The rAge weekend has come and gone. I had the joy of keeping Darryn chained in my basement hosting Darryn, seeing lots of cool people at our social drink and watching an unnamed loved one on a power trip. But the expo itself was the main event, and here are all our thoughts in one place.
The Glad
rAge had a ton of awesome code this year. With fantastic offerings from most of our major distributors, it was wonderful to see people getting a chance to kill each other in Mortal Kombat or Evolve, as well as seeing all the frequent deaths in Bloodborne or the gleeful destruction in Assassin’s Creed Unity and Far Cry 4. Even off-the-wall favourites like Splatoon and Sunset Overdrive were consistently busy. It was excellent to see such a wide variety of games available to play and I thoroughly enjoyed watching everyone gleefully experience the things I had to fly to other countries to play.
Those fantastic games were also presented better than ever. The design and layout of the show was much better than previous years, allowing for more free flow of foot traffic, even on the ridiculously busy Saturday. Some of those stands looked like something straight out of E3 or Gamescom, with the Mortal Kombat and Evolve set ups getting a particular amount of attention.
The novelty goods were there in force, with the artist’s alley finally moved to a more spacious area. It was excellent to see local talent on show so visibly, especially as they accepted commissions for custom art and made some glorious prints and apparel. Hot Toys had some incredible figurines on show that made all of us ache for larger wallets (and display areas) and there were some excellent toys and comics available for those willing and able to dish out the necessary cash.
The cosplay this year was at a stellar level. People put some serious effort into recreating their favourite characters, although of course Darryn wins our award for most awesome – his Batman was so impressive that he could barely move two steps without a request for a photo, and maybe some codpiece groping.
The Sad
While there were certainly some excellent things on show, we couldn’t help but notice some glaring absentees. As usual, Call of Duty was missing from the line up, despite releasing soon. It seems that every year rAge struggles to get Call of Duty, and this year was no exception. Then again, its major competition was also notably absent this year, with no sign of Battlefield Hardline anywhere. In fact, EA was almost completely absent from rAge this year, with only a FIFA 15 section included in the Xbox stand.
Wow there were a lot of people! While it makes me happy to see how people come out in droves for the event, the venue simply feels over crowded, stiflingly hot and uncomfortable, especially on Saturday. While I disagree with people who want to change the venue entirely, I certainly believe that rAge could benefit from moving the LAN to a separate (but close) location in order to make more room for the public exhibition.
Speaking of layout, the eSports at rAge was difficult to spot again. While fans knew about their friends playing in the DGCs, it was almost impossible to spot anything regarding the DGL at rAge. Even the NGL, the newly reformed NAG Gaming League was tricky to pick out of the crowd – yes it was broadcast at the event, but it seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Added to that, the NGL shout casters were separated from the event, actually broadcasting from the already too small press room. I’d complain about them stealing our food or drink, but that was almost non-existent anyway. Woe are we, poor journalists.
Additionally, moving the cosplay competition to Sunday, it felt like it lost a lot of focus. Plenty of people don’t even attend on the last day of rAge, and plenty of people are tired of being in costume by the end of the weekend. Plus, without a cosplay village or set place for them to relax and pose for pictures, it made it more of a free for all on the show floor.
Finally, we were rather disappointed in the lack of awesome specials. One of my favorite things to do is buy all the awesome novelties, comics or games at ridiculous rates. Instead… there was nothing that really jumped out at me this time around. Perhaps each of us missed out on the specials, but there didn’t seem to be anything worthwhile. Did you all sneak in and swoop up all the specials before we could spot them?
Your highlights/lowlights?
I’m sure meeting us is a highlight, right? Right? Don’t worry, I know we’re not that special, but please tell us what you enjoyed from rAge – were the games incredible, or were you blown away by the cosplay and people? What were your highs and lows? We agree that this was the best rAge in years, but you are welcome to call us complete idiots.
Last Updated: October 14, 2014
Admiral Chief 0
October 14, 2014 at 15:05
Lowlight Nr1:
The Admiral not being in attendance
🙁
Rags
October 14, 2014 at 15:08
You are complete idiots. 😉
Sageville
October 14, 2014 at 16:20
Support with evidence or repeat your comment to a mirror.
