Earlier last month, it was announced that the local theater would be running a Harry Potter Double Feature, Part 1 of Deathly Hollows and then Part 2 right at 12:01AM Friday morning.

There’s a long, convoluted story about how I got roped into attending but I’ll try to give you the short version.

A cute girl asked me to go with her.

Okay, so that wasn’t nearly as long or convoluted as I thought, but there it is. And that’s how I found myself in a line that reminded me of my younger days when I stood in a horrendously long line to see “Return of the Jedi???.

There were so many “school kid??? costumes that I briefly thought maybe AC/DC was playing live in the theater. I had to remind myself that these were the chosen costumes of this decade.

I have to take a moment to explain a few things. To begin, I am not what you’d call a huge Harry Potter fan. Sure, I enjoy the movies but I’ve never read the books. I’ve never felt the need to put on a gold and red necktie and draw a lightning bolt on my forehead with a Sharpie.

I’ve also never seen a Harry Potter movie on opening day much less waited in line to see a double feature that would have me in a hot theater till 2AM. Yes, the AC was on the fritz and it was hot. The only thing worse than being trapped in a theater with a bunch of sweaty people is when the majority of those sweaty people are wielding wands and pretending to cast some sort of cooling spell during the intermission.

But here I was, a large popcorn in my lap, my large lukewarm soda providing a mild comfort against the heat, sweating along with these kids. These are the same kids who if they’d seen me waiting in line to see “Return of the Jedi??? would have yelled “NERD!??? and possibly thrown rocks. My congratulations to J.K. Rowling in that respect. She brought Nerdy back.

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We heard last year, or even earlier than that, that there was a ‘made for TV’ live-action Star Wars series in the works. A recent quote from George Lucas himself sparked a media frenzy. Has Lucas already secretly filmed 50 hours of the series and then shelved the project?

George Lucas recently gave the media a big update about the progress of his mysterious live-action Star Wars TV show, which is rumored to be set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. In the interview, with Attack Of The Show, Lucas said:

“We have 50 hours and we’re just waiting to figure out a different way of making movies, a different technology we can use … to make it feasible to shoot the show…When we do figure this problem out it will dramatically affect a lot of movies. Right now it looks like the Star Wars features.”

This quote begat a lot of rumors that Lucas had managed to film 50 hours of live-action Star Wars television. A Lucasfilm PR rep confirmed that Lucas was only talking about 50 hours’ worth of scripts that had been written. Nothing had yet been filmed.

View the full video interview over at G4′s Attack Of The Show.

Recently I came across this article through one of my facebook friends…

It’s basically about this book this chick wrote saying that most men live in “pre-adulthood” in their twenties, not really settling down, with their love of “Star Wars” and childish mannerisms… leaving many single women to wonder where all “the good men” have gone.

I guess what surprises me the most is the writer’s claim that since most young adult males have found “distractions” for growing up like video games and nights out with the boys… we aren’t in a hurry to grow up, and that since we aren’t “growing up” we aren’t the “best parts” of manhood.

Seriously?

Unlike the writer in this article… I won’t belittle you dear readers by generalizing one gender over another. I can only speak for myself and my friends. But since I’m commited to this, let me attack this thing in numbered “points”

1. Don’t talk trash about Star Wars (the article did it twice) It isn’t a movie for kids, it’s a movie for everyone, and it changed movie making and imagination for generations of kids to come. It’s a tale of good versus evil and is enjoyed by creators, writers, and cool people all over the world… I’m sorry if your unsatisfied ovaries can’t handle that nugget, but I know plenty of gals who also love the holy trilogy and well… that’s rude lady.

