...And we're back!

Hello out there to everyone in Internet Land!!

It's been far too long, I know. But what can I say except that life happens? It was a busy summer for Speeder and I. But recently, we experienced an event that has inspired us both to pick up our keyboards and get this blog show back on the road. That thing was PAX Prime 2012 in Seattle, Washington and it is the topic of my post today!

For any who may not know, PAX (or Penny Arcade Expo) is a huge gaming convention started by the guys over at the Penny Arcade web-comic. And if you are a gamer, you NEED to know what this thing is all about. I didn't quite know what to expect when we first decided to go, but now that I have been to this unbelievable convention, I can tell you this: if ever there was a geek equivalent of Mecca, this would definitely be it. There were thousands and thousands of gaming nerds flooding the streets of downtown Seattle for three days. And I mean all types of nerds: video gamers, table top gamers, RPG gamers, cos-players, ALL OF THEM! I have never been surrounded by so many of "my people" in one place at any point in my life. But the really fascinating and fantastic thing about all of these strangers was that I felt an almost instant camaraderie with them. We'd be waiting in line for a panel or something else and play Cards Against Humanity with a bunch of people we didn't know, or we'd start up a conversation with other people standing in line and just talk games. It was a truly amazing experience. 

But it wasn't just the people that made the trip awesome. The games...oh the games! The very first thing we did once the expo hall opened on Friday was rush over to the Sega Games booth and get into line to play Aliens: Colonial Marines. This game is set to come out on February 12th, 2013 so I have a decent amount of time I have to wait until I get to play it in full. The feeling of sitting down and getting to play this game for 15 minutes was pure joy to me. You can ask Speeder if you don't believe me. The look on my face was pure joy. I've played a lot of Aliens-based games in my day, and this one definitely looks promising. I definitely felt like I was part of a squad of marines trying to escape an alien infestation. After my turn was up, we watched the Alien players (guys from Gearbox, the team producing the game) play against the next group of marine players. In watching, my only current concern about this game is the speed of the Aliens. They seemed really slow, and that characteristic really ruined the Alien gaming experience in Aliens Versus Predator 2. But until the game actually comes out, I guess we won't know for sure.
 We played ZombieU for the new WiiU system, and had mixed reviews. It was not the game but the console itself that kind of bothered Speeder and I. Your controller essentially looks like a tablet with buttons. During the game, you kind of have to alternate between looking at the TV and the console screen. It became a bit easier as you played it, but was still pretty disorienting. It didn't help that there was a guy dressed as a british Queen's guard zombie who was shambling around and blankly staring at people as they played. He would also laugh at people when they'd get killed. 
 Speeder played the new Tomb Raider game which is actually a prequel to the classic series. It is a beautiful game (from what I've seen thus far) and I'm curious to see the rest of the story of how Lara Croft became the Tomb Raider.
I got to play the Walking Dead game from TellTale games (available on PS3, X-Box 360 and Steam) and I enjoyed it. It was pretty much a hybrid between a point-and-click and an adventure game that is also episodic. I think I'm going to have to buy the series now that I was allowed to get a taste. I love the Walking Dead graphic novel series and I feel like this game is a good addition to the mythos.
We wanted to try out Borderlands 2 and the new God of War game but the lines for them seemed endless each day. Luckily, Borderlands 2 is coming out in a few more days so the wait will be over soon. 
We also played Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64 in the free console play areas and although these games are very dated by now, they are still great to play. I was mean and made Speeder race me on the original Rainbow Road. Oh he was so mad at me!

To sum it up, PAX was simply incredible. The only downside was that it eventually had to end, and it left Speeder and I both with post-PAX depression (real thing!) We have decided that we definitely want to try and go next year, and I encourage anyone else who's even mulling over the idea to find a way to go at least once. You won't regret it. I can't wait until next year!