That's it folks! PAX Prime 2010 has come to a close and day three was just as surprising and different as the previous two days. Today can be characterized with a single word: rage. It seemed like a majority of attendants, staff and everyone else were angry as hell, whether due to lack of sleep, hangovers, or the impending return to the real world.
The coffee lady in the morning, the old security guys at the expo gate, the booth babes, the pr folk, the attendees waiting in line, and especially the PAX 'Enforcers'. I heard many an Enforcer berate an atendee over the past few days, but something must have gone terribly wrong today. Those folk were out for blood. I'm pretty sure one of them was seriously considering strangling Jeff Schille -- the nicest editor Game Rant will ever have -- for answering a trivia question when it wasn't his turn.
So I avoided claustrophobic places and wandered the exhibition floor looking for anything I might have missed over the weekend. I took peeks at solid looking MMOs like TERA, Rift and Star Wars: The Old Republic. I went off-road with Motorstorm: Apocalypse and Nail'd. And I continued to arrogantly smirk and snort at the Kinect and Move stations. Enjoy your expensive gimmicks and terrible games, impulse buyers!
My favorite moment on the show floor today was when I found Raskulls, from Halfbrick. If you haven't heard of this game, it's a quirky little four player racing game. It's 2D and you race to the finish by destroying clumps of blocks, avoiding falling obstacles and slowing down your enemies when the opportunity presents itself. The game is beyond simple, but it's fast and light-hearted and very fun. There is a full single player campaign as well, and while I wasn't able to play it I came out thinking it would be like a Bomberman single player. Full of clever puzzles and interesting design. Make sure to check it out on XBLA later this year.
Continuing to avoid lines I rounded out my indie adventures, so expect a full writeup on PAX's indie games over the coming week.
Beyond that, I watched a panel led by Insomniac Games. They persuaded me that Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is a must by (okay, I was already persuaded). And I rounded out my day by going into the PC free-play area, filled with Enforcers hellbent on ruining PAX for as many people as possible. "YOUR TIME IS UP, I ASKED YOU TO LEAVE 10 MINUTES AGO," said the Enforcer to the the eight year old.
Then I ate a huge burrito and took a nap!
The PAX away team has some great impressions to share with you over the coming week, Ranters. From Duke Nukem Forever to Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, or Mortal Kombat to Portal 2, look forward to it!
So, I'll cap off this final PAX Midnight Rant by thanking you for reading my sleep deprived diatribe. I hope the small look I provided into the world of PAX was as fun to read as it has been to share!