Have a beer and kill a zombie

Video game enthusiasts get out to game at a public gaming event held at popular downtown restaurant.

By Max Hirtz
[contributor]

Unwined On Howe was the place to be last Friday if one wanted to get drunk and kill zombies in a public setting.

EXP Entertainment’s Oct. 1 free downtown public gaming event succeeded in bringing gamers together and giving them the things they like: video games, booze, pulsing electronic music and free prizes. The event, which ran from 6 p.m. to midnight, was a hit.

“I only had to wait about 45 minutes [to get in]… I got lucky, but I heard some people were waiting for like an hour and a half,” said gamer Cam Braithwaite.

Ten gaming stations were scattered all around the dark lounge where people could play games like Dead Rising 2 and Halo: Reach.

Also present were older Nintendo favourites.

“I like Mario Kart quite a bit. It’s a classic,” said gamer Jeffery Simpson, who was tweeting the event live on his iPhone.

The bar at the centre of the lounge was consistently busy selling red and blue gamer-themed drinks, and empty bottles of Kokanee could be found everywhere.

Food was also being served, although the waiters struggled to navigate through the sea of sweaty people. Loud electro, chiptune and game remix music filled the room the entire night, making it nearly impossible to carry on a conversation.

Nobody seemed to mind, either because they were too drunk or too busy drilling holes in zombies’ heads.