My first ever day at GameCity and I felt as though I had just jumped in front of a moving train…and survived. The excitement was rushing through my veins. It was day two of GameCity 6 and yes, I can confirm it was awesome.
My first port of call was the Battlefield booth (you couldn’t miss it thanks to the poster art visible from space) where I was treated to some glorious Battlefield videos on an enormous TV screen – seriously, it was huge. The videos highlighted just how astonishingly beautiful the game was, and will be for players when it’s released. Of course, all this was just an appetizer for the main course: a chance to play the game. It was brilliant. You’re eased into the action with a very brief tutorial before all hell breaks loose. I’ve never been the greatest fan of First-person shooter games, but frantically trying to avoid a sniper and rocket-propelled grenades was one of the highlights of my day. And that’s just the first level. By now, my excitement had reached dangerous levels, thankfully there was a medical team on site. They served up some dessert too – a personalised Battlefield 3 dog tag. What a way to start the day.
The rest of the day lived up to the high standards set by the Battlefield boys. The base tent was a gaming utopia, which was littered with delights for gamers, from the most casual to the most competitive. It even catered to gamers of the non-video variety, with a range of board games on show- who said retro was dead?
It was video games that were the real star of the show though, ranging from the wickedly entertaining to the downright strange. One of my favourites was the mass multiplayer, with dozens of players thrashing it out on a single screen. Another highlight was ‘Thomas was Alone’, a puzzle game. The gameplay was simple and fun and its minimalist graphics were great. I really enjoyed the story though. I definitely wouldn’t mind playing it again. There were some other great games being displayed, including Shuuro: Wrath of the Elements and Space Salvager.There were some curve balls thrown into the mix. One I didn’t get was Proteus, a ‘pure exploration’ game. Apparently there is no aim and we should just explore. Personally, I’m the type who quite likes having objectives, even if I ignore them completely. At least I know the game is heading somewhere.
The festival catered to all and sundry. Those too young to game, found themselves occupied by arts and crafts, but if they wanted to have a go, all were welcome. Those who fancied themselves as games designers were given the chance to showcase their skills, and those who just wanted a chance to chat with or a social game or two were welcomed with open arms.
My first experience of GameCity was great. The people were welcoming, the tent was dry (the day was not) and the game’s were awesome. On Friday zombies are set to invade GameCity.
Bring it on!
Keegan Spindler
