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Eurogamer Expo 2011: Day 4 | PSNStores

Eurogamer Expo 2011: Day 4

Posted by on September 25th, 2011 | 0 Comments | Tags:

Well, this is the home stretch. The final chapter in my expo crusades, and what a day it has been. If there was anywhere more outstandingly creative to go than straight to the indie game arcade, I was probably completely out of my mind. So, I ventured in to that little corridor of crazy, and there I found “At A Distance”, the new game from VVVVVV creator Terry Cavanagh. I’ve never played anything like it, and as soon as I’d finished the demo, I wanted to play through it again. To say the game is unique is certainly true, even on the basis of art style alone.

Upon first glance, the game reminded me of an old screensaver, with large areas based solely around shades of one color, with an effect that looked like a deliberate attempt to try and see what an old Amiga backdrop would look like if it was in a 3D space. It really is eye catching, if a little disorienting at first. Of course, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. At A Distance is a co-op game, designed for two people to play at the same time. A makeshift sign implored me to greet the person standing next to me, and greet them I did. We then proceeded to work our way through a selection of rooms of varying color palates and layout. Well, I did at least. The closest way of describing my co-op partner’s play area would be “an architect of the virtual world”, with rooms snapping together like lego, all of my partner’s choosing. I made my way through his maze of rooms, collecting boxes that spawned keys for him to utilize in his own area. I’ve played co-op games where the only method of cooperation is “hey, turn this valve guy!”, so to play a co-op experience as true as this really was something else. I can’t wait for the game to be released. If I were handing out “game of show” badges, this would be it. I’ve never played anything like it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my updates from this year’s Eurogamer Expo, be sure to listen to our podcast, where I’m sure the guys are planning on quizzing me on everything I’ve played these past few days. Also, I picked up one of those onlive consoles, so I’m going to be taking a look at that whole service for a few weeks, and seeing how it holds up in the real world. Thanks for putting up with my nonsense, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and sleep.