For many of us gamers, MMORPGs can seem like a huge commitment. They can be time consuming and expensive, and other than World of Warcraft, none of them really seem to retain players for a long period of time.

That’s why many MMOs are choosing to move to a different model of pricing. League of Legends has proved that free to play MMOs with in-game transactions- extra weapons or characters or outfits that players can purchase with real world cash- not only maintain players, but maintain profits.

Firefall is another one of those free-to-play MMOs, and I got a chance to check it out on the show floor at PAX East. During my time playing Firefall, I got a chance to create a character and complete a few quests. I chose a female Assault character.

You won’t have to play cooperatively in Firefall, as I was doing quests on my own, and you won’t have to participate in PvP either. I found the questing system really unique- I was sent on a quest to investigate a water shortage, which turned into me killing the monsters in the area who were causing the problem. A lot of other MMOs would have just sent me after the monsters in the first place, but Firefall gave me a chance to investigate and figure things out on my own. It was a nice touch that I can foresee making the level grinding in the beginning of the game a little less repetitive and more enjoyable.

I have to admit, my favorite part of the gameplay and controls of Firefall was my jetpack, which the entire environment seemed to be built around. The environments of Firefall are really open and well designed. I loved the cell shaded graphics in the game- it made it feel even more removed and unique from other MMOs out there.

If you played the game at PAX East you’ll be able to access the closed beta of Firefall, and the full game will be released later this year.

Last year, indie developer Owlchemy Lab’s Smuggle Truck was a part of the Boston Indie Showcase, and I had a blast playing it. Which was why I was pleased to see them back on the show floor this year with a new game for mobile devices, titled Jack Lumber.

There’s a bit of a tragic story behind Jack Lumber- your character, Jack, lost his grandmother at a young age when she was viciously slaughtered by a falling tree. Now, using your supernatural powers, you’re out to avenge your granny’s death by destroying as many trees as you can, armed with your axe and your trusty sidekick Buck the Beaver always by your side.

Jack Lumber is an action arcade game with familiar mechanics, but it’s a lot of fun to play. Flying bits of lumber zip across your screen, and using your finger, your mission is to chop up as many as you can using one fluid motion. The faster you destroy as many logs of wood as you can, the more points you’ll score. Some trees need to be chopped horizontally and vertically, so you’ll soon be frantically dragging your finger across the screen in crazy patterns trying to annihilate the lumber and avenge Jack’s poor grandma. Due to the mechanics of the game, it works best on a touchscreen, but I’d love to see this game someday ported to the Kinect.

Jack Lumber will be released sometime this summer for mobile devices. In the meantime, watch the latest teaser video after the jump.

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You’re a gopher, minding your own business, trying to enjoy a nice picnic, when all of a sudden dinosaurs crash the party and try to steal your delicious barbecued meats. So of course you have no choice to defend yourself, tower defense style, against the oncoming onslaught of giant reptiles. This is Go Home Dinosaurs, and I got a chance to check it out last weekend on the show floor at PAX East.

In Go Home Dinosaurs, you’ll start out with one lone gopher. By collecting trees you’ll earn enough coconuts to start building defenses around the board. Between harvesting trees, adding defenses, and keeping track of how far the dinosaurs are getting, the game board can get frantic, but if you reach the end of the level without letting any dinosaurs through to your barbequed meats, you win!

As you continue to play and collect coins, you can purchase equipable upgrades- some will increase how many or how strong a particular troop is, or start a level with coconuts already in hand. These upgrades come in the form of trading cards, and you can equip up to three upgrade cards and three types of troops at one time.

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Tabletop gaming has recently become one of my favorite hobbies, but work and other life commitments sometimes make it hard to make time to sit down and play them.

That’s where Playdek comes in. They port games from their physical, tabletop form into full-fledged iOS games. The really great thing is that these games are playable online, so even if you can’t sit down with your friends for your favorite board game, you can play at your leisure on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, or play and pass on long car rides or in long lines.

Another great thing about what Playdek does is that the digital version of these tabletop games clearly defines the rules and explains them, which helps take some of the intimidation factor for those of us who are new to tabletop. And if you love the iOS version of these games, you can buy the physical game fully understanding the rules and ready to play!

