pax 07

Games, Hope And Charity

6:00AM Flynn De Marco | It always warms my heart to hear gamers acting selflessly and this little tale from the halls of PAX is one that deserves telling. Mr. Pulsar (pictured, above) arrived at PAX this year wanting to compete in the Guitar Hero II Tourneys and with the help of a new found friend ended up taking first place in the GH II team competition. In an amazing feat he turned around the next day and took home first place in the GH II singles tourney as well. Using the prize points he had won in the tournaments, he then purchased a Wii which he took around the conference and had various internet gaming celebs sign. Signers included VG Cats’ Scott Ramsoomair and the masters of PAX themselves, Gabe and Tycho. Once the Wii was autographed to the teeth, he promptly donated it to Child’s Play, Penny Arcade’s charity for hospitalised children, to be auctioned off. It really gives me renewed faith in the gaming populace to hear stories like this and I hope that other gamers will read this story and be inspired to similar acts. A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Pulsar, you are truly a Guitar Hero in more ways than one. More »

VGXPO Visits PAX

6:30AM Mike Fahey | You can’t have a highly successful gaming convention without the competition showing up to hawk their own ghettoised version of your event, especially when you’re a show as big as PAX. Not only were E for All reps there handing out glow sticks, further strengthening the link with raver culture we thought we were kidding about, but the Seattle convention received a special visit from VGXPO executive director Ed Fleming, the very figure of grace and charm. According to the PA folks, Fleming was on hand posing as a member of the press, taking pictures of the exhibit halls and gaming rooms, interviewing PAX volunteers about how the show is run, and trying to sell his Philadelphia-based convention to the vendors on the show floor. Quite a piece of work, eh? Well it gets better. More »

The Army Invades PAX

7:10AM Flynn De Marco | Whilst strolling around PAX I happened into the back of the of the hall and noticed this massive Army booth. I was surprised and a little curious because not only could I not see any games present, but the sign hanging over the booth seemed a bit odd, reading “”No Power-Ups, No Cheat Codes, No Easy Mode.” More »

GC Asia Announced Just To Piss Us Off

11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | ENOUGH WITH THE SHOWS. E3 ends, and shortly after that, there’s Leipzig. Just after that, there is PAX. Then? Then we’ve got the Tokyo Games Show. But between PAX and TGS, there’s GC Asia, which runs from September 6-9 in Singapore. Sony will be in appearance at GCA, showing off PS3 and PSP games, while Nintendo will be using the event to launch the Wii in the region (cue Wii Sports kiosks). Also, Electronic Arts will be showing off 15 titles, including Crysis, FIFA 08 and Rock Band. Expect appearances by Blizzard and Nokia NGage as well! Seriously. Event organisers, spread this stuff out so we can actually cover it all without dying. This is getting RIDICULOUS. GC Asia Info [Games Industry] More »

A Polite Smattering Of Cosplay

1:40PM Flynn De Marco | PAX isn’t exactly brimming with cosplay. Everyone is too busy playing games, grabbing the copious amounts of swag and not showering. But, I did manage to grab a few snaps (along with the help of my friends Chris and Qais) of some of the costumes roaming about. This one here definitely wins my special prize for best cosplay of PAX. When he arrived on the scene, the hall was filled with wolf whistles and catcalls, in fact he may have even been the hottest girl at the show. More »

Frag Doll Finalists Grilled

3:20AM Flynn De Marco | The PAX floor opened an hour early each day so press could come in and check some of the offerings out before the crowds arrived and I got in early yesterday to check out Folklore and Heavenly Sword. As I was walking towards the Sony booth, I saw this sign advertising a casting call for a new member of the Frag Dolls. Knowing how much the majority of our readers like the ladies, I figured I’d take a snap of the poster and find out a little bit more about it. More »

Men In Kilts

2:20AM Flynn De Marco | While my esteemed colleagues were running around Germany boozing it up, eating sausages and ogling girls in various states of consciousness, I was left to wander the halls of PAX alone, taking in as much as I could. I’m sorry to report that there was a distinct lack of hotness, both male and female although there were a few stand outs here and there. One odd phenomenon I did notice was the prevalence of kilts among many of the male members of the convention, especially the workers who were all sporting PAX t-shirts reading “Enforcer” on the back. I stopped the guy here at the left and snapped a picture and he kindly filled me in on the details concerning this odd but popular practice. Apparently, this sort of thing is quite common amongst Table Top Gamers in particular and the company that makes them, Utilikilts, is based right here in Seattle. Of course, I had to ask the inevitable question. “Are you going commando under there?” (you can always count on me to go for the tough questions) His reply, “No, I really don’t think that’s necessary.” Ah Table Top Gamers, such strange customs you have… More »

The Mass Effect 360 Winner

2:00PM Flynn De Marco | One of the main games being focused on this year at the Microsoft booth was Mass Effect with the game being demoed to large crowds every couple of hours. They also ran a contest with the prize being a “customised” Mass Effect Elite 360, “customised” in this case meaning autographed by everyone who worked on the game and featuring a Mass Effect faceplate. As the end of the conference drew near, the crowd gathered en masse to hear who the winner was going to be and I was on hand to snap a photo of the happy winner. Congrats to Brian Webb on his awesome prize! Make the jump to check out a close up of his hard won treasure. More »