BOSTON — About 70,000 gamers packed a Boston convention center last weekend for Penny Arcade Expo, and several dozen publishers and indie developers gave crowds a chance to try their games.
When we weren't gawking at cosplayers or hosting well-attended panels, Game
Life editor Chris Kohler and I bounced around the show floor testing games both big and small.
Here are eight of our favorite games from PAX East 2011.
Bastion
When I heard about Bastion, my first thought was: "This is going to get old." After all, Supergiant's action-RPG boasts an omnipresent narrator that, if mishandled, could become very grating very quickly. Fortunately, the developer seems to have pulled it off.
Like a broadcaster commentating on a sports match, the narrator adds a unique flavor to the game's Diablo-esque grinding and loot-hunting. It's all set in a cartoony atmosphere that sharply contrasts with the game's morbid storyline. When the 20-minute demo ended, I wanted nothing more than to keep hacking, collecting and listening. —Jason Schreier
Platform: Xbox 360
Release: Summer 2011
Fez
Developer Phil Fish likes to mess around with players' expectations, and his game Fez seems to reflect that mentality. You can't lose, you can't do much but jump and chat, and you definitely don't fight anybody.
Rather, you explore a world — a world that most people perceive as two-dimensional, but is actually far deeper. Press a button and you can shift the world around, exploring new perspectives to reveal new secrets and solve perception-driven puzzles. It's a really crazy, really interesting title that I suspect we'll hear a lot more about over the next few months. —Jason Schreier
Just don't tell Fish that it looks like Cave Story.
Platform: Xbox 360
Release: 2011
Fallen Frontier
Take Bionic Commando, add some Metroidvania and maybe a dash of Contra, and you've got Fallen Frontier. Developed by several members of the team behind Halo, Fallen Frontier feels polished and sharp.
It's a two-dimensional platformer with a side-scrolling perspective and tons of gadgets, including grenades, machine guns and a grappling hook, which should be a mandated feature in every single videogame. There's also cooperative multiplayer, complete with a nifty split-screen mechanic in which each player's screen contracts and expands based on what they need to see. Too bad we'll have to wait at least another year before we get to play it. —Jason Schreier
Platforms: TBA
Release: 2012
Dyad
The brainchild of indie developer Shawn McGrath, Dyad pulls from all sorts of influences like Rez, Tempest and Frequency. As you speed down the trippy rainbow tube, you extend your tendrils to hook onto enemies, using them to give yourself ever-accelerating speed boosts.
The most interesting thing about the Dyad booth at PAX was McGrath's custom-built sit-down machine that rocked players left and right as they played the game. Not even Activision would attempt to sell this accessory to people, but McGrath says he'll make the schematics available for anyone who wants to DIY one. —Chris Kohler
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release: 2011
Trenched
Double Fine's latest is a tower-defense game with a twist. While most titles in the genre take place from a top-down perspective, Trenched puts you right on the battlefield, where you'll place turrets and other defenses in an attempt to fight off hordes of creatures that look like televisions.
Destroying these creatures could be a bit too difficult for normal humans, so you get to inhabit a gigantic, mechanical, walking robot — complete with all sorts of missiles and other objects of destruction. It's hectic, fun and, with any luck, varied enough to not be repetitive after a few stages. —Jason Schreier
Platform: Xbox 360
Release: 2011
Outland
Of all the games I played at PAX East, Outland might be the sleekest. With a uniquely shaded art style and great controls, this action-platform game feels responsive and pleasant. I had a blast bouncing around walls, climbing platforms and slashing enemies during the 20-minute demo I played.
Though the game shamelessly cribs its color-polarity mechanic from old arcade shoot'em-up Ikaruga, Outland is smooth enough that I'll forgive it. —Jason Schreier
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release: Spring 2011
Portal 2
Though PAX East had no playable demos for Valve's second Portal game — which was understandable, considering the size of the show's lines — the hands-off demonstration was exciting, revealing the game's gripping first few minutes.
After what appears to be many years of stasis, you're woken up and instructed by a British robot named Wheatley to find a certain special gun that creates holes. Then you're unceremoniously dumped into the laboratories of Aperture, where you'll re-encounter GlaDOS and meet several new characters, including Aperture CEO Cave Johnson (voiced by actor J.K. Simmons). Portal 2 seems like it's a bigger, grander version of the critically acclaimed original. We can't wait. —Jason Schreier
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Mac OS X
Release: April 18
L.A. Noire
If you've played Capcom's Phoenix Wright games on Nintendo DS, you know approximately what to expect from Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire. In a sense.
We sat down for a hands-off demo of one of the game's cases, "The Red Lipstick Murder," and watched as Rockstar developers walked us through their take on gumshoe-style puzzle-solving. Yes, you investigate the crime scene and look for clues. Yes, you travel to new locations, then interrogate suspects. Yes, if you think someone is lying, you present evidence to prove it. No, Aaron Staton does not shout, "Objection!"
The big difference is that while Phoenix Wright is a cartoon, L.A. Noire is in-your-face realistic. One of the first things we saw was a full frontal uncensored shot of the victim of the Red Lipstick Murder, a nude female corpse, brutally beaten and defaced with smears of makeup. It was a shocking sight, but a good indication that Rockstar plans to pull no punches in making L.A. Noire a seriously gripping crime drama. —Chris Kohler
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release: May 17
