There is everything from a Woody's Roundup T-shirt to a Lotso avatar prop. You have RC (the car), paratroopping Army Men, and the terrifying Rex. There is more here than you could shake a Tinker Toy at.
But seriously folks the only thing that isn't here is a Barrel of Monkeys.
Does this logo not make you happy every time you see it?
The fine folks at Telltale Games are once again opening the gates of Jurassic Park though this time it will be in the form of an episodic game series. Game Informer reported that we would see the first episode by the years end.
If we are lucky we will see more of this described, "cinematic experience," at E3.
I for one trust the expertise of the folks at Telltale and cannot wait to see more on this announcement. Perhaps it will have the same "season pass" that Sam and Max currently has on the PS3 as I do not have a computer worthy of running this experience.
Come the end of 2010 hopefully we will all have a fundamental understanding of Dino DNA and perhaps less of the running and screaming.
Coming this Wednesday, June 9th your Battlefield Bad Company 2 disc will express its love for you by pushing a couple of "new maps" your way so that you may last until the real expansion of the game -- Onslaught mode.
I am not saying that I am not grateful to be able to play Squad Deathmatch on Nelson Bay or Squad Rush on Laguna Alta, I am just saying that I would be willing to drop ten dollars on three new maps -- not just the rehashing of the same old maps.
These maps will be free to, and only accessible by, those who have a VIP code (it came with the game or you can purchase one from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for ten bucks).
Five years in the making and the light is finally shining upon Alan Wake. RemedyEntertainment makes sure that the product that they release is a character driven - story laden - psychological romp through the Pacific-Northwest town of Bright Falls. They succeed at their task and ultimately you should not wonder why this game took five years until completion.
Alan Wake is a writer suffering from a two-year bout of writers block; coincidentally this has put a strain on his marriage (and perhaps his mind) so they find themselves vacationing to the idyllic town of Bright Falls. The visit, quickly, takes a turn for the worse and Alice goes missing. You wake up a week later with no memory of what has happened and dark shadowy figures - also known as Taken - are attacking you whilst you try and piece together what has happened to your wife by finding and reading pages of a manuscript that you do not remember writing. Heavy, no?
So begins your mission of trying to find out what happened to your wife using only a flashlight and whatever gun you can get your James Joyce Brett Easton Ellis mitts on.
The gameplay is simple enough; boost your flashlight to burn of the darkness shrouding the Taken and only then, only after the shield is completely gone, can you dispatch them with your gun. In most instances it becomes challenging - especially when three or four Taken spawn right next to/behind you (scaring the bejesus out of you) and while you are trying to knock away ones shield (because, again, they are otherwise invulnerable) the other two are flanking you. Fun. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and it keeps the game interesting.
The sound design and music in Alan Wake create some of the games best moments. Particulars that comes to mind are the songs that cap off each episode and the ambient sound (or noise) when Taken are about is enough to keep you on your toes throughout the game. The sounds of the forest let you know that this is still a "real place" and of course the game would never be complete without the Old Gods of Asgard but that is all I have to say about that so as not to spoil a great part of the game.
The graphics are great but at times they show their five year tenure of development. The game often looks photo-realistic - especially at night - but at other times - specifically when characters are speaking - the marionette style mouth animation looks antiquated. It is nothing that took myself out of the experience and is my only gripe with the game.
The game is also full of product placement, from Energizer batteries to Verizon cell phones, but again for me it just added a sense of realism to the game. Think about your own life - we are living, breathing advertisements.
Though it does not really factor into a review per se it is no secret that the fine folks at Remedy want Alan Wake to be a series (or at the very least to have a sequel). The ending allows for that (not in a bad way) but in a way that if there is not a second game a lot of folks will be disappointed.
This a fine psychological thriller is every sense of those two words. Alan Wake will be talked about for years to come as a return to form for the thriller genre when it comes to games. It tells a terrific story and has you feeling and pulling for the characters throughout the game. Buy this game new so that we can all play Alan Wake 2 (The Search for Better Lighting).
