Brian's Giant-Size PAX Recap/Game Rundown!

Ah, PAX. Penny Arcade Expo. The largest convention in the country to celebrate people who come together for their one true love: stopping very suddenly while walking in crowds.

I’ve gone to PAX every year since I moved to Seattle in 2011, and this one was pretty amazing. The best way to sum up PAX is to go over the games I played, so let’s talk about them in no particular order, save for my “Best Of/Worst Of” at the end!

Duet: One of the PAX 10 (the 10 indie games nominated as the best indies at PAX), this one is super simple. There’s a circle, and two small orbs opposite each other on the circle’s circumference. With left/right you rotate them (they move at the same time so they’re always opposite) and you have to dodge blocks as they slowly move down from the ceiling. Honestly, what I played of it I was surprisingly impressed with: it’s a very unique game that actually has narrative between the two orbs as you continue on. Great example of simplicity in gaming, complexity in story.

Killer Instinct: I’ve seen a ton of footage of Killer Instinct but never played it, this was my first time experiencing it. This game plays really awesome and I was surprised at how quickly I could pick up and play it. This game’s been out for a year but they have a new developer behind it and new characters coming out, and from what I played so far I think it’s in very good hands.

Framed: Another of the PAX 10, this one is my favorite of the 10 actually. It’s a stylised comic book where a woman is running from the police, and each panel animates. However, you can move the panels around, and have to, in order for her to complete the level. For example, panel 1 is her sliding down a zipline, panel 2 is a man shooting her and her dying, and panel 3 is a bird flying away due to the impact of her on the ground. But if you flip 2 and 3, then the bird flies earlier and the man can’t shoot her due to the distraction. It’s one of the more unique games I’ve seen and is absolutely worth you looking into.

Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Rogue: No demo, just video of these two. Unity is for PS4/XBone and Rogue is for PS3/360. And after seeing these videos… to be honest, I’m pretty underwhelmed. Rogue has you playing as a templar killing assassins, but it seems like all that happens is everyone switched uniforms. Unity claims to have 4 player co-op, but they only showed 2-player, in which the second player ran ahead and did everything off camera. I really was not impressed with these, I wish they had done more to differentiate Rogue from the other games besides just claiming you’re on the other side, or Unity actually showing the 4-player mode.

Guilty Gear Xrd: I’m a big fighting game fan, but never really played Guilty Gear. This is the new one, and first thing I have to say is that it might be the most beautiful looking fighting game I’ve ever seen. The animation is so smooth and pretty, they REALLY put a lot of effort into the style. The gameplay was insane and I think if I had played Guilty Gear more I’d know what I was doing, but it definitely has me interested in going back and playing other Guilty Gear games to figure out what was going on.

Spoiler Alert: The Un-Platformer. Basically you start at the end of the game and it plays in reverse, and you have to hit jump at the right time to un-kill enemies and prevent time paradoxes, or “un-collect” coins. It’s bizarre, but it’s pretty fun. If you’re into platformers, this one might be worth a look.

Speedrunners: This game ABSOLUTELY is worth your time. You run around a large 2D course with three other players, trying to force each other off the screen. You get a point when everyone else is killed (off the screen), first to 3 wins, there are power-ups to jump ahead or knock opponents back… it’s one of the more frantic games I’ve played, in all the right ways. I already own it, but seriously, download it for Steam (I think it’s coming to Xbox soon too)

Tumblestone: Multiplayer versus puzzle game, blocks are arranged on the ceiling and you have to select 3 of the same color in a row to eliminate them and send blocks to the opponents. It’s really not that complex, but it’s fun for what it is. Always enjoyed puzzle games like this, there need to be more of them.

Screencheat: A first person shooter for 2-4 people, similar to Goldeneye with split screen. However, the gimmick is that everyone is invisible: to kill people you have to figure out where they are by watching their screen. This was one of the better games i played at PAX, because of the art design (they make colors stand out so you can tell quickly where people are) and because it is SO SATISFYING to kill someone who is invisible oh my god you have no idea.

