Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a Broken Game

-->

In what was supposed to be a love letter to fans, Halo: The Master Chief Collection has turned out to be a great disservice to those who have loved and followed the franchise for years. It’s been almost two weeks since its release and, even with one huge patch, the game is broken on a colossal scale. I understand that it must have been hard to compile four games into one and making it so we can relive the Halo CE and Halo 2 games in online multiplayer again and for that I’m truly grateful. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that they pushed this game out the door with so many issues that it truly baffles me that it made it past quality assurance. Here are the issues I’ve personally seen since Halo released last Tuesday and that’s including the recent patch.

     -Insanely long wait times to find a match. Every now and then I can get a match within minutes, but after that game is over I usually have to wait 10-15 to find another suitable game. Hell, even when you find a game there are issues.

     -The match has been found, teams have been set, but the game never starts. It pretends to start and just as I get fed up and ready to leave it takes us to a post game carnage report that states the match was incomplete. No shit. It never even started.

     -Uneven teams. This is probably the most annoying thing to come across. You wait as long as you do to get a game only to wind up on a team of four going against a team of six. Halo CE through Halo 3 are all multiplayer games that rely heavily on teamwork,   weapon control, and map control. You have no idea how easy it is to gain weapon and map control when you out number the other team by even one person. Not all is lost. I’ve been playing team slayer a lot and I have won a decent share of games when we were out numbered, but I’ve lost even more. This is also not to   say that I haven’t been on the team with more people, but even that is less fun because it’s all too easy to dominate the other squad. So you can either take your chances and get walloped or you can be the one doing the walloping, regardless, it makes for a game not as   fun as I remember.

     -Halo CE and Halo 2 seem to have issues with registering shots on other players. I’m not sure if this is because someone in the match is hosting the game, even though we’re supposed to be on dedicated servers, or if it’s an actual issue with the game. In Halo CE I’ve peppered entire clips of a pistol into someone’s head and detonated a grenade right at their feet and they just walked away unharmed while I faced a cold and brutal defeat. The beautiful thing about the Xbox One is that I can now record proof of things like this when they happen, and I have. Halo 2 it’s less noticeable but it’s still there. Same scenario where it takes more than it should to kill someone.

     -Getting friends into your lobby is a freaking pain in the ass. More often than not we’ve had to completely reset Halo in order for this to work. I’ll accept a game invite and wait minutes before being dragged into the game, if it takes me at all, or it tells me that it failed. Once you are in a group I’ve found wait times to be much longer than if I were searching by myself. Hell, any of the issues I stated before this become more annoying when you’re with a group of people. Especially if you can’t find a game and you have to back out to restart the search because…

     -Every time your party leader has to back out of a search or tries to back out after the completion of a game, the whole party is split up and you must then go through the trouble of getting back together. This seems to be a tiny bit better since the patch, but it’s still troublesome enough to mention here.

     -I’ve experienced a one second delay in campaign that makes shooting, melee, and diving for cover simply pointless. I have only played one level and I was connected to a friend of mine who was hosting the game, so I’m not sure if it was a straight up lag issue or not. I’ll have to test out the mission again by myself to see if I experience the same thing.

So there you have it, all those issues are just what I’ve experienced, but if you care enough to read this you’ll know that there are dozens of other issues that people are having. Hell, if you look at 343’s patch notes it was such an ungodly long list of crap that truly has baffled me. How does a game have this much wrong with it and they didn’t catch it before it came out? It feels like a cash grab that was rushed out before it was ready and that is truly disappointing to me. I love Halo and have been a huge fan since the first day I’ve played it. I have the all the Halo related soundtracks, novels, and comics. Hell I even purchased the legendary edition of Halo 3 that came with a statue of Master Chief’s helmet. So when I’m told by other fans to suck it up and wait, it pisses me off. Prepare yourself for a rant on how much I hate apologists.

First off, stop apologizing for 343. You people do not owe this company anything and they most certainly do not owe you anything. Granted, I say kudos to them for fixing their game, or attempting to, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit back and take it lying down like Jody Foster in The Accused. They don’t have to fix the multiplayer issues if they don’t want to. Hell we all already forked over our cash to them for a broken game. Luckily they want to sell Halo 5 next year and they most certainly need to save face here. But people on the Internet are so annoying about this. You cannot complain about the game being broken without being called an impatient noob. Seriously? I paid money for a broken game that I have wanted to play since the day it was announced but I can’t because it’s broken and that makes me impatient? How about I’m pissed because I feel duped. More and more these days companies are releasing broken games and the apologists are saying, “hey guys, relax while they fix it, go play something else,” or “it’s only sixty bucks, are you that broke?”

That’s not the point. No I’m not broke and I’m not impatient. When I hand my money over for a product, I expect that product to work. I wouldn’t have minded waiting a few extra months for them to polish this game before releasing it, but the fact that I can load it up and still not play it is very frustrating. What if you purchased a car that promised you an amazing CD player or heated seats or something and they didn’t work? I bet money you’d throw a fit over it and would be back at that dealership to raise hell. You wouldn’t be all content with waiting weeks after your purchase for them to fix what they promised to give you in the first place. The same goes for phones, tablets, and whatever other technological product you bought that didn’t work as advertised. This isn’t like going to McDonalds and not getting the extra fries you asked for.

What these apologists don’t understand is that it’s not about the money we spend on the product; it’s about our relationship with the people who create these things we love so much. If they release a broken product and you’re content with them and patient while they iron it out, then why wouldn’t they just continue to do that for future games? We already see enough day one patches for every game that is released and that tells me they ship games that aren’t finished in the first place. Sure those day one patches usually fix issues we’ll never see, but that is obviously not always the case. So if we stand idly by why developers do this kind of stuff then we’re saying it’s okay for them to continually do it in the future and it’s not. Raise hell like people did with the Mass Effect 3 ending that caused Bioware to release a free extended cut. Raise hell like people did when Microsoft threatened to impose unwanted restrictions on your gaming with the Xbox One that caused them to do away with them. We have a voice people! Use it.

