Fran Porritt, North East gamer, YouTuber, and cosplayer, shares her experience at 2015’s Eurogamer…

Along with over 75,000 other people, I recently spent four days at the Birmingham NEC for this year’s EGX. As a fairly passionate gamer, I don’t think it’d be too much of an exaggeration to say that these were the best four days of my life.

(Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration…)

Attending as part of Middlesbrough game dev Radiation Burn‘s team, I was lucky enough to be in possession of an exhibitors pass, which meant that I had early access to some of the biggest games on show. These are my three favourites…

1. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate

Ubisoft went all out on their Assassin’s Creed section, having set up old-timey English market stalls to set the scene. The heroes of the game’s story, the Frye twins, were each walking around the place.

An assassination mission was set up with three objectives:

• Kill the Key Master and steal the keys.
• Release the Police Constable and gain his assistance.
• Ally the guard and fake being caught.

Check, check, and check. Mission complete.

Overall, the demo was fantastic. New game mechanics like a nifty rope launcher keep the gameplay familiar but fresh. It isn’t without its flaws, and a few glitches here and there were present, but as it’s pre-alpha, it can be forgiven.

2. Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst

I’m guilty of a little queue-jumping here. I joined the back of the queue with my sister, who just so happened to be wearing her Faith (Mirror’s Edge main character) cosplay, so EA staff members very kindly bumped us up to the front. Thanks, guys!

First impressions of the Catalyst demo are that it runs a lot smoother than the first game. The combat is hugely improved, particularly with a host of new movements and animations, and keeping speed up when free-running is a lot more intuitive.

A personal favourite addition is the jump to third-person when performing finishing moves. It’s great to see Faith in action.

3. Star Wars: Battlefront

The Battlefront booth was definitely the biggest and best at EGX, likely owing to it housing a life-size TIE fighter.

Jumping straight into the demo, I found myself stranded on Tatooine, defending pods from wave after wave of Imperial Stormtroopers. I was stunned by the level of detail! The terrain is phenomenal, and so immersive. Plus, kudos to whoever was in charge of sound. It’s spot on.

The 20v20 mode is just as much fun, and each objective is helpfully explained by Admiral Ackbar (not a trap). I played as an Imperial, busily defending walkers as they made their way across Hoth. You’ll find power-ups scattered across the map (which is enormous, by the way) which allow you call in and control the likes of AT-STs, TIE Fighters, X-Wings, and even one of the AT-ATs for a short period of time.

Watch out for the inverted controls, though. I may not have been expecting them, and may have crashed immediately… maybe… oops.

You’ll be able to get your hands on all of these games very soon, so keep an eye out for them. The Star Wars beta is now available, so I’ll see you on the battlefield!

Did you attend EGX? Have you played any of these games, or have your own favourites? Leave a comment below!