2. She states “a guy’s idea of a perfect night is a hang around the PlayStation with his bandmates, or a trip to Vegas with his college friends….” Yeah no kidding… It’s called balancing life out hon… He can’t be with you 24/7 we call that crazytown. And the guy only wants to live in Crazytown if he has to. (That’s about the time you pressure him for marriage) Truth is… you drag him to places he doesn’t want to go.. you make him wear that sweater, and he does it for you because well… you’re pretty, you cook better, and you’re pretty. But he can’t be with you all the time. He has these pesky things called friends, and see men as a whole usually keep their friends from childood (studies show more women change out friends after puberty, go figure) Truth is… wouldn’t you like to go to vegas with your friends and leave the sheltered life ? Yeah. we thought so double standard.

3. Hollywood started this. They made Slacker movies.. this is true. But if its one thing we learned from movies… it’s not real and an exaggerated view on life. Yes “40 year old virgin” was funny, but truthfully their wasn’t one cool geeky nerd in the audience who didn’t secretly want that collection of action figures. “Knocked up” featured a bumbling “hero” who stumbled through the movie… but honestly… it doesn’t just end with single dudes. They make our dads look stupid too… look at Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, and even Al Bundy… Hollywood seems big on making all men look stupid. We put up with it. Why? Because it’s the norm. Maybe… but let’s not blame this on young single people, Homer has been married for over 20 years now.

4. I find it hilarious that the writer makes the claim that with women’s rise to success… we have deteriorated. Here’s a news flash… America is becoming dumber in public schools with standardized testing. More people get their love advice from Cosmo than from a trusted advisor, and most people can’t even tell you who the vice president is… It’s a societal problem honeybunch… Men have just gotten stupider with everyone else.

5. I also find it funny how in the video of this article, the writer says that men do play a role… “financial”.

Look man.. here’s the rub. Who is to say that marriage, kids, and a career is everything? I don’t. And while I’m certain that may not qualify myself to score Ms. Ivy League I’m ok with that. Truth is… I will spend time playing video games with my band, I will go on trips with my boys (comic conventions mostly) and we will have a blast. I will also spend time with my lady, and if she is the right kind of lady whe will want to adventure with me. The thing is, I don’t see why being complacent is the “right thing to do.” I don’t want a boring job. Dear God no. I like my Star Wars stuff. I like reading comic books, it’s an escape. I love video games. I don’t see why “manning up” means being boring.

To be fair… I also like girls who like the same thing…

And maybe that’s their problem. Maybe instead of looking for us in bars, concerts, parties (you know fun places you like to go to) Maybe you should find the person you’re looking for where he will be found. Like Conservative singles websites or volunteer centers… Cause you sure as hell won’t find people like us there. But let’s be honest.. most girls (Cosmo told us) are looking to hook up with Mr. Bad Guy anyway.. So why are people surprised when he doesn’t change.

“Women marry men hoping they will change. Men marry women hoping they wont.”

I wish I was immune to the siren song that is Tron: Legacy. I wish I could say I didn’t want to see this movie and that I didn’t want to support the technology that is going to give us Jeff Bridges appearing on screen across from a digitized younger version of himself. I wish I could say that the previews didn’t make me wonder what else we could use the technology for in regards to remakes. And I wish all of this because I know film makers are looking at the new Tron movie thinking the exact same things I am.

Those of us who were around for the original Star Wars trilogy have seen the revamps, re-masterings, and the originally deleted scenes. We’ve watched as George Lucas has added in a digital Jabba the Hutt opposite Harrison Ford and we groaned when he introduced Jar-Jar Binks, a completely digitized alien creature with a speech impediment. Hell, we even saw him use digitized versions of Storm Troopers in the prequels. None of this particularly phased me but now I am dreading the possibilities of what might come.

Imagine for a moment that Lucas has already decided that the actors from the original trilogy looked too old in Empire and Return. We already know he has a love for tweaking and re-tweaking his movies. Now imagine the fact that he has the ability to go in and make the actors younger by replacing them with younger versions of themselves. He then he re-releases the whole batch because he knows we’ll freakin’ buy them!