So by now you’re probably wondering why I haven’t returned the game and I’m sure this will make me sound like a hypocrite, but it’s fun. When I can actually get into a game with even teams it’s fun as hell and takes me back to ten years ago when I was in my first year of college. All I would do is go to school, hit up my part time job, and play Halo 2 until I passed out. All those amazing LAN parties I had with family and friends can now be re-lived and I Just want it to work the way it was advertised. I will not buy Halo 5 unless there is a way I can snag it for free. I WILL NOT give 343 any more of my money until they can prove they can make a game that isn’t broken upon release. I know it’s going to be super hard for me to do that when the time comes because I’m sure this whole thing will be resolved and put behind us, but I have to make a statement to them and every other company. I won’t buy games anymore until I know they released and are functionally working. With that being said, I’m going to go enjoy more Sunset Overdrive because at least that game has been working since the moment I downloaded it. I’ll try writing a blog about that game because MY GOD it’s amazing.

The Matter of Choice in The Walking Dead Games

SPOILER ALERT!! THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FROM THE WALKING DEAD GAME SEASONS ONE AND TWO. BUT I’M GUESSING IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED THEM BY NOW THEN YOU REALLY HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF EVER DOING SO AND YOU MAY NOT EVEN CARE WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. REGARDLESS, IF YOU PLAN ON PLAYING THESE GAMES, DON’T READ THE FOLLOWING BECAUSE IT’S GOING TO SPOIL THE CRAP OUT OF EVERYTHING AND YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO BLAME FOR NOT TAKING FIVE SECONDS TO READ THIS SMALL, ALL CAPS MESSAGE.

The Walking Dead games use story as a game play mechanic and it has truly innovated the way stories can be told in an interactive medium. I wanted to talk about these two stories in particular because I have recently played through both of them a second time and realized that these games, despite their amazing stories, totally fumble the whole, your choice changes the game, thing. Or perhaps it’s us who misunderstood the intentions of the choices given.

The first thing that stands out about The Walking Dead is that the story is decided based on the decisions you make. Haha I’m totally kidding! Your journey is determined by your choice, not the story itself. Regardless of the many choices you’re given throughout the entire franchise, The Walking Dead games tell the exact story they intend to tell. Let’s look at some examples.

Lee is still going to die after his zombie bite. It doesn’t matter if you choose to have his arm cut off or not. You’re still going to sit through that terribly emotional scene where, in my case, I had Clementine shoot him. Rough stuff.

That scene with Lee confronting Clementine’s kidnapper plays out EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, even if you played the game totally different the second time around. Seriously, his primary beef with you and your crew is when everyone stole his supplies, which in turn caused his wife to leave him and wind up dying. Play the game differently and try not to steal his stuff and your group robs his ass blind anyway and he still thinks you’re the world’s biggest asshole despite the fact that you sat on the sidelines.

I saved Carly instead of Doug because I thought maybe being her knight in shining armor would get me laid. I saved Doug the second time around because I knew Carly wasn’t going to put out. Doesn’t matter though because not only did Doug also fail to put out, but he is still shot in the face by Lilly the same way Carly was.

I saved Duck instead of Shawn because he was the helpless little boy. The second time around I saved Shawn instead. What happened? Duck still gets saved and Shawn still winds up being a human happy meal. The only difference is that you piss Kenny off and have to spend the rest of the game with him reminding you of what a dick move that was.

I helped Kenny drop a salt lick on Larry’s head when he died. What happens if you play it differently? Well, instead of helping Kenny drop a salt lick on Larry’s head, I helped Lilly try to revive him. Guess what happened? Kenny dropped it on his freaking head anyway, only this time Lilly wasn’t mad at me. Still, that didn’t stop her from becoming a psychotic team killing fuck tard.

So the game doesn’t really adapt to your choices in a way that determines the ending. Think of each decision as a fork in a road. Each side of that fork will be different, but in the end the roads are connected again.

Season Two plays out the same way. No matter what you do you can’t save Pete or Alvin, Arvo still brings his gang after you and winds up shooting you, and Kenny will definitely get his face smashed in by Carver. Probably the most annoying thing in Season Two, for me any way, was Luke’s death. You can either not help him and watch him drown, or you can try to help him, fall in the lake, get saved by Luke, and watch a zombie drag him down where he’ll drown anyway as he’s being simultaneously eaten. That scene just feels like a slap in the face. Like who cares? Why bother saving him if there is no chance he makes it off of this frozen lake either way?

People boast about Season 2 having like five different endings and they’re wrong. There’s five different ways to reach the end, but the end is the same regardless. It’s just a matter of who will be standing next to you when you get to that point. Clementine and the baby will be there every time. But did you let Kenny kill Jane (you’re an ass if you did)? Or did you shoot Kenny? From there you can either forgive the victor and they’ll join you or you can choose to go your own way. So in reality there is one ending, just multiple different choices you can make as to who will be with you.

One other thing I’ve learned from playing these games twice is there are no good choices, ever. You’re always a douche bag to someone. Even if you try to play neutral, you’re decisions always seem to have a negative consequence. The entirety of Season One is like that. Quite literally everything you did for Clementine as Lee (our hero) is used against you at the end when the kidnapper tells you how terrible you’ve done raising a little girl in the apocalypse. Like there’s a right way? Of course he says this to you moments before he opens a bowling bag with his dead wife’s zombie head inside and starts talking to it. I’m sure that’s less emotionally jarring to a little girl than teaching her how to defend herself against the dead people trying to eat her.   

Regardless of that crazy bastard, other characters judge the living piss out of you. Did you try save Omid or his pregnant girlfriend, Christa, as they tried jumping onto the train? Doesn’t matter, the person you saved first will verbally attack you for not saving the other person before them, even though you wind up saving them both. Um, you’re fucking welcome! At one point you’re tasked with passing out five food items to people when there are eleven in your group. Yet instead of people being understanding adults and letting the kids eat first, they gripe at you like the selfish babies they are.

How about the cannibal farm? Oh it wasn’t really just my idea to come out to this farm and trade gas for some of their food during a time where only some of us got to eat today, right? I mean, we were all kind of like, starving and wanting food. Yet when we realized we were eating our wounded pal, who we thought was being taken care of by these awfully nice farm folk, it’s all of a sudden my fault that we were there. Piss off people. Kenny got pissed off because I put a girl out of her misery while she was being eaten alive. So selfish was he to use her as a distraction while we got away. Imagine dying a painful death where human teeth are ripping your flesh right off of you. Yeah, shoot me if that’s ever happening to me. Regardless, if you let her live the zombies still find and chase you. Some good that did.

