One minute I was just arriving in Boston, and the next I was packing up my bags and saying goodbye to PAX East 2011. And what a weekend it was.

From sampling the finest in upcoming videogames, watching some amazing concerts, meeting and making new friends, and bonding with old ones, this convention has got to be the best weekend of my year. Penny Arcade really puts together an amazing show, and it’s amazing that they do it twice a year, once on this coast and then over on their home turf of Seattle.

Not only was this the best PAX East ever (In my opinion), it was also the biggest. Head hancho Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade said that this year’s PAX had 69,500 attendees, up from last year’s 52,290 at the much tinier Hynes Convention Center.

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You’ll hear a lot about all the cool games, tech, and gadgets you’ll get to try out at the PAX East show floor, but you won’t hear much about is everything beyond the show floor. PAX prides itself on offering the all-encompassing gamer experience, which includes a wide variety of things to do when you’re a little tired of trekking through the mobbed expo hall or have some time to kill between panels.

Here’s all the “other stuff” I found worth checking out around the convention center this weekend.

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On my second day of the Penny Arcade Expo up in Boston, I took to the show floor to check out the booths of what I considered the three biggest and most anticipated games at the convention. One of these games is a follow-up two amazing titles for the Xbox 360. One is the sequel to the best first-person puzzle-platform of our time.

And the third is a game that most, if not all of us, never expected to see released. Gears of War 3, Portal 2, and Duke Nukem Forever were all booths that never ceased to cause lines and buzz all throughout the weekend.

Check out my favorites after the jump.

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The third and final game I checked out at this past weekend’s PAX East independent game showcase was an amazing little game called Snapshot, on its way to PC, Mac, and some consoles, sometime very soon. PAX East is the first time in awhile that Snapshot has been available for demo, so I felt really lucky to get a chance to sit down and spend some time with this title.

Snapshot reminded me of Braid right off the bat, and this observation wasn’t far off. Playing as this cute little robot dude navigating some brilliantly designed, beautifully animated levels, players use a camera to solve puzzles. Boxes can be moved, platforms can be relocated, and obstacles can be removed, as the player takes a picture of an object and places that photo over the environment to continue through the level.

It’s not always as easy as it sounds, though, as the objects aren’t always friendly, or aren’t always easily captured with the camera.

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The unique thing about PAX and PAX East as compared to all other conventions is the strong presence of independent gaming on the show floor. This year, three exceptional indie titles are being featured in the Boston Indie Showcase, and I took to the floor to check out what these games were all about.

Available for iPad, iOS, Mac, and PC, Smuggle Truck was the first indie game I tried out for myself at this year’s PAX. With very simple controls, you drive a truck full of refugees through side-scrolling barren wastelands, dark caves, and terrifying forests, all in the hopes of reaching the border without losing all your passengers. The path is wrought with obstacles as well as hills and valleys that test your skills against physics.

Smuggle Truck has caused a certain amount of controversy, but don’t let that steer you away, because this game is a ton of fun. And in talking with the game’s creators, the game is less about pointing fun at illegal immigrants and instead does an incredible job of critiquing the absurdity and difficulty of entering the country and legally becoming a citizen.

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Alright, I know I’m pretty late to the bandwagon since Kinect was released during the holidays, but I genuinely haven’t gotten to spend any time with the device. Until now.

One of the amazing things about Penny Arcade Expo is the expansive freeplay section available to attendees, and Kinect was available in full force. I stepped in front of a television armed with an Xbox 360, a Kinect, Kinectimals, and Dance Central, and I unwillingly and surprisingly fell in love.

Believe you me, I was just as skeptical about this device as I’m sure you all were, or maybe still are. And since Penny Arcade is pretty much my go-to for my videogame advice, and they aren’t the biggest fans of Kinect, I was expecting to be underwhelmed. Oh how wrong I was. Two seconds of tossing a ball around to a baby tiger and I was sold.

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With the release of Nintendo’s brand-spankin’ new handheld imminent on the horizon, it was only fair to assume it’d be at this year’s PAX East. I was really happy when I found that my assumptions were correct, as Nintendo had its launch line-up of games out in full force, including the new Kid Icarus and the 3DS release of the classic Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

And while I was anxious to check out these games, what was more important was checking out the Nintendo 3DS itself and seeing how it stacks up against the Nintendo DS, which has been my portable gaming console of choice for quite some time.

Given only a few short minutes to play Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, I immediately had a lot of impressions of the system. Firstly, I was happy to discover that it’s not much different than a DS or DSi, both in how it felt in my hands and how it looked.

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The expo floor is bigger and better at this year’s PAX East. If you’re a little overwhelmed by how much there is to take in, or if you’re one of the readers at home hoping to hear as much as possible about the con, here’s my guide to everything you might be missing on the show floor.

