Pixel Theories | a gamer getting older...

PAX recap

Today is the last day of PAX.  I thought that I would be more dilligent about posting stuff.  But this is one expo that is more geared towards fun and staying up really late (the beer, totally my fault).  Thus no posts thus far.  However, my impressions of everything that I've seen over the last three days will be up tonight and as well as a few other thing; i.e. a review of "The Summer of Arcade." 

My PAX schedule.

Friday

2:00pm - Gears of War 2

3:30pm - Omegathon Round 1

4:30pm - Expo Hall

6:00pm - Ubisoft presents EndWar

8:00pm- Omegathon Round 2

9:00pm - Movie: The Guild

Saturday

10:00am - Expo Hall

11:30am - Omegathon Round 2

12:30pm - Expo Hall

2:30pm - Bethesda presents Fallout 3

3:30pm - Expo Hall

4:30pm - Microsoft TBA

6:00pm - Ubisoft presents PoP & FC 2

7:00pm - Meet the PAX 10!

8:30pm - Omegathon Round 4

10:00pm - Movie: Nerdcore for Life

11:30pm - Concert: MC Frontalot / The Minibosses

Sunday

10:00am - Halo Wars

10:30am - New Xbox Experience

1:00pm - Omegathon Round 5

2:00pm - Expo Hall

5:00pm - Omegathon Final Round

I won't be bloggin during PAX.  But my twitter should be pretty active.

Bungie's latest...

We all have seen it by now, the acceptance video Bungie has posted in response to receiving EDGE's award for interactive innovation.  For those of who have been living under a rock, the video features many of the game's designers and artists' avatars alongside NPC's from the campaign of Halo 3.  They use the video to hint that they could not receive the award in person because they are working on something big.  In addition, the webisode is used to show off maps within the multi-player half of Halo 3, NPC's, and the end of the video hints of a possible map editor that could be released soon.

However, in the latest reach around Weekly Update from Bungie, it is clearly stated that they have no plans to release an map maker, editor, or whatever for Halo 3.  And accuse many of their hardcore base of suggesting that just because the video may have hinted at some form of editing elements with NPC's, Bots, yada yada; we were all just a bunch of a-holes spreading such a rumor like wildfire.

I really used to like the mind games that this company used to promote their software and by that I mean The CortanaLetters, i love bees, and IRIS.  But this latest marketing ploy is just total bullshit.  It's not funny, and worse it's not clever.  It just may be the first real hint that the boys and gals at Bungie are losing it.

Add the aforementioned to Bungie's latest IP, codenamed Halo:Blue, being yanked last minute at E3 and something is rotten in Redmond.  Though the dev claims that MS pulled the plug on their big reveal, it's starting to seem more plausible that the grandmaster's of cock teasing multi-player latency, are just pulling their old tricks with less and less fashion.

Let me put it this way if I show up at your house in black pants, a polo, and a poorly manufactured hat with a pizza; you're going to assume that it's meant to be delivered and dare I say eaten.  What if I told you that i was just cruising I-5 and thought that I'd drop by and show you what a pizza looked like, or better yet had no intentions of letting anyone consume the pizza.  Not only have I wasted your time, I've been a complete douche bag in the process.  And perhaps that is what the inmates at Bungie have been all this time: a myriad of class clowns that had a few funny jokes, but can't graduate from the realms of destructive comedy, bad pranks, and fart jokes.

What to do the day before/after PAX.

Eight more days before PAX; 8 more days before a wave of people from all over the country and beyond descend on Seattle for three days of music and art at Bumbershoot and video games and nerdcore at PAX.  So since many of you will be visiting my home city, I decided that I would create a list of things to do if you get in a day before, or you feel like staying a day after Labor Day weekend.  I know I wouldn't want to travel the Monday after.

Here is where you can find the itinerary.  I took a couple of things for granted:
1) I assumed that you were attending PAX and thus had a hotel in DT/financial district of Seattle.
2) That you have never been to Seattle before.
3) That you weren't interested in venturing too far from the main touristy stuff.
4) That you can walk 5.7 miles in a day and not get exhausted (the hills in Seattle will make these 5.7 miles feel like 10).

Starbucks
You should probably catch a cab to get you here, just tell him it's the Pike Place Starbucks.  If he's an idiot he'll drop you off in front of Pike Place.  Hopefully you get an experienced driver.  FYI, This is not just any Starbucks mind you but the first Starbucks.  The one that started it all.  The inside has been preserved to the original old world state.  Get here early, the lines sometimes go out the door.

Pike Place Market
It's likely that you'll see the infamous neon sign before you see the coffee shop, but alas the PPM is a three tier odyssey with everything from antiques to comics to flying fish.  A must see.