Bayonetta 2: Never played the original Bayonetta, but given that it’s included in the Bayonetta package for Wii U I will probably be picking this up. Lots of crazy combos, shooting, hacking n’ slashing, and really fun enemy design. One thing I have to mention is they said that the cutscenes would take away from the demo time (15 minutes) and recommended skipping them. So at one point I’m running down a street and run into a character and a cutscene begins. I then skip the scene and suddenly we are standing on a floating rock while to gigantic dragons shoot lava in the background at each other. I’m presuming the cutscene explained that.

Kirby Fighter Deluxe: For 3DS, it’s a smash bros-style game but everyone plays as a Kirby with a different hat. When you KO someone they turn into a ghost, but the ghost can come back by punching someone to regain health. You have to get everyone else to ghosts to win. On one hand, there is no online multiplayer, only local multiplayer, which seems to be a huge deal breaker. On the other, it’s only $6 and a downloadable title, which is a great deal. I dunno, I would have preferred it to be a little pricier if it meant we got online multiplayer.

Rebuild: Post-Apocalyptic Strategy: A strategy game about a zombie apocalypse. The game started and I sent my survivors to stores in a ruined city to search for food. The game then gave me a notification that zombies were attacking another building, and recommended I send everyone there to fight. I then sent everyone there to fight, and 30 seconds later got game over, with the game saying “YOU SPAZ WHY DIDN’T YOU SEND ANYONE THERE TO FIGHT?” Maybe they’ll patch in a tutorial or something, but I had absolutely no clue what to do when playing this one, unfortunately.

Strife: A MOBA. I’m not too into MOBAs, but just by looking at it I can tell that this thing wants to e League of Legends so bad it’s dripping from every pore. The animation is SO similar, the way health/items look is similar, it just feels like they want to make League of Legends rather than making their own game. What I played was alright, I guess, but given that 10 feet away was the absolutely massive arena where they were holding the League of Legends tournament, I couldn’t help but think that the game was designed pretty much straight from LoL.

Escape Dead Island: So the original Dead Island was all serious and realistic, right? This demo is a 3rd person cell shaded game. It begins with a character having a black and white nightmare, with a female voice taunting him. Then he wakes up, but the female voice is still there, and he seems confused but not concerned by it. You fight your way forward, the voice taunting you, then another voice shows up defending you. When you get to a helipad your dad shows up in a helicopter and asks you to leave, but when you say you have to stay and save you friends, the dad becomes a zombie and attacks. When you kill him you get a headache and the voice taunts you again, then suddenly the world changes to a new world. I think it’s safe to say that this game is going for something totally different than the original Dead Island, but I kinda like it for that, to be honest.

Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell: DLC for Saints Row 4, you play as Johnny Gat in hell and he’s going around with super powers and insane weapons killing demons. It’s designed to be as over the top psychotic as possible, and it certainly does that; you have an armchair that shoots bullets and missiles, a machine gun that fires locusts, giant demonic monster trucks attack you and evil wizards are shooting lasers, it’s somehow even less realistic than Saints Row. Yeah, if you’re into the Saints Row series, you gotta pick this one up.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number: Oh HELL yes. I loved Hotline Miami, so I rushed right to this one. There seem to be some new gameplay mechanics… the character I played as is followed by another character. I carry a chainsaw, and he carries a gun. Left click to use chainsaw, right click to shoot. They also seem to be doing more with the story, you were jumping between a few characters. Given that this is going to be more Hotline Miami, that means I’m pretty much predetermined to love this one.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Online: Wait this is a thing? Apparently it is, you can download it for free, play opponents to win booster packs, build a new deck, face off with friends, and it’s a F2P game. I loved the game as a kid, and I’m surprised at how well the game itself has held up over time. Also fun fact, the line to play it was almost entirely people my age, 25-27ish. You should download this if you liked the game as a kid.

Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX: Goodness that’s quite the name. I’ve never played any of the KH games, and this one didn’t really do anything for me. I dunno, the main character (Sora) kinda annoyed the crap out of me for the 10 minutes I played as him, having Donald constantly screaming grates on the ears, and there was just a lot of weird gameplay. The thing is this demo threw me right into the action so I had no clue what I was doing. Maybe I’d like the series better if I had any clue what I was doing, but the demo seems pretty much pointed at fans of the game (given it’s an HD remake, that’s no surprise).