I’m not saying the technology isn’t exciting. We’ve heard that one of the main reasons Lucas wasn’t considering a continuance of the Star Wars movies was due to the age of the actors. We’re not talking about another trilogy that would be filmed 2 years after Return was shot but rather almost 30 years out and all the grey hair and wrinkles that entails for the main characters. One piece of software can take care of those age issues and while I would love to see the results of another trilogy using the technology, I think we’re entering into some unknown and legally ambiguous waters here. What legally ambiguity am I speaking of, you ask?  Let me give you a for instance.

Let’s say that Lucas does decide to use the technology and decides to make a third trilogy in the Star Wars universe. He’s able to keep Alec Guiness in for a while longer by adding him digitally. Or perhaps Harrison Ford decides he’s not interested so instead of giving up on the project, Lucas goes in and digitizes Han Solo and hires someone else to do the voice. Before you jump up and say he can’t do that, well, he’s pretty much already done so prior to this scenario.

Remember the end of the “re-mastered??? Return of the Jedi?  You know, when Lucas went and superimposed Hayden Christensen’s Anakin over the “Force ghost??? originally portrayed by Sebastian Shaw?  Yeah, that happened.

You’re sitting there right now telling yourself that’s completely different, I know you are. Lucas couldn’t possibly digitize Han Solo and replace the voice, right?  Why couldn’t he?  He put the Clone Wars cartoon into syndication and aside from Anthony Daniels doing the voice of C3PO, there’s not a single person from the prequels performing any of the voices. Couldn’t Lucas argue that all he’s doing is a different form of animation and that it’s his Han Solo character he’s modifying and not the image of Harrison Ford?

I didn’t intend for this to become a Star Wars rant. The fact of the matter is, however, that it is the best example to use in this scenario. We’ve already seen that with new technologies coming to light, there was nothing to stop Lucas from making some changes, albeit small changes, but changes nonetheless.

We’ve already sat through movies where the main character spends the majority of his time on screen in a digitized form. We’re already watching characters voiced by famous actors in the form of cartoons. How much more would it take for directors and producers to decide that an actor was asking too much to reiterate his role as a particular character and that using a digital solution was the cheaper route?

I’d like to say I was going to boycott the Tron movie but who am I kidding?  I’ll be at the midnight screening if I have my way.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

For those of you not in the know, Austin Texas was invaded this weekend by the largest assortment of nerds, cos-players, science fiction enthusiasts, and comic geeks at this year’s Wizard World Austin Comic Con. The convention was held at Austin’s Convention Center downtown and spanned over 3 days with plenty of ‘nerd-dom’ to spread around, and then some.

Wizard World Austin consisted of tv/film celebrities appearances such as Lee Majors, Ernie Hudson, Adam West, Burt Ward, Lindsey Wagner, Ray Park, Billy Dee Williams, Lou Ferrigno, Gil Gerard, Walter Koenig, WWE’s Kevin Nash and Torrie Wilson, not to mention comic artists James O’Barr, Arthur Suydam and Matthew Sturges – and I reiterate this is only a few from those three categories. It was a lot to take in over the weekend for us fanboys and fangirls (see a complete list here).

Being a major fanboy myself, I find these events mind boggling with so much going on that I literally have to make a written list of things I want to see, attend, ogle over, and of course spend money on. As our weekend team took some time to split up and see the con and wander at our own place, my first observation was that the Austin Con Center was very adequate for this event. With all the attendance, I didn’t have to wade through people to get to see who I wanted to see. The celebrity lines went fast, and were not too long of a wait at all. Most strikingly was the reception of the fans by the guests. Every celeb I spoke to were very easily approachable which can be nerve racking at times. You never want your favorite stars reputation to be blemished by rude behavior toward its audience, who are ultimately the ones who are paying for it (yeah that would be you). The range of prices for personalized autographed photos were $20-$40, not including any photos that you wanted to take.

