Eurogamer 2014

I've wanted to attend Eurogamer for a very long time! It's the largest gaming expo in the UK but unfortunately it's always clashed with Moose's university terms and we've been unable to attend until this year, which is kind of prophetic since this is the last year it'll be held in Earls Court, London. The expo is moving up to Birmingham in 2015 which is a bit of a pain (Moose currently lives in London and has family there) but I'll definitely be back next year if I can make it, because we had a really great time!

On Saturday evening, we bought tickets for a Eurogamer after party that was being held at the Namco Funscape arcade on Southbank in London. It was pretty... poor, to be honest. The tickets were only £6 so we didn't lose much, but the main attraction was the offer of free games and bowling, and the sheer amount of people meant we didn't get many goes on any games, and the bowling was a complete no-go. The bar was so busy that it took us about half an hour just to get to the front to order, and a lot of games (the ones that gave prizes, understandably) weren't free anyway. It was nice to say we did it, but I doubt we'd bother again.

We actually only scored tickets for Sunday afternoon so we had to cram a lot into not much time. Because the big blockbuster games were so popular (with really long queues to match), we mainly stuck around the Rezzed (indie gaming) and retro sections, and I finally got a go on an Oculus Rift! I played a bunch of indie games, my favourite of which being Haunt the House: Terrortown, a cute size scrolling puzzle game in which you play a little ghost, where the goal is to scare away (or, y'know, kill) people. It was super addictive and fun. I also spent a ridiculous amount of time on a mobile game called Kitty Powers' Matchmaker - which I started playing for kicks and actually got really into. The humour and sass behind what at first glance was a typical dating game was absolutely hilarious.

Eurogamer was a proper expo, not a convention, and as such it had a really different (and really nice) vibe to it. Don't get me wrong, I obviously love conventions, but this event was a lot calmer, laid back and, frankly, far more my cup of tea. I'll definitely attend again, probably on a Thursday-Friday to avoid the crush so we can actually get a chance on some of the larger games. It's a shame its leaving the Earls Court venue - but sadly I guess it's necessary; Earls Court is being pulled down in the next few years to be turned into flats or something equally vulgar. The building itself is gorgeous, with proper 1930s art deco architecture. I've been there a couple of times now and always loved the event space it housed, and I think it's a great shame that yet another piece of history is being demolished for housing (despite a huge campaign to save it, sadly).

Oh well. Wherever Eurogamer takes us, I'll be there next year, with far more time to spare so I can get my grubby mitts on even more video games. The UK doesn't have many gaming cons, so for now Eurogamer is getting all of my love.