Blast Process @ EGX 2018 (BIRMINGHAM NEC)

EGX is the biggest gaming event in the UK, this year it took place at the Birmingham NEC from the 20-23rd of September, and as always Blast Process were there to cover the event.

The first thing we did was head off to the Indie area to see what caught our eye. Neil’s attuned Indie senses soon locked onto the Curve Digital stand where ‘Carried Away’ was being exhibited. With this trusty Singstar Mic in-hand, Neil switched into Interview mode!

In 'Carried Away' you construct ski lifts, jumps and bridges from a range of building materials to help your passengers navigate the ups and downs of the treacherous mountain landscape. Master the rope physics and the stresses and strains it will put on your constructions. Cutting corners along the way will compromise the safety and comfort of your passengers. When design alone isn't enough, turn to your skiing skills to get that extra nudge towards your destination.

Carried Away is available on Steam Early Access right now! The full game will arrive Early 2019 along with a version for Nintendo Switch!

After we’d had a good chinwag with the Hugecalf boys another Indie gem glistened on the horizon, the game in question was Eagle Island…

We were really struck with Eagle Island, it’s a game created and developed by mostly one person, Nick Gregory, who kindly agreed to be interviewed by us.

We'd like to extend a thanks to the rest of the team at Screenwave Media (who are publishing the game) who were very welcoming and friendly, we enjoyed chatting with you guys!

Eagle Island will be available on Steam in the not too distant future, you can add it to your Wishlist at the link below:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/68...

After our stint in the Indie section we went off to see what else EGX had to offer, Tom however, only had eyes for one game though, so he led Mike and Neil to the Bandai Namco area where a certain weapon based fighter was gathering plenty of attention…

Yes, the long-awaited Soul Calibur 6 was playable at EGX 2018, once Tom got the game in his sights he challenged Mike to a duel, best of 3, who will win? Let's fight!

After Soul Calibur it didn’t take Tom long to spot another favourite games series of his, Team Sonic Racing and the game was playable at the Sega stand…so it was decided, we would film the first ever ‘On Tour’ episode of our regular ‘Tom Plays’ series…

Lastly we decided to chill out with some Arcade games, it was there that we bumped into Anthony from Retro Games Party who kindly agreed to chat with Neil about providing Arcade Machines for events and of course, the joys of Arcade gaming!

To find out more about Retro Games Party, check out the link below:

www.retrogamesparty.co.uk

And that was that! As well as spending a bit more time looking around other various areas of the massive event, we had had our fill of EGX 2018 and headed home. Honestly it’s a fantastic event and well worth your time, head on over to the official EGX website to find out more and make sure you grab tickets to next year’s event as soon as they’re available!

https://www.egx.net/egx/2018

- Tom

Blast Process @ PLAY Expo London 2018

Blast Process are no strangers to PLAY Expo, having attended the Manchester event on numerous occasions previously.

Truthfully, we had a bit of shock when it was announced that there would be no Manchester Expo in 2018...we collectively pulled sad faces...all expect for Neil who exclaimed:

'I'm up for going!'

So Neil, packed up the camera, plus cameraman and took the train down to London to attend and film some of our trademark Blast Process Interviews!

For those not in the know about the event, here's the blurb from the Official PLAY Expo website:

The UK’s favourite arcade, indie and retro games show is coming to London in August 2018! Hundreds of consoles, handhelds, computers, arcades, pinballs and PC's all running the very best in classic and modern video games and all free to play!

Organised by experienced video game events specialists Replay Events the show will be full with features, exhibitors and more retro gaming mayhem than London has ever seen.

Jam packed with everything you love about gaming and popular culture, the show has something for everyone.

PLAY Expo London - 11/12 August 2018 - Retro, Arcade, Pinball, Indie, Modern Gaming, Minecraft, VR, LAN, Guests, Merchandise, Tournaments and More!

What a treat indeed! It's always a great event and we've had a lot of fun attending over the years, this year though it was just Neil who got to enjoy it, here's what he got up to...

First stop was a meet up with Nils from Robot Riot, who are making a remaster of the classic GODS!

http://www.robotriotgames.com/gods_re...

