The 2009 PAX Report

Hands-on with some of the year's most anticipated games from the Penny-Arcade Expo

The Penny-Arcade Expo is an annual event (although soon to be twice-yearly with the introduction of PAX East) that brings gamers of all kinds together for three exciting days to meet, play games, and have fun. Publishers and developers from the industry showcase new and upcoming games with stations set up for the public to try them out, while various free-play rooms, wireless lounges, and game tournaments are available for gamers to test their skills against others in games they're already familiar with.

Below are my personal impressions from the show, which took place between Sept. 4-6. With hundreds of exhibitor booths and even more individual games on hand, it would be close to impossible to play them all. Instead, I've decided to write about the notable game of the show from a Wii gamer's perspective, as well as some standout games from other consoles. Enjoy!

Wii Gameplay Impressions

New Super Mario Bros. Wii ^(Wii)

This new platformer for the Wii is very similar in style to New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, with the major difference being that up to four players can get together (locally) and play the game at the same time. In my playthrough, I was paired up with just one other person, but even that offered an entertaining experience as opposed to just playing by yourself. The levels are clearly geared toward promoting teamwork, as many things are normally out of reach, but suddenly accessible when you have a teammate to jump on, for example.

The gameplay works exactly as you would expect, except that in one instance I got a suit with a propeller on it, but couldn't figure out how to make it work. Only after the level ended did the Nintendo rep tell me that I had to shake the Wii Remote to activate it. In the full game there would no doubt be instructions when you first get it, so that doesn't worry me. Overall, it's a fun, accessible game that people can just sit down and play with hardly any introduction time, which makes it a great party game or something to play when you don't have time to delve into a deeper title. The game is scheduled for release on November 15 in North America, and on November 27 in Europe.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade ^(Wii)

Muramasa is an original action platformer for Wii that features highly stylized graphics inspired by Japanese mythology and fast-paced sword-fighting gameplay. The demo I played starts out at the beginning of the game, first showing a tutorial of the controls (it supports the Wii Remote+Nunchuk, Classic Controller, or GameCube controller) and then jumps into the first area. Gameplay is broken up into small areas, which make up a larger stage on a map. They can be freely explored in order to find hidden items and such, although there is a definite path you have to progress on.

Enemies come in groups, and once engaged in combat you can no longer freely explore; all the enemies must be defeated before moving on. When you do defeat them all, an end-of-battle screen shows up, which I noticed breaks the flow of the game a little - I would have preferred to jump seamlessly back into "exploration mode" again. Combat is easy enough to grasp, but it's obvious there is a lot of depth to the game. Multiple swords, items, and stances you can switch between and use at any time makes it very dynamic, and visually it's beautiful to watch. Muramasa is available now in Japan and North America, and comes out in November in Europe.

Spyborgs ^(Wii)

Spyborgs is an upcoming beat-em-up game being published by Capcom. The game features three "cybernetic spies" as main characters and two-player co-op gameplay. Players can choose two of the three characters at the start of a level, working to defeat waves of enemies and work toward the goal. Special attacks can be used individually, or combined together for greater effect.

The level I played features a metal structure suspended over a lava pit, with a handful of enemies blocking my way. Controls were easy enough to grasp, but after I started playing I realized the game was a little more difficult than it looks. The game demo also wasn't entirely clear on what my objective was, or where to go. Cooperation and using each character's specific skill set is important, although that wasn't helped when the person I was playing with randomly left in the middle of the level. Still, it's an enjoyable game that looks like it will be a lot of fun. Spyborgs comes out at the end of the month for Europe and North America.

Dead Space Extraction ^(Wii)

Dead Space was one of the highest rated games of 2008, but it wasn't published on the Wii due to the game's high graphical requirements. Now, EA is releasing a prequel to the game's story in the form of Dead Space Extraction, a Wii-exclusive game that takes a different approach to gameplay and presentation that allows it to function on the Wii. I got a chance to play one of the levels that takes place in the middle of the game.

Unlike the original, Dead Space Extraction is an on-rails shooter, or as the developer calls it, a "guided first-person experience." Neither of these terms can hide the fact that because you are taken through the game automatically (more or less), it simply isn't as scary. When the camera turns on its own, I find myself missing a lot of shots I would have otherwise nailed. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but the ammo supply also seemed very limited, at least in the level I played.