I can remember a time when I thought of the Xbox Live Arcade as merely a portal for retro games. You could count on one hand the number of original games and better still you were lucky if you found one worth playing. This is not a review of a service but I feel, as do others, that this service provides me with more games - as of late - that I love than traditional retail.
That being said, Splosion Man is the stuff of legend. You and I both wish that there was this kind of passion for creating games everywhere in the industry. Twisted Pixel splodes their way into your heart and here is why:
Splosion Man is the two-hour old product of Big Science's ridiculous experiments - other experiments often come in the form baddies that you encounter throughout the game - and he is not happy. His is happy, however, to turn all of the scientists into big chunks of meat. It never gets old. The "story" is really that simple and technically there is no real ending (Splosion Man 2 please?).
The biggest achievement for this game is the level design. It is brilliant and naturally the best - and most prominent - part of the game. The levels are always at a level of impossible adding in just a glint of being able to beat them; it keeps you going and makes you feel like a king when you pass one of the levels.
What brings those levels to life? The fact that the game is rendered in the beautifully stylized Third Dimension; can you believe it? It looks similar if not identical to the graphical style of The Maw and it is just as charming - if not more so.
Though you cannot put a price on charm and the fact that price does not usually factor into a review (as well as it should not) let us just look at this game from a value standpoint: it is is 800 Points (ten bucks) and for that you not only get 50 levels of single player but 50 different levels just for co-op multiplayer (couch co-op or LIVE). Extra goodies also make their way in there in the way of gamerpics, a premium theme, and avatar clothing. If you end up liking the game, of course if you do not you should be sploded into steaks, this a splodin' sweet value.
I remember that when this game was announced on April Fool's Day of 2009 I rolled my eyes. On April second they confirmed that Splosion Man was a real game. I was still not impressed, excited, or at all interested. Then folks got their hands on it, started talking about it, and I had to have it. Splosion Man never disappoints and is always coming out with clever quips and hilarious random sayings that border on catch phrases. The three bosses in the single-player mode are equally as funny and the animations for all characters in the game are amazing. I cannot say enough good things about this game so please, if you haven't already, liberate your wallet of ten dollars that desperately wants to be spent on Splosion Man.
Editor's Note: Only this single player portion of this game was played for this review. The multiplayer was sampled but not completed. Not that it matters - obviously - but the game was paid for by the reviewer.
Split/Second is still a game I have mixed feelings on. I had the opportunity to check out the demo and I played through the solitary race (the only one included in the demo) 4 or 5 times in a row. Based on the demo and my previous hands-on time with the game I feel like I am not seeing a large enough sample of this game (perhaps the much touted Survival mode would sell me?) - at the very least, not enough to merit a purchase. This game will be a word of mouth purchase if it ends up purchased at all.
Alas, I am jumping to my own conclusions too soon; at the very least these demo impressions will be a comparison (hopefully a stark one) to my previous hands-on time.
To start I will say that the same events, both large and small, still feel copy and pasted though I did get to experience two course alterations whereas previously I had only noticed one major one per track. One of the course alterations was a large tower falling and thus changing the course of the race but it felt extraordinarily reminiscent of the Space Needle falling on the track (and from other trailers there look to be a lot of falling tall structures).
In my five races I only lost once, and just barely, and I found that I was just trying to get a better time (my best being '4"24). I experienced every event that this track had to offer and by the end (except for trying to get a better time) I was tiring of the sameness. I even had earning Power Play juice down to an exact science.
I also noticed this time around different Power Play levels (1 & 2). The first are simple things such as blowing up a parked car as an opponent drives by and having explosive barrels dropped from helicopters. Level 2 Power Plays require the full PP Meter (course alterations require this as well) but with good reason - buildings blow up and can take out upwards of 5 opponents at a time. It is fun a few times but perhaps it would be more satisfying if I were playing this demo online.
