If your unfamiliar EGX  it is the UK's largest video game convention, a colossal mixtures of merchandise stalls, the chance to play both Indie and AAA title video games and hardware months or on occasion years before release, take part in betas, view presentations by game designers from world renowned studios, various areas dedicated to esports, have the opportunity to meet and chat with game creators, take part in cosplay and loads more.

I hadn't expected to attend EGX but it turned out my housemate had bought several extra tickets on a offer earlier this year so I was pleasantly surprised when I was offered a chance to go, this was made even better when my girlfriend also managed to book a day off from work and able to join us also.
With the EGX been held at NEC in Birmingham it was quite the trip with us getting up at 6:30am and leaving by 7:20am to arrive on time (we had intended to leave by 7am but our drive overslept) but we arrive around 10am.


We arrived to a throng of people but the queues moved quickly and we were able to acquire our wristbands in no time at all but we were stuck waiting for the doors to open and the event to begin for general ticket holders.
As soon as the doors opened the horde that we were now part of were funnelled into the entrance of the massive hall, unlike similar events I attended there was no intentional pushing or shoving and everyone was pretty well mannered. I wish I could claimed to have rushed straight to the lines for games such as Star Wars Battlefront but the car journey had left me rather queasy so myself (and several others I noticed) rushed to toilets first though on the way I ran into Teams 17 mascot.


Unfortunately as I write this I am unable to access the dropbox folder of all the pictures that we took over the day, instead I am going to briefly go over the highlights of the day and make sure you guys don't miss out.
So to begin here is a scan of the event map and a link to the event page  just so you can see just how much was occurring on the day.



Now I didn't want to spend half the day queuing for several hours to play a game for 15 minutes and I've always enjoyed watching other people play games so made my way through the convention I tended to observe the AAA titles and play the smaller Indie games but even so there was so much going on there was no way to see everything, so I really advise if you get to go yourself to see if you can get a ticket for several days.

So here is my break down of my most memorable moments of EGX:

Prison Architect: These guys had an amazing stand designed to look like several cells, had photo opportunities in the electric chair and line up and finally were giving out various emote headbands.


If your curious what the big announcement they had to make at the EGX you can watch the video here starting at 8:35.



Monsters and Monocles: This little game was a blast to play and scores highly on my local coop rating, additional bonus for having some of the nicest badges and brilliant artwork. Tally Ho pass me my tea and crumpet cannon Monocle bot.



Mayan Death Robots: Having grown a little tired of Worms Mayan Death Robots is a fresh action packed entry into the artillery genre with the focus been on destroying your opponents power core rather than their robot. Turns are taken simultaneously with shots fired once the timer ticks down, I managed to rack up an impressive win streak against my fellow players as the god of lightning.



Black and White Bushido: This is a curious mix of stealth and brawler catch my eye with its thematic music and art style and kept my attention through its game play. While I do believe it needs online multiplayer to really fill its potential I see this been a hit on console stores and would love to see it on the Ouya. Also Hats off to having a awesome logo for the game and I imagine it will be popping up as several peoples user avatars in the future.



Warhammer: The End Times: Vermintide: Left For Dead meets Games Workshops now discontinued Warhammer Fantasy Setting. With Games Workshops new Age of Sigmar been a pile of rubbish and a money grab its good to see that at least the video games are amazing (With the possible exception of Blood Bowl 2 which is a good game but also a despicable money grab with basic teams been DLC). Vermintide is much more of a challenge than Left for Dead and will really require good team work, I just hope that when bots are implemented they have decent intelligence.

TotalBiscuit has a good overview of the current beta in video below.

Shadow Hand: A visual novel set in England 1770 where a noblewoman Lady Darkmoor must masquerade as notorious highway thief, ShadowHand to retrieve an incriminating family jewel and safeguard a woman she holds dear. It differers from the usual visual novel by introducing various card games that must be completed to progress. 

Sol Trader: Currently in Kickstarter but I recommend trying the demo and I believe this could be a great little game with some work.



VA-11_Hall_A: A game about been a bartender in a cyberpunk setting, I absolutely love the mechanics and artwork for this game. I highly recommend  trying the demo and grabbing this game early for just £5


Want to hear more about the big games at EGX then pop over to Euro Gamer.

There are so many more Indie games I could go into here but for now I'll leave this here and move onto the real reason your all still reading this.

EGX loot time:

Fatshark is celebrating the upcoming release of Vermintide and are offering a free copy of Bloodsports TV. 

React games is offering a prize draw for one of 100 steam keys for Super Dungeon Bros if you register for the SDB newsletter at www.superdungeonbros.com

Total War Arena, Steam codes:

Beta Keys: 
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20,000 gold and Greek Myrmidon Unit
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Total War Battles: Kingdoms Steam Codes:

500 gold
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Free deck for Pokemon Cards Online
This code is usable once per user account so you guys don't have to worry about it been used already.
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If you grab a code please be kind and make a note in the comments.