It's no secret that I'm a big nerd, especially when it comes to the 80's and video games. So I was very happy to see advertised online that the cool Video Games Live concert was coming to Dubai. It started in the US and has since appeared in dozens of countries to rave reviews.
The basic concept is that it's a montage of videos and images from popular and famous video games set to music which is provided by a live orchestra. The sow is accompanied by various effects including lighting, sounds, smoke and lasers (The effects and content very from show to show and between cities, dependant on the venue) Details at Video Games Live
Even though December was my reserve month, I bought tickets and hoped that I would get the day off. As luck would have it, I did. Yay! Time to get my geek on...
Premium tickets were the middle tier, with the others being Regular and VIP. I went for Premium as the rep at Virgin M.E. told me that Regular was standing only and Premium had seats. Unfortunately I found out on the day that this was not the case, which was annoying as the Premium ticket was almost double the price of Regular. Oh well.
The doors opened in the afternoon, as there were some meet n greet events with various visitors and also some gamin displays. I went a bit too early as I got a little bored after awhile, the concert only started at 7.30 and it felt like standing around a long time as there was a bit of a delay. The gaming stations they had were: Skylanders Giants on Playstation, Mortal Kombat on Playstation, as well as a FIFA game, a FPS game (didn't pay much attention) and another adventure game (possibly Uncharted 3 but I'm not sure). I was a bit disappointed not to see any Nintendo, especially with the Wii U having been recently released, but I think that is more a reflection of the distributors in Dubai than the organisers.
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| I kicked some teen's ass my first time playing MK3, he got really mad when I pointed out that using Scorpion's spear throw every turn is kinda lame.... lol |
Finally after lining up for about 40 minutes, it was time to go in. It was free seating but I managed to end up in the front row of the premium section by lining up early. I ended up sitting next to two Emirati girls who commented on my Nintendo t-shirt and asked where I got it :)
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| "Roses are red, violets are blue, All your Base, Are belong to us" A geek joke to start the event |
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| I also did some nail art for the occasion. Pika pika! |
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| Yes I wore my Tanooki hat! ^_^ |
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| Time to begin!! |
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| The emcee also played guitar in some of the sections, and he was really good! |
Most of the segments included music accompanying scenes from games, but with added content like having the actual composer of the musical score there to conduct the orchestra (example, God of War game)
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| Everyone knew this one... |
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| An intermission allowed guests to get refreshments and for the orchestra to take a break (it was quite warm inside) |
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| My fave, the Legend of Zelda montage. It got lots of applause. As a big fan, it was cool but I think they could have had 'more'.. |
Another cool segment included an onstage Guitar Hero play-off, where the competitor played on the big screen, and an interactive Space Invaders where the player was the 'ship', he moved across the stage and the ship moved on the screen, aided by motion capture. That was really neat!
Earlier while we had been waiting, I saw and chatted with some cosplayers from various genres, they were called up on stage to participate in a Cosplay Contest. We had a range from Mystique from X-Men to Final Fantasy groups, Ezio from Assassin's Creed and a 'soldier' from Call of Duty. (the guy from Call of Duty won since he was so 'into' his cosplay and acted the part as well, he had the audience laughing. Winner was determined by the loudest applause from the audience, which seemed fair.)
Sadly my camera battery died in the middle of the Zelda theme (of course!!! /sarcasm) so don't have any more pictures from it, but I do have some on my phone so hopefully can upload a pic and video or two from there.
All in all, I enjoyed the event. There were a few minor issues that I think could be improved upon, but as a new concept to the Middle East and the first VGL concert in Dubai, it was pretty good. I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10 and will definitely be going to VGL M.E. 2013 :)
