With the weekend now gone, it’s time to recap what we saw at PAX08.

PAX was, in short, fucking amazing.  Ken Levine of BioShock fame lead things off with a tremendous Key Note, audio available at Joystiq on what it was that all brought us to Seattle.  As Ken put it, we’re all just a bunch of fucking nerds.  PAX is a nerd mecca, with panels, concerts and guests tailored to the nerdish pallette.

Following Ken’s were Gabe and Tycho, the Kings of PAX and creative geniuses behind Penny Arcade.  They announced the date and location of the new PAX flavor, PAX East Coast, to grace the fine city of Boston in March of 2010.  This is certainly excellent news as cross-country trips to Seattle are not trivial for East Coasters such as myself.

Aside from the Ken’s kick-off, the Penny Arcade Panel with Gabe and Tycho, and concerts, most of my time was spent wandering the show’s floor playing whatever games I could get my grubby hands on.  Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3, Starcraft 2, Wrath of the Lich King, Champions Online, Resistance 2, Red Faction, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Dead Space and numerous other upcoming titles were represented in delicious playable form.

Certainly the stand-out game was Left 4 Dead.  Left 4 Dead was playable on the 360 platform for those who braved the lines, which seemed interminable for the entiriety of the con, whoever, I doubt any who did were disappointed.  In fact I overheard numerous attendees planning to wait through the lines again for another brief taste.  It was that good.  The game, in case you are unfamiliar, pits you and your co-op cohorts as 4 survivors against the odds in a genuine zombie apocalypse.  However, these are no Romero stumbling, fumbling brain-dead zombies, but more the fast and deadly 28 Days Later variety, with some interesting mutations.  Wandering around the level with 3 other survivors, outfitted with Molotov Cocktails, Firearms and Med Packs, we hardly progressed a few short blocks before one of us nudged a parked car setting off an alarm and triggering a zombie blitz.  This game is challenging, creepy and a fucking blast.  This will be another hit for Valve.

Fallout 3, as well, will certainly be a hit.  The game oozes depth and complexity, and frankly that may be a bit much to try to wrangle with in one small demo play.  Plot, world size and variety, and other such lofty elements are far behind the scope of what one can glean from 15 minutes or so, so it was mostly game mechanics that were on display.  The world seemed open and ready to have it’s every ruined building and mutated landscape explored and it’s secrets revealed.  This should be a tremendous game, perhaps along the lines of Oblivion, who it shares an engine with.  Even in the short demo there were many paths to travel, although most players I observed made it little past the opening village as they immediately started a firefight with the locals.

Red Faction and Resistance were admirable console shooters, accessible and entertaining.  Red Faction’s backpack powerups seemed reminisicent of Tribes, an FPS I hold in high esteem.  Rock Band 2 appeared to correct many shortcomings and annoyances of it’s previous incarnation, building on an already stable platform.  Guitar Hero is of couse playing catch up, but World Tour appears poised to balance the scales.  It’s nice to see Guitar Hero actually evolve rather than just regurgitate the same game with new songs and a new goofy theme.  Gears of War 2 appeared to be more of what made Gears of War a blast, some kick-ass multiplayer.  I actually got a chance to play it against the guys from the Totally Rad Show, who cut to the front of the line, but fortunately not the front of the line I was in.  Always fun when you can chainsaw gun some internet celebrities.

The concerts of PAX were a mixed bag.  Although Freezepop seemed to have a following, I could have done without their dual keytar over synthesized sound.  Jonathan Coulton and the OneUps put on a hell of a show.  I only caught bits and pieces of the Saturday night shows as I was enjoying some dinner and some Rock Band free play.

And that’s roughly it.  Be sure to check out the photo galleries of those who take far better (and more) photos than I, some of the cosplay was truly outstanding.  Hit the links below to check out more info.

Kotaku’s Omega PAX Post
Kotaku’s Cosplay Gallery
Joystiq’s Cosplay Gallery Day 1 & Day 2 & Day 3
Joystiq’s PAX Posts

What is this PAX you say?  According to the official FAQ:

PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. We call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas we’ve got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, the weekend-long Omegathon event, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Even with all this amazing content the best part of PAX is hanging out with other people who know their shit when it comes to games.

This year will be my first PAX, as Seattle is a little bit of a haul from Upstate NY.  Sounds like an absolutely amazing time, so sign up today and save $10 on your registration.  See you there!

Penny Arcade Expo 2008