I kid Wil Wheaton, he seems like a nice enough guy, but I don’t understand what he’s done to deserve the adulation that he gets from the geek communities. Regardless, he’s keynote speaking at PAX East this year. Kinda glad that I’m not attending this one. I wonder who will speak at the REAL PAX in Seattle?

This PAX, I had the opportunity to talk with the Design Director of Telltale Games, Dave Grossman, who is a personal idol of mine.  Why’s that you ask?  Dave Grossman was one of the core designers of the classic The Secret of Monkey Island, the game I attribute for getting into video games.  He also contributed to the development of such titles as Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, Day of the Tentacle, and the Pajama Sam series before coming to Telltale Games.  Today, he’s busy finishing up the latest episodic epic entry to the Monkey Island series, Tales of Monkey Island.  Read on for the full interview.

At last year’s PAX, I came across a game that felt just perfect for me.  I’ve always been a bit of a strategy gamer but, like some others, I hated micromanagement.  The thought of having to control dozens of individual units made me cringe!  Then, Demigod came around.  The RTS game that grants you the ability to control one Demigod and no one else.  The game did fit me like a glove, but that glove grew old and tattered.  Then, a game awaited all those that attended PAX.  I felt some force drawing me towards the Riot Games booth.  This booth contained League of Legends, which is a game that didn’t fit me at all like a glove.  Instead it was more along the lines of a gauntlet foreged in hellfire and brimstone that melded to my flesh better than Peregrine’s computer gaming accessory.  All I have to say is this, whether you prefer RTS games, RPG games, action/RPG hybrids, or some chimera combination of all those mentioned, you will want to play League of Legends.

Now as most probably did, I originally walked past the CDV booth while it was up at PAX.  Seeing such cutesy games such as My Little Baby and odd DS puzzle games like that of I Heart Geeks, I held no faith that they would produce anything for non-casual gamers.   Then, my eye caught a sign displaying an intriguing piece of artwork and the title Divinity II: Ego Draconis.  After allowing this image sink in, I decided to hunt for information.  That search didn’t last long, especially after I got a hold of Swen Vincke, C.E.O. of Larian Studios (developer of Divinity 2).  Swen told me quite a bit, good guy that Swen.  And, Divinity 2 is just as good, if not better.

I had the chance to get in some quality time with EA’s upcoming hack-and-slash title Dante’s Inferno, very loosely based on the first part of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem Divine Comedy.  Like the poem, the game is a journey through the Nine Circles of Hell: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treason.  However, this is where the similarities seem to end.  Instead of being lead through Hell by the ghost of the poet Virgil, Dante is ready to kick some Satanic ass with his enormous scythe.  Whether you’re a believer that this is a case of literary butchering or extreme artistic liberties, know this: the game is a fascinating adventure.

Anyone who is a fan of the Dungeons & Dragons Arcade games that Capcom released ages ago and is also a fan of the Seiken Densetsu series needs to listen up and pay attention. Nexon, the guys behind so many other excellent MMOs, have been nice enough to give us a little one on one time at PAX this past weekend. Not only that, but they announced that today they’ll be giving away keys to the online beta that will open up on the 15th of September for Dungeon Fighter Online.

Here’s the best thing, anything you do in-game during the beta will actually transition to the finalized version of the game.

I bet a few thousand of you out there weren’t expecting to come home and get sick…much like a lot of us expo dwellers have been showing symptoms of being. Too bad, cause it seems that the PAX officials have come out with a bit of news letting us all know that there was a bit of extra viral marketing going on…literally. On top of all the swag that was passed out at the expo this past weekend, many of us were recipients of various other ailments swirling around the 60,000 person geek stew in Seattle.

Another game we checked out at PAX was Torchlight, the first release from Runic Games.  Torchlight is an action RPG that could be called a “Diablo Clone”.  The game has a lot of potential behind it, since Runic Games is made up of developers who worked on Diablo, Fate, and Mythos.  Ryan and I spent the better part of an hour checking out the game, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was told by no more than 15 people that if I wasn’t at the Penny-Arcade Expo this year in 2009, that terrible things would happen to me…all of them involving very sensitive areas and feet. Well, I bit the bullet and bought my tickets for PAX like any good friend who caves in to peer pressure would do, and I have to say…I had a pretty damn good time.

PAX 2009 is under full swing, and your faithful Media Whores are here to bring you all the latest info from the PAX show floor. Today’s first stop for me was Stardock, developer of cult hits Demigod and Sins of A Solar Empire. I’ll make no qualms about it, I’m a total fanboy when it comes to Stardock. Demigod and Sins are two of my favorite PC games from the last few years. Hit the jump to see all the awesome stuff Stardock showed.