Eurogamer Top Picks

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

As any man-child with a blunt refusal to grow up, I have always wanted to be a pirate, and on my own adventure to exotic Earl’s Court, London I was able to get damn close. 

Trying out Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag on the PlayStation 4, I was immediately put on my ship, The Jackdaw. Being the rebellious scallywag I am, I completely ignored the advice of Ubisoft staff and set sail towards the nearest Spanish Galleon (I have had my fill of killing my countrymen). What ensued was me ramming the ship full speed in its port side. The splinter of wood and roar of cannon fire brought the ship to a halt. Heroically I leapt from my ship swinging on the rigging before air assassinating the enemy captain. Then, being the gentleman I am, I released the crew and used their ship to repair mine. After that I engaged in an intense fort battle, but the highlight was definitely the freedom I experienced of being able to roam the high seas, plundering and singing. 

Even if it was only 15 minutes of living a childhood fantasy. Yarrr. 

Alex Phelps

Titanfall

For ten minutes of gameplay to be worth a whopping two hour queue, a game needs to be of a certain class.Titanfall, when it releases early 2014, may well find itself top of that class, after that ten minute demo turned out to be one of the best online matches I’ve ever had.

Titanfall is played in two distinct and exciting ways – as a hyper-nimble Pilot, or a massive mech known as a Titan. Pilots take the FPS rulebook and throw it out the window. Yes, you’re a soldier running around with a gun, but you can double jump (a la Crash Bandicoot) and wall run. Respawn Entertainment – the devs formerly at the head of Infinity Ward – are particularly proud of the fact that you can get from one side of most maps to the other without touching the ground.

Given the extremes of these two styles it’s remarkable the gameplay remains so balanced. The controls are as refined as you could wish for from the veterans of FPS-making, with the promise of oodles of customisation for both your Pilot and your Titan. If Xbox owners weren’t already excited about 2014, they should be now.

Jon Jenner, Editor

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z 

I like games that surprise me. The huge blockbuster gaming franchises like AC4 and Arkham Origins were out in force at Eurogamer, and I don’t doubt they will be incredible, but I know what they do already. One game that I don’t know anything about is Yaiba. I happened across its blood splattered screens by accident, but was instantly drawn in. Not since God of War III have I enjoyed a hack and slash so much. The combat is simple but glorious, exactly the right combination when ploughing through hordes of zombies with a katana. Its art style is reminiscient of Okami, with a change-up of colour palate to really bring out the gore.

Yaiba also retains a sense of fun, allowing you to pick up the severed arms of your foes to beat up more undead. I don’t know anything about the story, I don’t know if the gameplay will be consistently good, but I do know that of all the games I played at Eurogamer this game left an impression. Oh, scratch that part about franchises; apparently the full name is Yaiba: Ninja Garden Z. But still, it’s fun. 

Jon Jones, Online Games Editor

Batman: Arkham Origins

The bonus of Batman is that he really needs no introduction. Open your demo with him hanging a criminal upside down off a building, and no-one really needs to know how they got there. In Arkham Origins, bad stuff is going down in Gotham, and Batman’s there to save the day. It’s a prequel to the other Arkham games, although just from the demo, it’d be tricky to  tell until the very end.

Warner Bros are staying pretty close to Rocksteady’s style, as gameplay remains pretty much the same as ever, even with new gadgets. Detective mode has been slightly refined, as Batman reconstructs a video of a helicopter crash in order to find out how it happened.  It was a little too easy to get lost or lose track of your objective, but these are only problems for the timed demo, not regular gameplay.

As one of the more structured demos at Eurogamer, it really stood out among the rest. It felt like you were actually playing part of the game, rather than just a random slice of action. For great atmosphere, being easy to pick up, and actually making me want to play the rest of the game – Arkham Origins gets my pick of the con!

Becky Mullen, Games Editor

Exeposé Games Does Eurogamer

Image Credit: Niklas Rahmel

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you first step onto the con floor at Eurogamer.

Game booths sprawl all over the place with no understandable order, flyers are shoved at your face, and you can barely move for black novelty t-shirts. It’s sort of like the Freshers’ squash, but somehow less of a fire hazard.

The queue to get in is always long, but moves surprisingly quickly. This does not last.

While it’s tempting to head straight for the brightly neon-lit mega displays of Sony and Microsoft, you’ve got to think tactically. It might take hours to queue for the main booths and new consoles, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get a game you want to play anyway. The newer games are always looking to show off on the next-gen though, so it pays off to be inventive.

Look out for the smaller stands that still have the new kit and beat two birds with one stone, like this year’s Surgeon Simulator. You’ll still be standing around for a while though, so make sure you bring something to do.

When you finally get your hands on the controller, time passes all too quickly. In order for the booths to deal with the queues, you often only get to play a single match, fifteen minutes, or sometimes even less.

Image Credit: Niklas Rahmel

It’s not really long enough to totally grasp a new game, or get a real sense of story or character, but you need to get the most out of it that you can. If it’s open-world then make sure you do something ridiculous, because you’re not going to get very far with anything else.

It’s a shame, but the booths are more likely to be crewed by a bunch of unenthusiastic part-timers than any of the real developers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about the game, but don’t be offended if you get blank faces in return. At the same time, don’t get too keen when you find a real developer. They might be looking a bit bored, but they’ve been stood there for several days now and are one spilled coffee away from a meltdown.

Eurogamer may be smaller than some of the international cons, but that’s not such a bad thing.

You can rock up to a developer’s session barely five minutes before it starts, for example, and still get in. But the flip-side to this is that it’s obvious some developers don’t make an effort. The Sims 4 had a shockingly useless stand that only let you play a stripped down version of Create-A-Sim, and no actual gameplay at all.

Image Credit: Niklas Rahmel

It’s a shame when big franchises waste an opportunity like this, especially when there aren’t even any decent freebies.

Even though the free stuff can be a bit disappointing, you can still pick up the odd key-ring, poster, or t-shirt. It’s pretty unlikely you’ll ever use them, or even look at them again after shoving them into your wardrobe the day after, but nothing can stop the overpowering urge to hoard as much as possible.

The power of free shit is strong, but it’s still shit. So avoid elbowing kids in the face, even if they do sound like the sort that insults your mother on Halo.

Even though Eurogamer forces you into queues with hundreds of teenagers, the atmosphere still buzzes. After all, you’re surrounded by hundreds of people who share your interests, who are just as excited to be there as you are. Some of them are even wearing costumes, and some of them you might even recognise. So be happy, bring snacks, and above all else, try to avoid anyone dressed as a zombie clown.

Becky Mullen, Games Editor