While I wasn’t there for the inception of PAX, I have gone for the past few years. From humble beginnings, PAX has grown, yet each year has brought an awesome experience no matter the size. The PAX 10 and the good natured “nerdosity” of everyone there being what I remember most fondly.

The days leading to PAX weekend moved very fast and then suddenly it was upon me. My friends and I were excited heading up I-5 Friday morning. Everything was at a fever pitch as soon as noon hit, when members of the press were let in two hours early to the Exhibition Hall. With me being the only one of the writers lucky enough to get a press badge here at Blinky’s, I felt a little intimidated by the huge walls and booths that littered the Hall’s floor. While it certainly had a steady flow of people through the walkways (PAX staff, Exhibitors and Press), it was excessively roomy and quiet. And the perfect time to ask questions and demo games that were just sitting there, waiting to be played.

The Xbox 360 booth offered demos of games ranging from Viva Pinata: TIP and Infinite Undiscovery, to latest and future releases of their arcade games. Viva 2 picks up were the other left off, with an increase in Pinatas, plants to grow, accessories , minigames, functional co-op play, and now with downloadable cards.

Nintendo offered prominently the new Animal Crossing: City Folk, Wario Land: Shake It and Wii Music (which, I must say, got kinda old after a few days walking by the booth and hearing nothing but poor renditions of the Zelda and Mario theme). Later, they offered me and my friends Wii-mote mint gum tins as swag for playing their games. I must say that the new Wario game for the Wii is gorgeous. Not only does it have beautiful 2D animations but the controls are intuitive and the gameplay is fun. And of course, our anti-hero, Wario, is as greedy and smelling of garlic as ever. I would recommend this game to any Wii owner.

I did a demo of Hudson’s Deca Sports, Bomberman Blast, and Fishing Master World Tour. They also had Alien Crush Returns. All of them were rather amusing and entertaining. Deca Sports had a good line up of games that you don’t see on Wii Sports. Curling (which was surprisingly fun), archery, ice skating, and badminton to name a few. If you like Wii Sports, this is a great addition to your collection. Fishing Master had many places to fish around the world from the Amazon to Tokyo Bay with about as many fish and sea life to catch as well. Apart from the cheesy story, it is a relatively deep fishing game and one of the better ones out there to try. Bomberman featured classic Bomberman action with an online twist. The Wii version will have online 8-player multiplayer and the ability to play as your Mii with numerous battlefields and options.

The PAX 10 was amazing this year. Audio Surf and Schizoid along with The Maw were my personal favorites but, don’t let that discount all the rest. Here’s a list of descriptions for each from a previous article. With Audio Surf, players hook in their MP3 player and the game generates a racing/obstacle course according to the beat of the song playing. It has a neon, vector style reminiscent of Rez. Schizoid is a co-op game where you and your friend play different colored galactic bugs while helping eachother and eating enemies at the same time as solving puzzles. Teamwork is a must in this game. The Maw is a 3D platformer with a cute but hungry, giant, alien pet that you can control with your main characters leash. The humor throughout makes for a entertaining and pleasing game.

As the days wore on, the lines appeared…, from Blizzard’s Starcraft II to the new 4 player co-op zombie extravaganza Left 4 Dead. Fallout 3 had their retro Streamliner trailer hooked up outside their booth which was probably one of the coolest booth setups yet. They also had their demo on Saturday which filled up every seat and they still had people waiting to take a peak outside but were not able to get in. Free swag was passed out by everyone imaginable at this convention, and much of it (as it turns out) is worth a lot to the people who sell on ebay.

Be that as it may, I think the gossip heard around the Con for a couple years now may be too accurate to admit: We have a new E3 on our hands. PA has already admitted that PAX has already grown so large, that in about a couple of years, there will be an East Coast US PAX, separated from it’s originator here on the West Coast. What will happen to an already bulging convention? Only time (and Gabe and Tycho) can tell.

-Asura