Seattle Aquarium
If you want to you can follow the map to walk down hill to the Aquarium.  But if your feeling adventurous you  can find stairs that will lead you down to the piers from PPM.  This is not a must see, but merely a stop on the way to the next locale and a reason to get down to the waterfront and walk the piers of Seattle.

Ivars Acres of Clams
Really good fish and chips, from a Seattle original restaurant.  Save some bucks and order food from outside.  Try to distance yourself from the restaurant after you get your order, tourists have been feeding the seagulls so much that they expect to get half your plate.

Westlake Center
Nothing really to see in Westlake that you can't see in any other overpriced mall in the country.  But take the escalators to the third floor.  There you'll find the Seattle Monorail and a shortcut to Seattle Center.

Seattle Center
It's gonna be packed. The Seattle Center is home to Bumbershoot every summer on Labor Day weekend, it's a great festival, but it's gone a little "Disney" the last four years or so with the special BS passes.  If your taking this route on Thursday or Monday, you should be fine.  If it's during the weekend, expect long lines for eveything:Space Needle, IMAX, Pacific Science Center, and food.

Experience Music Project
Right outside the SC and a must see if you've never been to Seattle and a big music fan.  Paul Allen's tribute to Seattle musician and music is a little overpriced but worth it to fans of all genres of music.

Dick's Drive-In
It's probably time for lunch and Dick's will be on the other side of SC, cut through the park for drive in burgers/fries/shakes for five greenbacks.

Westlake Center
You could probably hang around SC, but there's nothing really to see find the Monorail station within SC and head back to Westlake.  Now's a better time to hit the local shops, up a block and a half is Pacific Place, and around the area you can find Niketown, the Fox Sports Grill, Nordstroms HQ, among others.

Seattle Art Museum
SAM has been expanded over the last three years and is actually on par with other Museum's I've been to (excluding MMoA in NYC).  If you're a fan of art, you really get your bang for your buck at SAM.

Cheesecake Factory
Time for dinner.  There's also Gordon Biersch and a few other resturants at the top of Pacific Place.

Sleep then go to PAX/Home.

Upcoming PAX posts.

With PAX just about two weeks away I am going to be turning my attention to all things related to the indie expo and what my plan of attack for the con will be. So here's a little list of what's coming up.

- What to do in Downtown Seattle.
- My PAX schedule.
- Daily PAX Updates.
- Post SWAG Bragathon.

L8rs.

Get Braid and 400 MS points for just $15.

Target is having a sale on 1600 MS Points cards; so you no longer have any real reason to bitch about Braid's pricing on XBLM.  That is of course if you can't find one.  In fact if you've read the first sentence I seriously urge you to get to a Target ASAP.  Because I imagine there are others like myself that will buy 4 cards which essentially makes the fourth card free.  When I was at Target last night there were about thirty, so I didn't feel to bad when I swiped more than one.  But I imagine that most Target stores will be sold out by either late tonight or early tomorrow.

Braid by the way is an excellent game.  And though you may be able to blaze through most of the game in less than a day, it'll be seven hours well spent.  I myself have four pieces left to find, and while I doubt that I'll have the patience to complete the speed runs, I will definitely give it a try. 

So there you have it, get to Target, buy a discounted points card, get Braid off of the Marketplace, and be 400 MS points towards your way to Bionic Commando Rearmed which releases in a few days.

FYI, I know the picture is crap, looking to get an iPhone, when I don't have to wait in a line for hours on end.

I take really good care of my games.

Dropped off a few games yesterday at a local GameStop, I was hoping to get enough cash to get a 4000 MS points card.  It was sort of weird because I rarely go there anymore, it's usually to trade games in, never buy. In total there were 5 games and after confirming with the sales clerk that I was merely trading games in and thinking about buying something, she started inspecting the discs.

She asked if I had even played the games.  I told her that I had, and tried to get as much GS points as I could in the process.  She seemed surprised; and said that they looked new.  She went on to describe how bad the condition of most of the games they get for trade-ins.  I told her that The Simpsons game which I bought used off of GameFly is in pretty bad shape.  It had been scratched pretty badly when I got it, so I put it through a cycle in my disc repair kit.

She said it's still looked pretty good.  Which leads me to believe that there are an assload of kids out there that are doing something other than playing vids with thier game disc's!?!  I know it's a maturity thing, and the majority of gamers are kids that probably don't buy their games with their own hard earned cash.  But, now I have serious reservations about buying games used.

Anyway I was out the door with my 4000 MS points card with only $10.99 out of my pocketbook; time to get Braid, GW2 and Bionic Commando!!!