The major thing that I noticed that was a stark comparison from my hands-on time with the game was that there seems to be little or no slowdown at all (one of my previous major worries).
I may be one of this games only critics but Split/Second is still on my list of wait-and-see games. Perhaps I should check out this Blur Multiplayer Beta I have been hearing a lot about.
There is a forthcoming announcement today, by Sony - reported by the New York Times - that they will be bringing the MLB.TV service to their console. The report states "by the end of the week," the console will give you the ability to sign up for MLB.TV to watch "out of market" baseball games directly from your console. This means that if you live in Oregon you can watch Yankees games on your big screen TV (and it also means that if you live in New York and you are a fan of the Yankees, this service is useless to you). Not that you could not find a way before - it is just now more convenient. Playstation much like XBOX is devoted to becoming the ultimate set-top-box experience.
The MLB.TV service will likely - as it does on your computer - run you one hundred smack-a-roos or more for the service.
To start off, I want to be clear that this is the movie we are talking about. I know that this is a site for video game reviews and other such news but I felt strongly enough about this movie that I figured you, the reader, needed to know how I felt. We all belong to the same geeky nerd genre anyway. Also, there might be spoilers abound. Kick-Ass is beautiful. The fine folks behind this movie deserve credit for making this movie look as sweet (I literally mean candy-coated here) as possible. Everything is a bright color (like someone just flicked the color boost switch on the side of the camera) and it all makes you feel like you want to be part of the Kick-Ass version of New York City (you know, aside from all the thugs and gangs that this movie pays homage to). The style of all of the fight scenes even makes you feel bad-assKick-Ass. This is the kind of movie that I cannot wait to own on Blu-Ray.
But then, if you are like myself, and a fan of comic books, you probably read the comic - right?
Well then, I am sorry to say that you are ass-kicked in this representation of Kick-Ass.
Granted that the comic was not yet finished before the movie's screenplay there were bound to be some differences between stories; it was my hope that these would not be too major. This is the story of a kid named Dave who decides that the world needs a hero and that he is going to be that guy. He feels empowered by his suit until everything goes wrong. There are real heroes out there who are not about the flashy nature of it all and Dave gets mixed up in it all. He quickly discovers why being a superhero is not all fun and games.
The first of my laundry list of story complaints was that I was disappointed with how Kick-Ass got his name especially seeing that they kept the same basic You-Tube scene in there. I was also disappointed when they assimilated scenes from the comic together so that the events were all happening to main characters. I did not feel like there was too much or too little content in the comic that these unnecessary liberties needed to be taken.
There are a few major twists in the comic that really impressed upon me but in the movie they all fell flat or did not even exist. The movie was not shy about throwing the whole Red Mist thing right out there in the open. It was also not shy about completely blasting the whole Big Daddy/Hit Girl story to pieces.
The casting for the movie and the character portrayal were perhaps some of the worst parts of the movie. First - McLovin. I am sorry but Christopher Mintz-Plasse was only cast in this movie to drawn in the SuperBad crowd and while it may be to understand that from a business decision, from a I don't want you to butcher this movie standpoint all I can literally think of is "face. palm." It ruined the revelation of his character and just the whole character itself. Ace Enders Aaron Johnson did a good job portraying Kick-Ass but the decision to portray him as more pathetic in the movie was a poor one. I cheered for his minor victories in the comic but again in the movie everything came out like a whimper and in the end Kick-Ass ends up using guns just like everybody else. The portrayal of Hit Girl was almost spot on if not for all of her use of guns and Big Daddy, played by Nick Cage, was far too skinny.
My last on the long list of complaints is where the film makers try to appeal to us gamers. There is a scene where Hit-Girl ends up in the dark fighting everybody in a warehouse alone, I know - shock of shocks. What you did not know is that the illustrious film makers decided that they wanted to appeal to us gamers by putting in a DOOM (movie) style FPS moment while she is taking everyone out. I rolled my eyes through the whole part.
