This weekend some members of the Nerd Caster team went out to Solberg Airport in Readington, NJ to take part in the “Running with the Balloons 5K” at the Festival of Ballooning. The event, which is sponsored by Quick Chek, had a lot to offer for everyone of all ages. There were carnival rides, magic shows, concerts, vendors, and of course the hot air balloon launches. The highlight for us though was the PlayStation trailer.
Seeing the PlayStation trailer was unexpected. Before attending, we didn’t know the trailer was going to be there, but once we came across it we had to check it out. We wanted to see what games were being offered and if we could get some inside scoop on anything new. Since the trailer was still closed when we arrived, we had to wait to get the answers to our questions.
Once we finished our 5K race, rehydrated, rested for a minute, and cooled down we made our way over. There was a short, 15-minute line to go in. As we were entering the trailer, we received a free PlayStation can koozie (something I will be using while gaming in the future). Once inside, the trailer offered a few different games to play. Most were centered around sports as they had FIFA 19, Madden 19, MLB the Show, Crash Bandicoot Racing, and a VR game, but the game that caught our eye was the console featuring early access to the new upcoming game Dreams.
To play the game, we had to wait in another line that looked shorter than the one outside but ended up being a bit longer. Upon my turn, I grabbed the controller and took control of the little coned-shaped avatar. I ran around the neon platforms collecting coins of some sort and succeeded in not falling off the sides of the neon cubes (something that a few children before me were unable to accomplish).
PlayStation 4 Early Access Dreams Demo
After a minute, I reset the game to see what other features it offered. Being early access, there wasn’t much. The controls in the menu are different then the platforming game I was just playing. The menu relies on the six-axis system in the PS4 to move the avatar through the menu system in a more point-and-click style. It was a bit annoying at first to understand how to move the guy around, as the controller most likely needed to be calibrated.
There were a bunch of introductory videos to watch, which I skipped over, and instead opted for the actual story mode. The story is about the creation of life, and how it started with a particle, which is what the actual dust bunny looking avatar is. It shows the building blocks of life, and then the player is greeted with a small training mode to learn how to use the six-axis system and the analog stick controls. That is all the story mode pretty much offered.
The game seems entertaining and would be good for a mindless gaming session and/or for a more casual gamer. There doesn’t seem to be any real conflict in the game so it could be considered for players of all ages, which is good since most of the people in line for the game were well under 8 years old. In the end, I would definitely be interested in seeing how the final form of the game looks and feels, but it is not on my “must-have” list.
Hopefully next year the PlayStation trailer is back, as it would be great to relax in the air-conditioned trailer for a few minutes and check out the next big game that PlayStation is demoing. Kudos to the organizers of the Festival of Ballooning for the unexpected appearance of Playstation at a non-tech event, they had something for everyone, even us gamers.
Were you at the Festival of Ballooning? Did you try out the Playstation Dreams game? Let us know your thoughts over on Facebook or Twitter. For more Nerd Caster articles click here.