Re-experience Bitmap Brothers’ cult classic 16 Bit platformer in shiny new 3D graphics and brilliant sound.

Then Neil got chatting with Jim Bagley, who's working on the ZX Spectrum Next.

Jim's been coding video games for over 30 years, so the two had plenty to talk about, resulting in a rather informative video!

 You can find out more about the ZX Spectrum Next right here:

 https://www.specnext.com

Next up, Neil spoke to James of 'Lightfoot Bros.' to chat about a brand new point and click game that's out of this world!

The Mystery Of Woolley Mountain is a brand new point and click adventure for Windows and OSX, featuring five renegade audio scientists in their quest to rid Woolley Mountain of an evil witch.

The game is being published by Huey Games and should be available by February 2019. Find out more at:

www.woolleymountain.com

Neil's adventures didn't end there however, as he approached Artist David Rowe, who was more than happy to be interviewed for the site.

David is the man responsible for some of the most memorable video game cover art from the bygone days of video gaming. Those who are old enough to remember the ZX Spectrum, Commodore Amiga and other retro consoles should be more than familiar with this man's work.

Other notable work from David would include all those lovely backgrounds featured in the classic kids TV programme, Knightmare and of course the Mean Machines magazine logo.

You can check out and even purchase much of David's work at his website, which you can find a link to below:

www.davidrowe.net

Finally, he tried to run away but Neil caught him, Community Manager Gustav Hendenborg got the Blast Process treatment and chatted with Neil about the long-awaited spiritual sequel to Sensible Soccer, Sociable Soccer!

To find out more head on over to the Sociable Soccer website:

www.sociablesoccer.com

We'd like to say many thanks to Gustav and all the rest of the lovely people that took the time to be interviewed by us at the Expo.

And with that Neil packed himself and his trusty Cameraman into the train back home.

PLAY Expo is always a fantastic event, where ever it's held (there's one in Manchester in 2019) and needless to say we'll be back next year with Singstar mic in hand, to interview more gaming greats...well...Neil will at least!

UPDATE: Since returning from the event Neil gathered up all his pickups and made a little video showcasing some of things he spent his pennies on at the event!

Read more about PLAY Expo London 2018:

https://www.playexpolondon.com/

Find out more and get tickets for PLAY Expo Manchester 2019 at the link below:

https://www.playexpomanchester.com/

- Tom

Gaming PC Build Guide: What they don't tell you

The last time I built my own gaming PC would of been around 15 years ago, yeah thats a long time and well overdue. So why now? My main reason is being able to play a whole bunch of indie games that are launching on Steam, along with the urge of going back to be playing FPS games with a mouse and keyboard.

I'm also seeing my self turning off the TV and tuning into Twitch streams, after I turn the TV back on of course! I've been watching all the latest CS:GO competitions and it takes me back. I was apart of the first UK professional clan, more on this topic another day. Let's get on with the guide.

While I knew what I was doing, I felt I should refresh myself with all the latest products and setup configurations. I browsed and read a lot of different guides for building a gaming PC but here's a few things that cropped up when purchasing and building my new setup.

Case

ATX Bench Case, ATX Mini Tower, ATX Mid Tower, ATX Full Tower, ATX Super Tower, Home Theater Computer Case, Server Chassis... the list goes on. Do your research, while I did buy the correct size case to fit my motherboard I rushed in and wanted a cheap case to hold my parts together. This did do the job but my case didn't come with all the correct standing pins to hold my motherboard into place, a few missing screws is ok, I hope.

The other problem with choosing a cheap PC case is ensuring it's going to hold all your components. My AMD radeon card is a lot larger then a typical Nvidia card and the card itself only just managed to fit into the case, it's still a tight squeeze once the power cables are connected to the card.

Next issue was ventilation. The case did come with one case fan as standard and has room for one other fan, this is located at the back. Buying a fan to install into the case I made a slight oversight but luckily I purchased the correct size of fan for my case, so make sure you double check the sizing of the parts that you'll be placing inside the case before jumping in and thinking it will do.

