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Biggest surprises of PAX08!
ElektroDragon
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This was my first PAX, so I wanted to highlight my biggest surprises, good and bad. Let's hear some of yours!
Best surprises:
Darksiders quality
MtG: Duels of the Planeswalkers XBLA exists!! Finally!!
Rise of the Argonauts quality
Dragon Age quality (and no multiplay to water it down!)
Fallout 3 quality
Spore main theater demo quality
Far Cry 2 toolset power
Dragon Age toolset ease of use
MK vs DC quality
Stoked (finally another 360 snowboarding game!)
Sacred 2 playable on 360
Lord of the Rings Conquest quality
The Fallout 3 LUCK card (OMFG!)
"Burn it!" being phrase of the show
King's Bounty exists and looks nice
Battle Forge exits and looks nice
Warioland quality
Taste of Branwdo
Great Penny Arcade shirts
Seeing G4TV filmed before my very eyes, and Adam waving to me as I photo'ed him
Gabe and Tycho Q&A panel 2... wow that was funny!
Worst surprises:
Microsoft having ZERO schwag - could not believe it!
Legendary being a total letdown - worst demo of show
Wipeout HD - my god why did they bother? Horrible demo
EVERYTHING from South Peak and Gamecock being a letdown
Not getting into the keynote
Not being able to get into panels despite being there plenty early
Idiots at Rockstar throwing shirts into the air after making people line up
Idiots at Razer throwing shirts into the air as well - dangerous and mean spirited
Lack of vendors in general
Extremely cheesy colors on PAX08 Razer mouse - good thing I tried before I bought
Price of PAX07 DVD
Some jerk in a Luigi shirt patting my shoulder and complaining that I was walking too fast in the queue room and therefore passing him
The concerts - seriously let's get some God Module, And One, or VNV Nation in here!
Best surprises:
Darksiders quality
MtG: Duels of the Planeswalkers XBLA exists!! Finally!!
Rise of the Argonauts quality
Dragon Age quality (and no multiplay to water it down!)
Fallout 3 quality
Spore main theater demo quality
Far Cry 2 toolset power
Dragon Age toolset ease of use
MK vs DC quality
Stoked (finally another 360 snowboarding game!)
Sacred 2 playable on 360
Lord of the Rings Conquest quality
The Fallout 3 LUCK card (OMFG!)
"Burn it!" being phrase of the show
King's Bounty exists and looks nice
Battle Forge exits and looks nice
Warioland quality
Taste of Branwdo
Great Penny Arcade shirts
Seeing G4TV filmed before my very eyes, and Adam waving to me as I photo'ed him
Gabe and Tycho Q&A panel 2... wow that was funny!
Worst surprises:
Microsoft having ZERO schwag - could not believe it!
Legendary being a total letdown - worst demo of show
Wipeout HD - my god why did they bother? Horrible demo
EVERYTHING from South Peak and Gamecock being a letdown
Not getting into the keynote
Not being able to get into panels despite being there plenty early
Idiots at Rockstar throwing shirts into the air after making people line up
Idiots at Razer throwing shirts into the air as well - dangerous and mean spirited
Lack of vendors in general
Extremely cheesy colors on PAX08 Razer mouse - good thing I tried before I bought
Price of PAX07 DVD
Some jerk in a Luigi shirt patting my shoulder and complaining that I was walking too fast in the queue room and therefore passing him
The concerts - seriously let's get some God Module, And One, or VNV Nation in here!
ElektroDragon on
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That was awesome.
Yeah I watch X-Play & AOTS regularly and I was disappointed by their constant advertising about covering the entire show yet their presence was barely noticeable, over the whole 3 days. I would like to have seen them catch some of the essense and energy of the show that continued after the main floor closes. Such as the volume of gamers lounging around on portable systems. Maybe the regular performances by random groups on the Rock Band setup on the main floor.
I saw Adam Sessler on the first day once and the third day twice. But I totally agree; I wish I could have been there for the filming. Background eyecandy is what I do!
