GameStart 2015: What to Expect

Gamers are you ready? GameStart 2015 is only just two weeks away! Southeast Asia's Premier Gaming Convention will take place from 13 to 15 November 2015 at the Suntec Convention Centre Halls 401 and 402. That's double the floor space from last year and you can expect a whopping amount of content! There will be numerous demo booths across all platforms and over 60 new games, some of which have yet to be released for you to experience. There will also be meet-the-producer sessions, show matches, eSports tournaments, cosplay runway showcase, exclusive promotions and more!

For a truly immersive experience, you'll want to head straight to the PlayStation booth, which is going to be at least 30% larger than last year to try on the new VR headset. Visitors to GameStart 2015 will be the first in Southeast Asia to try it! It's a whole new way to play. The first person view just got way cooler. You will be able to play with others as well and they need not have a VR Headset. There will be six VR titles to try out at GameStart. The titles confirmed so far are The VR Playroom, Kitchen and The London Heist.

PlayStation VR Headset

Interested in limited edition PlayStation items? Check these out!

From L-R: Call of Duty: Black Ops III Jugger-Nog mini fridge, PS4 Call of Duty Black Ops III Limited Edition Console, PS Ice Cubes, 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Console

There will also be more than 30 new titles available for play at the PlayStation booth and they include:

• Street Fighter V
• Star Wars Battlefront
• Call of Duty Black Ops III
• Dusty Raging Fist 
• Rocketbirds 2
• PSVita Superbeat Xonic
• Airship Q (PS Vita)

More games will be announced leading up to GameStart 2015.

I got to try out Street Fighter V and it was fun! I picked characters I'm most familiar like Ryu and Ken. The special moves for them hasn't changed I'm happy to say. I'm not too sure how to work the super special moves but as it turned out I could get by with just the basics. One of these days I'll have to get round to learning the new characters. 

Witching Hour Studios, a Singapore based developer will introduce their latest game, Masquerada: Songs and Shadows. It is a RPG type game similar to Baldur's Gate where you can pause and plan how to take out your enemies. The story follows Ciero and his party as they solve a kidnapping mystery.  

I played the game for a bit. I like the animated style graphics. The story sounds interesting and the voice acting is superb. The voice cast includes Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect), Matthew Mercer (World of Warcraft, Hearthstone) and Michelle Lukes (Halo 5: Guardians). I'm not used to this sort of game. When it pauses I find myself jumping straight into action. I'm more the chop monster, Diablo sort. From what I gather Ciero is a warrior type, Kalden is defensive while Tiziana is a range type. Their abilities look cool. It'll take some getting used to though. 

Stop by the Witching Hour Studios booth to check this out and also Ravenmark games and Romans in my Carpet. They will also be at the Sony booth and the Singapore Games booth.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows

From Bandai Namco Entertainment comes the latest instalment of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm. This is something I was keen to try ever since I saw the spectacular matches played out on the GameStart stage last year. It's not easy I can tell you that. Ultimate Jutsus are still beyond me but I am able to do a couple of basic moves. I'm looking forward to watching others duke it out. I love the Jutsus cinematics. 

Other Bandai Namco titles that are confirmed for GameStart include:

• Just Cause 3
• Dark Souls III 
• Gundam Extreme vs Force
• Sword Art Online: Game Direction Edition
• Deus Ex (Presentation only)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

Another first for the Southeast Asia region, Star Wars: Battle Pod will be available to play at GameStart! Thanks to the folks at Geek Culture, we will have the opportunity to pilot a X-Wing, Snowspeeder, Speederbikes and even the Millenium Falcon! This is something I can't wait to try! I hope the queues are not too long.

GameStart unveiled their official game earlier this year. You can expect new content to be released at the event. New characters include Street Fighter characters!

There are too many games for me to list. You can expect to see goodies from the following local and international developers:

• Blizzard Entertainment
• Funplus
• Ubisoft
• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Mad Catz
• Founders Base
• Singapore Gamebox (Games Solution Centre)

If you prefer classic games, the "Retro DNA" section will be back where you can check out vintage game consoles, games and arcade machines from the 1980s to early 2000.

In terms of merchandise, official Blizzard merchandise including items from Blizzcon 2015 will be sold in limited quantities. There will also be exclusive items from Simply Toys, and Arc System Works from Japan, who will be offering items from Blazblue and Guilty Gear.

Equipment wise you will want to check out what Armaggeddon has to offer. Have an enhanced gaming experience and look cool at the same time!

Armaggeddon MKA-5R Gaming Keyboard

Armaggeddon Fuze 9 Gaming Headset

Xmashed Gear will be debuting several new shirts.

Complete your "Game" look with some colourful, game and heroes inspired socks from Freshly Pressed.

Don't forget to catch "Alyse 2.0" at the event.  GameStart's mascot will once again be cossed by Sharlene. In addition, the Cosplay segment will feature three cosplay guests. They are Johnny (Junkers Cosplay) and Karin (Acanthastar Cosplay) from the United States and TUNA from South Korea. They are known for their portrayal of video games characters. They will be judges for the Game On! Cosplay Runway Showcase organised by the Neo Tokyo Project. 

Sharlene as Alyse

GameStart 2015 looks set to be an awesome event! I can't wait for it!

For more details and ticketing information click to head to the GameStart page.

See you there!