Talking of case fans, you can now buy ones with a 3 or 4 pin connectors. Plugging a 3 pin into a 4 pin slot will work but you won't have the ability to control the fan speeds, that you'd get with a 4-pin fan.

Windows

Setting up Windows was as simple as booting up your PC with a Windows disk but most custom builds won't come with a DVD drive but you can now boot and install Windows from a USB stick, simple right?

Every guide I read and followed on how to install Windows informed me to download a Windows install and this would create the install within the USB stick, while this was true IF you're downloading the files on a correct Windows operating system e.g. Windows 7 and up, I was not. Using a Windows Vista system, known as a Legacy Windows you cannot download the installer as a easy setup tool and only as a iso file, I couldn't get this to work so I had to borrow a more up to date system to create my windows installer.

Maybe an oversight by myself but just a few niggles slowed me down along the way but general research is key, while being practical is the best way to learn and progress. 

Leave a comment below if you've recently built a new PC or are looking for some advice and we'll do our best to help you out!

Mike Davies

Founder/Video Mastermind

Mike is our main go-to-guy for videos. Former 4Kings member and one of the original founders of BlastProcess.com, Mike has been here since the beginning.

The main driving force of the website, Mike loves indie games and apps. So get in touch if you want your game/app featured here!

Villain of the week #3

Due to the exciting news about the potential film "Murder House", (our favourite horror stars resurrected and being studied for their murderous traits) I'm in the mood to delve into our very own favourite baddies of the video game world.

Saboteur Nazi Soldiers

Now, these are villains of the week for a very specific reason: how terrible they are.

Throughout the game Saboteur, you play as the main character who slowly releases France from Nazi occupation, destroying key weapons and killing any officers you see. The game is very clever in design, the world starting off as black and white, colour slowly returning as you rescue Paris and the surrounding villages from Nazi rule.

These are not the best villains, not by a long shot. They're almost the worst (almost!)

They are practically useless at their job and there are hundreds of them, spread out over Paris like parasites. They are convinced by the flimsiest of disguises (you play as a strong Irishman with a broad accent) and they just don't pay any attention to...to...to just about anything. You only have to run about 100 feet and they forget you ever existed, and no matter how much you blow up, or how many you kill, they just switch off. They can't even shoot straight, and when they do on the off chance manage to shoot you, it's barely a flesh wound. They're bullets, they're at least supposed to do some damage. Right?

They also have no sense. Zero. This is why I love them, I mean - Gun turrets facing trees, no space and no people in the middle of fields, miles from anywhere. Cannons with nowhere to shoot but the sky, surrounded by tall trees. Unguarded guns.  Watchtowers by more watchtowers with nowhere to look.

Seriously?

No surprise it's is an easy game to complete!

Villains Of The Week #1

​Due to the exciting news about the potential film "Murder House", (our favourite horror stars resurrected and being studied for their murderous traits) I'm in the mood to delve into our very own favourite baddies of the video game world.

 Robotnik

As Sonic has soared through the decades with regular game and TV reboots, one thing is for sure, he isn't going anywhere soon. And where Sonic treads, his arch nemesis Robotnik is never far behind (there are a few other Sonic villains but Robotnik is king here.) He has certainly changed with the times, most recently with extra long legs to match Sonic - I am still not a fan of that - but his top heavy wobbling form with his outrageous moustache is one of the most recognisable. He chooses sidekicks even worse than himself, I'm sure he may have caught Sonic at least once properly by now if he'd done the legwork himself, but what can I say? He is a very lazy, pompous villain.  Mad and most definitely bad, Robotnik has been villainous since the 80's, terrorising Sonic and the gang every step of the way. His attempts at humour fall flat, and I love him because of that, with his bumbling form looking ridiculous but bizarrely matching his warped sense of reality. An old school bad guy who always falls guilty of talking too much, resulting in Sonic escaping certain death more than once because of his need to explain himself. He may not be successful but you can't say he isn't stubborn (even if he is easy to beat) and game after he game he resurfaces to try all over again.Yes he loves a tantrum and yes he fails at almost every turn - but I can't help it, he's almost lovable.

