This week we at Gadget Helpline have had the pleasure of visiting the Eurogamer Games Expo in Earls Court London, which is taking place from September 26th-29th and has some of the biggest games and consoles set to come our way over the next few months.
We had a traipse around the Expo, tried our luck on the new Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and saw some of the cool new (and in some cases old) games coming to our consoles soon.
5 cool things to do at Eurogamer Expo 2013
The Eurogamer Expo is full of games to play and things to see, but around the event there are some cool little things to experience. Here are our favourite time wasting pastimes that can be found at the event:
- Go back in time at the Retro Zone – Eurogamer is all about the future of games, but gamers with a love for nostalgia can visit the Retro Gaming area where a host of classic and amazing games are on display and playable in their original formats, with some even on a classic CRT TV. We played on classic Mario Kart on the NES, had a swim with Ecco the Dolphin on the Sega Megadrive and got destroyed on the original Street Fighter.
- Pose with some cool gaming figures – Alongside the amazing amount of life-size and sometimes much bigger than life-size statues and figures are a host of gaming related cosplayers, both professional and just fans trying to make an impression. The Nintendo booth has a host of classic Ninty characters turning up throughout the day – we met Sonic and Pikachu – and we saw some excellent cosplayers ranging from Solid Snake to a rather naff Spyro the Dragon. Bungie’s Destiny also had a very cool statue to pose with and revellers around the RYSE: Son of Rome booth can be pictured with the massive Roman protagonist.
- Get yourself on the front of a game cover – Ever fancied yourself as the cover star of a game? Well at the Eurogamer Expo 2013 you can see this dream become a reality thanks to EA and the FIFA 14 game. EA Sports has its very own photo studio where gamers can be snapped and placed on the front cover of FIFA 14, with the covers then of course available to buy. Who needs Gareth Bale anyway!
- Buy some amazing merch – It’s a bit of an understatement to say that the quality of the merch on sale at this year’s Eurogamer Expo was incredible, but for everything nerdy and nice there was something on sale. Whether it be the high quality collectible figures or reference-heavy gaming and cult TV tees, there are stores galore at the Expo, all of which will make you want to get out your credit card and waste away your pay check!
- Become a pinball wizard – When all that sitting down and finger movement gets just too much for you, you can let off some steam on the original teen time wasting games in the Pinball Arcade, which is a blast.
The other games on show
The Eurogamer Expo has some of the biggest and best incoming and next generation games on show, with games like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Batman Arkham Origins, Battlefield 4, The Elder Scrolls Online, Watch Dogs and Forza Motorsport 5 all on show and playable, if you’re happy to queue for a fair while. We managed to get a go on all of the upcoming titles and we have to say, they all looked amazing. But underneath AAA titles is also a host of other games on display and available to play, on both next-gen consoles and Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and other consoles. Some of our favourites included:
- Rain – Rain is a stylistic platformer where you are an invisible boy who is trying to traverse a dangerous world, but you can only be seen when you are in the rain. It’s always raining apart from a few select areas and what this makes for is a beautiful and tricky platformer. We loved the gameplay and were hooked for a good 10 minutes before realising our surroundings and having to leave the game arena.
- Killer Instinct – Well, this was one of the first game we rushed off to find to pit our wits against each other. We were able to play the Xbox One version local multiplayer style on the classic arcade controllers and its was a frenzied attack. We had four players available – Glacius, Thunder, Jago and Sabrewulf – and after 3 rounds of attacks we were reluctantly moved on. It plays amazingly well and really brings the fun back into the beat-em-up genre.
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 – Konami’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 stand had a large number of playable consoles but due to its very close proximity to the Call of Duty: Ghosts arena many were simply walking past it. What they missed out on though was a hugely fun game that plays a little like Bayonetta/Devil May Cry crossed with Assassin’s Creed 3. We played a lengthy 20 minute demo and loved it.
- Injustice: Gods Among Us – Now we know that Injustice: Gods Among Us has been out in the UK since April but we had time to sit down and play the game at the Eurogamer Expo and we just loved it. Who couldn’t love facing Batman off against Superman or Catwoman vs Wonderwoman, or even Joker vs Harley Quinn (Joker sadly lost!) It’s amazing fun and a great title to play against a mate in local multiplayer mode.
Nintendo’s cool comparison
Nintendo was also out in full force at this year’s Expo and one of the cooler showcases from the gaming legend was the HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker where Ninty had the gorgeous game on show to play, but in comparison the original GameCube version and console was set up alongside to show just how much better the HD remake looks.
Now we all know that HD remakes look good but it’s not until you see just how great the updates look side by side with classic games and consoles that it really brings it home. Nintendo has done a great job of piqued our interest in this remake.
Nintendo had a large amount riding on this Expo and as per usual the crowds were pleased by what Ninty had to show off. Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D World both had a great showcase and pleased the masses.
Xbox One and Sony PS4 hands on
We were able to play on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles at the Expo and as could be expected, everything that was shown on the consoles looked amazing. However only a select few Sony PS4 consoles were actually on display and all of the Xbox One devices were locked down to the walls, so we couldn’t get a good look around the new gadgets.
However, we were able to get hands on with both console’s controllers and what we can say is this:
The PS4 DualShock 4 controller is light and much smaller than we initially imagined. The touch pad function is very cool and easy to use and unlike the PS3’s controllers, the new updated design has the excellent mix of old familiarity and newness combined, and we feel Sony has perfected it this time around.
The Xbox One controllerl felt almost exactly the same as the current range of Xbox 360 controllers. It has a slightly more rigid feel to it and the large open spaces across the middle are odd to have, but quality-wise it feels very sturdy. The new Xbox button is sometimes hard to access in its new placement but with the functionality of the button itself changing, we expect the difference in button layout to be quickly forgotten.
We will be showing off a full breakdown of the controllers very soon, so keep an eye out for that.
What we have been playing this week
Well apart from our extensive game plays at the Eurogamer Expo, this week’s spare time has been dedicated to our new friends Franklin, Michael and most importantly, Trevor.
Yes GTA has been ruining our social lives and subversively turning us all into homicidal maniacs in the real world, and boy do we love it.
And finally…
Watch 12 gruesome minutes of The Evil Within gameplay.
Watch it with the lights off, we dare you.