PAX Australia 2014

Yesterday it was announced that PAX Australia will be in Melbourne for the next 5 years and since it is just around the corner (October 31st to November 2nd) I have to say that I’m now getting excited. There are a lot of reasons why this is going to be an amazing three days. So I thought I would share my top 5 reasons that I can hardly sleep at night from so much anticipation.

1) Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre 

This new location makes so much sense. Better location, bigger venue and more importantly right in the heart of the city. Well at least just next to it. I remember last year the wonderful Melbourne weather was behaving rather naughty. When the rain started and seeing thousands of gamers line up waiting to get inside. Luckily there was some temporary plastic tent-like shelter that went for several hundred meters. Well that’s nothing to worry about any more. That said you still need an umbrella and sun-tan lotion. Oh yeah getting there is going to be so much easier especially for any international guests staying at hotels in the city. But for my fellow Melbournians you can get their relatively easily via Train and if you take a car there is plenty of on site parking. My tip… Park at Crown Casino.

PaxMelbourne2014

2) My First Time

Obviously this is going to be exciting for me and something I will remember forever simply because it is my first time attending this type of expo. I actually went last year for work but that was a very different experience… ie. standing in one spot for three days straight and seeing ZERO games and ZERO presentations. So it will be a treat for me to get that 2014 Media Pass and have some hands on time with the games, interview developers, producers, fans and attend some interesting panels. More importantly from what I can tell PAX is very different to the Electronics Entertainment Expo and EB Games Expo. Everything about it just sounds like so much fun. Kind of like a “Festival”.

3) GAMES GAMES GAMES and MORE GAMES!

Okay so this is kind of obvious. But in all the years that I’ve attended E3 I’ve never really enjoyed any of the games at the show as its kind of a difficult thing to do. Simply because you have so many appointments and interviews to record. As this event is all about the games I honestly can’t wait to sit back relax and get my hands on some great innovative titles. On top of this I’m looking forward to seeing what ID@Xbox games are available to try out. Remember if you are attending it’s not all about Halo, Call of Duty and Sunset Overdrive. Yes they are big blockbusters and look fantastic! But you may be surprised and impressed by some of the smaller budget titles to look forward to as well.

4) XBOX at PAX Australia

So I have to say it looks like Xbox will be bringing in the big guns. I just hope they’ve got lots of big screen TVs, projectors and those giant life size statues of some of our favourite characters. HALO: The Master Chief Collection will most likely have this biggest area. And it will be great to play some 16 player games on those new remastered HALO 2 maps. Have to say I do have a soft spot for ODDBALL and KING OF THE HILL. Sunset Overdrive is going to be massive in every way. If this is your first time seeing the game in action and getting your hands on it then the first thing you will notice is how unique the gameplay is as well as the look and feel. Forza Horizon 2 will be on show and if you are new to the franchise and have not downloaded the demo then this will be a great opportunity to try it out. I hope they have a nice display area with one of them shiny Steering Wheels. Killer Instinct Season 2 will be playable and hopefully with those MadCatz Arcade sticks. Happy to challenge anyone to a game as I can’t seem to get enough of it. Hopefully we get a tease of the next playable character… please be CINDER!!! There will be a few other games as well such as MINECRAFT and SCREAMRIDE but I have to say that I’m intrigued by ORI and the Blind Forest. This looks like such a beautiful and unique game and more importantly offers some very different gameplay like I’ve never seen before.

Halocollection

5) PANELS 

There are going to be so many panels and sessions over these three days that are worth attending. It could be a talk from your favourite website or TV show or watching a game tournament. Have a look at the complete schedule and I’m sure you will find more than a couple of sessions worth your time. It really looks like a diverse mix of sessions. aus.paxsite.com/schedule I think I will check out all those Halo tournaments and a few of those talks about the Gaming Community.

So there you have it. PAX AUSTRALIA is just days away and I’m going to try my best to actually sit back, relax and enjoy myself. Ofcourse I will be recording a few interviews whenever I can. But most importantly once this is over I can start planning everything for 2015.

For more info on PAX AUSTRALIA head over to the official website and FaceBook Page.

Author: Mark Libman View all posts by
is a Microsoft Xbox MVP and the Executive Producer of www.OzBoxLive.com. Check out the podcast "OzBoxLive Radio" to hear what he has to say about all things Xbox Down Under. Favorite games include anything with Batman, Lego and Portals.

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