PIXEL REPORT: PLAY EXPO MANCHESTER, 2015
The Pixel Empire received an unexpected opportunity to attend PLAY Expo Manchester in October (thanks again to Novabug and RetroUnlim). For Tom and Julie it would mark a maiden expo visit, and having read about Chris’s exciting exploits in the 2014 Blackpool equivalent, we were eager to see what Replay Events had in store for us when they hosted a similar event in EventCity, near the Trafford Centre, in Manchester. Whilst the expo ran for two days, our visit focuses on the first. But don’t worry; we crammed in as much of the experience as we could!
The New
Whilst PLAY Expo has generally been stylised as a bit of retro love-in, there was a notable presence for newly-released and in-development titles too. With Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s modern products absent, it was left to Sony to fly the modern gamer flag with an impressive array of PS4 titles.
Booths included some of the smash hits of 2015 including Tearaway Unfolded, OlliOlli 2 and Project CARS, but of greater note were the yet-to-be-released titles that were playable. PS4 BlazBlue was on show, as was Dark Souls III, predictably accompanied by some extremely lengthy queues. Hotline Miami developer Devolver Digital showcased the forthcoming Not A Hero; a purply-looking 2D platform-shooter with shades of Bonanza Bros. As the fast-paced action moves between floors, you’re required to live on your reflexes and ingenuity. Protagonists can slide, use background cover, as well as deliver stealth and melee takedowns. It all worked rather well, with the one slight dampener coming in the form of an uber-frequent need to manually reload your gun. But whilst this wasn’t especially intuitive, it’s doubtless something gamers will adapt to after a longer session.
Then there was Sebastian Loeb Rally EVO, a racer that belatedly grants the nine-time WRC champion a video game in his retirement. It’s made by Milestone, the bods responsible for a number of seventh generation WRC titles. This is one to look out for, despite the preview code lagging a little in terms of frame-rate and featuring some fairly unremarkable visuals. As the playable portion reminded was keen to stress, it was still very much a work in progress, but the important point to note was that the cars handled fine, and it posed a decent challenge, so with a bit of luck, DiRT may have some genuine competition again soon.
Arcades and Pinball
The arcade cabinets were a huge draw. There was everything from Pacman to Silent Scope, Donkey Kong to Point Blank; it was every gamer’s dream. Amongst a litany of highlights, Super Hang On stood out with its Suzuki cabinet and handle bars, making for an extremely impressive and intuitive alternative to the Mega Drive controller. Rave Racer simply had to be sampled, because no arcade is complete without a Ridge Racer. This was a delight; featuring tracks that had stealthy evaded console appearances until the PSP iteration of Ridge Racer in 2004. Players duked it out on Mortal Kombat II (unbelievably tempting to leave an ‘in my day…’ comment here as well), experienced the adrenalin rush of Outrun, whilst Turbo Outrun went one better, featuring a Ferrari-red cockpit surround.
Witnessing two dozen or so pinball machines in action was also a joy, and a necessary reminder to more recent players of a now regrettably scarce form of entertainment that has been reinvented in the eyes of the casual mainstream as little more than a cheap phone app. Like the arcade machines, the glorious pinball tables were set to free-play, so provided you were mindful that there weren’t queues behind, you could play to your heart’s content.
The arcade cabinets were a huge draw. There was everything from Pacman to Silent Scope, Donkey Kong to Point Blank; it was every gamer’s dream. Amongst a litany of highlights, Super Hang On stood out with its Suzuki cabinet and handle bars, making for an extremely impressive and intuitive alternative to the Mega Drive controller. Rave Racer simply had to be sampled, because no arcade is complete without a Ridge Racer. This was a delight; featuring tracks that had stealthy evaded console appearances until the PSP iteration of Ridge Racer in 2004. Players duked it out on Mortal Kombat II (unbelievably tempting to leave an ‘in my day…’ comment here as well), experienced the adrenalin rush of Outrun, whilst Turbo Outrun went one better, featuring a Ferrari-red cockpit surround.
Witnessing two dozen or so pinball machines in action was also a joy, and a necessary reminder to more recent players of a now regrettably scarce form of entertainment that has been reinvented in the eyes of the casual mainstream as little more than a cheap phone app. Like the arcade machines, the glorious pinball tables were set to free-play, so provided you were mindful that there weren’t queues behind, you could play to your heart’s content.
Consoles and Scorezones
With all our Pixel Duels, we at The Pixel Empire know better than most the value of a good score challenge. Fortunately, so did the peeps at Replay Events, who set up a range of consoles and challenges, some refreshingly straightforward, some inventive and different. Standouts included a gathering of Xbox 360 Japanese vertical scrolling shoot ‘em ups to test hardcore fans, and the iconic, two-minute points run on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s iconic Foundry level (turns out I’m more comfortable with THPS3). Without doubt the quaintest was the original Ridge Racer, with a dance mat. Up and down represented accelerate and brake, left and right the steering. Whilst my driving skills aren’t too shabby, my balance was appalling, making for a hilariously poor half a lap before the timer eventually put me out of my misery.
