What was the biggest disappointment for you?
Having all of my friends get infected with diseases.
What is your favorite swag item?
I really like the Red Dead Redemption Shirt.
What is your least favorite?
10% off coupon for Gunnar Optic Glasses. LOL
What was the most grueling swag to get?
I waited around for 20 minutes at the end of the show trying to get a Borderlands shirt. But they had run out. Booo.
Katrina Pawlowski
What was your most pleasant surprise of the show?
As far as displays go: The riding bull set up at the Darksiders booth; they dressed up a riding bull to look like War's horse from the game (ed. note: the horse's name is "Ruin", a cool horse name), and people got to ride and be bucked off.
Swag-wise, I was actually caught off guard the first time someone asked me "What size?" As in, they had different tee-shirt sizes! Not just a generic one size fits all (broad-shouldered guys), but smalls and mediums for the rest of us.
What was the biggest disappointment for you?
I didn't get to the Pandemic booth after they started handing out the lighters, so I missed that piece of swag. Otherwise, I was really stoked to play Bioshock 2, but it was just a trailer (that had already been released the previous Tuesday) in a small room with some decorations. Bummer.
What is your favorite swag item?
The Guild Wars art book - holy crap. They were really handing out full art books to everyone at the show (well, almost everyone.) Arttemis had to snag me one, but I got it none-the-less! Also, the comic book selection came in a close second; Dead Space: Extraction, Dark Void, and Spyborgs each had comics.
What is your least favorite?
All the energy drink garbage, and "gamer grub." Gamers don't really eat that crap, unhealthy people do.
What was the most interesting swag to get?
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle was handing out toilet paper for playing their demo, and the one that really weirded me out was the Assassins Creed 2 trick. They handed you a piece of paper folded in half, and asked you to open it - as you open it, you hear it tearing. When you get it open, one one side is a guys head, and the other is his body and it says "Congratulations on your first kill" which I thought was very clever.
Jason Love
What was your most pleasant surprise of the show?
Army of Two: The 40th Day; I went in to the community event with expectations set appropriately and had them completely blown away once I got to play the game. There might be a few things here and there that they could tweak, but overall, it is looking really good.
What was the biggest disappointment for you?
Not getting a chance to test out Borderlands (also, Mike not being there :( )
What is your favorite swag item?
Probably the Tales of Monkey Island print. Not only is it signed by Dave Grossman and Dominic Armato, but it makes for an excellent center piece in any room in your house.
What is your least favorite?
All the cards/codes things that were handed out left and right. Yes, it makes them easier to take home, but that assumes I don't accidentally huck them away.
What was the most interesting swag to get?
A slice of pizza at the Borderlands panel.
Jim McLaughlin
What was your most pleasant surprise of the show?
Easily Brink. Eight-player drop-in/drop-out online co-op in a shooter by Bethesda? Yes, please!
Close behind that is Red Dead Redemption, which to me is GTA IV in the old west with the aiming system fixed. (Yes, precision aiming is included. Shut up, iron sights haters.)
What was the biggest disappointment for you?
I was upset that the Activision was a complete no-show. I really wanted to have hands-on impressions of Modern Warfare 2's Special Ops and DJ Hero.
What is your favorite swag item?
By far the free copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on Steam.
What is your least favorite?
Had to be the temporary tatoos. They were cool looking -- especially the Shank one -- but useless to me. I can't even use them as a bookmark.
What was the most interesting swag to get?
We got The Beatles: Rock Band Xbox 360 Avatar shirts for performing on stage. That was the most fun and grueling for me!
Whew! Now we get to sort all the junk out, mail out souvenirs, and throw the shirts in the laundry.
PAX previews and post-event news snippets are still funneling down steadily, so keep checking back as always, and thanks everyone for your feedback and support during this event!