Our in-house tech-pert attended Gamescon in Cologne this week. Here are first-hand tales from Europe’s biggest digital gaming exhibition
Representation Pic
Gamescom took place over the week in Cologne or, as the locals call it, Köln. It is considered the biggest show in terms of the number of exhibitors and businesses attending, not to mention the sheer volume of people who attend the event from all over the world. This writer was fortunate enough to attend Gamescom this year and bring to you first-hand accounts of new gaming releases and what to look forward to next year.
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Black Myth Wukong
Complete newcomer, Black Myth Wukong had some of the longest lines at Gamescom, with over one hour wait time. They were only outdone by Genshin Impact, a game with a loyal fanbase and an ever-expanding universe. The game is an action RPG heavily based on Chinese Mythology. It looks gorgeous during the demo: you could get into the thick of boss fights and experience more of the action elements of the game. The game uses Unreal 5 and as a result, looks better than most current AAA titles. Black Myth Wukong is scheduled to release next year.
OWO
Owo brings the virtual world into the real world with their haptic feedback clothing. The long, skin-tight shirt must be worn and have direct contact with your skin. The skin contact takes place through sticky pads on the underside of the shirt. These are the same sticky pads used at the hospital, which ensure that your skin is in contact with the electrodes placed in strategic locations on the inside of the shirt. It is honestly one of the most disgusting things to wear, and for someone who isn’t in the best of shape, it is not very flattering either. However, it does what it claims to do. This writer played a game and felt
every bullet and every explosion. OWO is precise enough to make you feel stabs and bullets passing through your body and coming out from the other end. So as to not scar the reader, we will be going with press images for this one.
Monster Hunter Now
This one almost went unnoticed on the first day of Gamescom. Monster Hunter Now is a new game from Niantic—the same guys who made Ingress, Pokémon Go and the short-lived Harry Potter Wizards Unite. This time, they have you hunting monsters from the popular game Monster Hunter. The interface is a cross between Pokemon Go and Wizards Unite. It actually doesn’t seem like a Niantic game (which is a compliment). You can take on monsters solo or you can take them down in groups. You don’t need to be in the same clan or anything, you can just join any monster raid. They also seemed to be moving away from the existing tower system from their previous games. You can also see your player fighting the monsters in the game.
Streets of Rogue 2
Streets of Rogue is a top-down-view indie game where you essentially go on a rampage to gain power. The game feels like a more modern take on games like GTA 2 before it became all fancy and went 3D. There is plenty of violence, short quests and things to do all over the map, and unlike GTA 2, you get to choose your player here. Also, all of this is randomly generated, so no two experiences of playing the game will ever be the same.
ASUS ROG Evangelion hardware
On the sidelines of Gamescom, ASUS launched about 14 new products, including a gaming-grade Wi-Fi 7 router, a few new monitors, and a whole set of Evangelion-branded components, with coolers, graphic cards, motherboards and even a fancy cabinet. The entire lot was on display at their press experience area. Any Anime fan would sacrifice their closest blood relative for computer gear that looks this good. Asus also launched a huge textured glass mousepad called ROG Moonstone Ace L, by far one of the best mouse pads I have used. While most of the products on display were great, there was also a bizarre product that I never thought I would ever see let alone at a ROG event. It is a games-centric Chromebook, running Google’s OS and possibly meant to use some online streaming game service like the now defunct Stadia. That product had no right to exist.
The Crew Motorfest
Ubisoft showed off a few games during Gamescom, including the new Assassin’s Creed Mirage. However, for the true racing fans, Ubisoft also had a playable demo of The Crew Motorfest. The game is scheduled for launch next month. It seems to have shed most of its past and decided to take inspiration from Forza Horizon. The game features an exotic location, different types of vehicles and different game modes, very suspiciously like Microsoft’s car racing title. In any case, the demo was fun to ride and the game should be out soon. Watch out for the review.
Microsoft Xbox
Xbox booked nearly half of the exhibition hall, showing off all the new games headed to the Xbox in the coming year. They also set up a custom-skinned Porsche to celebrate their Porsche edition Xbox, with several options to choose from. Xbox also had a preview of the new Cyberpunk expansion, which presumably is coming to the Xbox and PC.
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