EGX 2016: Round up.
It was over a week ago now but last week was very busy and stressful for me so trying to get a full write up was hard to impossible. Anyway the show was fun, but something was very off this year mostly because Microsoft was a near no show as was Ubisoft, and Nintendo, well I wasn't expecting them anyway as the WiiU is near dead and the 3DS is just being kept alive.
Anyway did get to play a few games on the floor, but I didn't get to see everything just due to how busy it all was.
-Battlezone - Oh I had fun with this one and it was my first try of SONY's Playstation VR system too (but more on that later). Esentually a remake of the old arcade game this is a fun and fast shooter that puts you in command of a tank in a 90's VR world. The situational awareness I got from the VR was fantastic, and the action was amazing. Worth the 40 min wait to play it, and in fact I changed my games pre-order for my PSVR for this title. Also learnt later that it will be a 'rougelite' with elements that lean back to early 90's console games. Can't wait!
-Sonic mania - Was probably one of the best games that I played on the floor. It was as I expected a massive tribute to the 90's megadrive era sonics, only with a lot of new tricks that couldn't be done on that system (3D hints and mode 7 anyone). A lot of nods to the originals (the stage I played was based on Green Hill Zone from sonic 1), but gameplay imported from sonic 3 and new bosses and stages. It looks great and plays as sharp and as slick as it did back then, or maybe even more so. Keep an eye out for it!
-Titanfall 2 - Was more of the same, which was sad. Was just as confused by the strange MOBA style gameplay and game modes and everything else. I still did walk away hoping that the single player will make up for it this time, and that diving in with the 'proper' Multiplayer this time will be a bonus. Oh well, not convinced to pre-order, but I will keep my eye on it. (Also played the PS4 version, bye bye MS exclusivity)
-Gran Turismo sport - Was naff, but that was down to how SONY showed off the thing with a driving rig that had force-feedback set to 'Break your hands off' levels of powerful that made a rather realistic driving game just that bit harder to play. NO VR here despite the promise. Will be giving it a miss until it turns very cheap.
-ESPER 2 - Was fun and actually plays a bit better how that it works on the oculus with a standard gamepad. Good and expanded stuff from the first game, but sadly no news about it making the jump to other VR formats.
-The Bunker - Got to tinker with it, walked away feeling meh. At least it was a smooth take on the old FMV adventure games.
-Yooka-Laylee - Was good, and much the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo era RARE answer to sonic mania. It played well and felt old school while being as modern as possible. This will be one to look at as it draws nearer to release. That said I am sure that I was playing the PC version and it wasn't massively well optimised at times, but still it's a playable colourful game and we need more of them these days.
-Silent streets - Was the blow out title I think. It was a mobile game and it's about being a detective in a victorian city. However the developer is very confused as it as ARG elements, and hardly seems a good fit for that type of gameplay. Also very crossed signals about microtransactions. Looks like an interesting concept that could totally bomb IMHO. Which is sad because I want some more, and frankly decent detective/police games.
-Unseen Diplomacy - Was really good but in reality something of a tech demo for the HTC vine. This game let you play as a James bond style spy who has to infiltrate a secret base, which seems very par for the course until you realise that this uses the vine's full room VR and the motion controls. It's hard to describe but this is how we've always thought that VR would work, and it doses. You really have to walk, crawl and shimmy around the room and the HTC controllers let you interact with the environment. It is something that has to be experienced rather than talked about, but trust me it was fantastic. However given the play area and the sheer cost of the Vine, this isn't something that everybody will be playing, even if it's a £1.99 title on steam (yes really). Also of note was the tower which was much the same thing if a little less impressive, but that did show how the vine remotes can be used for things like bows and arrows and climbing.
-Snake Pass - Not something that I set out to play but it's a good sounding and playing indie where you are a snake and gameplay centres around climbing puzzles and challanges based on snake movement. Sounds unplayable, but really it wasn't and I had a lot of fun with it. Also it looked as good as Yooka-laylee with vibrant graphics, and design that reminded me again of 90's RARE, worth keeping an eye on.
