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Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Our Adventures in PAX!

Our first trip to PAX was a pretty amazing experience, and it has left us with many PAX tips and tricks for next time. In these epic posts, I'm going to try and archive our voyage, so that nothing is lost for future generations.

The first thing we learned was actually in the MCI airport. We were flying Midwest/Frontier because they were the cheapest and served chocolate chip cookies. How can you pass that up? The cookies are a big selling point. However, our price analysis failed to incorporate the $20 check bag fee for BOTH WAYS. Yes, that's an additional $40 you have to pony up for your bag to have a comfy flight. We will probably fly Southwest next time.

Oh, and this years Cookie Monster award goes to Tom! He is a cookie eating machine! The man ate his airplane cookies plus extra from Sam. Then during the layover in Denver partook in a bag of Famous Amos cookies. Then again during the flight from Denver to Seattle!



Once in Seattle we set off by light train and foot to our hotel. This is where we learned that Google Maps gives directions based off the assumption you're in a car. Needless to say, the one way streets of downtown Seattle made the hike much longer than it needed to be. Lucky for us, the Google Maps update for walking directions came down the day we got back.

The hotel was pretty nice, and only a mile from the convention center. However, there were two poor decisions that really stood out. The first was one of a fiscal nature. Our room had a nice view, two full beds, a nice fold out couch, and a beautiful 46" flat screen TV.

It also had the cheapest possible toilet paper. Ever. You could see through this razor sharp insult to my nethers. They spent the cash to give us brand new shampoo everyday, but can't buy two ply? This same cost cutting ridiculousness showed up each day with the fruit bowl. Bananas are cheap, invest in some with color.

The second issue was one of design. They had a very nice all day deli/breakfast area and a comfy lobby for waiting on the shuttle. But that wasn't enough for them.

They wanted a bar too.

To fit the bar in, they just extended the front desk. Seriously, we were sitting on bar stools being served drinks by the same lady checking in the family of four. Their full liquor license hadn't come in, but I'm sure their customers are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to drink Irish car bombs with some stranger's 6 year old.


Games
GameInterestRelease Date
Civilization IV1
C&C 31
Company of Heroes1
Half Life 21
Half Life 2: Episode One1
Supreme Commander1
Call of Duty 22
Darwinia2
Dungeon Runners2
Dungeon Siege II2
Far Cry2
Galactic Civilization II2
Hitman: Blood Money2
Jade Empire2
Neverwinter Nights 22
Prey2
Psychonauts2
Sam & Max: Episode 12
Titan Quest2
Dark Messiah Might and Magic3
Defcon3
Heroes of Might and Magic V3
Indigo Prophecy3
KOTOR II3
LEGO Star Wars3
Marvel Ultimate Alliance3
Space Rangers 2: The Rise of the Dominators3
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl3
Stubbs the Zombie3
War Front3
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos3
Infernal35/8/2007
Shadowrun25/9/07
Pirates of the Burning SeaM6/1/2007
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars?6/5/2007
Two Worlds?6/26/07
Sins of A Solar Empire?8/1/2007
BioShock18/21/2007
Mass Effect19/7/07
Age of ConanM10/30/07
Crysis1Fall 2007
Elveon?Fall 2007
Half-Life 2: Episode Two1Fall 2007
Portals1Fall 2007
Spore1Fall 2007
Stranglehold?Fall 2007
Tabula RasaMFall 2007
Team Fortress 22Fall 2007
Dragon Age?Winter 2007
Fable 2?Winter 2007
Field Ops?Winter 2007
Halo Wars?Winter 2007
Gods & Heroes: Rome RisingMWinter 2007
Haze?Winter 2007
Hellgate: London1Winter 2007
HuxleyMWinter 2007
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men?Winter 2007
Left 4 Dead?Winter 2007
The AgencyMSpring 2008
Empire Earth III?Spring 2008
Guild Wars 2 MSpring 2008
Jericho?Spring 2008
Sacred 2?Spring 2008
Savage 2?Spring 2008
Time Shift2Spring 2008
Universe at War: Earth Assault3Spring 2008
The Witcher?Spring 2008
CellFactor?2008
Darkest of Days?2008
On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkeness: Episode 122008
Warhammer OnlineM2008
Alliance: The Silent War??
Alone in the Dark??
Assassin's Creed??
BioWare MMO??
The Crossing??
Dungeon Hero??
Fallout 3??
Lego Batman??
Mythos??
Overloard??
Space Seige??
Culdcept SagaPC??
Gears of WarPC??
God of WarPC??
Beautiful KatamariPC??
OkamiPC??
Resistance: Fall of ManPC??
Odin's SpherePC??
Castle CrashersPC??

1 - I will buy it
2 - I'll buy it at discount
3 - Other people think it's good, but I wasn't interested when I first heard about it
M - Mainly Multiplayer. See if friends get interested.
? - Find out more about this game
PC? - Will it be released on the PC?