of advice don’t gloat in this game until the thing is dead, so after that I was without doubt picking that game up next year for round two.
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Next up good old Bethesda stand, this had huge queues all day long, while you was waiting there was TV’s all around the walls showing off trailers for upcoming games. Anyway the stand was split into two, first one was Skyrim which was only a video conference which I heard was the same videos on the internet I’ve heard so bit shocked there (also a two hour qait to see).
We did queue up for the other side for an hour to play RAGE. I’m still in two minds about this game, the graphics where great and the gameplay was not too bad but I don’t know. I think it was because the level we got to play was in midgame so was like being dropped into the deep end and only 10-15 minutes of play which did not give us much time to get into it.
The level was some kind of broken down prison, but after shutting down a laser grid I found myself being surrounded but what only I could say where the prison guards. The assault rifle was box standard but it was the crossbow that shined here. Comes with multiple different types of ammo I found myself running around trying them out. My two favourites where the electric bolts which do exactly as they say, one hit and they down for good. The second mind control which allows you to take over them and move them close to their mates in which you then detonate taking everyone out.
Although it does sound awesome I do want to see more footage on it before I pick this one up.
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Did get to see the Star Wars Old Republic stand and they were kind enough to have several giant TV’s displaying people playing. I can say without a doubt that this game will be end of my life, it looked incredible watching some of the fighting. Also on display was the collector’s edition statue which was breath taking and will be worth every penny, what did surprise was me underneath it was a statue of the female bounty hunter from the trailer. Would love to know how to get hold of it
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Did drop by the Nintendo stand and got to check out the preview for Sky 3D on the 3DS, it was really really good. Got to see some clips of boxing and football, I found myself walking away with renewed awe at how good the 3DS can be. Looking forward to seeing the 3D videos when those come out now and the 3D video recorder update in November.
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That reminds me while we was looking around we stumbled across a lovely display at the Xbox stand, all the upcoming consoles!. The Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 looks exactly like the box art work with the colours, it looked amazing and I am now saving up to pick it up. Just as we leaving the stand we spotted the R2-D2 one as well which is just as good, seriously going to have a display shelf of xbox's with the way its going.
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One last game before I wrap this post up, Saints Row the Third. THQ did an amazing job on the stand with it set up like a nightclub from the trailer including a bouncer on the door. Without a doubt this game left an impression on me, because as soon as we walked in on the screen was a player walking around with a giant pink dildo the length of a sword and beating up nearby gang members with it. As you can imagined it left us quite shocked, espically with the character wearing a bright pink bunny suit as well. So we jumped into the game and all I can say it was 20 minutes of chaos as we caused carnage at a local game hideout. Think I might be picking this game up afterall and if you get offered the chance to try it out take it!
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Unfortunately no Battlefield 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 or Mass Effect 3 due to the fact the queues where huge, we was quoted 4 hours wait for COD and 2 hours for BF3. Mass Effect only had 2-3 consoles and took us most of the show to find and then the queue was once again a problem. I would say I was disappointed but at the end of the day the event was amazing and easily made up for it. GAME did a great job and to say it was the first one ever it was brilliant, of course in the future I would like to see some more pods and would love for the publishers to bring stores a long too. Would had gladly bought some Mass Effect and Skyrim t-shirts, posters etc. Also would love to see an official GAMEfest t-shirt for next year, which I’m hoping will be happening.
So on that note thank you GAME for the great event and thank you to all the publishers/staff who made it awesome!
Anyway thanks for reading
~Iznic
