It seems like I’ve been trying to get to Magfest forever. I learned about it back in 2002 or 2003. I either kept forgetting or it was just at the wrong time. Admittedly, I’m not a huge gamer and don’t know much about old school games. So it wasn’t exactly priority 1. This past new years I made the trip and it managed to rekindle my love for Dreamcast.

I can’t really compare it to the majority of events I generally go to. However with an estimated 1700 people, I enjoyed it a lot more than anime cons of a similar size. Anime Mid Atlantic and Nekocon come to mind, sorry guys! Magfest just seems to be built around having stuff to do, everywhere. Starting with a huge game room, add arcade machines all over outside that, then add music performances, panels and other events and even a big room dedicated to a bring your own PC LAN. I have to commend them on the security check-in/out system for the LAN room, so one could leave gear and not worry at events. I’ve never had so much fun over a classic Donkey Kong console.

The huge game room was probably my favorite place, compared to game rooms that are a side feature of anime conventions; you’ve got open spots all over. So if you’re looking to kill some time, you have no shortage of options. To name a few of my favorites from the weekend… Crazy Taxi on Dreamcast, that old game where you kill the space aliens that was parodied on a Futurama episode, Keyboard Mania, and that game with the drums.

The 3 days I stayed, the place seemed to be fairly busy but without crowding issues. However I missed Sunday and Monday due to car issues. Which also kept this report back quite a while. For the first time in countless cons, I had to tow my vehicle home. orz

Magfest Photos