*rimshot*
And that during the PA Panel 2, everyone actually tried to see if they could make that Simpsons eye blinking sound. That was awesome.
originally he was scheduled for last year, but we got boll instead. just wanted to know if he actually showed up this year.
FYI - That appeared to be the full game (not a demo) it's just that nothing was unlocked yet. And if you aren't a Wipeout fan then it wasn't for you anyway. It was NOT horrible. Sure the handling has changed a bit from the PSP versions, but I got used to it and after playing it for 2 hours, I'm here to tell you that it was in fact awesome.
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He didn't.
My friend was really tempted to clap during that time.
Another good one was Rise of Argonauts because one of the designers really walked me through and explained things like, how they were not using menus, and how not using a HUD is coming long.
And Schizoid from the PAX 10 was ridiculous fun. Me and some random guy played through the whole demo having massive fun. Plus me and the Dev's talked about the Iron Maiden 08 tour which was rad.
Last but not least was the Improvement on Rock Band Drums. I played the new drums in the console freeplay room and they are greatly improved.
My Biggest head ache was Guitar Hero World Tour. Only 8 songs to play from (I think ill kill myself if i hear Living on a Prayer again), if one person fails the whole band does, no chance of redemption, New drums seem flimsy, Touchpad is complete fail in my opinion.
Other good surprises: Getting my 3-day badge after waiting in a line that literally took only 10 minutes to get through (I came at a really good time that day). Seeing someone wearing an MC Chris shirt saying he was sorry if he let us down; it redeemed him in my eyes just a smidge. Meeting yet another person from Europe, like I did last year. Meeting the awesome manager in the Mexican restaurant in Pacific Place, since he came over just b/c we were PAX people (I think I made his day when I handed him a Pacman bouncy ball, since he couldn't go to PAX himself). Having Mad Max 2 crap out for a bit, since everyone in the theatre just decided to be amazing and fill in our own dialogue. Actually FINDING people playing The World Ends With You in person and getting tons of money from them buying at my shop. Getting into the keynote AND the concerts. Playing FLUXX with people waiting in lines. Kicking my friends' asses in Guilty Gear with various different characters when I had never played it before (and no, I don't just button mash). Playing 3 songs in a row on Rock Band, since virtually no one is there at 10 in the morning. Meeting awesome new people and making friends with Enforcers. Taking a picture with the companion cube (but alas, I could not take the cube away).
Worst surprise ever: Fucking ass lines. Argh. I knew they would be long, but some were just redonkulous. Even though I met some new friends, still. GOD.
Other bad surprises: Guitar Hero On Tour sucks compared to Rock Band.
So, all in all, I had a really good time!
-Shelley, Xenosaga Episode I
That actually didn't come as a surprise to me. I just knew it. :P
*goes off rambling about Activision and how they aren't doing the series any good...*
This is the first pax i have ever complain about.. lol and this is my 3 pax
Being one of the very first to get a look at LoTRO: Mines of Moria and a semi-private demo and q&a with the exective producer.
Fallout 3 demo. Holy frick on a stick. I'm not much of a shooter fan, but I am a Bethesda fan and I am playing the hell out of that game.
Spore demo. I somehow missed that it comes out next week *twitch*
The Turbine party and getting an awesome shirt. (Giant kudos to Turbine for having women's cut shirts)
The keynote. Awesome "nerd pride" moment
Getting to demo Aion which I've been waiting years for.
Sumos. I have got to get one of those
Bad:
I got about zero swag. The LoTRO shirt, which I didn't even actually need to go to PAX for, an Aion braclet and a weird blinking Dungeon Runners necklace and a handful of posters. This was my first con, and I was expecting more in the way of swag. I'm a broke college kid and came with next to nothing as a souvenir of my first PAX.
The fanboism at the Gaming Blog pannel. I came for the content of the pannel, but found the poorly placed theater so packed with people screaming at the internet celebs on the panel that I couldn't hear or see anything and ended up leaving.
