PAX: The Leftovers

The wild thing about PAX is there’s really so much to see and do, it’s hard to take it all in. I got to play a ton of great new games, many of which you’ve already read about. There were also a few other not-so-great ones, which you no doubt read about as well.

In the end, though, there were too many to do write-ups on all of them, so I just focused on the ones that stuck out to me most for some reason or another. However, I’ve put together a list of the other games that I saw, played and gathered some brief impressions of:

• Starcraft 2 was playable on the show floor, but the lines were always way too long to get to it. With an RTS it’s hard to get a sense of what the game is like just from watching some dudes play it with no sound, but I do have to say that it was still captivating. The graphics were pretty slick, and the amount of effects happening on the screen at all times was staggering.
• Left 4 Dead had one of the craziest booths at the whole show, and the line was seriously always about an hour long on both sides of it, as they were allowing people to come in and play 4 player co-op together over LAN. I had no idea that there was this much buzz for the game, but from what I watched, it looked incredible. Hordes of zombies, lots of shooting, and TONS of teamwork are really going to make this game stand out. I can’t wait for it.
• Mirrors Edge is an FPS that I still don’t know what to think about. It’s part shooter/ part parkour (freerunning) simulator. One thing I did notice from PAX though, it’s stunning to look at in motion. I have to admit, some of these videos I’ve watched I thought were pre-rendered, but man, the game is just gorgeous in motion. Also, it’s nauseating. But that may have been because the dude I was watching sucked.
• LOTR Conquest is a game from some of the dudes behind Star Wars: Battlefront, and it translates that same concept of reliving these epic battles from a popular movie franchise in the Lord of the Rings world. I got to play some of the Gondor battle, and it seemed to be a good time, though I was playing the single player campaign. I hesitate at the thought of playing with just 15 other people, and I don’t know if the epic-ness will translate over into that mode.
• Fable II was another one of those games always surrounded by throngs of people, itching for a glimpse at what looks to be a fantastic experience. The graphics and the art style are what really stuck out to me when watching others play the demo, I think the world is going to be something beautiful to behold. Can’t wait!
• Little Big Planet is a game that’s hard to say anything new about. It always had an enormous crowd around it, and there was nothing being shown that I hadn’t seen before. But damn it if I can’t get my hands on it soon enough…
• The New 360 Dashboard is much more impressive to watch in person and in motion than it is to watch on video demonstrations. Major Nelson gave a deft tour of the new features, and I have to say that I’m genuinely excited about the interface.

So, those were the last few games that I didn’t really have a chance to cover. Which upcoming games featured at PAX are the ones that you’re most excited for?