Penny Arcade

I’ve been having a hell of a time finding a copy of Puzzle Quest anywhere, which only adds to my garment-rending grief about the lack of a true PC version.  I’ll find it eventually, but I think I might avoid the PSP version, at least for now.  I had intended to do so for purely ergonomic reasons, believing a stylus was probably the ordained interface methodology, but there is a bug that negates companion bonuses on the Playstation portable that I am keen to avoid.  I was worried about crowded screens full of text wrestling for space on the DS, but Gabriel says that they’ve experienced no ill-effects.  I understand that he brought it home to Kara, suggesting that it was essentially a Bejeweled RPG, and now the two of them have hunched over those two screens every night since he bought it. 

Neither portable version includes genuine Internet play, a strike against both.  A Live Arcade (or EDI, Wii Shopping Channel) version would strike the right balance, but currently there’s no such thing.  Puzzle battle games are a particular fetish of mine, so it may be that this pierces me more deeply than most.  I have a… "unique style of play" that will likely exhaust local battle prospects within a very short period of time.   

Infinite has another project en route entitled "Galactrix," though - one that is intended for the vast PC platform, to be ported to the rest later.  Adopting a sci-fi theme, it looks to build on a lot of the ideas in Puzzle Quest. 

Wii owners hungry for an impetus to power on the device won’t have much longer to wait - Super Paper Mario is lurking around the beginning of April, and I have already begun to orient my life around its release.  I went back to the kiosk three times to play it at GDC, in outlandish disguises so I would not be turned away.  I knew that I liked the the look, but I didn’t know if the name was just branding - if it was actually correlated with the Paper Mario franchise at all.  It is, but the RPG elements are dialed way back - it’s much more a traditional platformer.  Traditional might not be the right word.  It may seem strange, but I want you to see what I mean for yourself if you haven’t already.  It’s a hyper-D flatformer RPG + familiars. 

I think I got it all.

(CW)TB out. 

the way you want him to

I’ve got a big PAX update for you today. First of all don’t forget this is the last week to get the early bird pre registration discount. Until March 31st you can get a three day pass for $40.

We’ve also updated the PAX site with this year’s band lineup. The concerts at PAX are always incredible and we’ve added some awesome new bands to the mix for 2007.

Returning Champs

MC Frontalot

Frontalot is coming back for his fourth straight year. Penny Arcade’s rapper laureate and the face of Nerdcore hiphop.

Neskimos

Back for their third straight year at the show. The Neskimos have never failed to kick ass with their rock interpretations of old school game themes.

Optimus Rhyme

These guys have been with us since the beginning and they always put on an amazing show. They’ve also challenged us to ping pong match which tells me they have a death wish.

Here comes a new challenger!

Freeze Pop

This will be their first year at PAX but you’ve probably heard their tracks on Harmonix games like Guitar Hero, Amplitude, Frequency, and Karaoke revolution.

Jonathan Coulton

Folk rock about zombies and writing code? Oh yeah, this guy belongs at PAX.

The OneUps

I’m super excited to have these guys at our show this year. Please just go to their Myspace page and listen to Bossa De Link. That track will make you an instant fan.

I also talked to my friend Brad this morning. He’s the guy that runs the PAX theatre for us each year. He just finished a walkthrough of the new space at the Washington State convention center. We’ve got tons more space this year which means more lights more screens more everything.  He told me that this year’s concerts are going to be “sickening”.

This is why we call PAX a game festival rather than a convention.

-Gabe out

No copies at my EB, no copies at the Gamestop, none at the Best Buy across the street, none at the EBX on the other side of the lake, but as luck would have it the Target above the Best buy here at Northgate had ten (!) copies.  I tried to pick up three extra to spread around here at the office, but they would only let me buy two.  I was annoyed by this until I remembered what a difficult time I’d had finding it myself.  No doubt some weary gaming enthusiast - kin to me, in a way - will shortly find their wish fulfilled.

Screenshots for games on the DS always look so nasty online, this is often true of the PSP as well, and I’m happy to say that the product itself is perfectly workable on these two small screens.  I doubt that you’ll be disappointed.

(CW)TB