PAX Prime 2015

PAX Prime was held on August 28, which was a four day event that ended on August 31. As the name would suggest, it was the biggest event out of all the other regional PAX events. Developers and companies brought their A-game; the best stuff that they're working on. There were hype trains as well as some pleasant surprises. Although PAX is an event that should be experienced first-hand for all their facilities to try out games and gadgets—there were major trailers, demos and announcements that all gamers ought to be interested in, regardless if they were present at the event or not. So, let's take a look at some of the highlights of the event.

Hitman: IO Interactive showed everyone some alpha gameplay footage of the new Hitman. From the footage, the game looks to be quite fun, with numerous ways to assassinate evil rich guys. The game seems to be detailed and provides a lot of options. The narrator in the footage stated that each mission has about 300 active NPCs that react to the player's actions. He also talked about the freedom of decision making provided to the player, and the spatial freedom one has. They omitted footages of setting up particular traps and actions, so that the mission doesn't get spoiled. All in all, the game looks promising.

Cuphead: Studio MDHR showed their fans some more of their 2D side-scrolling action game. They showed footage of two boss battles, the evil frogs, and the giant bird. Personally, I can't wait to play this. The 1930 hand-drawn cartoon art-style, the brutally hard but fun gameplay—it's amazing, not because of the nostalgia factor either. The game is primarily focused on boss battles. Unfortunately, it will be released next year, so we have to do some waiting. Fans of cartoons, indie and retro games should definitely check this game out.

Final Fantasy XV: They showed the people at PAX how to enjoy a car ride with the gang. I'm not kidding—the video consisted of just a car ride. Final Fantasy Car Simulator confirmed.

Fast Racing Neo: Remember F-Zero and Extreme-G? Well, this game is a combination of those two, turned up a notch. Developed by Shin'en, Fast Racing Neo is an exciting and exhilarating racing game that requires quick controls and focus. You won't understand how fast the gameplay is until you watch the playthrough shown on PAX. The game is a Wii U exclusive, so sadly, none of us will be able to play it unless we own the console. It will be released sometime this year.

Rising Thunder: Everyone knows how hard it is to get into fighting games; it's a ruthless genre that demands dedication to master. Rising Thunder is a game that is trying to change that. The game uses a one button combo system that is user friendly and easy to master. They showed a gameplay demo at PAX and it looked quite fun. They're focusing on online only, so keep that in mind. The game is in alpha and you can play it right now.

Battleborn: From the creators of Borderlands, Battleborn is an arena shooter that takes inspiration from Borderlands but isn't quite like it. It's an amalgamation of Borderlands and Smite and it's awesome. The story goes like this: The universe only has one star left and everyone is fighting over it, all the factions have different agendas, and it's your job to fulfil them. The game has 25 playable heroes to choose from and each of them have distinct weapons and abilities. The gameplay demo at PAX showed off the multiplayer aspect of the game, and it looked like a joy to play.

Divinity: Original Sin II: This one is too early for judgement, the game is on Kickstarter but they still showed everyone some gameplay at PAX—and it was pretty impressive. Sequel to the original game, developed by Larian Studios, this RPG looks very complex and intricate. They have several characters with specific stories that affect the game in real-time, they have a lot of choices for dialogues and you have to choose your dialogue carefully to get your desired outcome. The multiplayer looks promising, you can play co-op or PvP, you can betray your companion and fight them as well, a lot of dimensions in this game; hopefully they can actually pull it off.

There were way more games at PAX, some of them were cool, others not so much. Do check out the demos and playthroughs and wait till the games come out.

Shoaib Ahmed Sayam doesn't need coffee because he stays up all night anyway, doing the things he should be doing during the day. Send him John Cena memes at: facebook.com/ooribabamama