Real Talk By: KJ

It’s a Gaming Event that brings together studios primary-located in the Midwest.  It all happens inside COSI (Center of Science and Industry).  Each year has been awesome,  GDEX 2016 would be no different.

PL members in attendance (myself included):  Cmack The Don, Hec G, Jason Johns, Ms. Throwback, Nese005, Rickayyy, and Tom Andre.  Our goal was to promote PlayLegit.Net, and hang-out with players from all-over-the region.  It was cool trading stories with return attendees, and newcomers alike.  I could chat about Video Games? All day? Here i had the platform to do so.

A Gentleman showed us his Overwatch Cosplay of Reaper.  He designed the mask, and Purchased two old-school Nerf Guns to seal the deal.  Another guest spoke with Ms. Throwback about her love for Jet Set Radio, and growing up in a family where everyone played Sega games non-stop.  We are still saddened by the early demise of the Sega Dreamcast.  The system would appear at our booth, and fond memories kept popping-up throughout the weekend.  On our Left side, we had Nintendo 64.  Competition was getting serious on the left-wing.  Players of all ages enjoyed retro classic Mario Kart 64, and of course trash talk was a thing.

Custom designed Play Legit Waterbottles were handed-out, along with Gremlik themed Stickers. Did i mention colorized flyers? Quality sounds were heard in the background to top it off, provided by our friends at 8-Bit Universe. Talk about a party.

Most Popular Games at The Play Legit Command Center:

1. Mario Kart (64)

2. Crazy Taxi (DC)

3. Power Stone 2 (DC)

This year I was able to interview, and try way-more titles.  Everything from hack and slashers, endless runners, VR, and even a platforming drinking game (absolutely just as fun as it sounds).

One highlight of the show was Bombfest from ZacFierce.  You control toy characters on small battlegrounds. Players throw bombs at enemies (Bomberman style), as they try-to wobble around the blast radius.  Some areas would break-down from the explosions, and you had to work around the debris.  Gameplay was easy to pick up, but strategy was certainly required.

Studio Kujata’s Axis Descending is a Metroidvania game.  The character improves along the way. In the GDEX build i was happy with the hack and slash fighting, and the smooth movements of the character.  Axis has hit Steam Greenlight, so give this one your approval.

The Pedestrian is one innovative puzzler.  Control a stick figure through challenging obstacles.  Your journey comes to life on tiny cards.  To get the door open in a specific zone, players properly place the cards, making a path so the little guy can get through.

Ms. Throwback earned a High Score!  She was ranked in the top five for the duration of the GDEX.  GuessworkVR’s  Undr H20 (Underwater), was one of our favorites.  You play a plumber who must fix the pipes in his (Parent’s) basement before the time runs out.  This game used Vive tech. With the right controller i grabbed the tape needed to seal the pipe.  Did the same thing with wrench on the table. When I was finished with that part of the level, I threw the pipe away.  Bad idea.  Things would have been easier keeping items together.  Throwing stuff was so fun though. Ms. Throwback made sure to laugh at my final score.

Tipsy Raccoons gained a lot of traffic.  This 6 player game, has a slot for your drink of choice.  The cabinet has a funnel system inside, so spilling is a non-issue.  We played with soda.  Everyone participated in a grouping of 13 mini-games.  The losers had to take a drink each round.  Scenarios were varied.  Free for all and tag team modes would come up.  You can imagine Glichbit’s Tipsy Raccoons being a real riot with a different drink in-play.

Returning Games We Played:

Upways Games Odd Occurrences of The Way made another appearance, and development seems to be going very smoothly.  Check out the demo, and unique art style found in this RPG.

Stupid Dot Game is perfect for quick sessions.  Players use their tablets to find the right colored dot.  As the levels progress, finding it in a sea of other colors gets very difficult.  One misstep and it’s all over.  Reflexes were tested.

Forge Quest was back.  Two screens were linked, allowing for local coop.  It’s been out for a bit now, and I was told that a sequel is in the works.

Shark Thrower stars a buff feller, who throws sharks! It’s free to play.

It was great to see Columbus, Ohio and the Midwest as a whole embrace gaming on this level.  Cheers to another exciting year of gaming.  A special video put together by Jason will include even more games, and fun captured from the event.

Special Thanks to Chris Volpe, Multivarious games, Kieffer Wilson (That rematch is happening!), Lantern Light Studios, and all who hung out with us.

#GDEX @PlayLegit