eGamesExpo - Melbourne 2007

Feature

We get up close and intimate with the largest gaming event Down Under.

November 23rd, 2007 by William Thompson

Ubisoft
After the Nintendo section, I moved to the Ubisoft area. Their display was highlighted by the fact that there was a brand new car parked right in the middle of it with HAZ3 license plates. It was fully kitted out with a sound system and DVD players in the headrests. Of course, as depicted by the license plate, the car was advertisement for Haze. Haze�s graphics are great and the game is played at a high tempo. Unfortunately, I was just getting the hang of it when Ubisoft displayed another of their games on one of the many massive plasma screens littered around the expo.

The game was Assassin�s Creed. I had heard and seen so much about this game, but I was still sitting on the fence as to whether it would live up to the hype. The game is out by now and, as you know, the hype was totally justified: amazing game with great graphics, fantastic looking locations and outstanding characters. Even the audio was awesome, the control system is intuitive and the gameplay is terrific. From the small period of time that I got to play, it was clear that this is definitely one of the contenders for game of the year.

Take a rest

I figured that after Assassin�s Creed, it was time to sit, rest for a while and decide on what else I wanted to see for the remainder of the day. I had a quick bite to eat before heading off to the next major display. I decided to check out some of the smaller exhibits at the show, you know, the ones tucked away at the back (or in this case, the sides). One display showed gaming through the ages with a timeline and various consoles �ahhh� the Commodore 64� my first love. There were a couple of �geek shops� (which is their title, not one I made up) with stuff like comics, anime, Star Wars figurines and similar type items. There were some tech store exhibits, showing off the latest and best parts that gamers jus �have- to get for their gaming beasts. Another display had various arcade games set up which could be purchased, whilst there were numerous University stalls offering courses in gaming, graphic design and computer art.

Tzuga
One little exhibit caught my eye. Not because there was anything flashing or because there was some catchy music being played, but simply because there were a couple of guys sitting in front of a couple of laptops playing a game that at first glance looked like Othello or Reversi.

The game was a strategy game called Tzuga. And when I say strategy, I mean strategy in the sense of chess rather than Civilization or Command & Conquer. One of the men playing was actually its inventor. He invited me over to test the game. It seemed simple enough then� It is a traditional type game (like checkers or chess) played with two sets of equilateral triangles, one for each player (one of which can be AI) and has two ways of winning. One way is to surround one of your opponent�s triangles, whilst the other is to complete a larger triangle using four pieces.

After playing just a couple of games, I was already hooked. This game takes strategy and intellect to play, especially at the higher levels. The inventor told me there were certain ways to win, but the AI at the higher levels has been expertly developed, to the point where he only wins seventy percent of the time. This is one of those highly addictive games that are easy to play, but harder to master. If you want to check it out, visit www.tzuga.com.