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One of my goals this year for PAX East was to play every single game featured in the Boston Indie Showcase, a hand-picked collection of excellent mobile games created by independent developers. After checking out all the other games featured in the showcase, I was excited to see what Not Without You had in store for me on the show floor.

Out of all the games in the Boston Indie Showcase, most of which were very puzzle-heavy, Not Without You was definitely the most challenging of them all.

The blue furry creatures of Not Without You need your help escaping from the lab, which would be easy peasy, if the creatures didn’t move in tandem with one another. Using the environment and obstacles placed in your way, your task is to arrange these creatures in the right formation to lead them out of the lab doors in as few moves as possible.

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With their two mega mobile games Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, Halfbrick had a pretty big presence on the show floor last weekend at PAX East, and I was excited to see what’s next for Jetpack Joyride, one of my favorite iOS games.
If you’ve played Jetpack Joyride, you already know that the game comes packed with vehicle upgrades and additional jetpacks to enhance the gameplay experience, but in an upcoming update, the game will also introduce new “gadgets.”

Purchasable from the stash, you’ll be able to equip two gadgets at a time. These gadgets all have a unique ability. One that I tried out while talking with Halfbrick was a freezing agent, which activated whenever I crashed and allowed me to slide much further before the game ended, increasing my distance traveled. Another power up allowed me to see exactly what vehicle power up lay ahead, instead of the usual shiny power up symbol.

I’m really happy that Halfbrick is going to continue supporting Jetpack Joyride, since it’s a really fun game and adding these gadgets will only make it more addicting to play.

There will be 15 new gadgets in all, which can be purchased using in-game coins.

Jetpack Joyride is currently available for iPad and iPhone for free. The update should be available sometime this month, also at no cost to you, so just start saving those coins!

You can check out the teaser trailer for one of the gadgets, the “Air Barrys”, after the jump.

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Twisted Pixel’s Splosion Man and Ms. ‘Splosion Man have made a big bang the past few years at PAX East, and this year was no exception, because the first day of the convention they announced that Ms. Splosion Man will be making the jump to iPhone, iPad and Steam later this year. I stopped by their booth on the show floor later that day to see for myself how the game translates over to touch screen controls.

For touch-screens, Ms. ‘Splosion Man has been reduced to a directional stick that moves you left and right. To jump and ‘splode, you just tap the screen. It took me several minutes to get used to this new control scheme.

It’s not as exact as using a joystick or directional pad, and the slippery nature of the iPad screen sometimes caused me to slide the directional a bit further than I would have liked. But after a few minutes it became more natural, and I’m sure once the full game is available for iPad, players will easily make the switch from controller to touch controls.

Retooled for iPad, Ms. ‘Splosion Man looked great. I’m definitely looking forward to this title, and it’s making it even harder to resist picking up an iPad.

We can look forward to Ms. ‘Splosion Man on our iOS devices and PC later this summer.

In 2010, Jerry Holkins, aka Tycho, posted chapters for what he hoped would become the third installment of Penny Arcade’s steampunk RPG game series, but then much to the dismay of fans, not much else was heard of about the game.

Cut to 2012 and not only does the game have a developer, indie devs Zeboyd games, but it should be released sometime this summer. I got a chance to sit in on the panel where the game’s creators, plus Holkins himself, discussed how the game resurfaced and came to be.

What is obviously different right from the start in On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is the SNES-style art and graphics. The previous two games looked a bit more like one of Mike Krahulik’s comics, but this third game is less comic, more Final Fantasy. The battle system and dialogue boxes are reminiscent of all my favorite RPGs growing up, but combined with the snarky, sometimes foul dialogue always present in the Penny Arcade games, it’s more like an R-rated version of Dragon Warrior.

During the Q&A portion of the panel, fans asked a lot about the other apparent difference in On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3, which is the absence of a customizable protagonist. In this third installment, players take on a party of Gabriel, Tycho, and Ann. The developers mentioned that they may wrap up the story of the previous protagonist, but you won’t be able to play as him. However, there will be enemies in tiny hats, and tiny hats make everything funnier, so it all balances out.

