Tag: AAA

Gaming in 2017 – Major Annoyances!

The year is coming to a close and this is the part where most sites look to the past, to the other 11 months that came and went and decide which of the titles released is the best of the year in a vast variety of categories, with or without use input.

I did a bit of that last Friday but as I mentioned, I don’t do that sort of thing and I generally find it short-sighted, but after a month of intense FPS-ing, I just had to talk about these games.

But what I will do for the close of the year is talk about two things I’m terrified by in the gaming industry, trends that should they continue to evolve—or devolve—as they have in the past year, then much of my goodwill and respect for the industry will disappear, eroded by greed and a lack of creativity. Continue reading Gaming in 2017 – Major Annoyances!

The EGX Experience 2016

From Thursday 22 to yesterday, Sunday 25 of September, EGX took place, once more at the Birmingham NEC (which I insist on wrongly calling “neck”). My original plan was to be there the weekend but in the end, I only made the trip on Saturday.

The main reason for this is that I was exhausted. When I arrived in London in the morning, hoping to take the tube from Tower Hill to Euston Square and then walk to Euston Station, I found that because of engineering works, there were no trains heading that way or anywhere east. Back on street-level I tried to find a bus but couldn’t, so my only choice was to walk 5 km to Euston. By the time I got on the train to Birmingham, I was already exhausted and my day was just starting. Continue reading The EGX Experience 2016

EGX 2016 and Beyond!

EGX, formerly the Euro Gamer Expo, started yesterday. Last year I was there for the duration of the event, but this year due to professional responsibilities—and the fact that I like getting paid for my work—I can’t make it to the first two. But tomorrow and Sunday, you can bet I’ll be there. There are a few games already in my sights, most of them in the Rezzed section. Continue reading EGX 2016 and Beyond!

Rezzed 2016 – It’s all Fun and Games

Last year’s Rezzed was my first one, first time heading to the Tobacco Docks to see dozens of indie developers and their creations, book interviews and come in with press credentials. Last year, as I intended to use Rezzed as the first step in my push for The Mental Attic, I overbooked and spent time running around from one interview to another.

This year I decided to book fewer interviews going for the stuff that really caught my attention and, because it was a new one for me, the games for which the developers, publishers or public relations officials contacted me personally. This is not me being humble, and you can ask my friends—if you can find them—it really isn’t, but I’m not the guy people recognise, I’m not used to video game industry professionals contacting me directly to set up interviews or even telling me they follow The Mental Attic, that’s something that happens to my friends and colleagues but not me. But for this Rezzed it happened, more than once, and it still as new for me now as it was at the start of the event.

Continue reading Rezzed 2016 – It’s all Fun and Games