eGames Expo - Melbourne 2008
Feature
The eGames Expo is behind us. We look back at the biggest Australian gaming event of the year and give you our impressions of what publishers have in store for us in the coming months.
After letting the experts show off their guitar skills, I headed to the Alienware zone. Activision, although not having a dedicated stand of their own, had a couple of big titles on show using Alienware PCs as the showcase. Call of Duty: World At War was one of their games on show, but the game I was really looking to see was Quantum of Solace. The game does not look and play much differently from a host of other FPS. But, with Quantum of Solace you get to play as Bond…certainly a plus in my book. The game does look good though and the Bond music is still playing in my head, so it seems to have had an effect.
Atari
EA
EA had a large exhibit at the expo, with a number of Wii games in the Come Play area. Games in this area included Celebrity Sports Showdown, Skate It, and Family Games Night. A bit of casual fun to be had for the whole family.
I was a tad disappointed with EA’s upcoming big title, Mirror’s Edge. It did take me awhile to get used to the controls of the PS3 version on display, especially since I am primarily a PC gamer. The visuals are OK, but the level I played most of my time was spent on rooftops, which look largely identical. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but all the hype about the special ability to see parts of your body (such as your legs when you slide) is unfounded. Sure, it’s a nice touch, but it’s not a feature that would make me have to go out and purchase a copy of the game.
EA was also represented with FIFA ’09. There was a whole room kitted out with FIFA ’09 games (and even a mini soccer stadium). This was all part of the FIFA Interactive World Cup play-offs being held at the eGames Expo. I played a couple of games and failed to trouble the scorers on each occasion, but I was also able to keep my opponents from scoring. More practice needed.
AFA Interactive
One of the smaller exhibits was the AFA Interactive site. They distribute a number of games in Australia. Ben 10: Alien Force is definitely going to be a popular game for the younger males. Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, although purportedly a humorous game, is a bit more on the hardcore side. It is a FPS game that seems to mix cowboys with an assortment of sci-fi weaponry.
Little King’s Story was also on display – apparently for the first time outside Japan. In this adventure game, gamers play the King of a particular land. The King must manage and involve their townspeople in the goals of creating this new territory whilst also trying to conquer rival nations to create a single, unified kingdom. Cute in appearance and audio, but seems to have a bit of depth to it.
Sports fans were treated to Super Swing Golf on the Wii. For all intents and purposes, the game is similar to Wii Sports version of Golf. Still fun to play when it’s raining outside and you can’t get on the real course.