In the end if you did not read the comic perhaps Kick-Ass was a good movie. There are a lot of people out there who disagree with my thoughts on the movie. At the end of the day I wanted to like the movie but it was really just a terrible garbage mess. Sometimes I want to like something so badly that I just tell myself that I like it. You may be able to find a few glimmers of a decent comic book movie but just remember that you are looking through shit.
And now, the pleasure is all mine to present you part two of my PaxEast experience. Hopefully you folks enjoy, as I look forward to posting some new and exciting thoughts soon on the gaming state as of today.
There are games that as could be seen at PAX, hold a very loyal following to many fans. One of those is Team Fortress 2, a game originally bundled with Half-Life and Portal in one whoppingly stunning game package, and one that presents a team based version of combat that is not only addictive but whimsical. Monday Night Combat will be a game in the same vein of team shooters that strive for a true feeling of teamwork, creativity and games that will create a feeling of exhaustion once finished. The concept of the game is simple yet glorious in its inception; pitting teams of 6 players (which makes sense given that you have 6 player models to choose from) against each other along with a variety of AI controlled robots that help defend (and move the line of scrimmage forward) your end of the battle zone. Within the battle zone you can build turrets and barriers, catapult yourself across the map and create general mischief for the other team in your quest to have your robots crush the other team’s money ball. The game' itself can last for long stretches of time (about 15 minutes per match), even going to overtime at the end of regulation time. The classes were not fully touched upon by myself, as I always head directly to the thinnest and fastest character; the two classes that were used included an Assassin and a Sniper class.
The real Xbox Live Arcade game that stole the show was Raskulls. The premise is so simple that it is almost shocking that this game has never been created before, this being a good thing as Halfbrick Studios has created a gem in this Xbox Live Arcade masterpiece. The game pits up to four players in a multiplayer race downwards, as you’re faced with breaking blocks below your feet to create a path to the finish line. With various powerups, and very polished but humoring graphics, you find yourself almost as attached to the game as a visual triumph, not just for the sheer fact that you are playing and trying to master the game. The Halfbrick kiosk had Nate and I at the kiosk at least once each day, even bringing our wives and guests with us. The game keeps each character model completely even - none are more powerful or faster than others, so the races keep extremely close and almost always build to a last minute win. This game will become the best online Xbox party game to play, as each powerup works wonders, the control scheme is great, and a built in frenzy meter, a regenerating turbo bar, helps to make this by far the best creation at the whole PAX East event.
The event that was created for us by the Penny Arcade creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, was a great place not only for the congregation of so many different types of people, from web comic lovers to video game lovers, to people who just wanted a place to be there favorite character. It - perhaps most importantly - also hid a beautiful nugget of truth in the expo rooms and that is that the Xbox Live Arcade this year will become the place to be and be seen with your friends, loved ones and people you love the least to show who is truly the stronger gamer.
Greetings all! It is with great honor that I begin my entry into the realm of video game blogging for you. For all that do not know me, I am close friends with Nate and take video games almost as seriously as him. I look forward to any and all comments on my articles in the near future. With much pleasure, I post to you Part One of a two part Pax foray into the awesomeness that was Xbox Live gaming.
The Year of Xbox LIVE Arcade: A Tale from PAX East
I’ll be honest from the very beginning with all the incumbent readers I have had the pleasure of reaching out to, if there is one thing that has been spotty, lacking, and at times effortlessly incredible it is the function and creations that touch the Xbox Live Arcade. When deciding on the trek to PAX East, a mere 31 miles from my home, the expectancy was that games like Mafia II, Red Dead Redemption and Crackdown 2 would be the crème of the crop. I am happy and somewhat shocked to report that the Xbox Live Arcade was the steal of the show and helped to firmly supplant that they are the wave of the future for new and old gamers.
