PAX East 2012: My Favorite Bits

I know PAX East is still new to Boston (3 years old) and it already feels like an entirely different show than the first expo in 2010. This year's event was phenomenal with tons of games to check out, including small and local indie titles unavailable anywhere else. I probably couldn't even remember half of what I saw and played if it wasn't for all the pics I took. So here there are, just a few of the best bits of PAX East 2012.

Easter Sunday. Not so busy on the outside...

PAX East 2012: Most Promising Game

This past weekend was Penny Arcade's annual celebration of all things gaming. Between a Saturday filled with costumes and picture taking, and a Sunday of non-stop gaming and swag, I'm pretty damn tired. Over the next couple days I'll have some posts recapping the highlights of the weekend shenanigans. First up, a brief preview of a seriously exciting game coming out later this summer: Deadlight.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Demo Hands-On

A good hour into this demo, and one thought occurred to me:

“Wow, so they finally made Fable good.”

Before I even get into the amount of content in the demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, this needs to
be addressed. I’m not even the first to make the comparison, and I’m certainly not the last. Play the demo, leave the first dungeon and start a quest or two in the outer world. You will leave wishing Fables I through III played this good and looked as awesome.

David and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days (in New York) Chapter 2

Ok, enough with the long title nonsense. I hate NYC, Nintendo World Store is awesome, and I bought some scratched Star Fox dog tags. If you didn't read about it earlier do so, because the next sentence won't make a lick of sense.

I owe my wife big time.

Attention Deficit Gamer - IN FUTURISTIC THREE-DEE!

Well, not really 3D.

Netflix just came out on the Nintendo 3DS last week as part of an update to the eShop. Naturally there is some skepticism about the service running on the system, and rightfully so. This isn't a revolutionary update to the handheld, but considering we're talking about the entire Netflix instant catalog running on a handheld without having to pay for an additional data, I'll take it. Here's my take:

Attention Deficit Gamer - Duke Nukem Forever

I felt bad as the first previews and reviews for Duke Nukem Forever came in. Honestly, no one wants to believe that a game over a dozen years in the making is a major crapfest. I mean, we weren't expecting perfection or anything. Even so the words coming out of bloggers' mouths have been down right mean. No punches were pulled, no kid gloves in sight. It's almost as if Duke Nukem himself punched the ever-lovin' tar out of his own reviews. Now I know reviewers can get a bit snooty when it comes to game expectations, so I figured it was my duty to give the Duke a chance.

Oh sweet christmas, I really wish I just listened to the reviewers this one time...

The Playlist - May Edition

I haven't really taken the time to talk about the games I'm actually playing and enjoying, and recently there's been a fairly eclectic mix. Even though it's been a season for new releases (Portal 2, Mortal Kombat) I've pretty much avoided these in favor of some older games. Still, that's not to say I haven't sampled some choice new games coming up.

Attention Deficit Gamer - Section 8: Prejudice Demo

Welcome back to another installment of ADG: Attention Deficit Gamer. Up this round is another Xbox Live demo, because I'm sure as most of you know the PSN is still down from last Thursday or Friday (way too long in either case). Why another demo, you may ask? It's cheaper than buying or renting, simple as that. Not only am I an impatient gamer, I'm a cheapskate too.

Section 8: Prejudice is a download only follow-up to Section 8, a rather generic multiplatform shooter that kind of ripped off Tribes, and not in a good way. The original game didn't really strike a chord with me when I tried the first multiplayer demo, which went something like:

"OhmygodohmygodI'mfallingthisissocoooool!!!1!1"

"Oh, now I'm on the ground. And it sucks. When is Halo: Reach launching, again?"

Sufficed to say I never gave the game a second thought, but apparently the folks at TimeGate Studios (who?) did, and now we have Section 8: Prejudice.

Attention Deficit Gamer - Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga

Welcome to the first-ever Attention Deficit Gamer review. This is going to be a bit of an experiment (just like the rest of the blog) wherein I review games and demos, and sum it up as quickly as possible. Usually, it will be due to the fact that I got bored and walked away within 5-10 minutes, distracted by something mildly amusing.


First up is the Xbox Live demo for Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga. Technically I only played the "remastered" Ego Draconis half of the demo, originally released a few months ago. It never really caught my eye, but it was a pretty dull Saturday and I needed something to try early in the morning. Sufficed to say I never made it to the expansion demo, Flames of Vengeance. I'm assuming it's more of the some, but expansionier.