Skyblue
October 14, 2014 at 16:29
And someone needs to spank DGL for not hosting a Quakelive finals this year.
Jaded_Reprobate
October 14, 2014 at 15:09
Rage reminded me exactly why i don’t like conventions… way too man people crammed into way too tight a space all trying to look at the same things…. it was just horrible… maybe Saturday was not the right choice of day for me to go
Lardus-Resident Perve
October 14, 2014 at 15:13
Friday is the bestest of the days to go!
Admiral Chief 0
October 14, 2014 at 15:13
Heat + crowds + weird smelling people + extended distance to drive to + crap parking = NO WAY
Hammersteyn
October 14, 2014 at 15:16
One of the interns can walk around with a camera and receive directions through Skype or Whatsapp while we all braai somewhere?
Admiral Chief 0
October 14, 2014 at 15:18
Sounds like a plan. Something like this:
http://cdn.wegotthiscovered.com/wp-content/uploads/bang.jpg
Hammersteyn
October 14, 2014 at 15:18
Yes!
Jaded_Reprobate
October 14, 2014 at 15:25
and i had zero cell signal…. so i couldn’t even get into contact with the people i was supposed to be meeting there…
was basically just a shit idea on my part
Admiral Chief 0
October 14, 2014 at 15:36
Yeah man, same happened to me last time
Skyblue
October 14, 2014 at 16:32
It’s a well known fact that the Dome is overcrowded on the Saturday of Rage every year. Last year the doors had to be closed at a point to get some people out before allowing more in. The floor layout this year was far superior to previous years but space is still clearly a concern.
Gavin Mannion
October 14, 2014 at 15:17
I was quite shocked that EA snubbed us to be honest.. expected better from them.
The one thing I’d like to see to make things better is a spectators area for the eSports.. a nice big screen somewhere with seating etc so when we are bored we can sit and watch
Jaded_Reprobate
October 14, 2014 at 15:26
that awkward moment when some1 expects better from EA????
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:26
How did they snub you?
Matthew Holliday
October 14, 2014 at 15:27
snubbed the convention in general.
“EA was almost completely absent from rAge this year, with only a FIFA 15 section included in the Xbox stand.”
oVg
October 14, 2014 at 15:28
I thought EA South Africa all got re-trenched.
Matthew Holliday
October 14, 2014 at 15:29
also remember something about that, doesnt mean that EA south africa doesnt exist though.
I also expected SOMETHING from their biggest releases of the year.
oVg
October 14, 2014 at 15:30
http://www.lazygamer.net/general-news/breaking-ea-south-africa-is-closing/
Admiral Chief 0
October 14, 2014 at 15:37
Good grief, I remember that as if it was yesterday….AND LOOK WHERE THE TIME WENT!!!
oVg
October 14, 2014 at 15:40
That was just after the Bone launch and the NFL EA Microsoft deal.
Admiral Chief 0
October 14, 2014 at 16:04
Madness, time stands still for NO man
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
October 15, 2014 at 12:09
Blame Obama and TV!
Wesley Fick
October 14, 2014 at 15:33
They snubbed the entire expo.
Matthew Holliday
October 14, 2014 at 15:26
we’ve been asking for a spectators section and decent coverage of atleast the finals of games for years.
if there was a decent spectator loung, I guarantee theyd get more of the Cape Town crowd up there.
I would atleast consider making the trip up.
Mikhil
October 14, 2014 at 16:38
I know it’ll never happen, but CTICC in Cape Town would work
brilliantly. Expo in the main halls, LAN in the ballroom, viewing/chill
area in Auditorium 1. Plenty parking, close to all major public
transport. It actually pisses me off no end that they don’t at least
attempt to rotate it.
Matthew Holliday
October 14, 2014 at 17:32
agreed.
I dont think having a Cape Town RAGE would work, but Organised Chaos has just started up again, under new ownership i think.
they have hardware to cater for 1000 people, with the success rage has had in recent years, i dont see why they cant atleast attempt something similar on a smaller scale.
they had a pretty successfull dota tournament a while back under the previous owners, something a bit grander than that could do wonders for the local scene.
