PAX East Weekend - The Greatest Show on Earth

      This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the PAX East convention.There was just a shit tons of things to do, see and play. It was a bit overwhelming and for my first videogame convention I probably was a little unprepared. Now for those of you reading this and are unfamiliar with the term, PAX East is the east coast version of the Penny Arcade Expo that happens out in Seattle. The east coast version was started back in 2010 and is held in Boston, Massachusetts. It brings together players from all walks of life. You've got AAA publishers, indie developers, card game and table top enthusiasts all under one roof. And while there isn't much advertising for the event it sells out early every year.

There were demos of everything imaginable. Well almost everything. While Sony and Microsoft did have a presence, showcasing lots of games and apps they didn't have any PS4 or XBOX720. But some of the fancy hardware came from the likes of Nvidia and iRacing, who had a couple of sweet simulation setups.





Nvidia showcased their new handheld platform, Project Shield which had some top notch games like Max Payne 3 and Trapped Dead all in the palm of your hand. With games like Assassin's Creed and Skyrim lined up for their new system, as well as remote PC control they're looking to be a heavy contender with current handhelds out there.

There was also lots of panels, superstar developers and speakers. Gabe and Tycho even did a comic strip of which I'd post the pics but I'd rather tell you about the games. Deep Silver teamed up with Square and had some secret Saint's Row 4 trailers. There were many demos to try as well. Perhaps one of the longest and most anticipated lines was to demo Dead Island Riptide, Metro Last Light and The Elder Scrolls Online. Ubisoft gave us a first look at their awesome new game Watch Dogs.  Marvel Heroes has what looks to be a great looking MMO.

On the indie front Supergiant had Logan Cunningham in their booth selling and no doubt signing shirts while you waited on line to preview their new game Transistor which is shaping up to be another top notch game from the team that brought us Bastion. A few other notable exhibitors was Double Fine with demos for Brutal Legend in addition to some of their other popular games. 11 bit studios had Anomaly 2 which has expanded on their first reverse tower defense hit with better graphics, and added multiplayer.

There were also plenty of new indie gems that you've probably never heard of, some of which was a mixture of iOS/PC games in the PAX Indie showcase. A few of which I'll be giving my own detailed review later on after their release. Just to name a few:

Contrast
Saturday Morning RPG
High Strangness
Little Chomper
Third Eye Crime
Orion's Forge
Organ Trail
McDroid
Divekick
Mutant Mudds

and many, MANY others. Some of which are either out now or coming soon. So keep your eyes open.