Play Expo Manchester – Our Family Experience!

PLAY EXPO – REPLAY, COSPLAY, NOW PLAY, PRO PLAY

 Date 13th/14th October 2012

Saturday had arrived but this was like no other Saturday as both of my children leapt out of bed both excited because we were heading to the Play Expo in Manchester. This event showcases some of the latest titles and gives you a chance to play them as well.

Now both of my children are at very different ages one being a teenager and the other still in primary school, this event none the less PLAY EXPO managed to cater for both of their gaming needs. Play EXPO combined 4 Different events all under one roof, and as we arrived at the venue which was at Trafford Park at Events city the queues of people were amazing to see. The event had attracted all age groups from the young to more mature adults. Once Play EXPO had opened its doors these queues went down quickly so they had obviously got things right as the venue filled up with people very quickly.

Once inside the event area I have never seen such excitement on my boy’s faces, both had plans almost as soon as they had heard what games were on offer both present and past.

Once we were inside the venue it was overwhelming both of my children split up and headed to area’s they wanted to attend almost immediately

Prior to arriving at the Play Expo, I soon realised that there was so much to get through with carefully planned events on offer throughout the weekend. My children had ideas what they would like to do first and this included playing some of the latest releases and previews of upcoming games.

Some of the larger games and console’s on offer at this event include the following:

Nintendo’s eagerly awaited – Wii U

343 industries Halo 4

KONAMI’S – Metal Gear – Revengeance a 2013 Release

Ni No Kuni – wrath of the white witch.

EA – Most Wanted

Castlevania: Lord Of Shadows

Inside Event City there was everything under one roof that you needed from a food court area serving some lovely meals to stalls selling gaming merchandise, cosplay, and  Japanese goods.

My favourite stall and also that of my youngest Son was one called ‘ teebag republic’ which is inspired by video game culture and even deliver via their website Click Here to the view the site

Their stall was bright and colourful filled with lots of Mario, Kirby and Pokémon goodies to name but a few well worth a look I promise.

I spotted some fantastic Japanese imported Plush toys that were on sale at a really great price, My son purchased a plush Kirby for £10.00 which you cannot buy in the UK so he was very happy and is now taking pride of place in his gaming themed bedroom.

I could have bought so much here especially for Christmas gifts I mean doesn’t every man need Koopa slippers from Mario for Christmas!

My eldest son headed straight to the HALO 4  gaming section, This is one area of Play Expo that was always going to get a huge amount of attention. It was the first opportunity to play one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the year, Most people playing the game then running to rejoin the queue proved this on many occasions throughout the event.

My son along with other gamers absolutely loved this game it has amazing the graphics and gameplay which have taken such a huge leap forward yet the game keeps the original quality of previous releases. It has been 5 years since Halo 3 and 343 industries had a massive job in hand to keep up and improve the franchise.The first thing that strikes you about this game is sound so clear and crisp and totally gets you right in the zone you actually feel like a spartan. My son instantly compared the gameplay much closer to COD and he was amazingly impressed by the quality of the product.Another major thing about this game is that you can actually sprint which comes as standard, This helps players like me who run away frequently. The Guns have been revamped and the level of detail in the entire game is brilliant, I was not always a big fan of the original HALO series myself as the graphics have always seemed too blocky and gameplay sluggish for my liking and this kinda spoilt the gameplay for me at least.

However now 343 industries have got their hands on the product it shows instantly what a new approach can do to a game because I would now play this 24/7.

Halo 4 is the start of a new trilogy and in my opinion this game has been brought right up to date with current gaming and fans of Halo will not be disappointed. After playing this even, I can’t wait until the game is actually released so I can have a go with my kids of course.

 

The Halo stand also gave away prizes including a limited edition gamepad to one very lucky gamer, who you just know went home with a massive smile on his face.

Well done 343 Industries

United Kingdom Release Date 6th November 2012

Official Site

Also on offer at this event was the chance to go hands on the Wii U which is going to be a massive release for Nintendo this year. The Wii U is unlike anything that has been seen before and will give most parents the opportunity to claim back their televisions. My youngest son was desperate to play this prior to our arrival at the event; he now wishes he could have brought one home with him and not wait until Christmas.

Whilst in the queue my son Jake was spotted by the Nintendo staff wearing a Pokémon T-shirt and was handed a very cute Pokémon Osha wott plush that really made Jakes day and put an even bigger smile on his face.

When we eventually got into the Wii U area we were met by around 15 Wii U consoles each with a designated Nintendo representative who were clued up and experienced with the game at each station.

My son started at Super Mario Bros. U and by his face and enthusiasm in learning the new way to play with the new Game controller I could tell this would be top of his Christmas list and a great family favourite if I can manage to learn the new controller.

 20 minutes later and experienced with his new found skills  he joined a group of 4 teenagers to play Luigi’s Ghost Mansion which is off the Nintendo Land Game which comes with the Wii U Premium pack, it is a five player game, with one person using the GamePad to control a ghost, while Luigi and friends are controlled using Wii Remotes. Playing as Luigi and friends on the screen, players have to manoeuvre about a darkened room trying to find the ghost and capture him in the light of their torches. The ghost is seen on the Gamepad  which is used to move around to capture the other players.

Jake was chosen to be the ghost and could hardly contain his excitement as he manoeuvred around the darkened room and captured all 4 characters in record time, there was lots of high fives and cheers from the boys and the Nintendo representative.

We tested out a few of the other fun games from the Nintendo Land Game, The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest, Animal Crossing sweet Days and Ninja Castle ideal games to test out the new Game controller and Nintendo’s first steps into HD gameplay. It’s safe to say, we were not disappointed!

The last game we tried turned out to be Jakes favourite and a must have for Christmas (his Christmas list is now getting very long!) he absolutely loved the gameplay but most of all he loved the music and was playing and dancing all at the same time, how come kid’s learn new technology so quickly!

My favourite feature of the Wii U is the fact I can have my TV back now as he can take the game from the TV and carry on playing on the Wii U Gamepad without it affecting his gameplay.

I also love the fact that players can help others by assisting on the Wii Gamepad which is fantastic as I will need all the help I can get!

My husband has always played the Metal Gear titles and had high hopes for this release. He was not disappointed at all, he even return on several occasions to get another go. The game begins allowing you to instantly get into the action unless you want the pre-training element you are dropped straight into the thick of the game. This game  managed to capture the same feel as previous Metal Gear’s, however, it had a much higher impact on my husband than he thought it would. It was like a full on combat meets slasher action game something you would see in the high-end arcade’s as he puts it. He could not believe how the graphics and gameplay lured him into wanting to see more of this game. The interaction with the enemies is wonderful and allows for stealth attacks which he wasn’t very good at, however if you do not quietly take down the enemies be prepared to pay the price as the screen fills up with enemies wielding rather large rocket launchers. This game really shouldn’t work as the Metal Gear series is focused on lurking in the shadows and being stealthy however it’s so hard to explain how this works so well it is another level altogether. I must say I overheard on a few occasions the same thing being said from other members of the press. I think this is going to be a big hitter for KONAMI and to be honest, I am only guessing that this game is to be vamped even further prior to the release in 2013. We can’t wait for this to be released, it will be definitely in our collection that’s for sure.

Now my eldest son is a massive FIFA Fan and he again was very dubious about trailing the new PES 2013. However after playing quite a few matches you could see he was to his surprise really enjoying the game and even won a match and was given a PES 2013 T’ shirt.  He did say this differed from FIFA in so many ways it feels more like a simulation of the game and probably more skill is required for directing the players to their positions and scoring goals.

The graphics in the game are flawless and as a rival to FIFA I think KONAMI are truly hot on their heels. This game is very much a solid title that has many hours on longevity.

My eldest son even took part in the FIFA tournament that was also at the event, it was really nice to see him relating to people his own age in person and not just through the power of the internet which to be fair is not a bad thing either.  Again the tournaments were run correctly and encourage the players to speak to one another meaning that my eldest son came away with even more friends.

Whilst at the multi stage event the European Gaming League’s 8^th Event was taking place and British side TCM Gaming managed to take down the previously thought unbeatable America’s Optic Gaming. I had to watch the rest of this event at home via a streaming link because it did not finish until 2am, but after being at the event I just had to watch it all. OPTIK had previously won EGL 5 and 7 with ease, many thinking that they would book a place in the grand finale. TCM gaming played their hearts out truly they did coming back from 3 – 1 down to 6-4 in what is said to have been the most epic final ever.