The first game that was on the docket was Dishwasher: Vampire Smile. From the creator of Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, Ska Studios once again covets the best of Xbox Live style with a dreary and depressing art form synonymous to a toned down Sin City - almost. Those who recall playing the first game will remember the moments where you seem bound to throw the controller in frustration. The game now allows you an easy mode, which will help to cure a portion of the controller throwing frustration. New with the second iteration is a character named Yuki, not only a visual treat to see a new character, but also bringing with her a completely new fighting scheme and weapons. The first game left a lower learning curve to be desired as well as a little more variation, and from the looks of the second game, we will see just that. Bosses receive their own introductions, ala a more toned down version of Borderlands, “Meet your next date” confrontational. All in all, the demo was short, but the one thing that drew to my attention was an area in one level that flashed words akin to things thought of when listening to “Fitter. Happier” by Radiohead, quite possibly my favorite band. Not having the ability to know whether or not this was intentional or not, the kitsch references alone I could take away from this game were more than enough to leave me wanting more.
The one last thing we can take away from Ska Studios is the inception of the Charlie Murder game, a rocking band brawler akin to a Castle Crashers or TMNT (the original arcade classic). This booth was a solid look into Ska Studios future and their powerhouse creator’s (James Silva) mind.
Shank was one of the close-to-the-door expo games that quickly received a large audience purely from its aesthetic. With a look akin to Samurai Jack, the lead character is a bandanaed man by the name of Shank. He faces a selection of tough guys ready to be vanquished by the handful and at the end of the demo you do end up facing a large Antonio Banderas look-alike by the name of Toro. There are portions of the game that not only become endearing for their multibutton pushes but also for their wide variety of results including grenade in mouth, or some nice gun play. The game also shines in the lighting and atmosphere, where in one part of the demo you end up fighting in the shadows, only looking at blackened creations of the characters you were using only moments before. The only downfall to Shank was the minute-long-demo and what looks to be a lack of environmental creativity. There will be more, soon, to follow on this game, as KLEI (creator of EETS: Chowdown, a previous entry on XBLA) has joined with EA to put this game on the arcade very soon.
Even at this stage in development BattleBlock Theater has a lot to offer; I did not get all of the time I desired (eternity would be nice) with this game because after I had my first go at all of the modes (available) The Behemoth's booth lost power. I feel like something this cooky is something that would only happen at their booth (and it did only happen at their booth).
Speaking of nutty things, the game's story is as nuts as the trailer makes it sound:
This is the official description of the game from The Behemoth's site:
Having shipwrecked on a mysterious island you find yourself both betrayed by your best friend Hatty and captured by the locals. All of this is happening while being forced into deadly performances. This however, is just the start of your problems.
All of forms that this game manifests itself in are mini-games. I did not get my hands on all of the modes that have been announced but here are the descriptions and what I thought of each one:
There is a block painting mode where the player simply has to run over, touch, bump into blocks and turn them their teams color. Whichever team has the most blocks at the end of the round wins. I enjoyed this mode but in all three rounds played my team was decimated by the AI.
The second mini-game is one in which you must collect golden coins from a golden whale and deposit them into a winged safe. My partner and I did exceptionally well in this mode but alas we did not finish because the booth lost power.
The first mini-game mode that I played I did not understand until it was explained to me. You have to kill or get the other team killed by pushing them into hazards. This releases their soul (in the form of a balloon?!) which you then grab for points! You can hold onto that persons soul until they avenge themselves or you are killed by a hazard. This mode was bizarre and by the time I figured out what I was doing it was too late.
All of the stages have hazards in the form of: spikes, what looked like exhaust pipes that shot flames, water, crumbling blocks, etc. Each stage that I played was played in a 2 vs. 2 scenario (2 humans vs. 2 AI).
I was skeptical on this game before I got my hands on it and I am not yet 100 percent sold but this is The Behemoth we are talking about and I am sure they will get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to spending my 15 bucks (that it is likely to cost) later this year. Something about being pitted into "deadly performances" by cats sounds intriguing to me.