I stopped going because I was bored of playing the same games that I was playing in 2006, if they could come up with a workable solution to that, or run an annual event with a bit of pomp and splendour, I would defs go again, pretty sure alot of people feel the same.
Brendyn Zachary
October 14, 2014 at 15:18
Highlights: Evolve, Lina Cosplay and meeting the Lagz crew.
Lowlights: The never ending Prickasso debate at Hogshead…
Her Highness the Hipster
October 14, 2014 at 15:19
oh please, you loved that part! especially the pictures 😛
Brendyn Zachary
October 14, 2014 at 15:54
I WAS NOT THE ONE THAT SAID “He’s quite buff” WHEN THE PHOTOS WERE SHOWN!
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 14, 2014 at 15:23
Natural bristles are clearly superior when it comes to even brush strokes.
Matthew Holliday
October 14, 2014 at 15:31
dunno what the debate is about, but badger hair is the future.
Kikmi
October 14, 2014 at 15:18
Highlights? Getting white girl wasted with you bastards, duh
Hammersteyn
October 14, 2014 at 15:18
Wanna go next year, have enough leave saved for the Israelites to leave Egypt on “holiday”
ReaperOfSquirrels
October 14, 2014 at 15:20
The level of Cosplay in SA has just grown, some of the creations were absolutely amazing, except for seeing 4 different Steves (from MineCraft). RAge this year was probably my favorite of all time, except for maybe 2008, where I got comp tickets to the LAN :P. Lego Batman 3 is a surprisingly fun game, Splatoon is epic fun, Farcry 4 is beautiful and fun, Mortal Kombat X looks amazing (couldn’t get a hands on), The Crew handles pretty well, uhhh out of game highlights.
Lowlights. Too crowded, LAN taking up too much space as per usual, lack of a lot of soon to be released games, Ryse was there AGAIN, cell reception went to hell as soon as you walked into the Dome.
Biggest highlight, meeting all the people that pitched for the meetup, and meeting RINCEY after all those hours of gaming.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 14, 2014 at 15:22
I liked The Crew from when I played during the beta. Once I got used to the handling I was happily ramming other drivers completely accidentally.
Hammersteyn
October 14, 2014 at 15:23
Gotta brake somehow
bluegoon
October 14, 2014 at 15:39
Lots of furries too! Wonder if they were planning an orgy behind the Spar.
Lardus-Resident Perve
October 14, 2014 at 15:20
Glad-ish points:
1 – Great selection of games and huge amount of consoles to test them on.
2 – coming back from trailing in NBA2k15 and doing a fast-break ally-oop dunk
3 – Mortal Kombat looks AMAZING
4 – Hands-on with both PS4 and XBone.
Sad-ish point for me:
1- the stage presentation of Civ and Witcher. It was just the same clips we’ve been having online already.
2 – how much better NBA2K15 looked on PS4 than XBone.
3 – how much better the XBone controller feels than the PS4 controller, meaning one has the looks and the other the feel.
4 – Rugby 15 looking andplaying like crap, even on the PS4.
5 – How badly I sucked playing with Sub-Zero!
6 – No Dragon Age 🙁
Hammersteyn
October 14, 2014 at 15:24
Mortal Kombat FTW
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:26
Why didn’t you meet up with us!? 🙁
Lardus-Resident Perve
October 14, 2014 at 15:30
I actually never read the details about the meet-up. I think I need to make a plan next year – but that is probably what I said last year!
Hammersteyn
October 14, 2014 at 15:26
Releasing crap sport games to a rugby mad nation borderlines on criminal exploitation.
Skyblue
October 14, 2014 at 16:39
I’ve been using both controllers for a little while now and they are both far superior to their predecessors. I have found the PS4 controller to be very comfortable during extended periods of play but that Xbone controller is just amazeballs.
I also wish we could get a great rugby game sometime.
Matthew Holliday
October 14, 2014 at 15:25
dunno about the lack of specials zoe, i was watching evetech posting vids all day of stores selling stuff at cost price for hours.