On The Rain Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 will be available this summer on PC, Mac, Xbox, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android.

I probably will say this every year I attend, but this year’s PAX East was my favorite one yet. The showfloor was excellent, with an amazing selection of the latest titles from both big name developers and indie up and comers. The tabletop and freeplay areas were expanded upon, the panels were enjoyable and entertaining.

Throughout the weekend, and really every PAX East, there’s a feeling of respect and community that I’ve never felt at any other convention. I’ve never made more friends at any other expo or con as I have at PAX East, and year after year I manage to reunite with old friends while making new ones. All of us who attend owe a great debt to those who dedicate their time and energy to making PAX the best it can be year in and year out, including the Penny Arcade staff and the Enforcers, the most dedicated, helpful group of volunteers I’ve ever come across.

I always get a feeling of sadness when I pack my bags, wave goodbye to the BCEC, and leave Boston, and while the PAX experience on the East coast may be over, the memories, souvenirs, beta keys, freebies, new friends, and new favorite games are all things we can connect with and experience everyday. We really bring PAX home with us. And there’s always PAX Prime in the fall.

I hope that those of you attended the convention enjoyed yourself as much as I did. Check out some photos from my time at PAX East after the jump.

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I think it’s safe to say that Borderlands 2 was the most popular game on the show floor last weekend at PAX East. Luckily, I got a chance to check out the game thanks to the people at 2K.

Partnered up with another player, I chose the Siren, assigned some talent points, and jumped into the game. I was thrown into a giant bunker which, when opened, revealed an industrial, barren landscape surrounded by green pools of slime. Our mission was to reach a locker, but it was by no means easy to maintain, as we were constantly barraged by enemies.

This particular level featured bug-like creatures- some that swarmed up above, others that burrowed underground and rushed us from below or behind- so I was constantly swinging my camera around to meet my next foe with a blast of gunfire. My character also had an ability to freeze enemies midair while my partner pelted them with bullets- just like Borderlands, co-op is well executed in Borderlands 2.

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The floor this year at PAX East included a section indie developers dubbed the Indie Megabooth- 16 independent developers showing off twenty of the latest and greatest indie games on all sorts of platforms. One of those titles was Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, the follow up to PSN title Tales from Space: About a Blob, now available for the Playstation Vita. I decided to pick up the title to play during my free time at PAX East, and I’m really glad I did.

Much like the Katamari games, Mutant Blobs Attack  requires you to eat everything in sight to proceed through the level, as long as it’s not bigger than you. But, while Katamari is a 3rd person perspective three dimensional game, Mutant Blobs Attack is a 2D sidescrolling platformer, more like Loco Roco.  As a blob, you’ll also gain powerups to allow you to fly, float, and magnetize yourself to walls.

The game utilizes the Vita’s controls without overdoing it and becoming cumbersome to play. You control the blob throughout the levels using the analog stick, but there are also a few random levels that require you to tilt the Vita around like a ball maze to try to move the blob to the goal. The back touchscreen don’t come into play at all, but the front is used to manipulate the environment to proceed.

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Formerly known as True Crime: Hong Kong, Sleeping Dogs was showcased at the SquareEnix booth on the show floor this weekend at PAX East. I got a chance to sit down with some of the people who worked on the game, and learn more about this open world crime drama.

Based loosely on Infernal Affairs, Sleeping Dogs takes place in modern-day Hong Kong, and revolves around police officer Wei Shen who goes undercover to take down a Triad organization. The developers I spoke with emphasized that the game will be very serious, with emphasis on a dramatic storyline.

On the outside, Sleeping Dogs may look like Grand Theft Auto set in Hong Kong. But they’ve really taken their time to make sure that while this game is very much a sandbox, it’s not a reskinned GTA clone. I got to check out a demo of a racing mission in the game, and the driving system is very precise. I didn’t feel like I was flying all over the road, and since several developers of Need for Speed had a hand in creating Sleeping Dogs, it makes sense that the driving be top notch.

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