I preordered Bad Company 2 with Amazon (see what I did there?) because they are a better company and they do not make me want to take my money and burn it (like GameStop makes me want to) instead of spend my money there (at GameStop). I was punished by not having the ability to play a mode called 'Squad Rush' for an entire frakking month. Oh well.
The mode is now unlocked for all of us that have free-will and do not fall to tantilizing deals provided by the company who must not be named (from this point forward of course).
Split/Second is a racing game by the folks - Blackrock Studio - that brought you Pure. Of all of the publishers out there, Disney (yes, it is still shocking) is putting the proverbial gas in the tank. Split/Second looks to be a high octane thrill ride and I'm here to let you know if my hands-on time lived up to the hype or if the shock of this being a Disney game is all the appeal that it has.
Before I had the chance to put my foot down on the accelerator I was able to watch several people play the track that I would be playing. It looked like downtown Seattle mainly because there was a large Space Needle that became "part of the race". I'll embellish on that in a moment but I would first like to describe to you the beauty of this game.
Split/Second is gorgeous. From the absence of HUD (explained just one sentence down) to the graphically fidelity this game screeches (like rubber tires on the pavement) triple A. Now there is a HUD but this is not anything that you are used to; the HUD is "strapped" to the bottom of your vehicle and what it displays is very basic. The HUD consists of your Power Play meter (this bar fills as you drift, draft, pass, etc. opponents), your position in the race, and the lap counter. Contributing to the fidelity of the game the screen also "tilts" with your turns and in direct correlation to that it "feels" fast and immersive - very much like a Burnout game.
Having previously mentioned the Power Play meter, Power Plays are Split/Second's bread and butter. Power Plays are crescendo events that you can trigger using the "A" button (of course providing that you have some Power Play in your meter). There are smaller crescendos that may just involve dropping something from a helicopter onto the track in front of an opponent, triggering their temporary demise, to much larger events such as dropping the Space Needle on the track (it also becomes part of the track!). The large events are few and far between and it seems like they become each track's set-piece. The Power Plays are fantastic but are there enough to go around?
This brings me to the part where I have to tell you that the game is not all sunshine and rainbows. Though this could have been an issue with the demo, the game seems to have a lot of slowdown issues (particularly when there are a large amount of explosions or Power Plays being triggered simultaneously) and for a racing game this is a notably troubling issue. This could have troubling repercussions in multiplayer play as well.
In addition to the slowdown, after watching the races so many times before I was able to play myself, I noticed that the Power Play moments become predictable (and later potentially boring?). It becomes easy to know when to trigger them or to know where to drive in the case that they are triggered against you (and you get more juice for your PP meter for an escape). For a game that will probably have a decently sized multiplayer community this will either become boring or empowering for Veterans of the game or it will be off-putting to newcomers.
Having the luxury of playing a second track, at the Joystiq Blueberry Muffin Tops Breakfast, did nothing to sway me in the game's favor. I only noticed how the same experience seemed to be cut and pasted into a different area. The aesthetic only felt slightly different (one guy asked the Disney rep if all of the tracks took place in an urban environment to which he received no response) and even the smaller crescendo events seemed to be, or were, exactly the same.
I was excited for Split/Second when I first approached Disney's booth but now it is on my list of wait-and-see titles.
If you have not even tried The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, what are you waiting for? The Dishwasher is the brain child of Ska Studios (aka Jame Silva) and what a... dead... child it is. The game is hand drawn/animated and it has a dark gritty style.
But I will dare and assume that you have played Dead Samurai and what you are here for are my thoughts on Vampire Smile. In any other context that sentence might not make a whole lot of sense but alas that would only be from the outside looking in.
At first sight, Vampire Smile appears to be more in the same vein as its predecessor. It has the same art style but upon a closer look the game is much more crisp and clear. This is attributed to a newer version of the XNA engine.
The follow-up to Dead Samurai also brings better control of The Dishwasher. The controls feel more precise and they actually made the game feel easier than I remember the first game being.
