It has come a long way since the first GameStart in 2014, which was by far the best in my opinion. There were plenty of game demos to try your hands at, freebies given away, producer events and had just about everything local gamers wanted in a local gaming convention.
2015 saw the 2nd GameStart and that huge 2-level PlayStation VR booth was definitely the highlight but the following years saw big publishers missing and the focus turn to E-Sports and Table-Top gaming (Nothing against those but not something I was looking for at a gaming convention).
Having bought VIP tickets for 2016 and 2017, it was nice to beat the crowd but there was just nothing to do over the 3 days with the Lucky Draw at the end of the day the only reason I hung around. With nothing to look forward to, I decided to give the event a skip in 2018.
However, with the announcement that 2019 would be the last GameStart, decided to give it 1 last try for old times' sake with the usual group, though we were missing some members...
One of the main reasons why I wanted to attend was to try out the Marvel's Avengers game demo. The demo we got to try was the same A-Day demo that has been available at other events but trying it out first-hand was definitely worth it. For some reason, they cut off the characters' voices in the demo though.
It felt pretty good. There were some differences in their fighting styles between the characters. Dodging and Takedowns were also part of the game-play so it did feel similar to the Marvel's Spider-Man PS4 game. (Which is good).
The demo felt pretty much like an intro/tutorial mission so I still don't know what the game would be like, how scripted it would be, do we get to swap characters as and when, we like etc.
Enjoyed it though, definitely one of my most anticipated games for 2020.
Also tried Marvel's Iron Man VR.. Was pretty cool getting to fly around and feel like Iron Man but the demo was a bit boring. Didn't really get to see it in full action. Definitely something different but still.. I have yet to see a VR game that makes me want to invest in a PlayStation VR.
The Loot!
Like I said before, not many freebies given out at the convention itself but I got lucky! At one of the pre-event GameStart competitions, I won the a Backpack! Not any regular backpack but the Razer Rogue 17.3" Backpack V2.
Also bought the Assassin's Creed Rogue Shay Cormac figurine produced by UbiCollectibles. Nice stuff!
Gamescom Asia will be coming to Singapore in 2020, the first regional satellite event of Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. That's big news! High hopes for next year's gaming event and this should be a blast!
If they can bring to Asia even a fraction of what they have in Gamescom, that would be a huge win and could be a major event for years to come in this region.
Got to chit chat with one of the personnel at the Gamescom Asia booth and gave some feedback on what I would like to see so.. fingers crossed!
Ultimately, it has been a great experience with GameStart. It was a lot of fun over the last few years and has set a standard for future gaming conventions in Singapore to build on. Thanks for everything GameStart!
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