He might be a villain - but his failures make us remember him fondly, and I can't see him dissapearing any time soon.

Dave says "Some villains simply don't stand the test of time. They may, for a while, prove to be worthwhile adversaries but eventually grow tiresome.bNot so with Sonic's main arch nemesis, the infamous Dr Robotnik! (Or Eggman as he is now being known as). Creator of the badniks, various traps and owner of a flying...egg shaped platform that gains various upgrades just in time to challenge Sonic to boss fights, his looks and personality makes him one of my all time love to hate villains! SEGA keep trying to broaden the Sonic titles by throwing him into various scenarios, but his classic battles against the Doctor prove that sometimes the original baddies are best.
He'll get you eventually, you spikey rodent!"

Over and out! 

Mel

Inside Gary's Mind: The saboteur

Hello everyone. 

Gary here bringing a new article called “Things that go on in my mind when playing games”

Basically like the title says its what I have thought when playing various games or watching games, things like this. 

I was playing the 2009 game The Saboteur recently, a game set in German occupied France during World War 2, a really good game to play as well I may add. 

Now I completed the main mission years ago but I’m still making my way through some of the free play missions. They get you to blow/kill things up or collect postcards from around Paris.

So I’m driving around the countryside and I reach my checkpoint, which this time was a guard tower. I looked at it for a moment and I thought to myself, this must be the most loneliest solider ever, he’s up here day and night miles from the centre of Paris, miles from the coastal village of Le Havre.

So I blew it up. 

The Saboteur gameplay trailer -

NES Surgery - Fix that Blinking Light!

Hey Blast Processors, Tom here! Over the summer holidays I received a fantastic piece of kit from the folks at Arcade Works, The Blinking Light Win.

It's a replacement 72 pin connector for the NES but not only that, it has some extra abilities and you also get a new loading tray. This funky device helps alleviate the stress of having to retry your carts severals times before they actually work.

So if your NES is playing up, this may be just up your street.

Get yours here:

https://www.arcadeworks.net/best-72-p...

NOTE:

There was a short intro to this video but I lost the footage, therefore it begins with the actual installation straight away.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnV9xVhUtEM&w=560&h=315]

Tom's UK Game Room 2015 Update!

Hey Blast Processors, Tom here again!

So I jumped on a plane and vacated my Danish Game Room for my British one!

As promised an update from the 'UK' Game Room. You'll find it's jam packed with more fun and games than ever before, not to mention littered with Lemmings and Worms games for some reason...

There's a few more consoles that have come out of hiding now, and other new editions like a Mega CD and CD-i.

I tried to keep it brief but upon editing realised it was nearing the 30 min mark...Oops. Regardless I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions about what you've seen in the collection, just leave a comment.

NOTE: After filming this I received confirmation that the 'Blinking Light Win' that I mentioned in the video has just been shipped!

Watch below!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy8PTkhCXH8&w=560&h=315]

MEGA MAY! Gameboyle Reviews

It's been an exciting month of reviews over at Gameboyle. For those not familiar with the YouTube Channel it's the work of our very own Mathew Boyle, yes he of Blast Process's Tom and Mat Attack podcast.

Every week Mat reviews a game from the Game Boy's massive back catalog as he continues towards his goal of owning every game in the console's library. Rather him than me!

Check out the videos below to see what Mat's been up to this month, a rather lovely overview of all the core Mega Man titles released for the original Game Boy. Enjoy!

Mega Man: Dr Wiley's Revenge:

It's a portable Megaman! Yes, all the joy of Capcom's Blue Bomber on the Gameboy. Does this game measure up to it's NES forerunners? Is it balls to the walls hard? What's the boss order? All will be revealed...