The crowding in the exibit hall. There was a whole lot I'd like to have seen, and people I'd love to have talked to (both devs and people around) but I couldn't manage to spend more than an hour at a time on the floor because it was so crowded I could hardly move.
Not finding out that Adam and Morgan from X-Play were there until after the fact. I've watched those two since back before G-4 was ZDTV, which was before it was TechTV.
-Shelley, Xenosaga Episode I
Finding a copy of Mother 2 for the Super Famicom for under $60.
No, really.
Then Mustin saw it when we were at the One Ups booth, and said, quote, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT!"
Then he took a picture while he said, "I can't wait to send this to Joe Cam!"
Then he posed so I could take a picture, because this is the internet, and pics or it didn't happen.
It was an experience. The Crowd seemed to like it, even if the Stormtroopers didn't know how to actually Play. I'm hoping to actually attend next year, and experience the Con as opposed to 'working' it.
I'll second the puppet thing, it was a constant "missed the boat" sort of experience for me, with the cards etc
Next year round i'll be more on top of that sort of thing though.
My best surprise was accidentally getting into the exhibitor's hall early. Just a fortunate series of events but I ended up playing demos and checking out the booths casually for about an hour and a half before it was mobbed.
Other surprises-
- Price of parking (bad) 84$ for 3 nights, didn't think it'd be so steep
- price of alcohol (good) 20$ for three nights, didn't think it'd be so cheap
- Finding out release dates for spore and a few other games were much sooner than expected (very good)
- Discovering that the floor in the main theatre shakes with a mob jumping up and down on it during the concert (awesome)
- The doors through the byoc/freeplay to the main theatre being off limits (bad) (seriously, that one sucked, the small hallway always reeked and took forever to get through when crowded)
- The triwizard drinking tourney (amazing)
- Free pins (very good, they're all really creative and look sweet on my backpack)
- The cookie brigade. (awesome) Cookies are my crack and these were especially tasty. Spent way too much cash on em, and I always ended up making a beeline for the box when I saw it.
- The crowds (bad) I got into some panels I wanted but an hour should be well enough time to line up for something you're interested in
overall awesome would be surprised again A++
Far Cry 2 was great. The onstage demo was cool, and the level editor being that good on a console blew me away. The "burn it" becoming a running joke was awesome too. The demo on the floor that I played of it was fun.
The Friday concert was pretty good. Freezepop was good, especially their encore. Jonathan Coulton was awesome, but Re:Your Brains was not nearly as cool, because he knew what to expect from the crowd. The OneUps' show got kind of boring after a while to me.
Spore demo was cool, but it's not really my type of game.
Playing Rock Band 2 without waiting in line was cool. Some band needed a drummer and there were no singles waiting in the line, so I got to go up front.
The wheel of mystery at the Mega64 booth was hilarious.
Bad:
SWAG. HOLY CRAP was the swag atrocious. Everyone ran out Saturday within hours. I got one T-shirt from Guitar Hero on Tour. Speaking of which,
Guitar Hero on Tour was pretty bad. The new additions to the guitar seemed like Activision was playing a desperate game of catch up, and the singing was too much like Singstar, which I don't like.
Left 4 Dead Line was an hour and a half, and none of my friends were willing to brave it with me. How was it?
Sort of bad, but overally I would prefer it that way, that's a lot of expensive junk everyone in the BYOC has, and theft is a constant problem. I mean there were a few things of decent value stolen this year as it was. (not the byoc as far as I know, but the console and tabletop areas)
<--- Is not Moe
* Novint Falcon is supposed to work w/Left 4 Dead but they weren't even there
* With both Guitar Hero & Rock Band coming out I thought Ion would be there to show off the drum rocker
* Wanted to see demos for: resident evil, Lips, Silent Hill
* Lag while playing Resistance was TERRIBLE, I got lagged out like 4-5 times
this. 8 doors and a large thoroughfare vs. tiny hallway everyone squeezes through after a panel at the main theatre
I was at the BYOC and I well understand the reasoning behind it, but it's too bad that there wasn't a byoc entrance or something of the sort on that side as it was annoying to pull a big circle whenever I wanted to go over there.
