As an event, PAX 2007 was definitely well run. What follows are my impressions of the PAX events I attended.
Panels
Keynote
I declare a man crush on Wil Wheaton. :) Considering every promo of his speech talked about him having no idea what he wanted to say, my expectations were low, which made the truly excellent speech that much better. It helps that I'm only two years younger than Wil, so his experiences synced up with mine a lot. He had a lot of great jokes. He mentioned a lot of great games. And he emphasized how much games bring people together. It was awesome. I only wish I'd remembered to start the "One Of Us" chant at the end. It could have been a moment.
One caveat: I couldn't endorse his "Don't be a dick" statement. Being a dick is awesome, as long as the recipient deserves it and / or it's hilarious.
Penny Arcade Q&A
Gabe and Tycho came out to "Every Day I'm Hustlin". I'm not familiar with the song, but I hear it in my head every time I see them now. :P My main memories from the panel were of the brain damaged guy who never actually asked a coherent question and the homosexual double entendres Gabe couldn't seem to escape. Tycho's live singing of "My Belruel" was beautiful. Reverb owns. :) Oh, and some guy from the audience was allowed to come up and make the same entrance Gabe and Tycho did (minus the fact that the house lights were still on). At the end they brought out Uwe Boll. He's officially dead to me, so I left. I heard he got a sound verbal drubbing. Good for the PAXers.
Life Cuts into Gaming
This panel was people working long hours or trying to balance work, family, and gaming. I don't really know why I went, as I'm neither of those, but it was a good panel.
1UP Yours Live
I listen to headphones at work, and 1UP Yours is a staple of my listening diet, so it was cool to see the folks in person. I got to tell a joke, say thank you for the podcast, and tried to discuss my fears about gaming getting mainstreamed, which really didn't go anywhere. Also Garnett Lee said I looked like a character out of Mall Rats. It stung to get insulted by someone I was so happy to be talking to, but that's how the 1UP guys are, and it's probably a fair cop. (I haven't seen Mall Rats.)
PA Family Feud
Apparently this was Pork's idea back during the first PAX, but didn't come to fruition until this year. The answers the survey provided were kind of lame. They may need to find a better way of getting the survey done, though, as some of the answers were kind of weak. Street Fighter was apparently never answered on the "Name a Video Game Movie" question. WTF?
Concerts
Let me preface by saying I am too old to stand in one place for four and a half hours. I was so burned out on concerts I didn't even see Frontalot, so that would make me totally burned out.
One Ups
It's like what you'd get if The Dave Matthews Band covered game music with a few too many solos. Their set was a freaking hour and a half.
Optimus Rhyme
Wonderful and unintelligible as always. :)
Freezepop
Very fun, but lots of problems. Liz lost the pitch, the beat, and the words a few times, partially due to monitor problems. French Ghost was great, but The Duke was still missed.
Jonathan Coulton
Very nice. I hadn't heard his stuff before, but I enjoy it. I don't think it's stuff I'd listen to every day, but it did have the distinction of being the only music quiet enough that you could actually hear it. And his cover of Baby Got Back was just too good for words.
Other
Gaby & Tycho Signing
I fucked up by actually having them sign stuff. It was all business, and that's sad. Next year I'm not going to have them sign anything and just say how glad I am to be there and make sure Gabe understands how proud I am of him for defending childhood. That (combined with the response he got) was one of the greatest things I've read in a long time.
Console Freeplay
The most fun I had at PAX was learning to play Mario Strikers Charged with three other PAXers. In the couple hours we had, we only managed to win one round (not match, just round) against the level three AI, but it didn't matter. Every goal was a victory and a very loud one, at that. My apologies to anyone we may have thrown off their game, but yes, we were having that much fun.
Everything Else
The organizers and Enforcers did a damn fine job. Things ran ridiculously smoothly. It was awesome. I need to volunteer next year.
Showing posts with label PAX 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PAX 2007. Show all posts
27 August, 2007
PAX 2007: The Games
Here's the rundown of the games I played at PAX and how I felt about them. There are a number of other games I watched, but I'll keep those opinions to myself for now.
Recently Released Games
Overlord
Evil Pikmin. I never got very far in Pikmin 2 (the only Pikmin I own), but the joy of watching goblins wreck stuff would probably keep me playing Overlord for longer. It certainly kept the people watching me play it entertained. The lack of a map is a significant fun killer and time waster, though. I'd look around for a good FAQ or set of maps online before trying to have fun with this one.
Mario Strikers Charged
This was my favorite game of PAX. But it's also the only co-op I played at PAX, so that stands to reason. No game is as exciting as the crazy kids (Hey Tyson!) who scream and high five after every goal, especially if you're one of them. My big ass thumbs would often hit the home button when trying to pass under duress, and jumping up to the D-pad for sliding was awkward. Perhaps I should have rested my thumb on the D-pad, but that didn't feel right. Maybe my hands are just too big. Is anyone ever going to release first party controllers in more than one size?
Unreleased Games
Castle Crashers
I was never that thrilled about Castle Crashers. Then I played it. I'm still not thrilled, but I'm pleased. It's still impossible too see what's going on when the special attacks are flying, but it's a good casual game. Online co-op would be the big draw.
Conan
Hacking off appendages is fun. Doing the special kills when you parry at just the right time is cool (although I don't play enough Xbox to remember where the buttons are to pull them off regularly). The health jugs that Conan chugalugs to regain health are a nice touch. You do feel like your fighting the exact same guys over and over though.
