A few months ago, rAge Expo had announced that they would be coming to Cape Town for the first time. If you are a gamer and you live on this side of the world, this news was like sweet music to your eardrums. For years, we have been waiting for a rAge of our own and finally, it was here.
The expo spread across 3 days on the 18, 19 and 20 of March 2016 and took place at the GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World in Goodwood. Tickets sold fast. Gamers were hungry for action and jumped aboard the train as soon as they could. A 3-day pass to the Expo would cost you R250 and for a 1-day pass, you would pay R100. If you were part of the NAG LAN you would pay R550 and get to view the expo also. Kids under the age of 6 could attend for free.
The NAG LAN tickets sold out the fastest, with around 400 competitors from all around the Cape. Everybody showed up ready for action with their rigs in hand and red bulls in their bags. The setup was perfect. It looked well organised and allowed each player enough room and space.
rAge expo was packed across the three days with everyone from your average gamer to you super geek. The cosplay attendees were outstanding. Some were very average but the people that put in the effort certainly impressed.
The PlayStation and Xbox stations were full from the second the doors opened. Some of the games being played included the new Street Fighter V, Mortal Combat XL, Tom Clancy’s The Division and Halo 5 Guardians. I was disappointed that there was not the biggest variety of games to play and that there was no teasers or unreleased games to try out.
The stalls on show at rAge were interesting but there was actually not that much to look at. Some of the items for sale were ridiculously priced which obviously made it hard for sales to be made. The professional COD competition that took place over the three days of the expo was absolutely awesome – from the set-up to the way matches were organised. The large screen in the expo allowed attendees to watch the competition live.
Overall, the show was nice at best. A lack of stalls and not enough new and engaging games made it seem lacklustre. You could experience and play everything in just one single day. Hopefully, the next one will meet our expectations.
