On Day 2 of PAX, I was able to check out more games than the first day. I visited big company booths like Nintendo, Sega, Square-Enix, and Valve, as well as smaller companies with big surprises in store, too!

Once nice thing about the second day is that they let the media in a little bit earlier than everyone else. Too bad I didn’t know that at first. They didn’t announce it very well. But at least I was able to check out some games early, like Nintendo’s.

Nintendo

They had a big display for Metroid: Other M, but I didn’t check it out much since I already had the game. There was a neat display of Samus’ outfits, though.

My favorite game at E3, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, was also on hand to play. It was the same as the E3 demo, but I was happy to wait in line to try it anyway, as I got a cool Kirby sticker afterwards. In Kirby’s latest adventure, he and the enemies are made of yarn, and the world looks like a patchwork scrapbook. One thing I noticed in the demo that I don’t think anyone has talked about yet was that while battling the dragon boss, I noticed that as you weakened it, the yarn that the dragon is made out of becomes more frayed and unraveled looking. Anyway, Kirby’s Epic Yarn comes out in October, and I’m really excited about it. Seems a lot of others are, too, as the game had the longest line at Nintendo’s booth.

Another E3 demo they had at PAX was for Donkey Kong Country Returns. It definitely felt like a new DKC game, with plenty of 2-D action and lots of hidden secrets and bonus stages. But I’m a little worried about the controls. You jump with the A button and roll and ground pound by shaking the remote. It’s a little hard to do a rolling jump when you have to shake the remote and hit the A button at the same time. I wish you could hold the remote sideways or use the Classic Controller. I do like that two people can play at the same time, now. Player one controls Donkey Kong and player two uses Diddy Kong. It’s similar to how New Super Mario Bros. Wii worked. At any rate, a lot of today’s gamers grew up playing the DKC games on the SNES. I know one of my little brother Jeff’s first words was “Donkey Kong.” So I bet there will be a lot of gamers his age who will want to try this new one.

One surprise Nintendo showed at PAX was a new WiiWare game called Fluidity. In it, you tilt the remote left and right to tilt the world on screen in order to move water around. It really reminded me of Loco Roco, one of my favorite PSP games. In fact, I’ve always said that Loco Roco was the best game Nintendo never made. Fluidity also best describes the controls, as they are very fluid and natural feeling. You can even shake the remote to make the water ‘jump.’ At the end of the stage, you end up bringing the water to a herd of thirsty buffalo. There’s no announced date for Fluidity yet, but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it.

Nintendo showcased some other games, too, mostly for DS. Groups of people were gathered around, trading treasure maps for Dragon Quest 9 and downloading a new one at PAX. I even got a blue Slime drawstring bag. The new Golden Sun game was there, too.

Disney Interactive

Disney was showing off two games at their booth: TRON and Epic Mickey. The new TRON game is based on the upcoming movie, and looks like a 3-D action-adventure. The demo stations had really cool light up controllers, and if you preorder the game you get a little light cycle statue. A bigger light cycle was at the booth and they were giving away T-shirts, but ran out quickly. At any rate, I can’t wait for the movie at least, as I loved the first one as a kid.

While it may look like a typical 3-D platformer, Epic Mickey has a lot of good ideas and characters. Mickey is trapped in a world created by forgotten cartoons like Oswald the Rabbit, the Phantom Blot, and the Mad Doctor, and it’s up to Mickey to save this world. I tromped through a level that looked like a dilapidated Disneyland, complete with the Dumbo and teacup rides. Mickey can spray paint that can fix machines and make platforms, or thinner that can erase things. I’ll definitely be looking out for this Wii game when it comes out this Christmas season.

D3 Publisher

My first official meeting of the second day was with D3 Publisher, and they were showing off an upcoming Xbox LIVE game: Bangai-O HD. It’s a frantic shooter from Treasure with puzzle elements, and fans may remember it on the Dreamcast and DS. The Xbox LIVE version features more than 100 levels and a stage creator so you can make and share your own challenges. And the dual analog controls work great, too. It’ll be available in the next few months. I like that enemies leave fruit behind, which makes it a little silly. Plus the short arcade levels seem a perfect fit for Treasure’s style.

The Gig

After that meeting, I passed by what looked like a Rock Band or Guitar Hero display, but it’s actually for a new game called The Gig. The guitar controller for this game is unique in that it uses strings like a real guitar. If you’d rather use buttons, the controller has those, too. Hopefully The Gig will shake things up and offer something new in the music game genre.

Sega

My next meeting was with Sega. They were showing off TONS of games at PAX, but I only focused on two. It’s a proven fact that kids love Sonic, so I wanted to try their new Sonic games on display: Sonic Colors and Sonic 4.

The best way to describe Sonic Colors for Wii and DS (I played the Wii version) is it’s like the fun parts of Sonic Unleashed. You know, the parts when Sonic WASN’T being a werewolf. It also reminded me of the fun parts of the original Sonic Adventure. I’m not the biggest Sonic fan in the world, but I did enjoy Sonic Adventure.

In Sonic Colors, Dr. Robotnik (can’t get used to calling him Eggman) makes an amusement park in outer space and captures these little colorful critters called Wisps. It’s up to Sonic to rescue these guys. Each color Wisp gives Sonic an extra power when he catches them. The green Wisp lets Sonic hover and the yellow one lets him drill through the ground. Activate these powers by shaking the Wii remote. I do like that the game lets you hold the remote sideways if you want. The level I tried was called Sweet Mountain and was made of giant candy and food. Sonic ran outside a cylinder area that looked like a towering hamburger and it made me hungry!