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLHW_8t1W7I[/embed]

Mega Man 2:

Mega Man II seems to be universally regarded as the worst of the Mega Man titles on the Nintendo Gameboy. A sentiment even shared by Mega Man's creator, Keiji Inafune. Is it really as bad as the internet would have you believe?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06vQW1dhEkU[/embed]

Mega Man 3:

Leaping into Mega May comes Mega Man III! With the reins of the Blue Bomber's handheld campaign back in the hands of Minakuchi Engineering, Mega Man III cranks the difficulty back the to legendary status of it's NES counter parts. However, is this a fun experience on the Game Boy?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw2UBws20ow[/embed]

Mega Man 4:

Rocking on with Mega May has brought us to Mega Man VI! Minakuchi Engineering's hotly contested entry for best Mega Man game in the entire run on the Nintendo Gameboy. Is it all Rock-Man-Roll? Or a complete Mega Bust?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbSUVIYK0nM[/embed]

Mega Man 5:

We wrap up Mega May with the last in the Game Boy series, Mega Man V! Minakuchi Engineering's last handheld entry into the series, but perhaps also their best. With new characters, ideas and the classic gameplay formula, how could it not be?

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0rg4p6XWYA[/embed]

You can check out the rest of Mat's reviews at the Gameboyle YouTube channel, which you can get to by following the handy link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIH-vSY5dondxnPMT7QdDA

Eurogamer Review Shakeup

So Eurogamer has finally dropped their numerical scoring system.I won't be the first to say -it's about time! It's subjective (as all rating systems) but it's down to an individual's meaning of 4/5 or 2/5. To me 4/5 should be almost flawless, to others it just means pretty good. Ratings like that have never effected my game buying; if I want to get the game, I'm going to get it, regardless of some numbers that no two websites or magazines will ever agree on. Joystiq last month also threw in the towel on number rating systems for the same reasons and we may see over the next few months more review websites dropping the numbers as it swiftly loses reliability.

What I want to know is: should I buy it?

Eurogamer have upturned their number system to Recommended, Essential, Avoid. This seems much more relatable to me, I just want to know if it's worth my time and money, and if I'm told to avoid it- chances are I'm going to give it a miss (unless I'm being stubborn!) There are so many peices of a gaming puzzle, graphics, gameplay, network issues: all things that need to be considered, but who's to say graphics are more important than gameplay (have you seen Minecraft? We love it) and for others trouble with online play isn't an issue, because that's not important to them. All of these can be reviewed but numbers isn't going to cut it.

Here at Blast Process we've tried to avoid number systems, there was no way we would ever really agree what a 3/5 is. I've used a couple in the past to measure addictiveness, but it really didn't feel right so I stopped pretty quick. Our system is based on whether we want to play it or not! We tell you if it's a Buy It, Not Buy It or if we really love it- Blast Process Award! Free download games we are hopefully going to tackle a little differently, with Download or Don't Download (just to keep things extra simple).

Eurogamer has stopped reviewing games before they're officially finished - and to me that's a massive shame, being involved with reviewing a game whilst developers are still tweaking it is a huge opportunity. They're also leaving Metacritic behind, saying it wouldn't make sense within their new system to try and fit it into 100 point scoring system, which makes perfect sense, they would just be making it up on Eurogamer's behalf.

So we will just have to see if it sparks a trend of reviewing shake ups across the gaming world...

Over and out

Mel

MagNets by Total Monkery out now!

Those of you who remember our Gadget Show coverage last year may recall one of our favorite games of the event was MagNets by Total Monkery!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCUMzDfldcA[/embed]

After a busy year of shows and events, and a successful Greenlight campaign on Steam the game is finally available to buy! Our review will be coming over the next few days, but needless to say if you like old school arcade action then you need to check it out!

Check out the trailer below and don't forget to visit the developers over at Total Monkery!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2umCbt2c3NA[/embed]

MagNets is available to buy here - currently on offer at £7.19

Foody fun with Video Game Bread

There's a game currently in design which is accumulating crazy levels of support over every media outlet going, it's been a while in the making and what is you might ask this eagerly anticipated story?Making a sandwich. Realistically mind you - that's why it's taking so long, on various posts the creator have stated they want it to be as realistic as they can make it from the way it falls to the ground and every other aspect of simply making sandwiches. Intrigued, I stopped by to ask a few questions.

First of all, what was your inspiration for creating a game about bread? Why making sandwiches?

The idea came on a lark. The original idea for this game was much smaller & limited. It was gonna be a game where you'd play out the life of a sandwich until it's untimely demise.