De Blob
I played it twice. It's reminds me a little of Jet Grind Radio without the actual grinding. I didn't see much variety in the tasks you undertake, but then it was just a few minutes with a demo.
Lair
I couldn't get into the controls at all. There didn't seem to be any reason to not fly with the left thumbstick as it's only function (letting you look around) caused so much motion blur it was more harm than help. Also, constantly kicking your dragon for speed got old almost instantly. Maybe I just need more practice to get the feel of the game, but it's looking like Lair may well deserve that 6.5 from EGM.
Timeshift
I'd heard this game had a troubled development. It looked like one of the better FPS at the show to me, so it looks like they went back and did the right thing. At the end of the day, I predict fail for it though. It feels rather like Project: Snowblind, a competent effort without enough setting it apart to draw a big audience.
Turok
Killing stuff with a knife is fun. I'm hoping for a PC version. I'm rubbish at aiming with thumbsticks.
Metroid Prime 3
I was really worried after playing with the menus and reading the reviews of Red Steel that the Wiimote couldn't do shooters. The Prime 3 demo made me a believer. Sure, it's still a tich laggy, but it was good enough, and yanking robots out of the air with the grapple was cool. A lot of people take issue with it's linear design as opposed to the old exploration based Metroid games, but I got bored searching and quit every Metroid game I've played thus far, so it's all good for me.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Some people (mostly Shane Bettenhausen) are raving about this game. Why is that? Aiming is meh. The cover mechanics aren't anything new. The slo-mo during melee felt forced and out of place. Everything's so green it's easy to get turned around. (Did I miss some sort of goal indicator?) And your movement abilities aren't new or interesting. It looked nice, but not nearly nice enough to justify the hype.
Wrap Up
Despite the number of games I played at PAX, I don't feel like I played much of anything that was actually new. Even BioShock, the game everybody was talking about, is an evolutionary branch on the Looking Glass tree which goes all the way back to Ultima Underworld. That said, there were a lot of solid, fun titles I'll be happy to pick out of the bargain bin by the time the new console or PC I'll need to play them on is at a decent price point.
Recently Released Games
Overlord
Evil Pikmin. I never got very far in Pikmin 2 (the only Pikmin I own), but the joy of watching goblins wreck stuff would probably keep me playing Overlord for longer. It certainly kept the people watching me play it entertained. The lack of a map is a significant fun killer and time waster, though. I'd look around for a good FAQ or set of maps online before trying to have fun with this one.
Mario Strikers Charged
This was my favorite game of PAX. But it's also the only co-op I played at PAX, so that stands to reason. No game is as exciting as the crazy kids (Hey Tyson!) who scream and high five after every goal, especially if you're one of them. My big ass thumbs would often hit the home button when trying to pass under duress, and jumping up to the D-pad for sliding was awkward. Perhaps I should have rested my thumb on the D-pad, but that didn't feel right. Maybe my hands are just too big. Is anyone ever going to release first party controllers in more than one size?
Unreleased Games
Castle Crashers
I was never that thrilled about Castle Crashers. Then I played it. I'm still not thrilled, but I'm pleased. It's still impossible too see what's going on when the special attacks are flying, but it's a good casual game. Online co-op would be the big draw.
Conan
Hacking off appendages is fun. Doing the special kills when you parry at just the right time is cool (although I don't play enough Xbox to remember where the buttons are to pull them off regularly). The health jugs that Conan chugalugs to regain health are a nice touch. You do feel like your fighting the exact same guys over and over though.
De Blob
I played it twice. It's reminds me a little of Jet Grind Radio without the actual grinding. I didn't see much variety in the tasks you undertake, but then it was just a few minutes with a demo.
Lair
I couldn't get into the controls at all. There didn't seem to be any reason to not fly with the left thumbstick as it's only function (letting you look around) caused so much motion blur it was more harm than help. Also, constantly kicking your dragon for speed got old almost instantly. Maybe I just need more practice to get the feel of the game, but it's looking like Lair may well deserve that 6.5 from EGM.
Timeshift
I'd heard this game had a troubled development. It looked like one of the better FPS at the show to me, so it looks like they went back and did the right thing. At the end of the day, I predict fail for it though. It feels rather like Project: Snowblind, a competent effort without enough setting it apart to draw a big audience.
Turok
Killing stuff with a knife is fun. I'm hoping for a PC version. I'm rubbish at aiming with thumbsticks.
Metroid Prime 3
I was really worried after playing with the menus and reading the reviews of Red Steel that the Wiimote couldn't do shooters. The Prime 3 demo made me a believer. Sure, it's still a tich laggy, but it was good enough, and yanking robots out of the air with the grapple was cool. A lot of people take issue with it's linear design as opposed to the old exploration based Metroid games, but I got bored searching and quit every Metroid game I've played thus far, so it's all good for me.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Some people (mostly Shane Bettenhausen) are raving about this game. Why is that? Aiming is meh. The cover mechanics aren't anything new. The slo-mo during melee felt forced and out of place. Everything's so green it's easy to get turned around. (Did I miss some sort of goal indicator?) And your movement abilities aren't new or interesting. It looked nice, but not nearly nice enough to justify the hype.
Wrap Up
Despite the number of games I played at PAX, I don't feel like I played much of anything that was actually new. Even BioShock, the game everybody was talking about, is an evolutionary branch on the Looking Glass tree which goes all the way back to Ultima Underworld. That said, there were a lot of solid, fun titles I'll be happy to pick out of the bargain bin by the time the new console or PC I'll need to play them on is at a decent price point.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)