Max Gentleman: 2 player game. You both stand at a bar like gentlemen, and of course gentlemen wear top hats. The bartender puts a beer on the table and you have to grab and drink it first, which gives you an extra hat. Then sometimes things get thrown and you have to quickly cycle between your hats (They quickly stack up) and bobble them so you avoid them getting hit by the item. Whoever has the most hats wins. Yes, this is certainly a thing that exists. It’s fun, and it’s free on Steam so really there’s no reason for you to at least not give it a shot.

Spy Party: One person is the sniper, watching a party of people. The other person is in the party, as a spy. The spy has to remain inconspicuous and not call attention to who he is while completing his objectives, while the sniper has to pick out who the spy is and kill him. I bring this game up because I’ve been to every PAX since 2011 and this game has always been there, always in the same corner of the convention center, always listed as still being developed. I’m starting to wonder if this game is ever going to be released to the general public, or if this is a PAX-only thing…

Borderlands the Pre-Sequel: Literally the only thing I can say about this is that it’s More Borderlands, so if you enjoy Borderlands you’ll enjoy this. You can be on the moon and jump super high, then come slamming down and send your enemy flying into space. The character I played as had a beam sword weapon that drains the opponents health. My issue with it is one I’ve had with every Borderlands game: I die SO quickly. I never know what the right combination of health/armor is because for some reason I can never survive for more than 5 nanoseconds before I die and have to fight for my life.

The Counting Kingdom: Ever play Math Blaster? This is a lot like that. Monsters show up, each with numbers assigned to them. You have a few cards, also with numbers. You have to get the monsters in groups where when their numbers add up they equal one of their cards. A very simple idea, but I absolutely loved the game. I have a steam key for it, I’m hoping that it ends up not just being for kids, like there are more advanced modes, because I think this is an idea that has a lot of potential behind it.

Hive Jump: It’s like Contra but you’re in a cave. Lots of shooting, lots of aliens, basically you have to hold out for a certain amount of time while searching the (randomly generated) level until you find the exit, which opens up once the timer hits zero. Until then, you just have to survive waves and waves of enemies using power ups like machine guns, lasers, flame throwers… I’m not gonna say it’s a very unique idea, but they executed this one pretty well.

Fenix Rage: Platformer where you play as a little monster thing whose kingdom is attacked by evil monsters, and now you must get your revenge. Remember when I said Strife wanted to be League of Legends? Well Fenix Rage wants to be Super Meat Boy. Same level design, instant deaths but quick respawns, get to the end of the level in a few seconds to get to the next one, etc. The difference is that Fenix Rage has infinite jumps and a dash, which makes it considerably easier. I’m also not a fan of the fact that the story seems pretty serious, but then gameplay starts and you’re collecting cookies and fighting silly enemies. It’s a weird disconnect.

The Angry Video Game Nerd Movie: Awwww yeah, I got in for a screening of this. This movie is very clearly made for the fans, I don’t think any non-AVGN fans are going to enjoy it. But AVGN fans will love it. Very deliberately going for a B-Movie feeling, silly effects and wacky plots, just a huge laugh of a movie that doesn’t even take itself that seriously. I’m pretty amazed, and extremely impressed, that James Rolfe actually went through with his plans to make this full movie, he deserves all the credit in the world for this.

I’ve been having trouble figuring out what the Best Game at PAX was. I have three candidates, but I just can’t pick between them. So let me just go over all of them…

TIED FOR BEST GAME: Sunset Overdrive

This game was absolutely insane fun. I was put on a team of 7 other players, we had to defend some bombs from monsters. The graphics were appealing, although I wish it was daytime (although the level is called NIGHT MARKET so I assume that’s just a one-level issue). The game controls superbly, although I think I was doing something wrong with the grinding because I kept going slow. There’s a massive variety of weapons, from shotguns to fireworks launchers to freeze cannons to this thing that shoots big poison blobs. At the end of the game, everyone was ranked in terms of how many kills you got. 3rd place (out of 8) got 64. 2nd place got 67. I had 125. I’m not entirely sure what the rest of my team was doing while I was busy killing monsters but whatever, I got the exclusive PAX pin and they didn’t. I really liked this game, but I wonder if killing waves of monsters will get old quickly or if the game will have enough variety to keep people interested.