Don’t let any of this deter you. If you’ve read this far and still want to play these games, despite me having ruined everything, I implore you to do so! You have to understand that your choices will not put a dent in how the story is played out, but that story is just so amazing. The relationship between Lee and Clementine is so strong that when its foundation is shook, you cannot help but feel the real human pain these fictional characters can’t. I won’t lie. I cried a couple of times during the first game. Watching as the young Duck dies from his zombie bite was tragic to me and not just because I’m a dad. Watching his parents walk him out into the woods all I could hear is his harsh shallow breathing and it just crushed me. That entire scene was tragic. If you have played this game and didn’t shed a tear as Lee had to say goodbye to Clementine then you’re a sociopath who probably murders people for fun.

So with all of this said it’s hard to harp on The Walking Dead games because they are truly amazing experience to have as a gamer. I just feel there is a misconception on what your choices are intended to do. I’m not sure if that stems from the developer telling us that the choices effect the game or if it’s us gamers assuming that a game that includes choice must provide us different conclusions. Regardless, this is a fantastic franchise and I look forward to Season Three.  

The Game Off

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

DEXTER, 27, thin and scrawny with trimmed brown hair, wears a headset. He plays a game on his computer.

                         DEXTER
               (Into headset)
               Zac cover the left side! Laura I need to be healed!

Dexter CLICKS his mouse ferociously.

INT. ZAC’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY

ZAC, 24, heavyset with shaggy hair and tight clothes, wears an identical headset as Dexter. He frowns at his computer screen.

                         ZAC
               (into headset)
               Dex I’m getting slaughtered!

                         DEXTER (V.O.)
               Hold it or we’ll fail the whole thing.

INSERT - COMPUTER SCREEN

ZAC’S GAME CHARACTER, a large blue warlock, swings a large club. A mob of ENEMIES surround him and shoot him with arrows.

A final arrow strikes him in the head. He falls to the ground.

BACK TO SCENE

                         ZAC
               Damnit!

Zac SLAMS the desk with is hands.

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Dexter shoves his keyboard away from him.

                         DEXTER
               Zac!

Dexter runs his hands through his hair.

INT. CHAD’S OFFICE - DAY

CHAD, 25, stunningly handsome with blonde hair and blue eyes, sits back in his seat and grins.

                         CHAD
               Uh oh, you done pissed off our fearless leader. Better run, Zac.

Chad drinks from a cup.

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Dexter sits at his desk.

                         DEXTER
               I’m not mad. It’s just, Laura’s boyfriend is probably wanting her to get off and we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try again.

INT. LAURA’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY

LAURA, 28, beautiful, slightly heavyset, wears an aged headset, presses a button.

                          LAURA
               No, we can try again. What’s another two hours amongst friends?

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               Prince Charming is cool with that?

                         LAURA
               Chris and I broke up a couple of months ago.

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Dexter perks up in his seat.

                         DEXTER
               Wow, I guess we’ll have to go out some time, haha.

Dexter pauses.

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               I’d pay to see that. The most socially awkward person on the planet out on a date with Laura.

                         ZAC (V.O.)
               He’s not socially awkward.

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               Maybe not online. But I remember Dex in high school as the senior who always ate lunch in the corner by himself.

Dexter’s Frowns.

He reaches for the power button on his computer.

                         ZAC (V.O.)
               Dude what the fu...

Dexter powers off the computer. He stands up and walks towards an open door.

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY

Dexter falls face first into his bed.

EXT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - DAY

Zac gets out of his car, walks to the front door, and knocks.

Dexter opens the door.

                         DEXTER
               What are you doing here?

                         ZAC
               Well since you were ignoring my calls, I figured I’d make sure you didn’t hang yourself.
             
                         DEXTER
               I didn’t.

                         ZAC
               Clearly.

Dexter and Zac look at each other.

                         ZAC (CONT’D)
               So, are you going to invite me in?

Dexter moves from the door Zac enters.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Zac sits on the couch.

Dexter walks into the kitchen.

                         ZAC
               So what the hell was that all about? With Chad I mean?

Dexter enters with two beers. He hands one to Zac.

                         DEXTER
               The dude’s a douche.

Dexter sits on the couch.

                         ZAC
               I thought you were friends.

Zac places his beer on the coffee table. Dexter picks it up and places a coaster under it.

                         DEXTER
               So did I. But he’s still the same jerk from high school embarrassing me in front of a girl I like.

Zac looks around the apartment.

                         ZAC
               You’re a bit of a neat freak, huh?

Dexter nods.

                         ZAC (CONT’D)
               I didn’t know you liked Laura. You should go for it, man. I bet she’d say yes.

Dexter takes a sip of his beer.

                         DEXTER
               Chad is right, though. The only friends I have are online. I’ve never been a social person outside of that realm.

                         ZAC
               Dude, we’re having this conversation in person. Chad’s a jealous baby who likes to hurt people. We should boot him from the guild.

Dexter looks towards Zac.

                         DEXTER
               You’re right.

                         ZAC
               So you’ll kick him?

                         DEXTER
               Not that. I should give it shot, huh? You and I became good online friends before we met in person.

                         ZAC
               True.

                         DEXTER
               Laura and I have gotten pretty close, so maybe she’s comfortable with the idea.

Dexter stands up and walks to his desk.

                         ZAC
               Sounds to me like you’re the one who’s getting comfortable with the idea. She’s not as weird as you are.

Dexter smirks and turns his computer on.

He logs into his game and checks the guild board.

Chad and Laura are logged in.

Dexter puts on his headset.

                         DEXTER
               Laura. I know I was kidding before, but I like you a lot and I think we should go on a date.

Silence.

                         DEXTER (CONT’D)
               If you want to, that is.

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               Oh my God. I literally just threw up in my mouth a little.

                         DEXTER
               Why are you still here?

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               Oh I was having a little chat with Laura before she went A.F.K. It was nice a quiet until you spewed verbal diarrhea all over the channel.

Zac pulls out his laptop and types.

                         ZAC
               Dude, what did she say?

Dexter mutes his headset.

                         DEXTER
               She’s not here, it’s just Chad being an ass.

                         ZAC
               I’m logging in.