One of the absolute highlights of Play EXPO Manchester was the array of consoles set up on desks. I was able to sample an Atari Jaguar, with its bonkers, beautiful pad for the first time with Jeff Minter’s enjoyable Tempest 2000 reboot, although it would have been nice to have sampled something that really pushed a console renowned for its technical ambitions. More exciting still was the prospect of trying Art of Fighting on a SNK NeoGeo, with its gorgeous six button arcade joystick, clearly built to accommodate a 16-bit format with a wealth of beat ‘em up riches. 16-bit royalty Flashback was running on an Amiga, Luigi’s Mansion on a GameCube, and SNES Super Mario Kart complete with the Time Trial World Record holder (I’m trusting entirely that what was written on his t-shirt was indeed truthful) waiting in the wings, presumably ready to dispatch anyone foolish enough to offer challenge.
“Through the ages” sections were marvellously nostalgia-inducing, with a majority of the early Tomb Raider adventures running on PlayStations, right up to the smash reboot running on an Xbox 360. Similarly, the highs and lows of Batman’s and RoboCop’s storied gaming careers were on display, spanning more than twenty-five years of licenced games, providing a remarkable, measurable comparison in the ways that gameplay has evolved, for better or for worse, as gaming has grown.
With all our Pixel Duels, we at The Pixel Empire know better than most the value of a good score challenge. Fortunately, so did the peeps at Replay Events, who set up a range of consoles and challenges, some refreshingly straightforward, some inventive and different. Standouts included a gathering of Xbox 360 Japanese vertical scrolling shoot ‘em ups to test hardcore fans, and the iconic, two-minute points run on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s iconic Foundry level (turns out I’m more comfortable with THPS3). Without doubt the quaintest was the original Ridge Racer, with a dance mat. Up and down represented accelerate and brake, left and right the steering. Whilst my driving skills aren’t too shabby, my balance was appalling, making for a hilariously poor half a lap before the timer eventually put me out of my misery.
One of the absolute highlights of Play EXPO Manchester was the array of consoles set up on desks. I was able to sample an Atari Jaguar, with its bonkers, beautiful pad for the first time with Jeff Minter’s enjoyable Tempest 2000 reboot, although it would have been nice to have sampled something that really pushed a console renowned for its technical ambitions. More exciting still was the prospect of trying Art of Fighting on a SNK NeoGeo, with its gorgeous six button arcade joystick, clearly built to accommodate a 16-bit format with a wealth of beat ‘em up riches. 16-bit royalty Flashback was running on an Amiga, Luigi’s Mansion on a GameCube, and SNES Super Mario Kart complete with the Time Trial World Record holder (I’m trusting entirely that what was written on his t-shirt was indeed truthful) waiting in the wings, presumably ready to dispatch anyone foolish enough to offer challenge.
“Through the ages” sections were marvellously nostalgia-inducing, with a majority of the early Tomb Raider adventures running on PlayStations, right up to the smash reboot running on an Xbox 360. Similarly, the highs and lows of Batman’s and RoboCop’s storied gaming careers were on display, spanning more than twenty-five years of licenced games, providing a remarkable, measurable comparison in the ways that gameplay has evolved, for better or for worse, as gaming has grown.
The Rest
PLAY Expo also attracted some lively commerce. Internet stalwarts Console Passion were on hand with a wealth of retro hardware, whilst numerous others sellers sold retro video games at varying price-points. Whilst some inevitably presented tepid value for money (a few were asking £15+ for unremarkable and/or fairly common software), I was able to bag myself The Need For Speed and Galerians for the PlayStation for a grand total of £13. Various enterprises branched out into comics, film memorabilia, clothing and the like. There were even Mario and Sonic themed cupcakes, which is pretty much win-win. There were seating areas which alternatively featured cosplayers and videos (one in particular I wish I’d had the time to watch in full featured Lotus Turbo Challenge developers Gremlin). Elsewhere, large areas played host to board and card games, which proved enduringly popular throughout the day, and rows of Minecraft players whiling away the Expo on a more current game they likely already owned in some form at home.
All in all, the PLAY Expo Manchester was a great experience. As an interactive gaming museum, it serves as a lively, warm homage to the bustling arcades of yesteryear, and whilst we may never again see gaming travel the route of the coin-op, it at least offered younger players the opportunity to see what the medium was like in its ‘pre-cinematics’ era.
PLAY Expo also attracted some lively commerce. Internet stalwarts Console Passion were on hand with a wealth of retro hardware, whilst numerous others sellers sold retro video games at varying price-points. Whilst some inevitably presented tepid value for money (a few were asking £15+ for unremarkable and/or fairly common software), I was able to bag myself The Need For Speed and Galerians for the PlayStation for a grand total of £13. Various enterprises branched out into comics, film memorabilia, clothing and the like. There were even Mario and Sonic themed cupcakes, which is pretty much win-win. There were seating areas which alternatively featured cosplayers and videos (one in particular I wish I’d had the time to watch in full featured Lotus Turbo Challenge developers Gremlin). Elsewhere, large areas played host to board and card games, which proved enduringly popular throughout the day, and rows of Minecraft players whiling away the Expo on a more current game they likely already owned in some form at home.
All in all, the PLAY Expo Manchester was a great experience. As an interactive gaming museum, it serves as a lively, warm homage to the bustling arcades of yesteryear, and whilst we may never again see gaming travel the route of the coin-op, it at least offered younger players the opportunity to see what the medium was like in its ‘pre-cinematics’ era.