Alright - this should be the last Bioshock comic we do until the game is released on Tuesday. Monday's comic? Could be anything: immolations, loose arachnids, you name it. No doubt come Wednesday, the prior obsession will assert itself.

Like virtually every other person, I was unable to secure one of these rare, "wild" copies that were inadvertently released. I have tried to run every Goddamn swindle in the books to secure a copy of the game, being rebuffed at every turn, to the point that I've come to terms with my deprivation. I've come to think of myself a profoundly tragic figure, pulling myself on my belly from day to day, dining only on agony.  

Seeing what achievements people are earning is a little painful. Not because I care about achievements, now - I caught on to their pyritic nature almost immediately - I play games in the manner that pleases me most, and when an achievement is earned it is essentially a condiment. But they do represent activities desperately yearned for, and their brief descriptions do strum the heart, like a sonnet.

Pork sent me a link to "Zero Punctuation," a weekly Escapist feature which is done by a person. It's hard to describe it, but it is (in some ways) a review of the Heavenly Sword demo. I enjoyed the piece quite a bit, although I do admit to a soft spot for the "twing-twang" neologism he guts so effectively. Also, it reminded me that I never spoke about the demo in the post, which revealed an opportunity.

The game, as presented in the minuscule demo, didn't make an especially strong case outside of its narrative - the graphical tearing and strangely loose environmental interactions were strange in a game this crucial to the platform.

When I heard that this demo is based on a version of the game that is almost a year old, I immediately withdrew my sensing organ. Demos are released via a byzantine process that requires a tremendous amount of synchronization between what are essentially warring factions - Developers, Publishers, PR, and Marketing. Add to this the last layer, when the platform holder wants to release it tactically, and God knows the level of "freshness" a piece of software actually represents.  It's coming out in a couple weeks, we can safely make determinations then.  

(CW)TB out.

PAX is almost upon us and I have a few announcements that those of you planning on attending should hear...or read I guess.

First thing is the Concerts. Each morning we will distribute wristbands to the first 3,000 to 4,000 people in line. Those people with wristbands will get first shot at getting into the concert that night.  Once they are in, we'll pack the theatre with as many more people as we can. 

We have a really cool system for organizing wireless tournaments and challenges this year. It is called the HDTS! (The Handheld Distributed Tournament System) If you plan on bringing a DS or a PSP to PAX you may want to give it a try. You can read a full explanation of how it works right here.

We've created a couple shirt designs that will premiere at PAX.

Anyone who was at last year's PAX will remember the ball.

relive those happy times with our new All Hail Ball Shirt!

We've also got a new shirt for you Pokemon masters out there.

One event you might want to make time for is our Family Feud panel in the main theatre on Sunday. Alon from ChatterBox  has set the entire thing up and from what I've heard it should be really fun. The guy made USB buzzers for crying out loud. BUZZERS!

-Gabe out