Zac types on his computer.

INT. CHAD’S OFFICE - DAY

Chad fiddles with the cord on his headset.

                         CHAD
               Funny story, Dex. I like Laura too and I think I’m going to ask her out.

                         DEXTER (V.O.)
               I don’t think you’re her type.

Chad leans forward in his chair.

                         CHAD
               Oh, I’m exactly her type. I’m good looking, amazing in bed, and I’m not afraid to be in public. But I’ll throw you a bone.

Chad smiles and leans back.

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Zac puts his headset on.

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               I’ll back off from Laura if you make me the guild leader.

                         ZAC
               Don’t do it. He’ll just kick you out and claim all the gold we’ve earned as his own.

                         CHAD
               Stay out of it, troll. Let the grown ups talk.

Dexter mutes his mic and sits back in his chair.

                         DEXTER
               Give up the guild for Laura? That doesn’t seem fair.

                         ZAC
               That’s because it’s not.

Dexter unmutes his mic.

                         DEXTER
               No. I’m going to ask her out as well and she can decide who she wants to date.

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               It’ll be me. We both know this. The difference is, you actually care about her and all I want to do is get her naked and...

                         ZAC
               Stop! Why don’t you guys handle this through a challenge. The best of three in player versus player gets the guild and Laura.

INT. CHAD’S OFFICE - DAY

Chad taps his mouth with his finger.

                         CHAD
               I’ll agree to that. But let’s make it interesting. Let’s do it in person.

INT. DEXTER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

                         DEXTER
               What? Why?

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               To make sure there are no lag issues, of course. And so I can see your face the moment after I defile your avatar.

                         DEXTER
               Fine. I’ll be there.

                         CHAD (V.O.)
               Tomorrow, noon, at LANS R US.

EXT. LANS R US - DAY

Dexter and Zac sit in a car. They stare at the internet cafe.

                         DEXTER
               He’s pretty good.

                         ZAC
               No, his character is good. Mage is the easiest class to be good at. You don’t think this dim witted jock has skill, do you?

                         DEXTER
               Maybe not, but he is a jock, and jocks are more competitive than lonely shut ins like myself.

                         ZAC
               It’s time.

Zac and Dexter get out of the car and walk towards the cafe.

                         ZAC (CONT’D)
               You’re psyching yourself out. The knight is a good character and you’re so much smarter. Just stay focused on the prize.

INT. LANS R US - DAY

Dexter sets his laptop on the table and starts it up.

Zac sits next to him.

Chad walks into the cafe. He is well dressed. He winks at a waitress and strides over to Dexter.

                         CHAD
               Let’s get this over with, noob. I have a date later.

                         ZAC
               With who?

                         CHAD
               Ah, some bimbo I work with. I need to get it out of the way now so I’ll have more room for Laura.

Chad winks at Dexter who scowls back.

Chad sets his laptop up and both players get logged in.

A small crowd gathers around.

                         ZAC
               Okay. I will be officiating the match. This is a best of three player versus player match. The winner will presumably win Laura’s love, and take control of the guild.

Dexter wipes his sweaty hands on his jeans.

Chad cracks his knuckles and neck like a boxer getting ready to enter the ring.

                         ZAC (CONT’D)
               The player will win if they kill  the other person or burn down the other player’s capital city. Are you ready?

Chad nods his head.

                         DEXTER
               Let’s do this.

The match begins.

INSERT - COMPUTER SCREEN

DEXTER’S KNIGHT moves through the virtual world.

He rides a horse over amountain and spots CHAD’S MAGE at the bottom.

The Knight shoots an arrow at the Mage.

The Mage whips around and sends a fireball towards the Knight.

The Knight deflects the fireball with his shield. It hurtles right back into the Mage, killing it.

BACK TO SCENE

Chad shakes his head.

Dexter nods his head and smiles.

                         ZAC
               Round one goes to Dexter!

Round two begins.

Dexter sweats profusely. He uses his sleeve to wipe off his forehead.

INSERT - COMPUTER SCREEN

CHAD’S MAGE spots DEXTER’s KNIGHT.

The Mage sneaks up behind the Knight and assassinates him with a knife through the throat.

BACK TO SCENE

                         CHAD
               WHOO!

                         ZAC
               Round two goes to Chad.

Dexter shakes his head.

                         DEXTER
               I wasn’t even playing yet, what the hell?

                         CHAD
               Can it nerd. Play the game or go home.

Dexter wipes his hands off again. He peers into the crowd and sees Laura. She smiles at him. Dexter quickly looks away.

Round three begins.

INSERT - COMPUTER SCREEN

DEXTER’S KNIGHT rides his horse.

THE MAGE spots the Knight first and shoots fire and ice at him.

The Knight’s gets hit. His health is low. The Knight rides over the hill to safety.

BACK TO SCENE

Dexter frowns. He looks to Zac.

Zac subtly nods towards a fire extinguisher on the wall.

                         DEXTER
               The capital city.

INSERT - COMPUTER SCREEN

THE KNIGHT circles behind CHAD’s MAGE.

The Mage walks over the mountain where the Knight was hiding.

The Knight finds the capital city of the Mage and sets fire to it.

                         CHAD
               Oh, very clever. You can’t beat me in a fight so you try to attack my city?

                         DEXTER
               Can it, nerd.

The Mage races to his city and extinguishes the fire.

The Knight sneaks up behind the Mage and assassinates him with a swift jab of his sword.

BACK TO SCENE

Dexter jumps out of his seat.

                         ZAC
               Dexter wins!

Chad SLAMS the lid of his laptop.

                         CHAD
               That’s bullshit and you know it!

Dexter shuts his laptop and faces Chad.

                         DEXTER
               You’re out of the guild, Chad, and stay away from Laura.

Chad smiles at Dexter.

He sees Laura in the crowd and walks over to her.

                         CHAD
               Hey, Laura. You’re looking great.

Laura rolls her eyes.

                         LAURA
               Hi, Chad.

                         CHAD
               Say, would you like to go on a date with me tonight?

Laura’s makes disgusted face.

                         LAURA
               God no! Besides, don’t you have a date with a bimbo you work with?

Chad’s face turns red and he storms out of the cafe.

Laura approaches Dexter, who packs up his laptop.

                         LAURA (CONT’D)
               Well that was fun to watch.