TIED FOR BEST GAME: The Talos Principle

Remember Myst? It’s like that but a little more technological. The aesthetics are very much like a crumbling castle in the daytime, with an omnipresent voice giving you guidance, although as you go through you start to wonder if he’s really leading you in the right direction. I also found a computer in-game that let me access “The program” and have a philosophical discussion with the programming. The gameplay itself is about just solving each of the rooms and getting through, using lasers and fans and blocks and other tools. I fell in love with everything about this game and will be buying it the absolute nanosecond it comes out. It’s not only a great brain teaser, but it’s another one of those games that’s very, very pretty to look at.

TIED FOR BEST GAME: Super Smash Brothers

Come on were you expecting anything else? I played Smash like 10 times and it was so much fun. The game actually plays a little faster than Brawl did, but not as fast as Melee, and I think that’s a good thing… Melee was almost too fast for me. I’ve heard some people complain about the E3 build that you had to really dedicate yourself to moves as they took too long to complete, but either they fixed it or I didn’t notice, because I thought it played just fine. I got a chance to play as a variety of the new characters, too… Greninja moves super quickly but does like no damage, you have to stick and move as him to get any real damage to build up. Mega Man is really weird to play as, his movement is strange (although just like his actual games) and his side smash actually moves like half screen. But I’m probably gonna end up maining Mega Man anyway because come on he’s MEGA MAN. Little Mac is my favorite newcomer, he hits like a mack truck and does insane damage and knockback, plus he moves insanely fast. The problem is that if he gets launched into the air he’s screwed, he has terrible jumps and even worse recovery. I also got a chance to play this on 3DS and I’m really impressed by how it ran on the system. I’m hoping the netcode for both is good because online play is going to be huge for this game.

Now with all that said, there was NO DOUBT as to what the worst game at PAX was. I was surprised there was such a lineup to play this, because when I played it was kinda horrified by how bad it was…

WORST GAME AT PAX: Sonic Boom

Good. Fucking. God. This was nearly unplayable. FIrst of all, the character design doesn’t look any less stupid than it did when they were revealed… Sonic wears a bizarre neckerchief, Amy has a dress that seems to accentuate her breasts (isn’t she like 13?) and Knuckles has done steroids on his upper body only. Also they decided that one new character (a badger named Sticks who has way too many accessories) wasn’t enough, so there’s ANOTHER one, a wisecracking robot who is quiiiiiiirky. As far as the gameplay I played two levels… one of them was a standard 3D sonic level where you move forward automatically and have to complete the course, but I seriously could not control the damn thing at all. No matter what I did, characters slammed into spikes and fell down pits. The other level was just what you’d expect when you hear “Sonic the Hedgehog”: very slow maze traversal and hand to hand combat with punches and kicks! But the biggest problem with the game? The characters NEVER. SHUT. UP. There are annoying one-liners every 5 seconds, including such gems as Eggman saying “Seriously though, I look cool in this, right?” and “this is my new favorite toy, ever!” Or Knuckles constantly commenting on how hard it is to keep up with Sonic. Or Sonic himself making a short wisecrack every time he picks up a ring such as “BOOYAH” or “Can’t slow Sonic down!” or “Can never grab too many rings!” or “Annnd I’m awesome!” or a hundred other things that make him look like a massive fucking tool. Seriously, I know I’m being negative, but this game is a goddamn disaster.

And that’s about it for the PAX recap! I had a ton of fun and am hyped for a lot of games coming out. But most importantly, something happened at PAX that I’m gonna be able to cherish seriously the rest of my life: I met, and got to shake the hand of, Alexey Pajitnov, the man who invented Tetris.

Yeah, this was pretty awesome.

PAX was a blast, and I look forward to next year. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

And now, back to soaking my poor aching feet and working on a Whale-Related project!

Comments

[RazgrizS57]

That “Spy Party" really intrigues me. Thanks for all the things for me to look into!