What has been the easiest and most difficult aspects of creating the game so far?

The easiest part is making all the art. The hardest part is programming, I'm trying to learn how to code so that's the hardest obstacle haha.

What gaming platform are you planning to release it on when it's complete?

I'm currently aiming for PC, but I'm considering other platforms too.

Have you created any other video games apart from Video Game Bread?

Well. I've worked on a couple of games for game jams, but they're not that great lmao.

Finally, when do you think it will be released?

That's really hard to say. I'd like for there to be something done some time this year.

With over 30,000 followers on Video Game Bread on Tumblrthe mere idea of this currently unfinished game is taking the indie gamers by storm, after all, who doesn't love a good sandwich?

Over and out, Mel

Shurican - the epitamy of ninja fun!

If you want fast paced action with addictive simplicity Shurican ticks all the boxes. Tap your way through difficult courses filled with crushing spikes, lethal turning cogs and a lot of fire.

Firstly, ninjas! I personally love anything to do with ninjas. Everyone at some point has wanted to be a ninja, I just love them. They're fun and cool with neat little outfits, and in this game awesome facial expressions (of what you can see that is).

Secondly, speed. You are sat in a shop waiting for someone to come out of the changing rooms and have some free time to spend, I can guarantee by the time they exit you will have died umpteens times (if you are as bad as me) and certainly progressed a few levels. If you only have a minute or half an hour, you can play this game and can enjoy it to its full extent.

Thirdly, ease of play. It's beautifully easy yet addictive at the same time. You constantly tap to keep your ninja airborne, but tap too much and you will go too high, straight into an evil ceiling of fire (that's how I mostly die) or whatever nasty contraption you are trying to avoid that you are guaranteed to hit on your way back down. If you stop tapping - you plummet to your death. If you tap too much - you are probably going to die anyway! It takes time and patience but it's addictive quality begs you to come back for more, no matter how many times you die.

Fourthly, graphics. I really do like the graphics, they are uncomplicated cartoons and full of character with bright colours, especially with the blood splatter that you accumulate. Every time you die you leave a new blood splatter which marks your demise and a point to aim past. The background isn't too busy and distracting and you do feel like you're in some secret training dojo hidden underground with the brick walls and fiery outlines.

Those blood splatters are like my badges of honour!

It's an easy to play tapping game that you can play anywhere with a variety of levels and even a leaderboard (should you want to share your progress). You eventually run out of turns and are offered the option to view an advert to get more lives. I was greeted by a quick advert which I soon clicked off and boom - back to playing once more. You don't have to look if you don't want to and can easy come back later. But I have to stress I died a lot before I even ran out of lives (and you don't have to pay anything to buy more lives like some other games I have played - win!)

I would definetly recommend this one, it's bright and fun with colourful explosions that greet you every time you die with a healthy blood splatter too. Just be warned, you will get addicted!

Check them out on twitter here or on their website

Game available for android and IOS

Over and out, Mel

Christmas Kickstarter: Shadows of Esteren

Shadows of Esteren: Occultism There I was just trundling around Kickstarter, when I came across hands down the most beautiful game I have ever seen. Forget the block-like graphics of Minecraft, the pixelated Mario or the almost realism of Red Dead Redemption, Shadows of Esteren is smooth and soft like a painting. This is a dark, gothic, medieval role playing game with strong influences from Tim Burton (the moment you look at the game it screams Burtonesque design) with an interesting flowing movement between painted scenes.

The colours are muted and unusual, giving the game a mysterious and tense feel as you watch the drama unfold. There are various factions to chose, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, with terrible beasts to battle, mostly taken from Celtic folklore to keep it fresh and intriguing.

.

It's a French company and it has been released previously in French, just now making its transition over to English and that just shows from the over 200% of money being contributed already and as it stands there's still over 30 days left to back it. The company describes the game as "somewhere between Ravenloft, Game of Thrones and Call of Cthulhu."

Check it out over on Kickstarter and get your hands on some of the amazing merchandise, including haunting CDs of the soundtrack, bookmarks and more!