As for graphics, the ground, walls, and enemies all appeared to share the same, muddy texture, with only slight color variations, which often made it hard to see what was going on. Character and enemy animations were good, but I was suprised at how slowly the game seemed to progress. Enemies clearly pause every now and then to give you a chance to make a solid hit, and I would wait for more than a few seconds for my character to limp toward a door a few times - perhaps to mask loading times, I can't be sure, but it did get tedious. One nice feature, however, was the ability for a second player to jump in or out of the game at any time, which made a noticible difference in how efficently I was able to progress through the level. Overall, I would have a hard time recommending this game to others unless they were a big fan of the first game and want to experience the rest of the story.

Liight ^(WiiWare)

This is the only game in this list that I hadn't heard about until seeing it at PAX, but it immediately grabbed my attention with its colorful banners and gameplay. (The fact that the game's title has two "i"'s just like The Wiire had nothing to do with it, really!) Liight is a puzzle game for WiiWare, with a unique premise: you are given a set of colored lights to arrange freely on a surface, with the goal of illuminating all the required targets on the board at once with the correct color, while not illuminating the targets you aren't supposed to. Colors can also be mixed together, which is often neccecary to illuminate a purple target if you only have red and blue lights, for example. The trick is that you only have a certain number of lights you can place on the board, and the challenge lies in positioning the lights in exactly the right position (and utilizing the shadows they cast to your advantage) in order to complete the board. Liight also features a stage creator, in which you can send levels to friends over WiiConnect24, as well as "Nonstop" mode, which continually spawns targets on the stage that you must elimanate by re-positioning your lights as fast as you can. Liight will be available this year.

Impressions from Other Consoles

Scribblenauts ^(DS)

Probably my favorite game of the show, Scribblenauts has garnered a lot of attention for a good reason: I have never seen a puzzle game that only limits you by your imagination, and the very fact that there are well over 10,000 objects in the game that can be called out at any time is reason enough to call this game amazing. There are limits of course - it won't accept anything that is vulgar or trademarked, but for everything else, the sheer amount of creativity this game offers makes it a must-buy for all DS owners. Scribblenauts comes out September 15 in North America, September 30 for Australia, and October 9 for Europe.

Brütal Legend ^{(Xbox 360/PS3)}

The hotly anticipated action game from Double Fine made a showing at PAX, and I got to try out a small section from the beginning of the game. Brütal Legend features a roadie named Eddie Riggs who gets transported to a heavy metal-themed world, who must ultimately save it from supernatural overlords. The gameplay was very solid, and every opportunity for a joke or metal reference was taken. One thing I did notice were unusually long loading times and infrequent but noticeable pauses during gameplay - hopefully these are resolved in the final shipping version. This very M-rated game comes out in the middle of October for North America and Europe.

Split Second ^{(Xbox 360/PS3)}

At first glance, you wouldn't think this game is being published by Disney, but it is, and it happens to be one of my favorite games from the show. Split Second is an arcade racing game that is over the top - way over the top. Instead of collecting points/items to give yourself a boost like some racing games, or using weapons to shoot at other cars, Split Second offers the ability to trigger what are called Powerplays, which directly affect the racing environment itself. A charge meter is built up by racing well, then once you have enough charge you can unleash a Powerplay, such as causing an explosion, making a building collapse, or even have an airliner crash on the runway in front of you. The severity of these special events is based on how charged up your meter is, and they are truly exhilarating to watch. If Michael Bay made a racing game, this would be it. Split Second comes out in 2010.

Brink ^{(Xbox 360/PS3)}

Brink was a unique game at the show, in that pictures or video recordings of the game presentation were not allowed. That being said, the demo they gave us was quite impressive (I didn't play the game myself, as it was strictly a presentation). The game is essentially a sci-fi team-based first-person shooter, in which two factions (the Security and the Resistance) fight for control of the remaining resources in a floating city, on the brink of a civil war (hence the name).

I spotted a mesh of ideas from several other games in Brink, including Team Fortress 2, Mirror's Edge, Unreal Tournament, and Gears of War. The art style is gritty and realistic, if not a bit cartoony and exaggerated. Action was intense, but there were hints of humor infused into it as well. Gameplay can be single-player, but when playing online, gamers can drop in or drop out of a player's shoes at any time, just like Left 4 Dead. FPS fans will absolutely want to keep their eyes on this one when it ships in 2010.

There were plenty of other incredible demos at the show like Mass Effect 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, but in the end I wasn't able to secure enough time to play them all. Have any questions about the games I saw, or about PAX in general? Leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them!