The other Sega game I played was Sonic 4, a downloadable title for the big consoles and it’s a throwback to classic 2-D sidescrolling Sonic. After playing a few of the first levels, I can say to old school Sonic fans: you will NOT be disappointed. It really has that classic feel. Even new moves like the homing dash feel right at home here. And the boss fight takes a nod from the first level boss from the original Sonic game, except now Robotnik has a new trick up his sleeve. He can flip around and slam the ball and chain into the ground! Sonic 4 will be episodic and the first one will be out this holiday. Only thing the demo was missing is Tails. I think Tails is way better than Sonic anyway (yes, I went there).

Square-Enix

Right beside Sega was my next meeting with Square-Enix. They had TONS of games on display, including the next online Final Fantasy game. But since I didn’t have time to check out all the games there, I just tried the ones that interested me most.

At PAX, Square-Enix announced they would be publishing the new online strategy RPG PC game Wakfu. It features unique character designs and detailed cartoon graphics. You can freely roam about the grid-based world, but when you click on a monster you can engage in combat that’s similar to Final Fantasy Tactics and other strategy titles.

As a fan of most of the Kingdom Hearts games, I wanted to try the new PSP Birth by Sleep. It’s a prequel to the original game, and plays and looks a lot like it. I played as a pretty blue-haired lady keyblade wielder as she fought monsters to protect a young Kairi. Afterward, Mickey Mouse came along (Kingdom Hearts mixes characters from Disney and Square) but after saying some stuff, he had to leave the scene. But not before saying “See ya real soon!” Which couldn’t be further from the truth, as Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep should be in stores as I’m writing this!

Finally, I tried out Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light for DS. Back in the NES and SNES days, I was a HUGE Final Fantasy fan. But the new ones are just too complex and involved for me now. Luckily, this new Final Fantasy game is styled like the old ones, so it looks more my speed. The graphics remind me of Animal Crossing, with its short squat characters and ‘rolling log’ world. In the demo, I guided my four cute warriors through a town filled with mushroom houses, then visited the king where he gave me some Crowns to try out. Crowns are like hats and when you equip them on your characters, you’ll gain certain skills and attributes. Then I went to the overworld and fought a few monsters in turn-based fashion. I was supposed to go to a cave, but it was too dark to see in there and nobody was around to help me figure out what to do next, so I stopped. I only wish I had more time to play RPGs like this and Dragon Quest 9.

Valve and Portal 2

Valve was showing off the co-op mode in the upcoming, and highly anticipated, sequel to Portal 2. Since I set up a meeting, I didn’t have to wait in the long line wrapped around the booth’s theater room. In the co-op demo, two people play as two robots: a tall thin one and a short squatty one. When you finish a level, GlaDOS the evil computer (and one of video games’ best villains), has all sorts of hilarious quips. Each player has their own portal guns, and you can also fire out a ‘ping’ sign to tell the other player where to place a portal. You can also push a button to wave at each other or give a hug. In the demo, the robots used portals to extend a light bridge around corners and used a reflector cube to bounce around a laser. The co-op game is about the same length as the first game, while the single player mode is twice as long. At the end of the demo, GlaDOS said we’d get free T-shirts, but there were none. I guess the cake isn’t the only thing that was a lie! Darn you, GlaDOS! You’re so mean! Portal 2 comes out in February, and I can’t wait for it!

And Yet It Moves

This is a WiiWare game that looked interesting to me, so I set up a meeting to try it. It’s a 2-D platformer style game with graphics that look like pieces of scrap paper. By flipping the Wii remote around, you can rotate the world around you, so a wall can become a floor, for instance. Play control took a minute to get used to, but once things sink in, it becomes almost natural. I hope to be reviewing And Yet It Moves soon, so check back in a week or two for my full review.

Twisted Pixel

Twisted Pixel is one of my favorite smaller developers, as they really impressed me with the Xbox LIVE game: The Maw. Plus they’re in Austin, TX, and anyone from my state has to be cool, right? Anyway, they were showcasing their upcoming Xbox LIVE game Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley. You play as a smiley-faced super hero with a sarcastic talking star on his chest. Since Smiley’s first comic book issue failed, he has to jump into other comics to make ends meet. You’ll go through levels based on different kinds of comic books, from modern, Silver Age, fantasy, and even black and white manga. Gameplay is a mix of side scrolling punching and kicking mixed with platforming and shooting. Kind of like Viewtiful Joe meets Earthworm Jim. It’s also full of laugh out loud quotes and other humor. My favorite is when you die, Captain Smiley explodes exactly like another blue video game hero. This will be an instant download for me when it hits Xbox LIVE in October. It’ll cost 1200 points, but it really feels like a full game.

Next to Twisted Pixel was another favorite Xbox LIVE developer of mine: The Behemoth, makers of Alien Hominid HD and Castle Crashers. They were showing off an upcoming game called Battle Block Theater, which looks like a bunch of Mario Party styled challenges. But who knows when it’ll come out.

And that’s about all I did the second day of PAX. One thing I was disappointed in was that Namco Bandai Games didn’t have a booth at the show. Last year they sold all sorts of classic Namco game merchandise at their booth, and I was hoping they’d do the same this year to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th Anniversary. I did get invited to a Namco sponsored rock concert that evening to feature their upcoming Splatterhouse remake. I guess that’s where they spent their entire PAX budget. But I didn’t go because Splatterhouse really isn’t my kind of game and Jeff is under 21 anyway.

That night we went out to the Seattle Market again. I didn’t see any ghosts, but I did take a picture of this UFO. Well, OK, it’s just a blimp, but I thought it was cool anyway. I’m easily amused.

Click here to read about my third day at PAX.

Missed the first day? Then click here!

Tags: Misc