Over and out Mel

Play Expo 2014: The Write-Up

Long time no article written processors…that out of the way, let’s talk about Manchester’s Play Expo, which I was lucky enough to attend last week.

I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest, but what I experienced was pure retro-delight. There were new games to try out, strangely ones that were already released mostly…not too much to hold my attention, although I wished I’d have made the extra push to try out Team 17’s new offering, the lemmings-like sheep saving simulator, Flockers.

It was slow progress at first making our way through the expo, I spent a good chunk of time playing Terminator 2: The Arcade Game on the Mega Drive, in one of the dedicated retro movie tie-in sections of the event. These exhibits were pretty cool, a fleet of systems were set up in a row that enabled you to sample the progression of several licensed games throughout the ages. There was everything from the aforementioned Terminator games (Terminator: Redemption, was featured here on Xbox, and it's still a thrilling experience to this day) to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Alien franchise.

Littered throughout these areas were cabinets displaying several original movie props, things from the likes of Star Wars to Robocop, I especially liked the inclusion of some props from The Last Starfighter movie. Let’s not forget the Delorian Time Machine from the Back to the Future series was there also.

Ok, after a quick toilet break I experienced perhaps the highlight of the day, a talk from Mel Croucher, creator and designer of Deus Ex Mahina, one of the most unique experiences in gaming. Mel was incredibly entertaining as he described the key elements in any video game are Dice (Luck), Ping Pong (Coordination), Chess (Strategy) and Bollocks. Bollocks of course is all the layers of flash a game throws at you to make you think you’re playing something truly special when in reality you’re just playing the same old thing repackaged. I agree with him. After the talk myself and my girlfriend purchased his book about the making of Deus Ex Machina and had it signed, he instructed us to read it somewhere snug, while being intimate with each other. Needless to say, Mel is now one of my new heroes.

After lunch and a rummage through a load of over-priced retro games (which I confess I picked up a few of) we reached the true retro area of the event, hundreds of televisions connected to a dizzying array of different consoles, ranging from familiar favourites like the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to obscure delights like the JVC-XEye (a lovely piece of kit combining the Sega Mega Drive with it’s Mega CD add on in one neat package).

We spent a good portion of time here, playing all sorts things, Keiko’s Fly Squadron on Mega CD was a particular highlight for me, a game which I will probably never own due to it’s high price point and it’s dependence on needing to own a Mega CD (a stupidly over-priced bit of kit on the second hand market). I also got to try out the Amiga CD32 for a short while, something I’d been curious about sampling for some time. It was ok…

Beyond this there was the Arcade area of the event and boy, what a treat that was. All the classic arcade machines of old lined up and free to play. A game called Crossbow kept us amused for a sometime with it’s early light gun type satisfaction. I got to play a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet which proved to be a much more natural and enjoyable experience than playing it on console. Honestly there was so much there to try and nearly all the classics accounted for. Something I thought was pretty neat was the inclusion of a Fix-It Felix Jr. Machine as featured in the animated movie, ‘Wreck-It-Ralph’.

After losing several members of our crew to the joys of old Arcade machines, myself and my girlfriend, Claire found ourselves amongst the Pinball Machines, which after spending some time juggling balls on the Twilight Zone table I was starting to grow rather fond of, but time was marching on and a raffle for charity was being drawn, 1^st prize was a PS4. Claire bought tickets but sadly she didn’t win that converted PS4. The 2^nd best prize was a Sega Dreamcast (which was left unclaimed) and there were other treats like a bucket of sweets on offer. Strangely the prize of a small plastic Darth Vader helmet caused too eager young men to leap on top of each as it was thrown into the audience as a freebie. Their scuffle resulted in the rope barrier in front of the stage crashing to the ground as they wrested each other for the prize. They were promptly told to cut it out. I assume they’d eaten too many sweets and feeling a little over-excited, that or they were Vader’s biggest fans. If so they would have been lucky enough to meet Darth himself, David Prowse who was signing autographs elsewhere at the event.

As the day drew to a close we just managed to catch the last part of a talk from Team 17, developers of amongst others, the Worms series (one of my all-time favourites).

