Today was the first look at the expo floor of PAX East. The amount of things to look at is just overwhelming. The floor is a crazy fast-paced arena of lines and lines for lines to wait in line. While I couldn’t dig too deeply into the party, I was able to sample a few layers of the cake, and I’m willing to share a piece with you. But only because you’re special.
Ubisoft went in an interesting direction for Assassin’s Creed 3′s booth. Instead of offering a game demo, or showing some new and/or interesting imagery from the game, they decided to opt into a “pre-order your game here!” option. I didn’t even know that was a choice. Along with signing up for the game, you get your choice of a free t-shirt or a special edition hardcover case. It’s definitely a unique choice, and while I’m not sure I agree with it, I will say that I did get suckered into it. That case is pretty damn agreeable…
Talk about extravagant. The booth for the highly anticipated sequel Borderlands 2 features a giant statue of the four main heroes posed in quite a legendary fashion. You can play a bit of Borderlands 2 as well – and man was I impressed. I gave Salvador the Gunzerker a shot (heh) and the few minutes with him were orgasmic. Everything about the game looks fantastic; the combat is smooth, the enemies are monstrous, and the weapons are just absolutely devastating. There were basically three types of enemies – a squishy but evasive flying bug, a crystalline rock creature, and a serpentine monster that burrowed through the ground. One thing I noticed – and practically squealed over – was that I didn’t have to manually pick up ammo or cash. Walking over it automagically put it in my inventory. I was very impressed with the little bit I saw of Borderlands 2 and I really can’t wait for the final release.
Riot games has a few computers set up ready to play a match to try out the two new champions they’re about to release. I took the oppurtunity to try out Varrus, an archer stylized as a dark elf. He’s a ranged AD Carry that utilizes a blight mechanic to inflict a lot of damage. His damage output is insane – if he manages to land all of his skills, that is. His kit strongly emphasizes CC and damage together, making him a pretty dangerous combination. I can see him already getting called out for being overpowered, but there hasn’t been an AD Carry since Graves, so it’ll be a nice refresher. The thing that’s most exciting about him is his new mechanic. One of his abilities increases in range the longer you “hold” it. Varrus is definitely someone worth checking out and you can expect this league player to get his hands on release.
Well, that’s all the booth party cake I have to share today. Tune in tomorrow for a bit more PAX East party sexy time.
