Too Many Games 2014

Once again, just as it happens every year, hordes of gaming nerds rush into The Greater Philadelphia Expo center in Oaks, as it is dangerous to go alone. That’s right, Too Many Games has returned for another year of gaming awesomeness. There is plenty to do there ranging from live concerts, arcade and console gaming, indie developer showcase, panels, and a decent sized vendor area you can easily occupy a day at a nice price. So stay a while and listen, while I tell you about the experience I had at Too Many Games 2014.

I was only able to attend one day at Too Many Games this year, and it was by far one of the better experiences we have had at Too Many Games. The convention was on June 27^th – 29^th and I was there on Saturday the 28^th. The concerts they held were amazing this year. Having about five bands play this year, I was able to see four of them. We started off the day with the band The World is Square, they are a video game folk band. Most of the music they play sounds almost exactly like the original sound tracks from the games they are from. Given their name, they pull most of the music from square soft games, which we all know have amazing soundtracks. Between each song you see them shuffling among the array of instruments they bring to have that authentic sound. What they bring to the table musically is amazing, and I will have more on them as well as many of the other bands I will talk about in the future. The next band that played was Bit Brigade. This band is awesome, as they have a player speed run a game as they play the soundtrack live. For their set on Saturday they played the original Legend of Zelda. Every area and dungeon the player went into they were able to play along with. It was fantastic! On Sunday they actually played through Megaman 2. After their set, our friends The X-Hunters went on stage. As I have stated many times before, THEY ROCK! I have been to many shows of theirs and have actually ventured about 2-3 hours away to see them in Baltimore. Rocking out to mostly covers of Megaman-X level music, I love what these guys do with classics. You can actually see a video of their set a few years back here. Finally, I got to see PowerGlove, these guys were awesome! If you love nerdy influenced music and metal with a dash of GWAR, you will love these guys. The show was so entertaining, and the music rocked. With a set spanning from Pokemon game music, to Legend of Zelda, and ending with the Power Rangers Theme Song, they have won a place in my heart, and I can’t wait to see them again. There isn’t just concerts at Too Many Games, there is a decent amount to do with the games aspect of the show.

With us having been to Too Many Games before, we haven’t actually had many positive things to say about it. This being our third year in attendance, I made an effort to make sure I was having the full experience of the convention. This year was by far the best with the number of Indie Developers they had. Some of the games I was able to demo and the stories I heard about the team making them were awesome. Add to that the fact that most of these developers are local to the Philly area, I have no shame in plugging them a bit. Of the teams I talked to a few really stood out, the biggest one was 3dmuve and their game Pulsar. Pulsar is a multi-player team based space shooter. The object of the game was to destroy the spawn portals of the opposing teams and be the last man standing. This game looked amazing, and was still in early stages of development. I’m not sure when a possible release date will be, but I look forward to it. To read more about their projects, please visit their site and follow them on Facebook and Twitter. The next team I was able to talk to was Quartic Entertainment and their game Colony One. I was able to play a small bit of Colony One, as it was in a pre-alpha state. The game is a top down shooter such as Dead Nation, but in space with aliens. There is some Rpg like qualities to the game, that I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are decisions that will alter how you play the game, as you go through. Of the small portion I played, and talking to the sole developer of the game, I learned that it has only been in development for about 6 months. I was astonished as to how clean the game was at that point. They are looking to get into a kickstarter and I will send off that information as I get it, but please checkout the site and follow them also on Twitter. Lastly I talked to my friends at Semag Studios. They currently have 2 games released and 2 in development. The games they have are mostly for mobile devices, and one game in development to be compatible with Amazon TV. One game they have recently released was called ‘You’re Fired’, you play as a character that just got fired from his job and he decides to burn the place down. It is a side scrolling slalom game, where you collect items to get a better score. They had so many awesome ideas in progress that I can not talk about them all or I’d be here all day, so please also visit their site and follow their Twitter and Facebook. Besides the indie developers, they had a small section for Arcade Cabinets and a console gaming section. Similar to previous years, it is lacking in that aspect, but there are plenty of other things to do at the convention.

There are a huge amount of vendors at the convention, along with some panels. Since I went more for the concert and game aspect I didn’t care too much about those areas of the convention. I wasn’t able to jump in any of the panels, since the convention does close fairly early at 7. The vendors on the other hand are awesome. I know a hand full of them and they always look out for their loyal customers. I was able to hang out with Squarepainter, and listen to a little of DJ Cutman. Both are great guys that do amazing work in their craft. If you are a proprietor of classic games and devices, such as NES games, this is your place to be. I on the other hand don’t collect older then PSX, which I still can find some hidden gems(I almost bought an originally sealed copy of Legend of Dragoon) here and there.

Over all Too Many Games has really picked up its game over the past few years. They have better laid out its show floor, and gotten much bigger. The bands, Indie developers, panels, and vendors are all very friendly and excited to see everyone at the show. Again same with the previous years, I just wish the arcade and console area had more in it. It was neat seeing what they had, but it wasn’t enough to me. If they keep expanding like this I think they will have that fixed up in no time. The best part, is the food court sells beer! So with that, would you kindly follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and check out their site when you get a chance. If you were there please don’t hesitate to comment below on your experience, and share our pictures with your friends who have never been there before.

Walnut is our note taker, resident rager and rage quitter, and also occasionally writes stuff on One-Quest You can Email Richie or follow Richie on Twitter @B_Walnuts or Facebook

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