Just before we loaded ourselves into the Blast Process wagon to return home, we had a quick go on a brand new game, the very enjoyable Wulver Blade, a new side-scrolling beat-em-up developed by the folks at Fully Illustrated and Darkwind Media.

With that we were off, after a full day of mostly retro-flavored, video gaming delights. As the sun set over the Manchester Eventhall that faithful Sunday evening I could hardly wait to come back next year and do it all over again.

- Tom Parry

Check out this super funky video that Blast Processor Mike made of the event below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0iF_53TAEE&w=560&h=315]

I P-p-picked Up Pokemon!

So...a Friday night well spent!So you are now Orlando- thrown back into the world of pokemon with a crash. Someone needs your help and there's a new silver haired sidekick who calls upon you to save pokemon from the evil team that is on the hunt for mega evolving pokemon. We have Team Aqua ready to flatten us -but wait! Who should appear in the caves to challenge us but Team Magma themselves. Twice the grunts, twice the battles right? I certainly hope so. It's only a demo: a few pokemon to tickle the taste buds, a battle to fire you up, old enemies revamped with new outfits, old pokemon with new mega evolutions. Bit of old and a bit of new all mixed it together.

Although I will say that blasted BuzzNav on your bottom screen is infuriating - it had better not be there constantly when the game comes out else my 3DS will end up out of the window! Constant flickering and scrolling text that distracts you incessantly, recapping the very basics of the game, a never ending news report with an ever annoying news reporter. However, the set up looks good. An interesting tweak on the game we love, I don't think they will let us down- not yet anyway.

Over and out! Mel

The Art of The Game

Hi guys Mel here,

Recently I have been looking at all sorts of gaming art in my spare time, from game covers to posters and fan art too. Being an avid Tumblr (of gaming information, film funnies and occasionally cute puppies) I noticed the flurry of amazing fan art blossoming on social media. As someone who can't draw to save her life, I wondered what is was that drew artists to certain games, certain styles and what drew them to do it in the first place. I interviewed Jodeeeart, an amazing artist with a passion for games to get her opinion.

Jodie, first and foremost, how long have you been drawing?

Drawing? As long as I can remember, I have been painting digitally for around 6 years now.

What made you chose this game (Assassin’s Creed) to draw from?

It’s my favourite Franchise for a few reasons. I’ve always loved history, particularly the renaissance. The first AC I played was AC2 and I fell in love with it. The character’s are always beautifully designed the locations are gorgeous. Every single time I play them, I come away wanting to paint.

What’s your favourite game console to play games on?

I play on the XB360 and am probably going to update to a XBONE but my favourite has to be the Sega mega drive, It’s so nostalgic for me. It’s certainly when I fell in love with gaming as a child, Mega Games 2 all the way!

What game, in your opinion, has the best artwork?

That’s a toughy, the AC art is beautiful, I recently bought the Thief Art book and that’s filled with gorgeous artwork too. I also adored the art for Devil May Cry 4. It’s really very hard to choose one. Most Games have pretty stunning artwork.

Finally, is there anyone you want to draw but haven’t yet?

Yes, there are loads of characters/people, Gabriel Belmont from Castlevania LOS is one i’ve always fancied that I haven’t drawn. I would also love to do a proper Bayonetta piece, I did one a while back but not since I started painting digitally.

Jodie's artwork is amazing, and I have the good fortune of it popping up on my dash on a regular basis! Tumblr is a hotbed of amazing artists, especially those focused on gaming; I would recommend everyone to check it out!

Find Jodie's art at Deviantart and on Tumblr

Mel over and out!

TerraTech Kickstarter now Live!

The guys at Payload studios have just launched their Kickstarter for the frankly awesome Terratech! The BlastProcess team checked it out at the Gadget Show this year, and by all accounts it was one of our favourite games at the event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXRb_9jFA_I

Recently the team released a demo as shown off by Craig in his Let's Play vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-4PyFX5oGM

The game is well worth a look at, and if you're quick you can get the early bird rewards to bag the game at a bargain £10 if the kickstarter is sucessful!

Check out the Kickstarter here!