Dexter, still sweaty, looks up.

                         DEXTER
               Oh, hey, hi, Laura.

Laura smiles

                         LAURA
               So you guys had a battle over who got to be guild leader?

                         DEXTER
               Yes, well. You were actually part of the prize too. I should’ve told you.

                         LAURA
               Relax. I knew the whole time.

Dexter makes solid eye contact for the first time.

                         DEXTER
               You did? How?

                         LAURA
               I got tired of talking to Chad. He’s such a jerk. So I told him I was A.F.K. But I wasn’t.

Dexter and Laura both laugh.

                         DEXTER
               So you heard?

                         LAURA
               Everything, yup. I also heard him schedule a date with his co-worker. Would you like to grab some dinner?

Dexter smiles and holds his hand out to Laura. She takes it and they walk out of the cafe.

EXT. RESTARAUNT - NIGHT

Dexter and Laura are chatting with each other.





FADE OUT

Pax Prime 2014: Day 3

Day 3 began like any other day that we’ve had here at PAX. Woke up, showered, grabbed breakfast, and walked directly to the main theater for a panel. Gearbox was opening the morning with one of their epic shows. I love going to Gearbox panels because they give out some epic loot. Normally I would think it’s damn shady to stand in line for such reasons, but this theater is big enough to house everyone that showed up. Hell, we showed up pretty early and still would up in the middle of the pack. I also really enjoy Gearbox panels because they’re very entertaining. Randy Pitchford did magic for us and it rocked. He basically told a story of Borderlands the Pre-Sequel using the cards he had. We got some cool new information on the playable characters and some hints at future downloadable characters. They also talked about a game they recently announced called BattleBorne and showed a kick ass trailer. I love the idea behind this game and how you can go from level 1 to level cap in the span of thirty minutes. They’re supposedly offering a wide variety of characters to play as and combine that with the speedy level ups, this is looking like it could be a highly replayable game. Overall the panel was fun and rewarding and the entire crowd was awarded the season pass for Borderlands the Pre-Sequel, which I suppose guarantees extra sales on their end. Very smart marking ploy, still totally worth it for me though!

The rest of our day was devoted to trying to play some games. We first decided we would try to do The Order 1886, but I wanted to check the line for Tales from the Borderlands first. Packed, just as it has been everyday. I guess the demo is thirty minutes long and they’re giving awesome t-shirts. So naturally, people who have no intentions of buying the game get in line for free shit because fuck you. Whatever, we head past the Evolve booth, packed, Borderlands Pre-Sequel, packed, Shadows of Mordor, packed, and finally The Order, packed. The lines for all of these games were capped off meaning we had to wait in order to wait. So we decided to check out less popular things. I went over to play Ori and the Blind Forest and accidentally wound up playing a game called Project Totem. I vaguely heard of this before and was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was. It takes puzzle platformers in a different direction. You control two totem pieces, one on top and the other below. You must navigate these pieces safely to end in order to complete the stage. So even though I wasn’t expecting to play this game, I’m very glad I did.

This is where things got a little crazy for us. We checked all of the lines again and they were all still capped. We had momentarily split up for a quick coffee/lunch break and then met up at the Far Cry 4 booth. I really wanted to sneak into the Evolve demo, but that line was capped and there were so many people hovering around it that the idea of getting in was absurd at this point. It’s around this time that I realize the Far Cry 4 booth, the one with the fuzzy cage fighting animals, actually had a demo. So I convinced my Uncle to stand in line with me to play it. It was a very short wait, one my Uncle didn’t complete because he realized he didn’t care if he played the game or not. I certainly enjoyed my turn though. I am a big Far Cry 3 fan and taking over the controls on Far Cry 4 felt very familiar. The goal was to liberate an outpost. I got to choose three different play styles, sneak, flight, and one other I cannot remember. I chose sneak. I started with a crossbow and a sniper rifle. I snuck into the outpost and disabled the alarm as fast as possible. From there I literally snuck around the camp and put an arrow into the face of every guard I saw. I was so fast and efficient that the exhibitor running the booth was impressed. Far Cry 4 has the same look and feel of Far cry 3, but the new setting, better graphics, and new weapons give it a fresh spin that I’m looking forward to.

I received a text from my Uncle as I was playing that said the wait for Sonic Boom wasn’t bad. I’ve been playing more and more of my Nintendo Wii U and have been on the lookout for new titles I might enjoy with my kids. I went and waited in a short line and played the shortest demo I’ve ever touched. The game let me pick a level to play on and dumped me right into the action. The portion I played was a modern version of the old school Sonic I played as a kid. It had Sonic and three of his friends racing from the beginning of a level to the end all while avoiding dangers and collecting coins. It was very simplified and obviously meant for kids, although I did enjoy the time I spent on it. This might be a title my kids would love.

I was a tad disappointed at how short my demo was, especially because my Uncle picked a different level and his lasted closer to thirty minutes. I was happy though because they gave us a giant tote bag, which fortunately made life much easier. Now I can’t remember exactly when we visited the Assassin’s Creed booth, but we did. There wasn’t much there at all other than a cool new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Rogue, which is only coming out on the last gen consoles, and a gameplay video of Assassin’s Creed Unity, which is only coming to next gen. I did score myself four shirts by pre-ordering all of their games, but I cancelled it shortly after that. It’s not that I don’t want the games, because I do, but I would rather purchase them digitally. After Sonic boom finished my Uncle got in line to play Smash Bros on the 3DS while I attempted to play Ori and the Blind Forest…again. Failed attempt on my part. I did walk over to The Order 1886 and saw that the line had some room, yet they weren’t letting people in. I asked the guy how long it would be and he told me fifteen minutes. So I rushed over to where my Uncle was to find him playing Smash Bros. I didn’t want to be rude and kick him off, but we hadn’t been able to play ONE major title we had on our list for the day and time was running out. I did let him finish though because this wasn’t about me, it was about him getting to enjoy something he wanted. We did make it back over to The Order booth just in time to not get in. We did hover around, however, and once he opened the gates we stormed the castle like a bunch of fat kids headed to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

Once we were actually in line, the wait wasn’t even that bad. I think we waited around an hour or so to get in and play. We had a great chat with the guy in front of us, I think his name is Matt, and that helped the wait go by faster. The Order’s booth was a real nice set up because it was staged to look like an old steam punk building. The TV’s they were using to play the game on were by far the nicest at PAX. I sat down and jumped right into the game. Had I been wearing a diaper I probably would’ve gone ahead and shit myself. The Order is an absolutely stunning game and it really shows the power of the Playstation 4. The thing that impressed me most about it was how immersive it felt. There isn’t a heads up display other than the occasional instructions in the upper right hand corner to tell you what to do.

