As with last year, EGX 2015 was a huge event and the new venue, the N.E.C at Birmingham, was packed to the rafters with gamers waiting up to five hours for some of the most popular games. Having had the opportunity to play almost every game on the show floor (with a few exceptions) here’s my roundup of what was hot and what was definitely not. 

Best of Show - Steam VR

Without question and one of the easiest decisions on this list, Steam VR was the star of the show. You needed an appointment to be able to experience the demo and I was fortunate on the Saturday to grab one early morning. For anyone who has never seen it, you enter a large booth and put on your headset as well as a hold two wands with track pads. The demo starts and you experience four unique demos that demonstrate a variety of play, from cooking to exploring an Aperture lab. What makes Steam VR and the experience so unique isn't just the clarity of the image or the fact the demos are so wonderfully designed, it's the ability to interact with them outside of the confines of a chair or using an analogue stick to move. When you can explore a wrecked pirate ship at the bottom of the ocean, only to see a huge whale swim past you, it's a feeling that can't be matched anywhere else. I can honestly say I've never experienced anything like it in my life and it's a moment I'll always remember. 

Worst of Show - Just Cause 3

I don't think I ever saw a single queue for Just Cause 3 and most people who played it that I spoke to were pretty indifferent to it. I can't say that I enjoyed the demo and even though it looks pretty good, it just felt totally soulless. Last year I really disliked Far Cry 4 and I feel the same about Just Cause. Continuing to drain a franchise in this way might earn the studio some money, but it brings nothing good to the industry. The original Just Cause was so much fun and whilst I had a little here, it just doesn't compete against many of the other titles on offer.

Most Anticipated - Battlefront 

There's no surprise here. Battlefront attracted the biggest crowds and every person I spoke to who played the game wanted to play more. Some thought the demo was too short, others weren't super keen on the movement but the vast majority were super excited to preorder. A regular Battlefront occurrence was the sight of people abandoning the leg achingly long queues due to waiting well in excess of 4 hours (nearer to 5). I made several attempts to queue for Battlefront but with so many games that needed to be played, I wasn't willing to sacrifice an entire day of the expo for the sake of a 10 minute game. Despite that, there's no doubting that the game is on everyone's radar as a must purchase.

Most Wanted T-Shirt - Destiny

For the second year running, Destiny was at the forefront of the most wanted T-Shirt. I'm still absolutely amazed at the popularity of the Destiny booth, despite the product being available, but fans are absolutely frantic for exclusive merchandise. The T-Shirt in question wasn't particularly exciting and on the Sunday I saw one gentleman with it on. When I asked him if he knew how sought after it was he shrugged and said: "I slept in it last night, it's just a t-shirt". Quite. 

Most Forgettable - Assassins Creed Syndicate

Suffering the same fate as Just Cause 3, Assassins Creed Syndicate is just another sequal that seemingly follows the same formula as all those before it. It felt so familiar and despite the wonderful setting, it's so predictable (or the demo is) that the only impression it gave me was one of deja-vu rather than excitement. Surely we've reached the point where the Assassins Creed brand has had its day? Better yet, can we please innovate in some way so that it at least feels fresh.

Best Leftfield Title - Thumper

Thumper is one of those Leftfield games that you could easily place on the EGX show floor, without categorizing it as a Leftfield title, and players would assume it was triple-A. Not only is it polished, but it's beautiful and incredibly simple. Described as a "rhythm violence game", players control a space beetle hurtling through space on a track. With rhythm-action needed in order to power the beetle or control its movement, it's surprisingly aggressive and bullish. Alongside an absolutely incredible soundtrack, I couldn't stop playing (despite dying repeatedly). If you like rhythm games, you have to check it out. 

Best Indie Megabooth Title - Twin Souls: The Path of Shadows

Tenchu is one of my favourite games of all time and Twin Souls immediately reminded me of it. You play Aragami, an undead warrior with the power to control shadows. With the ability to summon shadow pools under your feet, teleport into darkness and assassinate those blocking your path, the game is not only polished but gorgeous to look at. Although I'm relatively clumsy in most stealth games, you quickly feel incredibly powerful as you zip back and forth between shadows. What I loved so much about it, outside of the solid map designs, was the fact the guards were incredibly challenging. It didn't feel unfair when they spotted you and they were so much more aware than guards in other stealth games (see Metal Gear Solid). The end result is a stealth game that causes you to think and slow down, despite all your abilities. I was also fortunate to speak to the development team who showed off many of the skills and abilities that were locked on the demo. I'm excited to use them and I've no doubt players will too.

