Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to PAX Prime in Seattle. I had some expectations, which were quickly shattered, and some apprehension, though the people and atmosphere soon put me at ease. I felt familiar among strangers. I took many pictures during the three-day pilgrimage, and I think a NSF56K show-and-tell session is the best way I can share the experience. I'll try to keep things together as best as I can.
Games
I played games, and occasionally took pictures of them.
Did you hear? Duke Nukem Forever was at PAX. Duke f'ing Nukem. Not only did Gearbox buy the rights to finish and publish the game, but they bought the rights to the franchise. I'm not trying to get down on them or anything, but why?! I mean, they must have some kind of plan, right? Anyway, this line was about 1-3 hours long through the weekend, and I was too busy to hang around. We'll see where this goes.
Star Wars
Awesome chalk drawing of Samus Aran, with a Delorean in the background.
Here's a dude was playing a Heavy Rain demo on the Playstation Move.
Portal 2 was my first stop on Friday morning. I was happy to wait in line for a 10-minute cooperative off-hands demo and a t-shirt. God, I love Portal. I can't wait for this game.
While I should have taken more pictures, the PAX 10 selection of indie games was pretty cool, and I played some great stuff. Shibuya for iThings is a slick puzzle game for 2 bucks. In the picture above I'm playing Retro/Grade, a guitar-based rhythm game coming for PSN and XBLA.
I played Vampire Smile, the sequel to The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai; it's good, even if it's a more-of-the-same sequel. I'm really excited to see Retro City Rampage in its finished release. It plays like an 8-bit Grand Theft Auto, but its humor plays heavily on tropes from 8-bit and 16-bit gaming. RCR is clearly a game made by dudes who grew up loving games. The WiiWare release is a lock, but I'm crossing my fingers that it comes to some other platforms as well.
Turns out Jonathan Blow of Braid fame had tucked himself into this area as well without making a big to-do. I'm pissed that I missed his game!
Cosplay
PAX didn't seem to be the biggest venue for cosplay, but there were some standouts. To all the rad Team Fortress cosplayers, sorry I missed you.
Cool People
I got to go to a few panels: Giant Bomb, Weekend Confirmed, Retronauts, Major Nelson, and G4 Feedback. I ask you: is it weird to be a fan of game journalists? Anyway, here I am with the Giant Bomb guys, Matt Chandronait of Area 5, and Ed Boon, the creator of Mortal Kombat. By the way, the new MK game is badass.
Sega Party
On Saturday night Sega threw a party at the Game Works across the street to promote their upcoming games (Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles 2, Sonic 4, Sonic Colors) Food, drinks, prizes, and free arcade games for all! I question now why arcades are practically dead in America. That night the place was packed and everybody was having a blast!
Retrogames
Sadly, I was hoping to see more vendor booths with older, harder-to-find games. There were some small collections at Pink Gorilla to gawk over.
If you look at the first shelf up from the bottom, you'll see a pink box. I bought that one. It's a copy of Super Mario USA for the Nintendo Famicom. If you're familiar with the saga of Super Mario Bros. 2 in America, you can see how ridiculous this is. That would be the Japanese release of the American remake of a Japanese game. Just let that rattle around in your warp pipe for a bit.
Pit Fighter and Hard Drivin' for the Lynx. Just when you thought it couldn't get shittier, they also had one of the Link games that came out for the Phillips CDi...for 75 dollars! Maybe you can't polish a turd, but you can sure wrap a pretty bow on it.
This is just a small sample of what I did on my PAX weekend. I had a really good feeling the whole time I was there, and I walked away feeling like I had reaffirmed a vow to games. Everybody there was happy to be a gigantic nerd and in good company. Some goals for next year: fly instead of driving, a closer hotel, and media passes...
What I'm Playing
Games
I played games, and occasionally took pictures of them.
Did you hear? Duke Nukem Forever was at PAX. Duke f'ing Nukem. Not only did Gearbox buy the rights to finish and publish the game, but they bought the rights to the franchise. I'm not trying to get down on them or anything, but why?! I mean, they must have some kind of plan, right? Anyway, this line was about 1-3 hours long through the weekend, and I was too busy to hang around. We'll see where this goes.
Star Wars
Awesome chalk drawing of Samus Aran, with a Delorean in the background.
Here's a dude was playing a Heavy Rain demo on the Playstation Move.
Portal 2 was my first stop on Friday morning. I was happy to wait in line for a 10-minute cooperative off-hands demo and a t-shirt. God, I love Portal. I can't wait for this game.
While I should have taken more pictures, the PAX 10 selection of indie games was pretty cool, and I played some great stuff. Shibuya for iThings is a slick puzzle game for 2 bucks. In the picture above I'm playing Retro/Grade, a guitar-based rhythm game coming for PSN and XBLA.
I played Vampire Smile, the sequel to The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai; it's good, even if it's a more-of-the-same sequel. I'm really excited to see Retro City Rampage in its finished release. It plays like an 8-bit Grand Theft Auto, but its humor plays heavily on tropes from 8-bit and 16-bit gaming. RCR is clearly a game made by dudes who grew up loving games. The WiiWare release is a lock, but I'm crossing my fingers that it comes to some other platforms as well.
Turns out Jonathan Blow of Braid fame had tucked himself into this area as well without making a big to-do. I'm pissed that I missed his game!
Cosplay
PAX didn't seem to be the biggest venue for cosplay, but there were some standouts. To all the rad Team Fortress cosplayers, sorry I missed you.
Cool People
I got to go to a few panels: Giant Bomb, Weekend Confirmed, Retronauts, Major Nelson, and G4 Feedback. I ask you: is it weird to be a fan of game journalists? Anyway, here I am with the Giant Bomb guys, Matt Chandronait of Area 5, and Ed Boon, the creator of Mortal Kombat. By the way, the new MK game is badass.
Sega Party
On Saturday night Sega threw a party at the Game Works across the street to promote their upcoming games (Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles 2, Sonic 4, Sonic Colors) Food, drinks, prizes, and free arcade games for all! I question now why arcades are practically dead in America. That night the place was packed and everybody was having a blast!
Retrogames
Sadly, I was hoping to see more vendor booths with older, harder-to-find games. There were some small collections at Pink Gorilla to gawk over.
If you look at the first shelf up from the bottom, you'll see a pink box. I bought that one. It's a copy of Super Mario USA for the Nintendo Famicom. If you're familiar with the saga of Super Mario Bros. 2 in America, you can see how ridiculous this is. That would be the Japanese release of the American remake of a Japanese game. Just let that rattle around in your warp pipe for a bit.
Pit Fighter and Hard Drivin' for the Lynx. Just when you thought it couldn't get shittier, they also had one of the Link games that came out for the Phillips CDi...for 75 dollars! Maybe you can't polish a turd, but you can sure wrap a pretty bow on it.
This is just a small sample of what I did on my PAX weekend. I had a really good feeling the whole time I was there, and I walked away feeling like I had reaffirmed a vow to games. Everybody there was happy to be a gigantic nerd and in good company. Some goals for next year: fly instead of driving, a closer hotel, and media passes...
What I'm Playing
- Main Campaign: Dance Central, Dead Rising 2, Mortal Kombat, Retro City Rampage, Retro/Grade, Rock Band 3
- Side Quest: Tank! Tank! Tank!, Guitar Freaks 11th Mix, L.A. Machine Guns, Taiko Drum Master, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, SNK Vs. Capcom, King Of Fighters 12, Rambo, OutRun, Initial D 4th Stage, Afterburner Climax, G.H.O.S.T. Squad
Great post Toby! I would have loved to have gone to PAX, looked like a great time.
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