Unofficial PAX thread 2010

By AgentJ August 20, 2010 8 Comments

         

It's that time of the year again:Leaves begin to fall off trees, the release schedule becomes a little more cramped, and Penny Arcade Expo is right around the corner. In 2009, the big deals on the show floor were Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2, and Borderlands. In 2010, however, things are looking quite a bit different.  
Fallout 3 was a huge draw when it hit the show floor a few years ago, and I fully expect lines for New Vegas to be the longest of the convention  
Could the 3DS make an appearance? I'm crossing my fingers. 
Halo Reach will draw some crowds 
Zelda: Skyward Sword is a pretty good bet.  
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow will get its first public lambasting :P 
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will be a big draw as well.

My pass and invitation came in the mail today. 

Gallery

 

PAX USER GUIDE

For convenience sake I'm posting an updated version of my handy dandy PAX travel guide from 2009. I'll see all of you at the Giantbomb Panel! 
Purchasing Tickets:
PennyArcadeExpo.com
Note that there is a cap on attendence this year. Despite increased capacity (the main theater and other pieces have been moved off-site.)
 
Schedule: 
Since the thing is so gigantic this year, instead of posting the image on the thread itself I'm just going to supply a link. 

Travel: 
Seattle's major airport is Sea-Tac International. and it is well organized with very clear directions. It's about 20-30 minutes out of downtown. 
Seattle has finally gotten with the times and added a Light Rail system. To get to the expo from the airport, you want to find the airport Light Rail station and from there ride the train all the way to the other end (takes about 35 minutes). From there, you want to walk south (or in the direction the train came from) one block, and on your left a few blocks down should be a large glass ledge about 10 stories above the street. Go towards that, because that is the convention center. It should look something like this: 

 
Because of this available transportation alternative, no one attending from out of state should need to rent a car. Either stay at one of the hotels downtown or near the airport. 
 
Stuff TO DO:
Game Rooms: rent a game for about thirty minutes at a time, to play by yourself, with friends or with complete strangers! Don't worry about the game you want to play being there. It will be.
Handheld lounge: Sit in the most comfortable chairs you've ever been unable to get yourself out of and play your choice DS or PSP game with the rest of the loungers. This includes scheduled tournaments for select games like Pokemon, Elite Beat Agents, Dissidia, Mario Kart, and MORE!
Concerts: Check out the concert list below for all your awesome nerd music needs!
Booths: Grab free swag and demo the latest games from all your favorite companies. Couldn't make it to E3? This is the next best thing! A few years ago they had Fallout 3 demoing, and they gave out Vault Boy Puppets! 
Panels: Watch Gabe and Tycho make one of their comic strips, Listen to one of your favorite developers talk about their work, or just goof off with the members of Red VS Blue!
Shopping: Buy Penny Arcade swag, or visit one of the many other various retailers, like Pink Godzilla, which sells retro and import games.
Omegathon: A 20 player tournament that lasts all three days of the competition, ending in an undisclosed game matchup. Two years ago, the final game was Halo 3 (yes, before it even came out to retail), and last year, the final game was Excitebike. The grand prize last year was all expenses payed trip to the Tokyo Game Show!
Keynote: No matter who the speaker is, it's always funny and always enjoyable. This year it'll be Warren Spector

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