Child of Eden

The spiritual successor of Rez, an obscure rhythm-shooter released for PS2 before the time of Guitar Hero or Rock Band, Child of Eden is a game you may not have heard of, but should be really excited for. It’s another rhythm based shooter, where your shots release music that goes along with the background music and sound effects in the game, also similar to games like Lumines for the PSP.

What’s really exciting about Child of Eden is that it’ll have Kinect support, allowing you to shoot and navigate through its kaleidoscope world without a controller.

If you’re at PAX East this weekend, you can check out Child of Eden at booth #824.

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The second annual PAX East is this weekend, and while badges may be 100% sold out for the convention, you’ll find everything you need to know right here, since the team at The Flickcast will be there to report the latest, greatest, and best in gaming. Last year the expo was incredible, and this year should be no exception.

Along with the show floor, panels, nightly concerts, and everything else going on at the convention center, one of the great things about PAX East is all the meet ups that go on. Here’s some things to look out for this weekend if you’re attending.

PAX East Stitch’n'Bitch

Along with all the videogamers, tabletop lovers, card gamers, and other nerdy-types, a lot of attendees at PAX East love to knit, crotchet, and craft. If you’re one of those people, head up to the Handheld Lounge on Level 1 of the expo hall on Saturday from 1-3:30 PM for some crafting, lounging, and friends! Bring a current project or feel free to start something new, or check out what everyone else is doing!

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Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords was really the first game that got me addicted to the DS. Something about the combination of the really simple Bejeweled-like game play coupled with RPG elements made the game easy to pick up anytime of the day yet really hard to ever put down. I originally picked up the game on a recommendation from the guys at Penny Arcade, so it was only fitting that I got a chance to check out the game’s sequel, Puzzle Quest 2, for Xbox Live at PAX East.

First and foremost– this sequel is nothing like Puzzle Quest Galactrix. While that game was a successor to Puzzle Quest, it ultimately failed in its attempt to be as fun or addicting as the original game. So don’t worry, Puzzle Quest 2 is a return to the original game play with the square board, spell-casting, and all the addicting game play you’d expect.

However, there are definitely some changes in Puzzle Quest 2. Firstly, the game took place in a small town, rather than a large world map like the first game. In PQ I was always wandering around the map trying to find things and it was often hard to read, so the new layout  made finding quests and traveling from place to place much easier.

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While PAX East was jam packed with the latest and greatest in videogames, there really weren’t any new consoles on the horizon for us to take a look at except the newest version of Nintendo’s handheld, the DSi XL. Fans eagerly visited the Nintendo booth to try out this new system, and The Flickcast was able to spend some time checking out the XL.

What We Like

• The DSi XL’s screens measure in at 4.2 inches diagonally, an inch larger than all previous models, and it’s apparent from the second you pick one up that the system more than benefits from the size change. The menus are easier to navigate, dialogue is easier to read, and games are just plain easier to play.

• The first DS Lite had a glossy finish all over, and it was really easy to scratch up and dent. They fixed this with the DSi, but the DSi XL has an even nicer matte finish on the bottom and glossy finish on the top, making this system look and feel gorgeous.

• Nintendo’s always managed to keep their prices down and despite the major size difference, this system is only $20 more than the DSi. It’s definitely not going to be difficult to justify purchasing this model over the DSi.

What We Don’t Like

• The system’s got bigger screens, which means it’s much bigger. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, this makes the DSi XL less of a handheld and more of a portable console. It can fit in a back pocket or into your backpack just as easily as the other DS models, but it’s heavier and bulkier.

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This past weekend, the gaming community from Ontario to Hawaii descended upon the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA for PAX East 2010, the first Penny Arcade Expo on the East coast. PAX Prime, a mecca for all things gamer, has been held since 2004 in the home of Penny Arcade, Seattle WA, so this was the first chance for us this side of the Mississippi River to attend this epic experience.

And what an experience it was. In between concerts by Jonathan Coulton and MC Frontalot and panels with geek gods like Will Wheaton there were tabletop games, demos of huge upcoming titles like Skate 3, Red Dead Redemption, or Dungeons and Dragons tournaments.

Whether you were looking for someone to play Rock Band with or you just wanted to connect your Pokemon with someone else’s Pokewalker, there was never a shortage of things to do at PAX East. And while this was the convention’s debut to our coast, it felt like home already.

While the convention may be over, our coverage at The Flickcast is just beginning. If you didn’t get a chance to attend the convention, or you went but didn’t quite get to see everything, keep an eye out for our articles on PAX East 2010 including some epic cosplay snapshots, our favorite indie games, and some of the newest gaming tech you need to keep your eye on.