The shooting mechanic in The Order 1886 is very unique. You’ll have to forgive me because I cannot remember the names of things, but you shoot your gun at someone and then you shoot secondary ammunition to ignite the white particles you just shot, or vice versa. Moving from one section to the next was very smooth and from the short section I played I could tell how decent the acting is. This sexy steam punk game may be my tipping point for buying a Playstation 4, well, alongside Drive Club!

We really wanted to play another major title before the day ended, and since Evolve, Borderlands Pre-sequel, and Tales from the Borderlands were all insanely packed, we decided to check out Shadow of Mordor. Unfortunately that line was closed for the day, as was Tales from the Borderland I soon found out. My Uncle wanted to check out the Astro gaming headsets and I decided that it would be a perfect opportunity to FINALLY play Ori and the Blind Forest. I get over there and only have to wait a couple of minutes to get my hands on the controller. I started playing through the beginning of the game and learned the ropes when I get a text from my Uncle telling me he was with Angry Joe. So I played for another minute or so, soaking the game in enough to know I DO want it, and then ran back towards the Astro booth.

Sure enough, Angry Joe, one of my favorite Youtube personalities, was checking out the gear as well. I went up and introduced myself and told him that I enjoyed his work. I have to say, out of all the people I have met in the industry, he was by far one of the nicest people. He let me take a photo with him and that made my day. Well, that and having just played one of the best games at the show. The Order, not Ori, although I would recommend Ori to platformer fans.

This pretty much wrapped up our day. We didn’t have much time left so we went cruising on back to the hotel. Well, I did, my Uncle wanted to go get a few of the QR Codes that PAX had hidden around. Find all sixteen and get a prize. I went back to the hotel, grabbed some Subway, and wrote day 2’s update. Let me know what you guys think and stay tuned for the final day of our adventure.

PAX Prime 2014: Day 2

     Day 2 for me means Halo! The first thing I’m doing this morning is going to the main theater for the Halo panel. I was worried it was going to fill up, so I bailed right after breakfast and made it down there as fast as I could. The main theater is a good five or six blocks from the convention center and that is something I feared would make me late. Needless to say, I was ninety minutes early and I wasn’t even close to the front of the line.  The wait wasn’t even that bad because every person I waited with was as big a Halo fan as I am if not more so. What I found to be even crazier is a lot of people around me had Surfaces and Window Phones. Talk about being in the midst of a Microsoft crowd. There were a lot of people doing cosplay as well and that was really cool. One guy was in full Master Chief gear and it was by far the best I have ever seen. He nailed the gear down to every scratch on the armor as well as the proper plating on the shoulders. It was great. When we got in and the panel finally started, all the cosplayers were called up to the stage. One guy used this as an opportunity to propose to his girlfriend and she fortunately said yes. It was pretty neat.

     The panel itself was pretty cool as well. Frank O’Connor was the host and the man is a comedian by nature. He came out and introduced himself and the crowd went nuts. He waited for it to get quiet before he said, “that was the correct response.” Classic. Frankie is actually one of my inspirations in becoming a writer. I use to read his weekly update with Bungie both leading up to the Halo 2 and Halo 3 releases and they were inspiring to me because of how he used words to engage an audience.

Being that this was a panel, we were treated to some new exclusive reveals. The really cool one was that Halo 2’s remastered campaign includs audio as well as visual. Not only that, but the audio from the original game can be swapped out whenever the player switches from old to new giving us the best of both worlds. The updated weapon sounds are amazing and they literally feel impactful. The rest of the panel was pretty formal, giving us relatively old information and a nice little promotional video to their Halo channel. We did get a history on the newest remastered map to be revealed. Lockout is the fifth announced map that is bring fully remastered and we were given a deeper look into what it looks like now. I can assure you that it is absolutely stunning.

     After the panel finished I began making my way back towards the convention center. It was during this walk that I realized I was right next to Frankie. Holy crap that was amazing. I shook his hand and let him know how much I appreciate his work. He’s a pretty nice guy and fun to talk with. I finally met up with my Uncle and we wandered around the center for a little bit. We stumbled upon the Cards Against Humanity area which is in the basement of the building. They make you walk down this insanely long hallway in order to get there, all while taunting you the entire way with signs that say, “Man this hallway is long, huh?” I remember playing this game a couple of years ago at PAX East and it has gotten really popular since. So we both decide to buy it. I saw the Bigger, Blacker Box, which I assumed was the full game and all the expansions. It was only fifteen dollars, why not? My Uncle went for the regular game and that ran for twenty five dollars. It wasn’t until we were leaving that I began wondering why his was more expensive. I opened the Bigger, Blacker Box and realized it was empty. The purpose of it is to hold the game and all of the expansions. Eff me, right? So later in the day I went back and purchased the full game and I’m glad I did, it’s so much fun.

     Back to the expo floor. We couldn’t decide what we wanted to play, but before we did anything we had to stop by a booth where my Uncle was trying to win a free game by solving a series of riddles. While we were there I hopped back onto Fenix Rage (refer to day one blog for info). I really enjoy that game and the developer there was surprised when I told him I was playing it yesterday. I guess they weren’t getting many repeat gamers? I suppose that may be weird at an event with hundreds of available games to play. My Uncle didn’t win the game, he got two answers wrong, but they were giving him a second chance to figure them out. Before we did that, it was time to play some games.

     The first line we hopped into was Forza Horizon 2. I have to admit, walking around with the Bigger, Blacker Box was kind of a pain. Not because it was heavy, because it wasn’t, but because EVERYONE had to know where on earth I got it. So I was naturally annoyed after the fifteenth time I gave instructions to someone. Not a big deal I guess, just me being a grump. The line for Forza was very small and we had controllers in our hands within ten minutes. I’ve really got an itch for racing games this year and they are not in short supply. Forza is the third one I’ve touched so far this weekend. Yes, it’s very fun. I love the graphics and the gameplay. The car was a little hard to control at first, but I got the hang of it just in time to do some crazy off roading through a beautiful country side. I like Forza better when they do an open world because it feels less like a simulator. Not to say that Forza 5 is bad, I just prefer things differently. I would definitely recommend at least trying this game out.

