As Ryan and I arrived as PAX, we went into the auditorium that had been set up to house the line for entry. We stood in that line for about an hour and a half, although I now believe the line was probably just for the keynote, which we hadn't planned on attending. There wasn't really anything to do at that point, though, so standing in line gave us a chance to chat with some other attendees. I also took the opportunity to eat some pizza I had brought for lunch. As we got through the keynote line, my top priority was to get into line to register for the Super Smash Bros.: Brawl tournament, which was supposed to start at 15:30. Ryan wanted to see the Designing a Free-to-Play Game panel, so we split up and I registered for both of us. I then decided to check out the Exhibition Hall while I waited for the tournament to start. I didn't have a chance to see much, but it gave me the chance to reacquaint myself with the layout of the Convention Center. When I went back to the tournament room, I found that Ryan had returned before his panel ended. Unfortunate, since the tournament got pushed back to 16:00. We decided to look around the Exhibition Hall to kill some time, then we returned, waited in line and finally got into the tournament room.

Rules for this year's tournament were changed from last year to allow for longer competition. Items and particularly annoying stages were disabled. Stages were selected randomly, unless both players could decide on a map. Rounds were only three stock with a six minute time limit, but matches were best of three rounds. Any round ending in a draw was started over and decided with one stock, since Sudden Death heavily favors certain characters. The tournament roster had filled completely and there were many alternates waiting to be admitted. Observers were also permitted, so the room was pretty crowded. Yet, somehow, I found myself without an opponent for my first match. It was infuriating, because I was in the seventh of eight matches in my initial bracket, so I'd had to wait a long time - particularly with the best-of-three matches - just to be told I'd have to wait some more. Also, I was planning on using the GameCube controller for the for the tournament - which I had never done before in Brawl - and, because someone in my bracket thought the tournament had started 20 minutes early, I hadn't had the opportunity to warm up. That later proved to be my downfall.

When I finally did get the chance to play, I was matched against a Toon Link player who was obsessed with throwing bombs. Our first round was on Green Hill Zone. I started out by jumping in place and firing arrows. I also shielded for no reason and performed basic attacks when I tried to jump. My brain was certainly not yet wired for the GameCube controller. It was pathetic, but at least I got the hand of the controls in time to avoid being swept. In round two, we fought on Jungle Japes. I was more comfortable with the controls at that point, but I still slipped up at crucial moments. As a result, I got pulled down into the water one too many times and once again lost the match. I was told, though, that I put on a good show and gave everyone an exciting match, which many of the other players I'd been watching had certainly failed to do. Ryan fared a little better than I did. He faced a Peach player in his first match and was able to claim a solid victory. Unfortunately, his second opponent - another Peach player - happened to be one of the players who would later make it to the finals. After our losses, we got in some open games, then we stuck around to watch the rest of the tournament. We caught an inspiring Link battle that had a terrific surprise ending. We saw our old pal F1st lose to a fearsome Samus player. Finally, we saw Mr. Game & Watch take victory over the Peach player who had beaten Ryan. I was disappointed because I found the player who won to be annoying and his play style boring. All he could do to make it seem interesting was joke about Mr. Game & Watch's apparent invulnerability while he played, which is what I found most annoying about him. Fortunately, his opponent kept the match interesting.

After the tournament, Ryan and I went to the Console Free Play area. We didn't even need to check out a console since they had two dedicated Brawl stations in one of the LFG rooms. We spent the rest of the night playing Brawl against other attendees, usually faring better than we had in the tournament. As it got close to midnight, we decided to leave to avoid getting locked in the parking garage. It may not have been necessary, but we didn't want to take our chances. In fact, we thought we may have been too late when the entrance we'd used was gated off. Fortunately, the lower exit was still accessible. After a little turnaround trying to get onto the freeway, we finally got ourselves going in the right direction and headed home.

Our first day of PAX was fun, although it lacked any real surprises. We did about as well as we usually do in the Smash tournament. We missed a few panels that looked interesting in order to compete. We got some practice in against other players in Brawl. Outside of Smash, I got come pictures of some interesting cosplayers. We still had a lot of things left to experience at PAX and two days left to experience it. I shall tell of that another time. Fare thee well!

Another year of PAX has come and gone. Another weekend of crowds and competition, games and gadgets, previews and panels. Once again, Ryan B. and I made our way to the venue, once again at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, to enjoy a weekend of gamer geek gathering. Though it remains much the same event as in the past, there were some noticeable differences this year. The most significant changes were in the overall organization.

One group of activities that benefited from the streamlined organization was the console tournaments. They were scheduled for the amount of time they actually needed and everyone was registered much closer to the official start times than last year. The Handheld Lounge, which last year had spilled beyond its bounds, this year was set up in three different locations, providing a convenient respite for many weary gamers. The most welcome change for me was the new way Console Free Play was handled. Instead of waiting in line for an hour to check out a station for 15 minutes like last year, this time gamers were able to grab a number, hit one of the dedicated consoles in the LFG rooms and wait for their numbers to be called before getting in a much shorter line to check out a station for at least 30 minutes. Those who had a station wouldn't be asked to leave unless their station was actually needed. Also, the need for a new station checked out to replace one of the same game was diminished by the availability of a screen that listed the top ten games checked out and at which stations they could be found. That made it much easier to find someone to challenge to some friendly competition in the game of your choice and made the challenges generally last longer. This was especially welcome considering the ridiculous number of attendees this year.

Last year, PAX was huge. It was expected to be much bigger than previous years, so it was moved from the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle. Even with the new venue, it was crowded. This year, it was even more crowded. In fact, there were nearly twice as many attendees as last year, totaling over 70,000. Some extra space was made for the larger crowds by moving most tabletop gaming areas across the street to the Pike St. Annex, but it wasn't much. I heard from one attendee that there are plans to split next year's event into East/West, which sounds like a good idea, but I didn't see any mention of it on the official site.

It's good to see so many people interested in this type of gaming event and it's nice to have the opportunity to meet so many of them. But, with the number of people that filled the Convention Center this year, it was difficult to get around. So, if you plan on attending PAX at some point in the future, don't be disappointed if the panels you want to see are full or lines are too long. Instead, take the opportunity to talk with some of the other attendees. Get some pictures of the many costumes you'll see. If you're patient and a bit lucky, you can get into some of the pre-release demos in the Exhibition Hall, but don't make that your only reason for attending. Everyone there is there because they love games, so you're certain to find someone with similar interests to your own. Make the most of it and you'll have fun.

That concludes my overall impressions of PAX 2008. I'll begin a focused recount of each day starting tomorrow. Once again, I'm glad I went to the event and I have plenty to share. I look forward to attending PAX in the years to come. Fare thee well!