7 games you’ll probably want to queue for at PAX Aus 2018

PAX Australia is just around the corner and whilst its absolutely jam packed with amazing things to see and play there are a few of them that, in our opinion, stand out above the rest. To play them though, you’ll probably need to jump in a queue at some point so plan wisely and bring that Nintendo Switch or DS with a battery pack to keep you busy!

Also, don’t forget you can catch me (Raj) on a panel at PAX too! Along with the Press Start gang we’ll be chatting about the console wars and if they’re still relevant on Friday night at 6:30pm in the Ibis (Bin Chicken) theatre. Come say hi!


#1 – Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Nintendo booth)

Nintendo have been killing it the past 18 months and the ball keeps on rolling at PAX. Their booth is full of exclusives and will let attendees get their hands on the yet to be released Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee. More exciting though (in my opinion) is Smash and I have no doubt you’ll be lining up to get hands on so bring your Switches!


#2 – Metro: Exodus (NVIDIA booth)

Slotted for release in February next year Metro: Exodus is the successor to the hugely popular Metro: Last Light. I was lucky enough to play Exodus for 1.5hours at E3 in June earlier in the year and was blown away by how gorgeous the environment is. What makes the showing at PAX Aus even better though is that now we get to play it with NVIDIA’s brand new 20 series GPUs that add in ray tracing lighting effects that take the graphics to a whole new level. Super excited for this one!


#3 – Dreams (PlayStation booth)

PlayStation have a bunch of exclusive stuff on show. There’s the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Resident Evil but what I think you should check out more than anything else is Dreams. The reason I say that is because after being walked through the game by one of Media Molecule’s very friendly handlers you begin to understand just how amazing and big this game has the potential to be. Yes you could try out another triple-A first person shooter if you wish but why not take the opportunity to learn some more about a game that has to be seen to be believed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odfYSiTpXpo


#4 – Battlefield V (Xbox booth)

Speaking of first person shooters, Battlefield V will be making its Australian debut as a part of the Xbox booth this year at PAX. Battlefield 1 was a significant reboot of the series that the new “V” is following accordingly. It’s also one of the last big name first person shooters to include a single player campaign that I for one am quite thankful of! I’ve not had a chance to play this at all yet so I’ll see you in the queue!


#5 – Rage 2 (Bethesda)

I didn’t expect to like Rage 2. I don’t think anyone really did but when it was unveiled by Walmart Canada and then appropriately done so by Bethesda at their E3 showcase it was warmly received. That was only reinforced after getting hands-on and loving the fact that the team have double-downed on what worked in the original and done away with areas that didn’t.


#6 – Jump Force (Bandai Namco booth)

I wish I could tell you more about Jump Force and the Dragonball Z, Naruto and other characters that are involved but I completely missed that boat, an old man before any of it was popular. What I can tell you is that people lost their sh@t when it was announced and if fighting games are your thing then you’ll want to head over to the Bandai Namco booth post-haste to check it out.


#7 – The Division 2 (Ubisoft booth)

I loved the original Division but then I never finished it so you could argue I didn’t love it much at all, but I’d argue back that I did, which would get us nowhere. I think my story isn’t a unique one though. Lots of people loved The Division but they came to love it only after a lot of new features and modes were added well after its launch. Thankfully The Division 2 can start with all of that knowledge in the bag and moves the game to a more vibrant and colourful setting on the outskirts of Washington DC.