My highlight of the weekend was getting to speak informally with Luciana Carro aka ‘Kat’ from SyFy’s Battlestar Galactica series. After totally geeking out with her about the TV series and obtaining my autographed photo I proceeded to try and ‘over nerd’ myself and remove from my backpack a copy of the new paperback The Science of Battlestar Galactica by Kevin Grazer / Patrick Di Justo (a technical manual written about the series by one of its NASA consultants). Amazingly since the book is very new, she had not received her copy and was delighted to peruse it there with me. Yes with me! When you get to sit and talk sci fi technology with a member of the cast, one on one, in real time, and hear their experiences on the set, stuff that you would only read about – that’s the reason enthusiasts like us storm these cons, (well me anyhow). Luciana was super polite, signed my book, I went on my way with another con experience up there on my list, as again knowing affirmatively, ‘why we do what we do, and why we love doing it’.

We closed out the evening with a Q&A panel lead by Ghostbuster’s Ernie Hudson, followed by a quiet intimate showing of the Ghostbusters movie where we sat alongside several of the members of Texas’ Ghostbuster cosplay fan clubs as they quoted lines along with the film – ‘Aim for the flattop!’.

Overall, Austin provided a great welcoming for the Wizard World show, and we were happy to be able to attend. And magnificent props to those of you who were able to get some photos with our Gamettes Taffeta Darling and Deathwish Dena (pictured above), they did a fantastic job representing with us, and of course it just is never the same doing cons without them! So until the nerds gather in the masses again…

Crutchboy – Out.

Photos by Dave Martindale / www.emptyallegory.com, click below to see more pics of Wizard World Austin!

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(Press Release) – Join tens of thousands of fellow fans as they converge on the Austin Convention Center at Austin Comic Con to celebrate the best in pop culture. Austin Comic Con brings it all – Movies, Comics, Toys, Video Gaming, Games, TV, Horror, Wrestling, MMA, Original Art, Collectibles, Anime, Manga & More! This is Texas’ best new Comic Con! Austin Comic Con is brought to you by the group who produces the most widely attended Comic Con tour!

FRIDAY
2:00-2:45 P.M.
WIZARD ART SCHOOL W/GREG HORN
Superstar Marvel and DC artist Greg Horn (Blackest Night covers) leads a discussion on digital art and takes you through his creative process.

3:00-3:45 P.M.
THE INCREDIBLE HULK Q&A W/LOU FERRIGNO
The original Hulk, Ferrigno sits down for an exclusive Q&A about the classic show and his status as a pop culture icon.

3:00-3:45 P.M.
THE ART OF ‘CHEW’ AND ‘SWEETS’
Indy art sensations, Rob Guillory (Chew) and Kody Chamberlain (Sweets) join the Wizard World Tour and discuss their breakout Image hits.

4:00-4:45 P.M.
WOMEN OF WRESTLING W/TORRIE, LITA, TARA, CHRISTIE AND JACKIE
Join Torrie Wilson, Amy Dumas, Lisa Marie Varon, Christy Hemme and Jackie Haas as they talk about the ups and downs of being a woman in professional wrestling.

WIZARD ART SCHOOL W/ALÉ GARZA
Fan-favorite artist Alé Garza (Superman/Batman) takes fans on an artistic tour of his style and storytelling.

5:00-5:45 P.M.
BIONIC BUDDIES
The Bionic Woman, Lindsay Wagner, and co-star Richard Anderson discuss the pop culture hit and its continued popularity with fans across the world.

5-5:45 P.M.
WIZARD SCHOOL: HOW TO SCULPT WITH THE SHIFLETT BROTHERS
The fan-favorite sculptors take fans and aspiring toy and statue makers through their creative process.

6-6:45 P.M.
JAMES O’BARR Q&A
The Crow creator talks about his dark creation and the plans for a new Crow franchise in the movies.

7:30-10:00 P.M.
THE MATRIX SCREENING (FREE)
Relive the movie phenomenon that changed filmmaking for a generation! Starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, this visual feast is NOT to be missed.

