After massive growth last year there was much to be expected when walking into the three-day EB Games Expo, now undoubtedly gaming cultures biggest Sydney event of the year. All three days have been packed with the variety gamers have come to demand, filling a void which was virtually non-existent a few years ago. We now have showcases from all big developers and publishers, with bigger names making the journey down under each year. Aussies have worked on and driven some of the best and most successful titles of the past few years - an example of which is 2k Australia - so it makes complete sense that EB Games Expo truly feels like it has stepped in the right direction and onto a global platform of world class gaming conventions.
With last year's massive event benefitting from the buzz of the new generation, this year's event has been characterised with the strength of these consoles approaching one-year anniversaries, now settling into a strong line up of new-gen inspired titles such as Sunset Overdrive, Dying Light, and The Evil Within. Many of these games have been constantly teased for years - especially in the case of The Evil Within - so it felt like a release of pent up tension getting exclusive hands on experience, and there was very little disappointment in the air. Here are some of the playable demos I got my hands on which stood out for me.
BORDERLANDS: THE PRE-SEQUEL (2K Australia; Gearbox Software. PS3, Xbox 360, PC))
This third installment in the incredibly successful Borderlands series backtracks a bit and let's us focus on the rise of the villainous Handsome Jack while flipping the wasteland setting into an expansive journey on the moon. When I first heard about the setting I was a bit disappointed - the post-apocalyptic wasteland was done so well in the first two games that a sci-fi twist seemed a bit of a downscale. That disappointment turned into joy as soon as I got used to the zero gravity that drives much of the traversal mechanics in the game, with a lot of double jumping and shooting involved.
The playable demo was co-op, with punters being paired up to play through a slice of the game which took about 15 minutes to get through. All the most loved aspects of Borderlands is back, with the enemies seeming to be more frantic and faster than they previously were. The characters are also different this time around, with a nice range of distinctive abilities which you can unlock on the skill tree - Claptrap is also a playable character! This is definitely something which will satisfy fans of Borderlands.
The intimate involvement of 2K Australia has also given the humour a very uniquely Australian touch, and it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.
CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE (Sledgehammer Games. PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)
The organisers now know just how many people are sent into hysterics as soon as they see a Call of Duty stall, so this year saw a bigger room in which to lan party it up with the new CoD. It's the first time in the immensely popular franchise's history that the developers have been given three years to come up with something to push the series forward further than previous installments have. They have succeeded here. Whereas the most recent CoD (Ghosts) was good but formulaic, Advanced Warfare introduces Exo abilities - superhuman abilities able to be unlocked as the player progresses through the game - and a Pick 13 system, improving upon the Pick 10 system of the Black Ops series and offering various traits like faster movement, quicker aiming, sprinting, and so on.
There's also a bigger focus on one thing I always through CoD was lacking in - narrative. The campaign players are being shown a massive amount of love here, with Kevin Spacey coming aboard to lift the standard of in-game acting and creating a storyline that is as involving as it is adrenaline-inducing. While we only got a taste of the expansive multiplayer at the expo, we managed to catch some time with Michael Condrey of Sledgehammer Games for a bit more insight. Read the interview HERE. The multiplayer really benefits from the exo abilities, changing the dynamic of group play and creating a landscape that allows for much more creative kills and interesting scenarios; of course, everything we love about CoD multiplayer is recreated here, but the new additions have really sought to redefine the whole experience, and it seems like Sledgehammer Games have been successful on this front.
DRIVECLUB (Evolution Studios. PS4 Exlcusive)
Driveclub's design director Simon Barlow was very much in demand all weekend, walking around the Sony Playstation exhibition going from interview to interview to Q&A session, but we managed to get a couple of minutes with him. He was rightfully proud in the result as he watched gamers queue up to take a seat in the arcade-style cars set up near the entrance to the exhibition.
The design is stunning, playing with smart lighting and realistic tracks which range from the gritty and the serene. Though it's the social aspect that the game really does well, and all it takes it just one button to interact with friends, recruit them, and drive the game forward with a very RPG inspired mechanic. The way the car handles is realistic to the point where you are actually scared of crashing into walls. I'm not one to be overly impressed with racing games, but Driveclub - and Xbox One's Forza Horizon 2 - is a nice leap forward for the genre in the new generation.
SUNSET OVERDRIVE (Insomniac Games. Xbox One Exclusive)
The bright, cartoonish twist on a post-apocalypse runs all through Sunset Overdrive, and you can certainly get a sense of how much ridiculous, mind-blowing fun will be packed into the game. EB Expo allowed us to play the insane multiplayer mode with 13 players navigating a wacky set to defend some bases against a variety of well-designed monsters. The guns they give you in this game are unique, fun twists on classics like machine guns which shoot razors or the ever-loved laser. With a focus on limitless, mindless fun, the very bright, very over-the-top game is looking to be a massive hit for Xbox One.