In The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile we will be treated to three campaigns: one for The Dishwasher, one for Yuki, and a co-op campaign. Yuki is a character that breifly appeared in the previous game but in case you did not remember she is the Dishwasher's (now dead) step sister.
James said that this game will be great because it is all new - from the ground up. He said that the first game started as something small, in order to win the Dream. Build. Play. Competition, that he kept adding to but that Vampire Smile started from the beginning as a full title.
Raskulls is the addictive little game - with the Castle Crashers art style - by Halfbrick Studios. It is being compared to Dig Dug, Mr. Driller, Mario Kart, and other multiplayer party games. I can tell you that all of this is true and more.
Raskulls fast-paced addictive gameplay includes a full story campaign as well as competitive multiplayer. The story is three chapters long with roughly twenty levels per campaign. The game is exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade unlike the studios other games which have ranged from PSP Minis to various other platforms such as the DS and the original Xbox.
The inspiration for the game was described as the desire to make a simple pick up and play title in the vein of a Mario Kart type party game; having played against another person, those last few seconds of a race get very hectic. I even managed to eek out one of my few wins by being on top of my opponents head. You can also add bots to your multiplayer match (they vary in skill based on four difficulty levels ranging from easy to intense). My opponent and I were bested several times by the, quicker than believable, bots (and we were only on hard - one level below intense). It becomes very clear that this will be a very popular title over Xbox Live or whenever you have friends over. It has four player same box multiplayer and the same over Live.
You know when a developer says that when something like this is more fun to make rather than making a big budget title, something good is bound to come of it.
There was no clear date and price set down for the game but the Halfbrick representative that I had the pleasure of spoking to said that summer looked ideal along with a tentative price of ten to fifteen dollars. Whenever it releases I will be first in line the download queue.
On the last day of PAX East it felt very much like the winding down of something epic. There was a sadness in my chest that can only be explained as the end of something special. The experience was like nothing I had ever had the pleasure of attending. It is like they say, "We made the kind of convention we wanted to attend when we were growing up."
To start off the beginning of the end, my wife and I attended the XBOX LIVE Enforcement panel which even my wife said was a learning experience. You can hear the full audio of the panel above if you missed out.
Afterward we met up with our friends again to see the last Penny Arcade Q & A. Mike and Jerry (again Gabe and Tycho respectively) are as funny as they are weird and seeing them arm wrestle was priceless and perhaps a once in a lifetime (or once a year) experience.
Then, it being the last day and all, we had to finally meet Wil Wheaton. My wife and I waited in line for an hour and a half; let me just say this, meeting him, was one of the best experiences I have ever had - ever. I will be writing more about this later so if you are interested I will have a link on my Twitter or in this post sooner rather than later.
The last things that I took away from PAX East were interview questions that I asked a couple of studios (once more, more on that later). I also had the pleasure of playing Monday Night Combat which (again) will have a hands-on write-up soon.
It was one of the greatest weekends of my life and also one of the most exhausting weekends. I would have never thought I could get my fill of video games but in three short days I managed to have more (pent up) conversation about video games than I could have ever imagined. Part of me wants PAX to continue FOREVER (like an every day sort of thing) but part of me is glad that I will have to wait for the next one.
The second day had come to pass and the gaming overload said, "Let there be knowledge."
This is my general feeling about yesterday's delicious PAXy goodness. Overall the day felt more organized - I am not entirely sure how this came to pass and whether it was my anticipation of lines or just better knowledge from the Enforcers of how things were supposed to run. A fine person whom I had the pleasure of thanking for the show also said that the convention should be running smoother.
My wife and I also woke up for the show rather early so that I could attend the Joystiq Blueberry Muffin Tops Breakfast. At the breakfast I had the opportunity to play a second map in Split Second that I will also be adding to my thoughts on the game later on.