8:00-10:00 P.M.
DRINK & DRAW W/UNCLE STAPLE
Join Uncle Staple of STAPLE! Independent Media Expo, and some of comics’ top artists and newcomers, as they join forces to raise cash and art for charity. (Club Deville, 900 Red River St.)

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There is a new Star Wars game heading to your iPhone this month that uses a very interesting backdrop called ‘augmented reality’. Augmented reality technology uses what’s around you, and lays graphics and infomation over it. So basically, your playing field for your game layout will be ‘wherever you are’. Although in this case we don’t believe that it will have influence over the game mechanics, it does make for some neat looking gameplay.

The game Star Wars Arcade: Falcon Gunner is coming out this month for the iPhone, and it looks quite dashing for an iPhone game. Simply hold up your phone in front of you, and your surroundings suddenly become the scene for a bunch of invading Tie Fighters.

So in addition to your phone distracting your from your daily endeavors, you now need to alot more time fighting against the Empire. And we all can make time for that.

Story lead by Billy Holcomb aka Schlitzboy.

(MovieWeb) – George Lucas is reportedly plotting future Star Wars movies at his top-secret Skywalker Ranch, reports IESB, who claims this could be more than just a rumor.

IESB is reporting that fans can expect the new trilogy after the entire saga is released in 3D which is expected to be complete around 2015 or 2016. Their source also claims the movies will not be prequels, but sequels. It’s not for certain if they will be the long awaited Episodes 7, 8 and 9 but could instead be Episodes 10, 11 and 12.

Lucasfilm spokesman Josh Kushins has stated:

“This is, of course, is completely false,” Lucasfilm spokesman Josh Kushins wrote to Wired. “George Lucas has plenty of projects to keep him busy right now – including plenty of Star Wars projects – but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned.”

New films or not, the live action Star Wars television series is currently in development, already has over 50 scripts ready to go and plenty of pre-production time and money spent on artwork and storyboards. Once that show goes into production, Lucasfilm hopes to be able to produce at least 100 episodes since that is the threshold for syndication in the United States.

It’s official. I hate 3D.

I had sincerely hoped the new technology would lead to new classics, new stories, and new ideas. Instead what I’m seeing is a whole bunch of horror and kid movies using it which, in my opinion, is why interest in 3D movies died out the first couple of times around. It’s why it’s been a fad in the past and may very well be a fad this time around.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved some of the stuff that’s come out. Avatar may have been a retelling of “Pocahontas??? or “Dances with Wolves??? but the alien landscape really came to life in 3D. Not enough for me to see it more than once or want to throw down three grand for a 3D capable TV so I can watch it at home but as a sci-fi buff, I was sold on the technology when the first alien critter seemed to leap off the screen.

Since then, I’ve watched several movies using the tech with varying reactions. “Despicable Me??? was hilarious but did it really need the 3D treatment?  No, it was touching, sweet, and funny with or without it. Could I have watched “Resident Evil: Afterlife??? in regular 2D?  Most assuredly so, but it was one of those movies that was actually able to make me flinch with the use of 3D and so the experience was heightened with its use.

Would some older movies benefit from making the move to 3D?  I honestly can’t say. The age of the movies has to be taken into account. I certainly don’t want to sit through “Casablanca??? in 3D. In all honesty, I can’t think of a single movie that I saw over the years that would benefit from it. Well, there’s “Jaws 3D??? but then we’re back into the whole “horror movies??? shtick.

That brings me to my next concern. One Mr. George Lucas.

You see, I’ve watched with a small degree of horror as Lucas has gone back time and again and made changes to the superb story I grew up watching over and over. I cringed at the introduction of Jar Jar Binks but managed to forgive him that folly. I died a little inside when Anakin blew up the droid equivalent of a small Death Star and yelled, “Woo-HOO!??? as he did it. But again I forgave and came back for two more installments.