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:25
Well the highlight for me was meeting some truly awesome peeps and having a blast with them! From Tim to Squirrel it was great finally putting faces to names! PS. I have to laugh at this pic. We were shouted at for pointing the gun at Mater Chief, apparently it isn’t allowed… So Tim decided to point it at me, bastard.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 14, 2014 at 15:33
NERDS!
oVg
October 14, 2014 at 15:34
I think the Farcry crown is in that duffel bag 😛
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:34
Haha! Funny you should say that, it was stolen 😉
oVg
October 14, 2014 at 15:35
Well this is South Africa.
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:36
Well to be honest, when I had it on I walked away wearing it… If it wasn’t for Tracy I’d still have it on 😛
oVg
October 14, 2014 at 15:37
lol People were probably wondering what cosplay you were doing.
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 14, 2014 at 15:48
I told you, Prince Rince the Ponce. And all the rest of it that I can’t remember anymore 😉
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 14, 2014 at 15:49
Are you referring to the newly crowned Queen Tracy I? Suspicious timing!
Dark
October 14, 2014 at 16:41
I wondered where that crown went.
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:35
You shut your whore mouth!
L337J1MB0B
October 14, 2014 at 15:52
Wait, Rince is a.. guy?
Admiral Chief 0
October 15, 2014 at 08:29
LOOOOOOOOOOOOL
Sir Rants A Lot Llew
October 15, 2014 at 09:55
Wooooooo! It’s me!!!!!!
Guild
October 14, 2014 at 15:26
I’m glad I got talked into taking the day off and attending Friday with Rince. I found that it wasn’t crowded and I got decent game time with almost all the games (evolve just seemed to have a ridiculous queue all day so didn’t get a chance). I have found games I will definitely get and others I will skip completely. The layout was great since it didn’t feel crowded. The only time it was hectic was when SAGamer were throwing out free stuff to the crowd they formed. I skipped Saturday cause I knew it would be crazy and went briefly again on Sunday.
The downside, I didn’t find any decent deals. I was looking for Shadows of Mordor and Diablo 3. I didn’t see anything of the eSports. They all seemed to be locked up downstairs somewhere. Would have been nice to see some of the action and what was happening.
Skyblue
October 14, 2014 at 16:48
The e-sports back in the day was covered far better than it is now imo as there was a dedicated area for viewing.
bluegoon
October 14, 2014 at 15:29
Was shocked at the IGN Africa stand, they had less people than comments on their site.
McFancypants HD 3.0
October 14, 2014 at 15:30
..
Jac7
October 14, 2014 at 16:07
I am only allowed one upvote, but in my mind I gave you a 100.
RinceThis
October 14, 2014 at 15:32
Poor Batryn
The D
October 14, 2014 at 17:49
That pose almost broke my bloody back, ironically.
Admiral Chief 0
October 15, 2014 at 08:30
Hahhahahaa
Lizzard
October 14, 2014 at 15:44
Don’t you dare move the LAN! Evil ONE!
Sageville
October 14, 2014 at 16:22
DIE LAN DIE!
Harr Fast
October 14, 2014 at 15:58
From a shoutcasting perspective: The DGC finals were awesomely hosted this year (in the ‘dungeon’ section as usual); excellent network set ups, great admins all round, fantastic effort from nAv TV providing us all with laptops, mics, uniforms etc. There was a spectators’ lounge set up near the DGC competition area, but I reckon they’d benefit from advertising this more and providing passes to the press for better coverage.
On a side note, Gavin might be interested to hear that we witnessed what appeared to be Colin Webster getting bounced from the comp area for only having an open LAN pass, hahaha.
Pheonix182
October 14, 2014 at 15:59
it was not all that bad on saterday. got a awsome photo with Zoe lol,i used the shuttle service to rage so much beter, but anyway hated to stand in long ques to play games.
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 14, 2014 at 16:09
R12000 3D printer was a highlight for me.
Guild
October 15, 2014 at 09:52
The R15000 gaming chair was a better one
SurrealTiggi
October 14, 2014 at 16:16
Couldn’t agree more re. specials, LAN and e-sports areas, really felt too sporadic and disorganized (ironically not far removed from the perceived state of e-sports in SA).
