While at PAX we got to see a demonstration of the incredible new coop mode for Portal 2 (you can hear our thoughts here).  Developer, Valve, is pulling out all the stops for this follow up title.  To wet your appetite here is the official Portal 2 Coop Trailer.

If you let it, PAX can be learning experience.  It may not teach you the meaning of life but it definitely has life lessons….at least for us gamers.

Here are the Things I Learned At PAX 2010:

1. Sometimes Being Juvenile Is Just Fun

I have been very vocal about my disdain for calling something “mature” by a developer only to have lewd and crude jokes interspersed with gargantuan breasts (Bayonetta, I’m looking at you). However, this year at PAX two of my most anticipated were, in fact, simple juvenile fun.

Mortal Kombat brought back the gory fantastic-ism of old with fatalities that included dismembering and de-spining your foes. It also brought back the 2D plane combat and responsive control that had been lacking for some time. Ed Boon’s return to form is something that I am generally excited about, and this is coming from someone who usually abstains from fighting games.

In a similar experience, the first showing of Gearbox’s Duke Nukem Forever was fantastic. Yes the game that no one ever thought would be is actually going to be. I actually went into the game having little nostalgic love for the franchise. Maybe it was all the hype that Randy Pitchford brought to the table during our playthrough, but I genuinely laughed out loud at the game several times. Everything from starting the game peeing in a urinal to kicking a large beast’s heart through the uprights in a football stadium made me giggle.

Maybe it’s just me trying to hold onto my youth but PAX taught me that sometimes, if done right, juvenile humor and gore can be fun.

2. Some Games Can Exceed Already High Expectations

Walking into PAX most people have their games they want to get their hands on.  Sometimes you walk away disappointed, other times you walk away in awe.  This year a few games high on my expectation list still left me in awe.  This is a rare treat.

Killzone 3 is one of those games that has a lot to live up to.  Killzone 2 on the PS3 was a great addition to the PS3 library but it also had a lot of issues (mostly dealing with sluggish controls).  Sony’s third installment showed me that with a little finesse they can get it right.  Not only is it prettier than the already impressive KZ2, it controls like a dream without losing that Killzone feel.  Movement feels more responsive and the addition of things like jetpacks and mechs (even in multiplayer) just add to the core gameplay.

My most anticipated game and the one I expected the most out of  from PAX was Brink.  We got a chance to see it and interview the developers last year at PAX and we walked away impressed.  Not only was I impressed, I now am more excited for this game.  Simply put they got it right.  First off, the visuals are stunning; granted they were running on souped up PCs, but my hope is that these graphics carry over to the console version.  Secondly, the character customization and class system is incredible and deep.  I could have spent hours customizing my character with every nuance from hair style and shoes to gun color and scopes.  Some of these elements also play into your mobility and accuracy in the game.  We will post a preview of the game up soon on our YouTube page, but if you haven’t yet, go order it now.

3. Great execution Does Not Always Equal Great Fun

Here is where I hit on  a bit of TWB controversy.  Unlike some of my cohorts (really #1 Lasse?), after playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s multiplayer at PAX I walked away only impressed that it works.  Sure the execution is there, you choose your class and go off running to hunt down your target.  Sneak through crowds stealthily enough and you are rewarded with bonus points for the assassination.  Make too much noise and you go on a roof top chase.  All of this sounds good and fun and honestly it all works fine in the game, but it’s a slow plodding solitary multiplayer game.  The experience is also easily spoiled if someone kills your target or if you accidently tap square or X  at the wrong time, causing the game to have to find you a new target, then it all starts over again.  I also still question it’s longevity , variety and frankly it’s necessity.

4. Good Gamers Does Not Always Equal Good Personal Hygeine

Ok for the most part, PAX attendees are some of the nicest people out there.  On the other hand a large enough number of them do not exercise good personal hygiene.  Add to that the new hotness that is motion controls and you have a convention that is desperately begging for sponsorship from Degree Deodorant.

5. Activision Still Doesn’t Get It

Activision has some big games coming out this fall, including one of the biggest gaming franchises in Call of Duty Black Ops and yet they have never come to PAX to show their games.  For shame.

This week we talk about every single game we got our hands on during our weekend of PAX in Seattle, WA. Including Brink, Killzone 3, Duke Nukem Forever, Dead Space 2, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and much much more.

Also be sure to follow all of our coverage from PAX on twitter with the hashtag #PAXcouch or on our YouTube page

As always we appreciate your support and would love to hear your thoughts in our comment section below.

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Every year, it seems, we tend to get a new Halo. And every year we get an awesome new trailer that instills hope of epic story and battles, and sadly every year we walk away disappointed. Well once again the onslaught of Halo: Reach advertising has brought us this new trailer called “Deliver Hope”. But will it?

Watch here regularly as we upload what we consider to be the biggest and best videos from E3 2010.

Current videos (newest first): Star Wars The Old Republic, Fable 3, Crysis 2, Need for Speed, Metal Gear: Rising, Forza and Kinect, Dead Space 2 gameplay, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood,  Gears of War 3, Call of Duty Black Ops, Halo Reach, Dead Space 2, Bodycount, Fallout New Vegas, Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 3, Socom 4, Force Unleashed 2.