Games, Apps And Reviews: Live Blog: EGX 2015

A live blog of the events of EGX 2015. Ready to view at a time that suits you!
09:00: and we're off! To EGX we go!

11:26: we're here and we're... Queueing! While we wait, what games are people excited to see today?

Big Queues

Very big!

11:41: and we're in! Time to queue for some games!

11:46: Smash Bros. battle was completed. The victor? Harry with Shulk! (And not a single death either, I might add... ;) - Harry)

11:52: watching a Super Mario Maker tournament while playing Terraria on the 3DS, which I personally think is the definitive version.

11:57: tried playing Star Fox Zero but... the queue was too long. So it's Mario Tennis Ultra Smash instead! Star Fox looks good though - with two screens showing either 3rd person or 1st person mode

A very sneaky preview of Star Fox!

12:05: played Mario Tennis Ultra Smash and... got very confused. Between the single camera angle and seemingly random shots, this is a game that needs to be played quite a bit to understand. Beat Tom and my Dad, though (and lost to a random stranger).

Goodbye for now, Harry

12:16: onto Total War: Arena now, a game Harry could spend 'many hours' on. Looks great, and I always love a good RTS. We got some closed beta codes and some free Total War games!

12:22: Prison Architect zone is set in a jail zone! Got a hat and some pics (which will be up later)

Get in the jail

To play a game!

So cool!

12:30: well I finished my Total War, um, war and... Lost. My militia threw themselves at the enemy... And landed right on their blades. And, as for my plucky archers, they... Well, um, they're not alive anymore, either...

Goodbye for now, Harry

12:45: got our first (and probably last) price of merchandise. A set of Kingdom Hearts keys (in mini form sadly). Watch the haul video on the YouTube channel for more info! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySIOAHmaXjk

12:51: my Dad has decided to go retro and played through a game of *insert shooter/Space Invaders clone here*. In his words the game is 'old school'.

Old-School gameplay right here!

13:05: now we're all going retro! I had a go at Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast and while I wasn't quite sure what to do, it was nice being able to control Tails at speed.

13:10: had another blast from the past with Sonic&Knuckles for the Sega Mega Drive II. I played as Knuckles and managed to get right to the end boss of the stage. Sadly, I... Died. But it was nice to play 2D Sonic (the best Sonic).

13:17: Visited the 'Special Effect' booth - a charity dedicated to helping people with disabilities to game. The eye controlled Minecraft is hard to do, yet really satisfying, and you can really see how this could help people who can't move their arms. - Tom

13:24: had a go at Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. Got thrown into World 8, world map was very difficult to go through and died on my first level. Great to play on an actual NES though.

13:30: had a go at Dragster on an Atari 2600 which was interesting to say the least. Basic gameplay with some iffy controls didn't make it the best game I've ever played but, after a bit of practice, it didn't seem too bad. First Impressions/Comments on the game (and most others) will be up later, so be sure to check back (as well as pictures for these retro games)!

Goodbye for now, Harry

13:35: lots of retro games played, including Burnin' Rubber for the Amstrad and a racing game from an Atari console (not sure what either were called), then a Pong game ensured on an old Binatone. A big First Impressions for all these retro games will be up in the next couple of days.

14:05: Tom is playing Once Upon Light which has some interesting (if poorly explained for the level he is on) mechanics. Firstly, if you touch light,you die, so you have to create barriers to block said light. Secondly, pressing R1 activates Shadow Echo Mode, which leaves an imprint of the shadow caused by an object for you to cross. However, if you hold R1 then you slow time but you can't move. Interesting is defiantly the word I would use.

14:24: just had a go at one of the Uncharted's. It's animations were fluid and the parkour was great (even though Nathan Drake was injured and could still perform feats that no other man could do) although the graphics were starting to show their age. Can't wait for the PS4 re-release.

14:54: more retro games now: I played a racer on the Sega Saturn while Harry played Wolfenstein 3D on the Atari Jaguar. Both great games.

15:13: my Dad had a good twenty minutes of game time with Just Cause 3 (although the queuing time was double that!) There were many explosions, the grappling hook is great to use, the graphics are excellent and realistic although the amount of controls means that it takes some getting used to.

15:19: Tom and I had a go at Chin Control Mario Kart 8 (with me coming 4th and Tom coming 7th. Hooray for me!). It's another game in the Special Effects Booth and had you steering with your chin. It's a cool piece of tech and one that I think will help entertain a lot of disabled people around the world.

Goodbye for now, Harry

15:29: the pinball championships have begun Full Throttle (also the name of the machine). Fair to say that I'm not the best at it, I think. Note: I have used all of my data and so expect the updates to come fewer and far between (when I can get wifi).

16:14: just had a go at Total War: Warhammer and may I just say that it is a match made in heaven. More later in the First Impressions. ;)

Goodbye for now, Harry

16:43: after some, very late, lunch we have just seen a Rock Band 4 competition, which was lively (some people got very into it!).

17:01: just had a go at Xenoblade Chronicles X. An absolutely massive game, with great and varied enemies, if a bit of a weird control scheme.

17:35: and we are out of here! Hope everyone who went to EGX had a great time and expect some First Impressions over the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading, Satamer.

Some random pics: