I've just recovered my senses from my very first visit to EGX at the Birmingham NEC and to say I was blown away would be an understatement.
I've been looking forward to my first visit for a long time and ever since I had been accepted for my press passes i'd been marking the days on my retrogaming calendar!
M1 Madness
I had planned to get to the NEC nice and early to ensure that I could soak up all of the gaming goodness on offer but as always the M1 motorway managed to scupper my plans and a long delay ensued which meant my dream Sunday was derailed slightly meaning I managed to crawl into the NEC car parks for 1pm. Not deterred by this I soon got in the swing of things as I approached the massive halls put aside for the EGX Video Games celebration.
The NEC, The Perfect Venue
This was my first full EGX experience having visited EGX Rezzed earlier this year and just my walk to the entrance was an awesome experience. The NEC looked like a Video Games Multiplex crossed with a Video Games Theme Park, it was amazing to soak up the buzzing atmosphere as I approached the wristband collection area. I hadn't even walked into the hall yet and it was clear to see that this was an experience I was never going to forget and the NEC was the perfect venue to experience it at.
With my wristband attached I was ready to launch into the hall and let the atmosphere take hold.....and it sure did!
An Assault On The Senses
The vibrancy hit me as soon as I walked in and saw a 6 strong cosplay group dressed as key characters from Mortal Kombat such as Sub Zero and Raiden. It was a brilliant to see such awesome cosplay immediately.
Then to my right I saw the colour and heard the noise coming from the exciting Nintendo stage. Such an awesome sight drew me in immediately as Nintendo promoted the fun of their key games perfectly. It was a great place to hang out with Mario taches and Splatoon hats being handed out to all comers. I spent some quality time with the Nintendoites and found it quite hard to drag myself away from all the fun.
Indie Gaming Stands Tall
Next stop on my EGX tour was the Indie Megabooth which was absolutely bursting with some of the coolest Indie Games in the world today, I was in awe of the talent on show and the Mega Booth portrayed each video game brilliantly with a colourful presentation at each game station. It was a brilliant way to bring these awesome games to gamers attentions and I truly enjoyed soaking up the creativity of this heartbeat of the indie scene in 2015.
After the colourful parade of the Indie Megabooth I took a stroll to the raw talent on show in the EGX Rezzed selection and was able to sample some more of the awesome Indie experience. This was followed by a walk through the Leftfield Collection area which gave birth to concepts for a whole host of new types of video games and even genres. These guys were defining a new type of gaming.
Retrogaming Fun For Everyone
After the breathe of fresh air that the Indie areas had given me I decided that I wanted to take a full lung of retro gaming air to get the nostalgia flowing through my veins during this celebration of all things video games. My friends at Replay Events had created an awesome area to showcase the greatest consoles from down the years and on those consoles were a selection of some of the greatest games ever to have graced our tv screens.
There were a whole host of Nintendos set up to play Mario Kart from SNES through to Wii. It was a great sight to see friends battling it out on the Mario circuits. Then there was the various machines set up to play Street Fighter 2 through the ages. Replay had captured exactly what you want to see in a retro gaming celebration. A rare treat that you will struggle to recreate anywehere else.
This was further backed up with a SEGA celebration of all things Sonic The Hedgehog. Then there was the whole host of other video games consoles from the ages. I had a run in with Burnin' Rubber on the Amstrad GX4000 and I couldn't believe just how much I enjoyed this cool game on the much maligned console.
Then I took a trip to the N64 and picked up a game I had never experienced before that I wish I had and that was Banjo Kazooie. Having never owned an N64 I feel I really missed out on this awesome 3D platformer. It's made me determined to get myself an N64 to experience it the way Nintendo intended. As always the retro gaming area from Replay brought a smile to my face as time whizzed by on my trip down video games memory lane.
Cosplay Comes Out To Play
Having consumed my fix of retro and then sauntered off to the Cosplay stage to see what cool creations were on display and I was not disappointed as I witnessed a diverse representation of video games culture. It was awesome to see these talented individuals strut their stuff and show off their creative talents. My personal favourite was two kids around the age of 10 showing off their homage to Minecraft. It perfectly summed up the awesome spirit of the cosplay area and of the EGX show as a whole. It truly was fun for everyone.
"Come On YOU Toad!"
The thing I also picked up from the show was the popularity of the E-Sports side of things. The crowds that were viewing the contenders in the various e-sports areas were being whipped up into frenzy like nothing I have seen before outside of a football match. It was amazing to witness as I have never really explored the e-sports side of video games before so it was a real eye opener. I stayed to watch contenders battle it out in the EGX Fight Zone and was carried away by the atmosphere.
Another thing that I wont forget was the atmosphere of the You Tube gaming stage. As they hosted various internet celebrities and invited them to play games live for the audience. Mario Kart 8 was one of the games and I found myself cheering on Koopa Troopa as another part of the crowd was chanting "Come On You TOAD!". Absolutely brilliant stuff. Another moment to savour on a day that was utterly unforgettable.
An Experience To Savour
I'm already looking forward to EGX 2016 as I know that I am sure to return to this amazing video games carnival no matter what happens!
If you've never been before I guarantee that you will love it. It feels like this event will only get bigger and better (if that's possible) as it feels as though video games as a whole is growing and growing. I love the way that all walks of video gaming was represented and represented well as all gamers united for a long weekender and stood shoulder to shoulder in the pursuit of fun!
My only low note would have to be the free energy drink that was given out (Tornado) that tasted of Bowser's urine and smelt like Sagat's fart......but hey it was free so I had to drink it all ;)
The NEC, The Perfect Venue
This was my first full EGX experience having visited EGX Rezzed earlier this year and just my walk to the entrance was an awesome experience. The NEC looked like a Video Games Multiplex crossed with a Video Games Theme Park, it was amazing to soak up the buzzing atmosphere as I approached the wristband collection area. I hadn't even walked into the hall yet and it was clear to see that this was an experience I was never going to forget and the NEC was the perfect venue to experience it at.
With my wristband attached I was ready to launch into the hall and let the atmosphere take hold.....and it sure did!
An Assault On The Senses
The vibrancy hit me as soon as I walked in and saw a 6 strong cosplay group dressed as key characters from Mortal Kombat such as Sub Zero and Raiden. It was a brilliant to see such awesome cosplay immediately.
Then to my right I saw the colour and heard the noise coming from the exciting Nintendo stage. Such an awesome sight drew me in immediately as Nintendo promoted the fun of their key games perfectly. It was a great place to hang out with Mario taches and Splatoon hats being handed out to all comers. I spent some quality time with the Nintendoites and found it quite hard to drag myself away from all the fun.
Indie Gaming Stands Tall
Next stop on my EGX tour was the Indie Megabooth which was absolutely bursting with some of the coolest Indie Games in the world today, I was in awe of the talent on show and the Mega Booth portrayed each video game brilliantly with a colourful presentation at each game station. It was a brilliant way to bring these awesome games to gamers attentions and I truly enjoyed soaking up the creativity of this heartbeat of the indie scene in 2015.
After the colourful parade of the Indie Megabooth I took a stroll to the raw talent on show in the EGX Rezzed selection and was able to sample some more of the awesome Indie experience. This was followed by a walk through the Leftfield Collection area which gave birth to concepts for a whole host of new types of video games and even genres. These guys were defining a new type of gaming.
Retrogaming Fun For Everyone
After the breathe of fresh air that the Indie areas had given me I decided that I wanted to take a full lung of retro gaming air to get the nostalgia flowing through my veins during this celebration of all things video games. My friends at Replay Events had created an awesome area to showcase the greatest consoles from down the years and on those consoles were a selection of some of the greatest games ever to have graced our tv screens.
There were a whole host of Nintendos set up to play Mario Kart from SNES through to Wii. It was a great sight to see friends battling it out on the Mario circuits. Then there was the various machines set up to play Street Fighter 2 through the ages. Replay had captured exactly what you want to see in a retro gaming celebration. A rare treat that you will struggle to recreate anywehere else.
This was further backed up with a SEGA celebration of all things Sonic The Hedgehog. Then there was the whole host of other video games consoles from the ages. I had a run in with Burnin' Rubber on the Amstrad GX4000 and I couldn't believe just how much I enjoyed this cool game on the much maligned console.
Then I took a trip to the N64 and picked up a game I had never experienced before that I wish I had and that was Banjo Kazooie. Having never owned an N64 I feel I really missed out on this awesome 3D platformer. It's made me determined to get myself an N64 to experience it the way Nintendo intended. As always the retro gaming area from Replay brought a smile to my face as time whizzed by on my trip down video games memory lane.
Cosplay Comes Out To Play
Having consumed my fix of retro and then sauntered off to the Cosplay stage to see what cool creations were on display and I was not disappointed as I witnessed a diverse representation of video games culture. It was awesome to see these talented individuals strut their stuff and show off their creative talents. My personal favourite was two kids around the age of 10 showing off their homage to Minecraft. It perfectly summed up the awesome spirit of the cosplay area and of the EGX show as a whole. It truly was fun for everyone.
"Come On YOU Toad!"
The thing I also picked up from the show was the popularity of the E-Sports side of things. The crowds that were viewing the contenders in the various e-sports areas were being whipped up into frenzy like nothing I have seen before outside of a football match. It was amazing to witness as I have never really explored the e-sports side of video games before so it was a real eye opener. I stayed to watch contenders battle it out in the EGX Fight Zone and was carried away by the atmosphere.
Another thing that I wont forget was the atmosphere of the You Tube gaming stage. As they hosted various internet celebrities and invited them to play games live for the audience. Mario Kart 8 was one of the games and I found myself cheering on Koopa Troopa as another part of the crowd was chanting "Come On You TOAD!". Absolutely brilliant stuff. Another moment to savour on a day that was utterly unforgettable.
An Experience To Savour
I'm already looking forward to EGX 2016 as I know that I am sure to return to this amazing video games carnival no matter what happens!
If you've never been before I guarantee that you will love it. It feels like this event will only get bigger and better (if that's possible) as it feels as though video games as a whole is growing and growing. I love the way that all walks of video gaming was represented and represented well as all gamers united for a long weekender and stood shoulder to shoulder in the pursuit of fun!
My only low note would have to be the free energy drink that was given out (Tornado) that tasted of Bowser's urine and smelt like Sagat's fart......but hey it was free so I had to drink it all ;)
Did You Go To EGX 2015 or Have You Been Before?
Let Me Know Your EGX Experiences
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