We had a chance to catch up with Insomniac's creative director Marcus Smith after playing the game.
DYING LIGHT (Techland. PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)
When I saw the trailer for Dying Light at last year's EB Expo I wasn't too impressed; it looked like just a run-of-the-mill zombie game to me. The fact that it was from the creators of Dead Island restored a little bit of faith, but even then, that game was only slightly above average at best. Flash forward to now - some time and slow evolution from the guys at Techland has propelled the game along the route of realism, resulting in something well worth paying attention to.
The movement in the game is beautiful; incredibly fluid with great traversal mechanics and a melee system which is actually fun. Weapons like a massive axe or a baseball bat are fun to play around with and the movement is as weighted as you'd expect if you were wielding one of these in real life. The zombies (of "infected" as they are called in the game) are well-designed and creepy, dangerous in packs but not much of a threat individually. Unfortunately one of the most interesting aspects of the game wasn't available in this demo; the dichotomy between day and night. The developers have chosen to not only make day-night a visual focus of the game, but also a crucial part of gameplay; Dying Light will be much more difficult at night where the infected seem more powerful and the situation seems more dire. It's going to be interesting playing around with this on full release. Oh yeah, and did I mention you can play as the freaking infected! With the attention to detail Techland have given this game, I wouldn't expect that to be as gimmicky as some be-a-zombie modes from previous games.
MORTAL KOMBAT X (NetherRealm Studios. PS4, Xbox One, PC)
The game's creators are obviously hip to the formula which has made Mortal Kombat such an iconic fighter series - excessive violence, fluid fighting, and more excessive violence. This time we plenty of options in the way we play as our favourite characters, when you select someone you get an option about which 'mode' they are in - whether they are using their weapons, or focused on abilities, and so on - so the range of play is miles ahead of previous Mortal Kombat titles. This means that the replay value is going to be huge. Character design is also impressive, with the new characters terrifying, awesome additions to the already packed roster.
FARCRY 4 (Ubisoft Montreal. PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)
Ubisoft's flagship shooter is now taking away the gorgeous island setting of Farcry 3 and opting for a higher altitude, there's a tropical mountain setting here and there's a bunch of fortresses scattered around. The demo allowed you to choose between three modes of play - ride, fly, or sneak. Ride let me commandeer an elephant and bust through fortress doors, shooting up with a seemingly endless supply of smart AI and threateningly fast helicopters. I have no doubt in my mind that this will be another smash hit for Ubisoft, and choosing to do things a little differently in terms of setting seems to have worked so far.
EVOLVE (Turtle Rock Studios. PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Turtle Rock Studios and 2K Games were definitely on a this year's EB Expo, with Evolve attracting one of the consistently longest queues of the day. The game involves a monster being pitted against four hunters (who are split into classes - trapper, support, assault, medic) and as the monster the player must run around the map eating wildlife and evolving into a stronger, more terrifying version of itself. I opted to play as the Kraken, with pre-loaded points I could invest into skills before my round started. There's some real effective tension to this game, while bringing a simple, addictive RPG-life mechanic into play. This is one of those games you'd line up for hours just to play the full version, so it's a no brainer that this is going to be a hit.
SUPER SMASH BROS (Sora Ltd for Wii U; Bandai Namco Games for Nintendo 3DS)
This is basically Super Smash Bros with more content added than ever before; you can even unlock the dog from NES' Duck Hunt. The new platforms are exciting, including Dr Wily's fortress from Megaman, all of which add even more urgency to the game as environmental threats are taken up a notch. There ends up being a lot of noise on screen, but it's all part of the outrageous fun that this franchise is known for. While Megaman himself isn't much of a character and a bit too slow for my liking, the design is superb and it's pretty great pressing a button and having a leaf shield fly up around him; Nintendo gets an A for nostalgia.
THE EVIL WITHIN (Tango Gameworks. PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)
Horror-survival mastermind Shinji Mikami has given us his most sadistic, haunting game yet by the looks of this slice of The Evil Within which was playable at EB Expo. Both strains of horror are mixed well here - supernatural and gore - as you explore dusty old hallways in the demo. There's a nice sense of space here that makes you really want to explore every nook and cranny, with beautiful design reminiscent of Resident Evil 4 (the best in the popular franchise). With Mikami's intimate involvement, The Evil Within definitely feels like a comeback for a genre which has been a bit lacking in recent years. My only issue is that the enemies I encountered weren't aggressive enough, which took a bit away from the terror; but the tone and the atmosphere of the game is incredibly effective, immersive enough that you'll probably need to play this with the lights on (although you shouldn't).