Actually if I were closer to the front of the byoc i'd probably be cool with it. Just a personal annoyance and surprise to me than a giant flaw i'm trying to point out.
Saw tons of stuff that I didn't plan on seeing
X-Blades blew my mind away, I don't care who argues otherwise
Booth Babes NOT being the focal point of the show
Cryptic's Friday night party
ArenaNet's Saturday party (despite broken machines)
CCPs Saturday party (almost completely open bar? With strippers???)
Bad
CCP's Saturday party granting me the debuff "Alcohol Poisoning" causing me to puke every few minutes for the better part of 16 hours
CCP's party giving me my first every hangover
Microsoft's booth in general
Taco Del Mar's crappy hours. Their food was amazing but I only got to eat it once.
Lost my $250 camera somewhere between the hotel shuttle and the airport, along with my memory card that had pictures from PAX.
Fallout 3. Everything about it.
Actually getting the FIRST spot in a few of the lineups, without going any earlier than advertised in the program.
The Button Exchange went off really well, and I met a bunch of cool people.
Winning a draw, and having my disappointment at not getting a video card allayed by being told my DNA is being shot into space and stored on the space station. That's just kinda neat.
JoCo is the master of the rickroll. Getting a huge crowd to practically beg for it. awesome.
BEST: Felicia Day. Still Alive. 'Nuff said.
bad:
Honestly, I'm kinda surprised that so many people are bitching and moaning. I had an awesome weekend. The swag could have maybe been better, but it's free stuff. Complaining about the nature of FREE things makes you a douchebag. The lineups.. anyone complaining about this year's lineups wasn't at PAX06 in bellevue.
Okay I found one thing to actually complain about. BAWLS. Or more accurately, a ridiculous policy of "Coke products only" (BAWLS is apparently connected with Pepsi, somehow)
Getting PAX'07 DVD for free
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is coming to PS3
Massive free Tshirts
Getting drunk and fed at the Seattle Public Library for free.
SUCK SUPRISES:
No ECTO-1 or Ghostbusters video game *sadface*
EDIT: Also getting spider bites while sleeping at the Sheraton.
SPIDERS?? Seriously?? WTF?
I'm telling people at my work about this, and they just don't understand why I'm so excited. There was so much Win on the stage at once it was practically really to explode.
Uhh...nothing exploded...move along folks >.>
Walking into round 3 of the Omegathon and realizing that a friend from high school was one of the Omeganauts! Unfortunately, she got knocked out in that round, but she didn't have anyone attending PAX with her, so we spent the rest of the weekend going to stuff together and getting the VIP treatment for big events (PA panels, omegathon rounds, etc). After the final round, I hung around for a bit, chatted with Mike and Jerry, then gave Joey (the Omegathon winner) a ride to the airport. He's a hell of a guy, btw, and totally deserves the win.
Jenn- I still don't know how I missed seeing your name on the list, but you rock! Thanks for letting me tag along as your +1 and making my first PAX such a great experience.
J
I'd heard about this game ages ago and thought the title was brilliant. And the gameplay holds up.
*shock* OMG! I got like 3-4 around each ankle! \
I know they weren't there before! NOW I KNOW HOW...
Far Cry 2
Fall Out 3
The enthusiasm for Rock Band
That Onyxia miniature figure. Totally awesome looking.
Vader and his Stormtroopers
Lego Batman being really good
MK vs DC being good and really really fun
Little Big Planet looking to be really fun as well
Bad Surprises
Just how dull everything seemed around Guitar Hero World Tour. It was so boring over there.
Left 4 Dead being so generic and so underwhelming after seeing Far Cry 2 and Fall Out 3
The line for Dragon Age. I wanted a sleeve damn it.