     The next game on our list was Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It’s located right next to Forza and, unlike most of the games, the line wasn’t capped. We waited about forty minutes before getting our first hands on look at the newly remastered Lockout. Halo fans will know which map I’m talking about here. I was expecting to stomp some ass because I was a beast at Halo 2. There was only one problem though. I haven’t played that game in at least five years. I was so out of practice and, thanks to newer Halo titles, I was spoiled by being able to sprint. I forgot you can’t sprint in these games and something that is so nostalgic for me felt very alien and slow. Nevertheless, I held my own as I re-learned the ropes. I managed to get eight kills before the match ended, but my teammates weren’t as lucky as me. They did very poorly and we wound up losing 50-20. The new map is beautiful though and it’s amazing that something ten years old can look so great again. Lockout was one of my favorite maps and this new look really breathes visual life back into it. The map can be interacted with as well. On the main platform in the middle is a large piece of glass where you can view the area beneath. That glass, with enough explosion power, can be broken, changing the dynamic completely. There are also stalactites placed across the map that can be shot down in the attempt to change the pace of the game. I did shoot the one in the middle down, breaking the glass in the center, but it was too late to matter.

     Right next to the Halo booth is the Sunset Overdrive booth. Why the hell not? We already tackled two big Microsoft games, might as well go for the hat trick. We stood in line here for close to an hour. While we patiently waited we got to watch as other people enjoyed the game. At one point a very beautiful woman came up next to us and tried getting the attention of the exhibitor running the booth. I was too busy checking her out at first to notice, but it was Naomi Kyle from IGN. She is a very striking woman indeed, but still, I don’t like people who cut the line! Ha, journalists get special privileges and we all know that. During our time in line my Uncle solved the final two riddles he needed for a free game (remind me to ask him which game it’s for). That’s nice. Our bellies were rumbling by the time it was our turn to play. I have to be honest, I was a tad skeptical going into Sunset Overdrive, but after the three wave survival mode (which was eight player co-op) I felt relieved. It’s very simple to control and the gameplay is just as frantic and fun as it looks. There were so many joyful explosions that I could hardly contain myself. My Uncle and I both walked away from it as believers and we hope we get another opportunity to play it before the weekend concludes.

     After we finished our Microsoft tour we decided to run across the street to the Cheesecake factory. My Uncle enjoyed it so much two days before that he wanted to try it again. My feet were killing me by the time we got there, so sitting down was a nice break. Regardless, by the time we finished eating, the show floors were getting ready to close down. But not before my Uncle ran up to redeem his free game. While he did that I watched this random marching band do a performance for the PAX attendees. They were all dressed up as different video game characters. They were so good and so loud that cars in the street actually stopped driving to watch causing chaotic honking and yelling. Considering the craziness that is PAX, watching this band felt like the perfect end to day two. We went back to the hotel to recharge for Day 3.

Pax Prime 2014: Day One

So I’m standing in line for the Halo panel here on Day 2. My tablet didn’t charge the way it was supposed to last night, so getting this bad boy posted is going to be pretty iffy! Damn this tablet. If you haven’t already, feel free to check out the pre PAX blog I posted last night. My goal was to blog on the spot, but the way this tablet has been, it looks like I’ll be giving daily reports like I did last year.

###

Just as I thought! My tablet didn’t last long, but I need to be grateful this bad boy is even working at all. Yesterday we got up bright and early and treated ourselves to a nice continental breakfast. It’s a pretty nice hotel and they serve some not too terrible food. I went for the biscuits and gravy and nothing else. Usually I would have grabbed something else, but the plates they gave us were scorching hot, I burned my fingers trying to get the delicious gravy to cover my warm biscuits. I mean the freaking plate was hotter than my food, what the hell people? But I digress. It tasted super yummy and my fingers eventually healed, ha! I don’t post pictures of my food, but I blog about it instead, so there.

After breakfast we walked to PAX, whoo! We wanted to get in line to grab some goodie bags that, as we know, are filled with awesome swag. We waited in line for 90 minutes before the doors opened and walked into the theater to retrieve our goodies. I was disappointed because it was full of advertisements, eye drops, and…well that’s pretty much it. They didn’t even come with guidebooks or lanyards. Oh well. I personally would have rather waited in line for the expo hall. The thing we’re quickly learning about PAX Prime is that not all events take place in the same building. The theater we were just in is a couple blocks from the convention center, and there are two other locations that are further away, the main theater being around eight blocks. None of them are too bad when considering walking distance, but this is making me miss the convenience of PAX East and its, “one size fits all,” building. Oh and there seems to be way more people here as well. The city streets are packed with people and the safe drivers are surprisingly patient. Thank goodness!

We went directly to the convention center after this. Well, actually, I forgot to apply deodorant this morning and that is a big no no. I usually don’t forget, but I was so excited to get to the expo that I rushed out the door. So we walked down to the nearest Walgreens so I could re-up. I bought a great smelling B.O. stick, water, and a soda, and we were set. We finally made it into the expo and it was a mad house.  People swarming practically every inch of the floor made it feel a tad overwhelming. I think it’s because this place doesn’t have as much space as Boston’s massive convention center, but regardless, I felt a little overwhelmed at first. We made our way up to the second level and watched as some people played new Nintendo games, namely Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker and Pokémon. We sat down for a quick moment while I tried fixing my tablet. After that we made our way to the north side of the building where there were more escalators. We saw a table top gaming area and we went in to check it out. My Uncle was impressed with the games they had made out of popular video games. Xcom and The Witcher each had board games that people were playing. I found a plug in and reset my tablet. Boom, the bad boy was fixed, with almost no battery, but hey, at least it’s working!

We went up to the third floor and were greeted by a cool little Halo area. We weren’t allowed to go in, though. We found out later it was because they were holding a professional Halo tournament in there which was able to be viewed live on Twitch. So we went and bought some Halo merch instead. I got two stuffed grunts for my kids and a Halo T-shirt for myself. From there we walked down to the live arcade that they had. It was awesome to see all these old school machines. They had pinball, Centipede, The Simpsons, and many more. I got on and played some old school Ms. Pacman. I really enjoy the controls on an arcade machine, they feel better than modern controller, in my opinion anyway.