I understand it’s his galaxy and he can do whatever he wants in it. I’m willing to believe that he had something different in mind for some of the scenes. I’ll argue about Han shooting first but ultimately, it’s his ball and I don’t have to play with it if I don’t like it. But I sincerely believe the well is dry, George. You keep coming back but this time, I don’t think I can be there for you.

The recent announcement that Star Wars was going to be released in its entirety in 3D met with my numb acceptance. I’ve come to terms that such a move was inevitable after the success of certain movies in the format. I’ve even accepted the fact that the movies will be released in actual order with Episode 1 leading the pack rather than Episode 4. I even like the fact that another generation will be able to grow up with the movies, experiencing the magic of the Star Wars’ universe for the very first time. So why am I not overjoyed at the prospect of getting to sit through the movies again in 3D?  Simple. These aren’t the movies I’m looking for. Yeah, I went there.

I have the original trilogy on VHS. They are the only reason I still have a functioning VCR. I’ve watched them to the point that I’m afraid that each time I put them back in the VCR will be their last from wear and tear. This will actually be the second set I’ve owned on VHS and they are the original, unedited versions and I will cling to them like a drowning man to a piece of flotsam to stay afloat.

Now, before some of you go all high and mighty on me and tell me how if I were a true fan that I’d love the new stuff and find a way to embrace it, I want you to think about what I’m faced with here…  16 years. That’s the amount of time that passed between the launch of Return of the Jedi till the day Phantom Menace was released.

During that time, I’ve watched, rewatched, and re-rewatched the series. 16 years of Han shooting first, Jabba being a very large puppet, of no CGI scenes, space battles with flickering backdrops, and, most importantly, no Jar Jar Binks. George, you left me alone with my VCR tapes for 16 years and now, there’s no going back for me. There’s your current vision and there’s the vision you showed me oh so long ago. I already shared one of them, I just can’t see my way to sharing another.

Do I think the series will benefit from the 3D treatment? Most definitely. If there has ever been a series of movies dying for a 3D overhaul, it would be the Star Wars’ license. Do I agree with the launch of the movies in chapter order rather than chronological order? Absolutely not. The movies happened a certain way for me and I think the story was that much richer for being told in that order. I simply can’t agree with showing them in any other order.

So why am I against the 3D treatment? Because I know that there are some inevitable changes coming to the original trilogy in order to make it “pop??? for the 3D audience. And I’ve had all the changes I can take to my childhood memories. I have no doubt that the changes will make the movie leap off the screen but next thing I know, Han won’t have shot at all, instead holding up a deflector that caused Greedo’s blaster bolt to fly back at the screen making the audience jump and putting an end to ol’ sucker head.

I truly hope the overhaul works out. I hope George makes millions more off of his story and that a whole new generation will fall in love with the series like I did. I won’t, however, be contributing to those millions this time around.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back in my cave and firing up my “ViCaR???.

(P.S. – Han shot first.)

Gritskrieg – End of Line

Well, the Reckon Crew made it back to Texas in more or less one piece but thanks to a bout of “Nerd Flu??? (for which I am totally blaming Rob Welkner) I’ve been a bit out of it since getting back on Lone Star soil. But never fear, dear readers, because we have returned with news of the sights we’ve seen and games we’ve played. Over the course of the next few days, we’ll be posting up interviews and previews.

Before we begin those, however, I thought we’d do a quick list of things that really caught our eye or caught us off guard. PAX Prime was an overwhelming amount of gaming goodness with some very nice surprises and a few major disappointments. Below you’ll find the quick and dirty version of what we found to be the best… and the worst.

Biggest PAX Prime Surprise: Duke Nukem Forever. Seriously. Even the guys from Penny Arcade didn’t know this one was going to be there and after 13 years of false starts, screen shots, reported delays, and the rumor that the game was total vaporware, Take Two Games and Gearbox caught the entire convention off guard with their Duke Nukem booth. As I walked by the sign on day one, I thought someone was out of their mind to play a joke like that but the whole thing was on the up and up and the demo was playable. Throw in the fact that the wait was almost two hours to get in for the demo and no one from Take Two/Gearbox was mangled by anyone and that tells me it was legit. There was so much we were scheduled for that we didn’t get the chance to check it out but everyone was raving about it so we’ll be keeping an eye out for it.