Windlands - The other smaller Playstation VR game that I tried. This was an open world / runner game that had you swinging with grappling hooks like spiderman over floating island, while looking for bits of a something or other. Not bad, but at it's best when it was keeping momentum which was hard due to level design.
Anyway did get to play a few games on the floor, but I didn't get to see everything just due to how busy it all was.
-Battlezone - Oh I had fun with this one and it was my first try of SONY's Playstation VR system too (but more on that later). Esentually a remake of the old arcade game this is a fun and fast shooter that puts you in command of a tank in a 90's VR world. The situational awareness I got from the VR was fantastic, and the action was amazing. Worth the 40 min wait to play it, and in fact I changed my games pre-order for my PSVR for this title. Also learnt later that it will be a 'rougelite' with elements that lean back to early 90's console games. Can't wait!
-Sonic mania - Was probably one of the best games that I played on the floor. It was as I expected a massive tribute to the 90's megadrive era sonics, only with a lot of new tricks that couldn't be done on that system (3D hints and mode 7 anyone). A lot of nods to the originals (the stage I played was based on Green Hill Zone from sonic 1), but gameplay imported from sonic 3 and new bosses and stages. It looks great and plays as sharp and as slick as it did back then, or maybe even more so. Keep an eye out for it!
-Titanfall 2 - Was more of the same, which was sad. Was just as confused by the strange MOBA style gameplay and game modes and everything else. I still did walk away hoping that the single player will make up for it this time, and that diving in with the 'proper' Multiplayer this time will be a bonus. Oh well, not convinced to pre-order, but I will keep my eye on it. (Also played the PS4 version, bye bye MS exclusivity)
-Gran Turismo sport - Was naff, but that was down to how SONY showed off the thing with a driving rig that had force-feedback set to 'Break your hands off' levels of powerful that made a rather realistic driving game just that bit harder to play. NO VR here despite the promise. Will be giving it a miss until it turns very cheap.
-ESPER 2 - Was fun and actually plays a bit better how that it works on the oculus with a standard gamepad. Good and expanded stuff from the first game, but sadly no news about it making the jump to other VR formats.
-The Bunker - Got to tinker with it, walked away feeling meh. At least it was a smooth take on the old FMV adventure games.
-Yooka-Laylee - Was good, and much the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo era RARE answer to sonic mania. It played well and felt old school while being as modern as possible. This will be one to look at as it draws nearer to release. That said I am sure that I was playing the PC version and it wasn't massively well optimised at times, but still it's a playable colourful game and we need more of them these days.
-Silent streets - Was the blow out title I think. It was a mobile game and it's about being a detective in a victorian city. However the developer is very confused as it as ARG elements, and hardly seems a good fit for that type of gameplay. Also very crossed signals about microtransactions. Looks like an interesting concept that could totally bomb IMHO. Which is sad because I want some more, and frankly decent detective/police games.
-Unseen Diplomacy - Was really good but in reality something of a tech demo for the HTC vine. This game let you play as a James bond style spy who has to infiltrate a secret base, which seems very par for the course until you realise that this uses the vine's full room VR and the motion controls. It's hard to describe but this is how we've always thought that VR would work, and it doses. You really have to walk, crawl and shimmy around the room and the HTC controllers let you interact with the environment. It is something that has to be experienced rather than talked about, but trust me it was fantastic. However given the play area and the sheer cost of the Vine, this isn't something that everybody will be playing, even if it's a £1.99 title on steam (yes really). Also of note was the tower which was much the same thing if a little less impressive, but that did show how the vine remotes can be used for things like bows and arrows and climbing.
-Snake Pass - Not something that I set out to play but it's a good sounding and playing indie where you are a snake and gameplay centres around climbing puzzles and challanges based on snake movement. Sounds unplayable, but really it wasn't and I had a lot of fun with it. Also it looked as good as Yooka-laylee with vibrant graphics, and design that reminded me again of 90's RARE, worth keeping an eye on.
Windlands - The other smaller Playstation VR game that I tried. This was an open world / runner game that had you swinging with grappling hooks like spiderman over floating island, while looking for bits of a something or other. Not bad, but at it's best when it was keeping momentum which was hard due to level design.