Best Rezzed Title - Californium

This was a really difficult choice and two other titles, ROK and Last Fight, were easily contenders. However, Californium is one of the most intriguing games I've played in a while. Not only is it both beautiful and striking in its use of color but it's also an enticing game that offers an interesting narrative and a somewhat original approach to puzzles and exploration. The premise is that you play Elvin Green, a drug using writer who's not only struggling to write, but clearly troubled in his relationships with those around him. As you wake from another drug fueled haze, the television begins to instruct you of parallel worlds you can discover. So begins your exploration of the surrounding area and its beautifully drawn 2D characters. Interacting with the hidden treasures transforms parts of the world, allowing the parallel worlds to cross over. It's simple but incredibly enticing and I found myself completing the demo, desperately wanting to know more. 

Best Multiplayer Experience - Black and White Bushido 

I was very close to giving this award to Gang Beasts but considering the multiplayer brawler has been around for a while, Black and White Bushido came out on top for its orignality and pure multiplayer fun. With support for 4 players, you choose to be a black or white ninja. The objective is to kill your opposing ninjas but to also control the map by interacting with the flag. What makes Black and White Bushido particularly original is the fact that controlling the map determines the light shafts and whether or not they turn white or black (depending on which team captured the flag). The importance of this is that when you're against your own background color, you turn invisible when standing still and when moving, only a very light grey. It provides huge emphasis on controlling an area as it gives you much needed stealth to avoid detection and kill the enemy quicker. It's very clever and leads to tense matches as you wrestle for control of the black and white light.

Biggest Disappointment - PlayStation VR

Playing Playstation VR after Steam VR was always going to be a tough sell, but I wasn't quite prepared for the gulf in quality. There's no denying the Sony headset looks great, but its poor functionality, due to its rigid plastic design, resulted in several problems. Firstly, despite the head strap being the smallest it could be, the lack of a physical strap (and one of predefined sizes) meant that I could see the brightness of the Expo in my periphrial vision. Worse, because the strap is a set size and didn't pull the visor close enough to my eyes, the image was incredibly blurry. Coupled with a weird squishy black plastic inside, it wasn't particularly comfortable.

As for the the demo I played, it saw me racing down a street in a van, firing at cyclists who were shooting at me and my AI controlled partner. Although functional, the demo was incredibly bland, the graphics poor and the recognition on my movement controllers wasn't particularly accurate. At one point I dropped my gun by accident in the footwell of the van and although I tried to reach down to pick it up, the game (or my controllers) wouldn't recognize how far down I was reaching and as a result, I couldn't pick it back up. When I eventually did, the calibration of my motion controllers made shooting with any accuracy feel like I was back playing Red Steel on the Wii (not a memory anyone needs). Having to constantly push my visor onto my eyes in order for the visuals to become clear made the whole thing very frustrating, especially when doing that resulted in a big 3D hand appearing in front of my vision. I'm all for sleak looking products, but when something as fundamental as ensuring your device fits different sized heads is overlooked, at the expense of having a fancy but rigid helmet strap, something has gone very wrong in the design. 

I know that Eve Valkyrie was available during the show and although I didn't get to go on it, I have played it before and sadly, despite it being a much better demo than what I played, it still wouldn't have changed the awful fitting or lack of screen clarity (even when I did squash it against my face).

Honorable Mention - Guns of Icarus: Alliance

My brother is a huge fan of Guns of Icarus and on the Friday and Saturday I not only got the chance to chat to Howard Tsado, the Team Lead for Muse Games, but also a hands on with the newest weapon in its 'versus AI' game mode. I'd only ever played Guns of Icarus very briefly before and I came away extremely excited to play Alliance again. The staff in attendance at EGX were incredibly passionate about the game and it was one of the standout games from the show because of their enthusiasm and community interaction. Many people I spoke to had never played the game before but were not only impressed with its concept and implementation but also the team who helped them through the demo. It's a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to not only playing again but talking to Howard some more in the coming days.