Biggest PAX Prime Letdown: I’m a Final Fantasy fan so I was really looking forward to the playable demo of Final Fantasy XIV. The problem here was that even though I was prepared for the inevitable fact that it was going to be another MMO version of the franchise, I had hoped for some improvements over the last MMO entry. I was disappointed. I’m certain there will be some “polishing??? before it is released but it was hard not to get the “been there, done that??? feeling from the demo. I wasn’t a fan of Final Fantasy XI and it doesn’t appear much has changed from that rendition. Unless there’s a major overhaul before the release, I’m going to be giving this one a pass.

Game from PAX Prime most likely to be enjoyed by the Reckon Crew while drinking: This one was an easy choice. Slam Bolt Scrappers from Fire Hose Games is one of the most chaotic (and enjoyable) games we sampled at PAX. Scrappers is a mashup of strategy and brawling with a touch of Tetris thrown in for flavor. With a multiplayer versus mode as well as a co-op mode, Slam Bolt Scrappers may find its way into our drinking games soon after its launch at the beginning of next year.

Best PAX Prime After Party: Hands down, the guys from EVE Online have the market cornered on After Parties. Last year they went all out but this year they managed to top even that epic party. There were fire twirlers and eaters along with cute girls dressed up in leather and lace dancing the night away. Of course, all this awesome comes with a price and that price, when figuring in the open bar, is the largest collection of “white boy??? dances you can imagine. Aside from the horror of watching some of the most uncoordinated drunkards across the world congregated in one place dancing off-rhythm, CCP Games knows how to throw a mixer and may very well hold a special place in the Reckon Crew’s hearts for a long time to come.

Best PAX WTF Moment: We drink. Seriously, I mean that. When we imbibe, people who try to keep up with us often end up hiding from us. We’re also good at getting into places we’re not meant to be when we’ve been drinking. So there was a moment when we realized at one party that we had made a beeline for the VIP area, made it in, and proceeded to get sloshed off the free booze. It was only after about an hour that we realized where we were and there was a look that passed between the Reckon Crew with no one daring to ask how we had ended up where we were. There was a loudly proclaimed “WTF???? once we had left which lead to laughter… Shenanigans continued.

Best PAX “Where the hell have I been???? moment: Nestled amongst one of the noisiest corners of PAX Prime was the developers of a little gem called “Fallen Earth???. Admittedly, we’d heard of the game early last year but we’d failed to follow up on it and we’d not really thought of it since then. Sitting down with one of the crew from Icarus Studios LLC, we were introduced to one of the most lovingly crafter MMOs I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. Set in a post apocalyptic world, this game has some of the features I’ve always wanted to see in an MMO. There’s also a real passion among its developers to create a unique world for players to wander about in. We’ll be running an interview with one of the game’s developers and we’re already chomping at the bit to review the game. More to come on this in the near future.

Biggest PAX Fan “Boi??? moment: To say the Reckon Crew is a bunch of Star Wars fans is an understatement. We’re absolutely certain that we collectively know more about the Star Wars universe than some of the writers who have worked with George Lucas on the EU books. So it was with a very critical eye that we approached the Bioware booth and proceeded to get our fill of the playable demo. The graphics were gorgeous, the actions and skills were smoothly animated, and there may or may not have been a moment when I loudly made the sound of a young girl presented with a birthday present of a real live unicorn. Those of you who are as critical of Star Wars’ games as we may rejoice should the final product be anything like what we witnessed at PAX.

There it is in the briefest of glimpses into our experience of PAX Prime. As I stated earlier, we will be presenting much more from our visit to the Mecca of gaming conventions as well as introducing our official PAX Gamette in the coming days… so sty tuned.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

All photos by Mitch Ahrens 2010.