Well Done TCM an excellent performance and a great set of lads. Now the excellent thing about holding an event like this at PLAY EXPO is that the teams and supporters are able to freely look around the rest of the venue and have plenty of things to keep their minds occupied whilst facing rather stressful situations. My son managed to get a picture with some of the groups and he was highly interested in making his own gaming clan as a result.

           Here is a Video from the Final at Play Expo Manchester

Now I have never seen anything like this before, people dressing up as their favourite characters out of computer games, movies and manga book’s. Events were run throughout the day at this event and I think it I wonderful how people express themselves. I mean how many times can you say I met the GHOSTBUSTERS and LINK from Zelda in the same day. I truly didn’t know who everyone was dressing up as but the level of detail in the costumes is amazing. This event was pleasing because my Husband enjoys making movie props and game props for my kids, he commented on how difficult some of the pieces are to put together and admired the work that had gone into making some of these costumes.

This event was showcased on a stage as we entered the venue and instantly you found yourself looking say “That’s a Gear’s of war costume or look it’s RYU from street fighter”. My kids wanted pictures with all of them and to be honest I did too. This shows that we are all kids at heart and really want to get a picture alongside icons we grew up with or have seen in many games.

 

Play EXPO they had so many competitions running for COS.PLAY  that certainly attracted not only included people taking part in the events but drew large crowds to the area and I think you make up your own mind who you want to win because as I said you become fond of the characters they have dressed up as throughout the years.

Now this event was rather nostalgic image and area that is filled with ever console and video game since year dot. Remember the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari, Toshiba, Game Gear, Lynx, Game Cube and Nintendo Gameboy. Believe me the list is endless these all mounted with the oldest games you can image

I even found  my personal favourite’ Frogger’ which brought back memories of hours of gameplay on one small machine, which is mad really compared to what kids have available to them now.

In this area was a vast amount of Pinball machines as far as the eye could see all free play that attracted so many people heading to their favourites, Also very popular was stalls selling various Retro gaming merchandise and hard to find games and consoles.This area was probably best suited to mine and my husbands gaming ability, It was truly like being a child again and not only that but my husband wants to rebuild an AMIGA computer as a result to play his all time favourite game Sensible Soccer.

In the RETRO AREA you kind of find yourself floating from console to console and you just don’t know what to go on next, one of the nicest things to hear was my husband saying “I Remember That” or “I always wanted that game”. After leaving this area i can truly say 8bit and 16bit gaming will never leave us behind because it has so much appeal and shaped games of today. Not only was the area filled with adults but most of the machine’s had children on them which i thought was priceless and will keep the memory of our games alive.

Guest Speakers

Sonic All-star Racing Transformed

During the weekend there were various talks and displays to watch, I managed to watch and play the new ‘Sonic All-star Racing Transformed’ a month before its official UK release.

There was a Q & A session with executive producer Steve Lycett from Sumo Digital Steve welcomed us enthusiastically and handed the controller out to let people have a chance to preview the game early, my son managed to get a game on the upcoming hit  and was very much involved and asked lots of his own burning questions keeping the conversation flowing and coming up with some great points.

 Jake Playing The Game

 
Mike Montgomery Developer

Another Talk I was very interested in listening to was with Gaming developer Mike Montgomery of The Bitmap Brothers creator of many classic 16 bit titles such as The Chaos Engine, SpeedBall 2 (My Husbands other all time favorite game) and many many more. What i liked was Mr Montgomery’s honesty was he so down to earth. I mean this guy is a total legend developing classic games and pushing consoles to the limit with excellent artwork and superb gameplay. It’s people like Mr Montgomery who actually need thanking by current gamers because if it was not for people like him we may have never have seen how far gaming could have gone. I and my husband felt privileged to have spoken and listened to his wise words and yes my husband actually felt as though he was next to a hero in his eye’s. He used to play speedball for hours and hours and remembers asking his grandad to purchase this for him.

The Question & Answer session was a huge success with Mike answering questions honestly and freely and I soon had learnt about the life in the Gaming industry back in the day. If you ever get chance to listen to him i do seriously suggest you go.

 I would like to thank the organisers who gave me the opportunity to attend this amazing event.  This did certainly open my eyes to the fantastic word of gaming and demonstrated just how gaming has evolved on all levels and Thanks to Play expo I now know just what games my kid’s want for Christmas.

For Future Play Expo Events Please Click The Link  PlayExpo Official WebSite