From the breakfast we (again just my wife and I) went to the panel for the Penny-Arcade series and it was hilarious. Jerry (Tycho) and Mike (Gabe) did a live commentary on two previously aired episodes; I was doubled over in laughter most of the time. We then saw an episode that will not be aired until this Friday so that was a nice treat for PAX attendees.
Directly thereafter we got back in line for the create-a-strip panel having met up with some friends. Watching the strip was not only entertaining, but it was visually unbelievable. Watching the whole strip come together, in person, could not have been a better experience. Later when I spoke to Mike, albeit briefly, he said that the create-a-strip panel is his favorite of the weekend. It can only imagine how humbling and awesome that must be to share that.
For a good portion of the day after that panel we turned our four person group into a seven person group and just hung around chatting about what we had seen in the previous two days. This is truly what is so great about PAX - to be among friends whose heart is in the same place as your own.
I also had the distinct pleasure of introducing my friends to the Joystiq Podcast LIVE and that was great.
The day past has been an interesting one. It has gone by about as quickly as I expected it to and there were both sweet and sour moments to the day.
Let us start off sour so that we may end up sweet. The first disappointment of the day leads in to the second disappointment of the day and that is that the whole event feels very much like a first go of it. It feels as though the people who organized the show were disorganized in their organization. Regardless, the place was definitely stuffed to the gils.
The first disappointment was that I missed Wil Wheaton's keynote - not only that but I did not sit in on any panels at all. A tip for the show that goes without saying is that you should get there early for what panels you want to see. Missing Wil's keynote was heartbreaking but my group and I moved on into the Expo Hall which proved to be a great time.
I have every intention of writing up the games that I saw and had a chance to get my hands on but I did want to briefly mention them in passing here.
The first booth we stopped by was the Ska Studios booth so that we could check out The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile and Charlie Murder. James Silva (Ska Studios one man army) was talking about the game as we played and my friend and I were floored by how down to earth he was. It was my first of many great experiences and a good chance to get to know an Indie developer.
We then proceeded to stop by and see The Behemoth's new game, Battleblock Theater (which I do not think is all that memorable of a game title). It looks like good fun but more on that later.
What really stole the day for my friend and I was Raskulls by Halfbrick Studios - here all of the way from Australia. It is similar Dig Dug and Mr. Driller except it is competitive in nature: campaign is vs. the computer while multiplayer is PvP. It is a very fun and addictive game that I will have more to say about later.
We also had a look at Split Second, an awesome new racing game from Disney.
More to come tomorrow like actually catching a panel and a chance to meet (not just look at) Wil Wheaton. I also plan to get more hands on time with what I did today and more, like: Splinter Cell: Conviction, a new XBLA game that I can not remember the title of, etc.
I do not post the Deal of the Week with any regularity - never - but this week I'll make the exception.
Arguably the most infamous Lone Wanderer picture.
You might have found yourself wandering The Wasteland for the past year with nothing to do. You may or may not have been penniless, unable to spend the money to pay for new quest information but today is your lucky day; this week you will find that all of this information is five dollars down from ten dollars. You'll find that this Lone Wanderer's interest is officially piqued.
I'll stop posting things about Bad Company 2 when DICE stops giving me the fodder.
F.R.A.G.S. = Friends Really Against Grenade Spam
This video hits at the perfect time - baseball season is about to start and I just got MLB 10 The Show in the mail (more on that later). It also takes another playful dig at Modern Warfare 2.
Remember, friends don't let friends spam the grenade button.
than traditional retail.
and it is just as charming - if not more so.
. This is the kind of movie that I cannot wait to own on Blu-Ray.
with Amazon
(see what I did there?) because they are a better company and they do not make me want to take my money and burn it (like GameStop makes me want to) instead of spend my money there (at GameStop). I was punished by not having the ability to play a mode called 'Squad Rush' for an entire frakking month. Oh well.
, what are you waiting for? The Dishwasher is the brain child of Ska Studios (aka Jame Silva) and what a... dead... child it is. The game is hand drawn/animated and it has a dark gritty style.