DEMOS I SAW OTHER PEOPLE PLAYING
Because of the sheer size of EB Expo it's not difficult to be across the entire festival if you aren't attending all three days with an ultimate gamer pass. As such, there were a few games which I really wanted to play but didn't have the time to; so I just watched other people play through them - that's just as fun, right? Alien: Isolation stood with the aforementioned The Evil Within as another game which championed the new generation of survival horror, playing through as something which will reinvigorate the long line of Alien-inspired video games with a twist on genuinely creepy, atmospheric gaming. Another stunner was Assassins Creed: Unity with its dense, realistic setting of Paris during the French Revolution; the Ubisoft franchise found it's feet years ago with Assassins Creed 2 and has only stumbled one since then - Unity looks to continue the strength of the series, and that's on visuals alone.
Middle Earth: Shadow of Modor looked amazing, and attracted quite a large queue, most likely fueled by the universally excellent reviews it has been getting so far; a WWE 2K15 didn't look much different from previous titles, but there was a noticeable and significant improvement in graphics thanks to the new-gen; The Order: 1886 was a very interesting game, with a vintage looking London full of destruction and chaotic shoot outs with what looked like monsters, and while the weapons seemed a bit sluggish, the graphics and movement were up to the high standard of the new-gen.
The queues still seem to be an unavoidable issue here, but the amount of exhibitors spread the crowd out quite nicely. As such, I never had to wait longer than 40 minutes to play some of the bigger games, and while this might seem like a long time, it flies by as you take in the constant excitement that's in the air.
Cosplay runs rampant here, with established and obscure video game characters running around - often in groups - and taking photos with everyone. The extent people go to is quite incredible, and the best are showcased in cosplay competitions throughout the weekend.
There were some really neat non-gaming promotions going on - aside from the consistent display of the latest gaming tech - one of which was a small version of The Evil Within maze, set up at WB Movie World on the Gold Coast. The real deal takes about 12 minutes to navigate; this smaller version took about 2 minutes. Unlike most horror mazes that I've been through, this one is genuinely freaky, with enough scares to make me actually scream out loud (and I consider myself a horror aficionado). Another was a set-up cage match that hosted the ever-loved Robot Wars UK, where a robot with a pressure flipper on top would battle a robot with a giant swinging axe, both trying to dodge the neat environmental hazard of a freaking flamethrower. Forget live wrestling; robot wars is a blend of fantasy fighting and engaging real-life RPG-esque building, inspiring players to customise their own robots for battle. We learned a bit about it back in the beginning of the year with VIVID Ideas; how it could have very progressive educational implications for the younger generation by getting them interested in technology in it's uniquely immersive way. To witness this was an excellent part of the weekend, and while the brutality may be over-the-top at times, the sheer joy that comes from watching custom built robots tear each apart inside a cage is thrilling.
All the most raved about aspects of the festival were back, bigger in size. The massive EB Games megastore was a treasure trove of collectibles and discounted games; the always impressive free play area was now merged with the Weird and Retro area where consoles dating back to the Atari were available for play. Yet again, this was my favourite section, with the increase in size allowing for a dark arcade area which had pinball machines, boxing simulators, and air hockey tables set up. I suggest going with a group of 4 and making the most of the availability of Golden 007 on N64.
The food options at the expo are still very weak, with some of the worst festival food I've come across in a long time. Most of the food stalls are in the outdoor area, which, along with the Weird and Retro area, is taken up largely by the new League of Legends exhibit. Cosplay shows, entertaining commentary, and interesting debates on this cult-inspiring game could be found here, with the commentary proving the most popular, playing into that rise of Twitch.
There were outlets for those into card games (you could even win packs if you beat one of their seasoned demonstrators; and exhibition for the home release of the latest X-Men; constant giveaways of some worthy prizes; and a display of some recently released games - like the new, brilliant Gauntlet - which were just as popular as the unreleased games.
A small stage in the middle of the main area hosted debates about video game journalism, level design, the ongoing 'console vs PC' joust, and more. Meanwhile a larger theatre towards the back brought hour-long presentations for all big-name developers at the expo.
It was easy to be overwhelmed by how much the expo has grown, especially if you've neglected the all-important pre-planning. While you may not be able to play every single demo at the expo unless you are super organised, there was enough here to give you a fun 'choose your own adventure' celebration of all things gaming. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the growth of EB Expo in 2015, with hopefully even more developers, more presentations, more sideshows like the Robot Wars UK guys, and the hopeful return and expansion of Weird and Retro.
Photos captured by Nathan Atkins for the AU review. To view our full gallery click HERE