Also wish they had a fighting game/old school arcade area for random encounters. Heck, add rhythm games like DDR to the mix, I can’t be the only one who misses the glory days.
Sageville
October 14, 2014 at 16:17
My feels:
BAD
1.) The LAN Area needs to bugger off now, put them all upstairs or somewhere else cause there is really not enough room for the rest of the show.
2.) Cosplay on Sunday! I came with my kids dressed up on Saturday, slim offerings for them in the Cosplay department. Thanks to those who did pitch on Saturday though.
3.) Very Overcrowded on Saturday.
4.) Don’t give me a plastic bag with just 3 adverts in it. Where were the old copies of NAG?
5.) I missed the LG crew (SADFACE)
6.) I felt sorry for the VIP on saturday, some top dood in Dota /LoL or the likes. Maybe he’s a bit too niche for the event. The crowd response/MC didn’t really inspire.
GOOD
1.) A lot more games to view, loved checking out MKX and Evolve. (Was sure I saw some COD Adv gameplay)
2.) Floor layout was much better than previous years.
3.) I got free stuff from Cosmic Comics (They do rock)
4.) I liked some of the new stands about, that Dog tag place and the artists and book authors showing their wears was cool to see.
5.) Overall better than last year.
Ant
October 14, 2014 at 16:18
It would help if people didn’t bring their ENTIRE attached family to the con. The organizers may have to consider limiting the number who can attend on a day or not allow small children. It’s getting ridiculous and some measures need to be put into place.
Sageville
October 14, 2014 at 16:24
As a parent I’m totally disagreeing with you.
Primarily because if you are showcasing games aimed at a wide age group including small children, why then would you ban them?
Ant
October 14, 2014 at 16:30
Im sorry to say, but its reaching that point. There were too many unattended kids hording the stands, not listening to stand attendees about time limits and age restrictions. As much as I want it to be a wholesome family event for everybody – it’s getting ridiculous and ruins the experience for everybody.
Sageville
October 15, 2014 at 09:31
I’m sure you are generalizing, as it clearly did not ruin the experience for everybody.
I will concede that unsupervised kids are a no-no. But I think it would be stupid to showcase a game aimed at 8 year olds and then ban those same 8 year olds.
Killer Mo 26
October 14, 2014 at 16:19
Bought a Vita from C N A for R999. They had PS 3 bundles for R1999 and Xbox for R1499 – those were awesome deals
Her Highness the Hipster
October 14, 2014 at 16:40
i would have bought a vita for that price! how’d i miss that?! 🙁
Bjorn
October 14, 2014 at 16:37
The issue i had with the NGL is there is no incentive to go watch it in person. The 1 screen that they had behind the competitors had no seating and alot of people just ended sitting uncomfortably on the floor.
I would much rather have stayed at home and watched it from the comfort of my bedroom than go to rAge.
We are trying to promote and push esports as far as competitive and spectator friendly sport but the event organizers are really not helping themselves achieve this.
Matthew John
October 14, 2014 at 17:14
My lowlight.. not going this year 🙁
Sir Rants A Lot Llew
October 14, 2014 at 17:54
SPLATOOOOON
Fred
October 14, 2014 at 18:51
It was a good show , but next time get 2 halls at nasrec. Mk best of show.
Pheonix182
October 15, 2014 at 08:29
well my high was meeting Zoe, (she’s really awsome). got hands on with Mortal Kombat X that was my fav. could not get a chance with The Crew(people that do not give other people chances). but i think overall it was good(Ran away everytime i saw BATMAN lol)
Nikola
October 15, 2014 at 10:52
I actually enjoyed Rage quite a bit loved getting my hands on the new games that are releasing and watching some developer presentation only thing I regret is going on a Saturday as it was ridiculously busy on that day but still had a good time got to play all the games I wanted to play!!
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
October 15, 2014 at 11:13
I thought the xbone controller was pure quality…. sigh! I held one in CNA in the other night and it really feels a little flimsy to me… but then, I do have manly Banana hands!