Geek Pride will be returning to Play Expo in Manchester this weekend to experience the most diverse gaming expo in the country, and bring you the latest previews for some of the most anticipated releases over the next few months. Last year we brought you previews of Nintendo’s Wii-U, DMC: Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid Revengeance and more; and this year the lineup of next gen titles is even more impressive.
Possibly the biggest news for next-gen console fans is that the PlayStation 4 itself will be at the show; over a month before its release. The PS4 will be part of the Ubisoft stand, previewing their new entry into the highly successful Assassin’s Creed franchise; Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, over a month before the PS4’s market release.
In current gen news, yet equally as exciting; Namco Bandai’s Dark Souls 2 will also be playable over the weekend. The long awaited sequel to the infuriatingly difficult cult hit Dark Souls is one of the most anticipated titles of 2014, and you can look forward to a full write-up of our experience with the game ahead of its March 2014 release.
Nintendo will also make a return to the show after a particularly strong show last year, where fans were queuing across the hall to preview the Wii-U before it went on sale. This year they will be showcasing a range of upcoming titles on the Wii-U and DS; on the Wii-U will be Super Mario 3D World and Sonic Lost World, and for the Nintendo DS; we will have Zelda: Link Between Worlds and the highly anticipated Pokemon X and Y, among more.
One thing everyone will be looking forward to testing for themselves is the one and only Oculus Rift. This virtual reality headset, still in development, will be shown to all who want a taste of what’s been dubbed the future of gaming; a peripheral that that managed to raise over $2.4 million in crowd funding alone.
Of course, Play Expo being the most diverse gaming expo in the country, there’ll be plenty more to see and do than the above. In the Pro.play area, fighting, FPS and even Minecraft pro gaming tournaments are scheduled across both days, and in the re.play section, one can find a myriad of retro consoles, classic arcade and pinball machines (free to play, of course), and even a LAN area, holding multiplayer games of old school Quake games and more.
And if all that somehow wasn’t enough tickle your tastebuds, the Cos.play area might just do it for you, where Play Expo and HYPER JAPAN have worked together to offer one lucky cosplayer the chance to win win an all expenses paid trip to Japan to represent the UK in the World Cosplay Summit, no less!
Stay tuned over the weekend as we show you the latest news, reviews and previews at Britain’s most diverse gaming expo, and for anyone going, keep an eye out for the GP mascot!