It’s around midday at this point and we finally decided to head up to the fourth floor where two of the three expo halls are located. The first area we stepped into actually happened to be a live League of Legends Championship. I never really considered the popularity of E-Sports until that moment. There were thousands of people huddled together to watch these teams face off against each other. On the large televisions they aired interview with players and had live commentary, which I found crazy. I suppose I used to watch Major League gaming back when they had Halo, but this phenomena is still kind of new to me, especially since they’re referring to it as a sport. We began making our rounds through the next hall, which is still part of the area we were just in. This is where the game are!

We walked around a bit, soaking in the views. Square Enix has its own area where they showed off a bunch of new games. I couldn’t tell if they were promoting a new Hitman or not, but they had a banner for it that was hanging right above an arcade style Dead Island game and a new Saint’s Row game called, Saint’s Row: Cat out of Hell. Xfinity has a booth here as well and they were showing off The Crew. I thought this was weird because The Crew has its own booth, but there wasn’t a line to play it over here and so we did. We hopped right into the action and just drove around the streets of Miami. I think this game looks beautiful. It may not be a graphical marvel considering the presence it will have on both next gen and previous gen, but it had vibrant colors that pleased me. The controls feel surprisingly well and it wasn’t complicating to drive around. After a short free roam we got placed into some missions. The first mission had us, the crew I was paired with, chasing down a truck. The goal was to smash into him enough until his health meter hit zero. I accomplished the final blow on this bad guy, you know, because I’m awesome. From there we went to switch to a performance car in the garage. The lady told us we needed it because we were about to face off against each other in a race. The race itself wasn’t too bad, but I did have a harder time controlling the vehicle in this situation. I faired decently well, but still lost. I do plan on buying The Crew. It’s a fun game with a hopeful concept that I’m certain will bring me hours of relaxable entertainment.

We walked around the floor some more after this so we could get a good idea of what we wanted to spend our time doing in the coming days. Tales from the Borderlands has a booth in this same area and I put that on my list, however, I think they’re only showing a video, so it’s not a priority. The Behemoth is here as well and they’re letting people play all of their games, including their new one called, Game 4. This first expo hall had a lot to take in, but we didn’t realize we hadn’t really scratched the surface. The next expo hall is across the sky bridge, but we did get to look at some cool comic booths that were promoting their products in between the show floors. We walked into the second show floor and realized right away where we’d be spending a good deal of our time.

The first thing we see as we walked in was the giant Far Cry 4 booth. I’m not sure if they’re actually letting people play their game there, but they do have cage fighting. People get dressed up in these creepy furry animal costumes and wrestle each other. I’m certain Ubisoft has gone full retard here, but we’ll be checking this booth out more thoroughly later this weekend, so I’ll keep you updated on what’s happening here.

Microsoft has a big booth as well, showcasing three major titles, Sunset Overdrive, Halo Master Chief Collection, and Forza Horizon 2. Right next to the Microsoft booth we see Sony’s booth where they’re showing off The Order: 1866, Bloodborne, Driveclub, and some other smaller titles I’ll be getting a better look at later. We do plan on standing in line for The Order, but my Uncle and I both agree that we’re not very interested in Bloodborne. I know that may sound crazy to some people, but not every popular game suit everyone’s wants, so yeah. We did, however, get a chance to play Drive Club. This game is amazing. The graphics are simply breathtaking, the controls are sleek and smooth, and the entire experience was very gratifying. I’m happy to say that I’ll stop by to play this again if we have time and it will most likely be the first Playstation game I purchase when I can get my hands on the console.

Right next to Sony’s area is a booth for Alien Isolation. I think they’re just showing a video to people, but I’m very intrigued to see what they have. I normally avoid survival horror titles, but since this one takes place within one of my favorite movie franchises, I simply must check it out. The last game I played today was Fenix Rage. It’s a small Indie platformer that is very reminiscent to Super Meat Boy, which I should mention has announced a new game called Super Meat Boy Forever and is available to be played! Fenix Rage has us playing as a hedgehog who navigates his way through an obstacle to reach the end. The difficult part is that he wants to snag a cookie before he get to the end. The levels progressively get more difficult and I found nothing but joy in overcoming them. I WILL be getting Fenix Rage the day it becomes available.

The rest of our time was spent walking around this second show floor where we got a glimpse of everything we wanted to do. Evolve has a massive booth with an equally massive line of eager people waiting to play it. Next to that was the Borderlands Pre Sequel booth where I got to have my photo taken with Handsome Jack, who was pretending to hold a gun to my head. Next to that booth was the Shadow of Mordor and the Evil Within booth. We want to check out all of these except Evil Within and probably Borderlands. It’s not that we’re not interested in these games, well I’m not into Evil Within, but there are plenty of other things we’d like to spend our time doing. Assassin’s Creed has a booth for both of their games, Unity and Rogue, Nintendo has a big section where they’re showing off their new game, Sonic Boom, and the Indie area has so many games we want to check out that I couldn’t try to name them all here if I wanted to. So our weekend looks packed and I haven’t even mentioned the panels we want to attend.

To cap off our day, we ventured to the six floor where the third and final show floor is. There is a ton of stuff going on up here too, but less stuff we’re really interested in. Booths like Rooster Teeth can be found up here as well as some more Indie titles, Payday 2, the Valve store, and a booth for Unreal Engine 4. We did stop by Unreal and were given a tour of the program. I haven’t really had the chance to use Unreal 4, but the stuff they were showing us is really cool and it has me excited to make games of my own! While we were at this booth we got to play a short demo of Infinity Blade 3 on the Ipad. It was pretty fun considering the entire thing was a quick time event. It was very engaging for a touch screen game and it was satisfying to complete the encounter with a massive dragon before being able to collect some sweet loot.

Well, that was our first day of Pax Prime. I do apologize that it has taken me until the end of Day 2 to get this out to you, but fret not. I’m slowly catching up and I have an entire second day of excitement to share with you. I cannot wait! Let’s hope my damn tablet charges tonight! See you tomorrow, gang.