No one ever imagined that two web comic creators would ever invade a Seattle suburb and throw a party for almost 20,000 of their closest friends. The idea at face value is just silly. And yet, for the third year in a row, Gabe and Tycho have done just that. As promised, here's part two of Gamers With Job's coverage of PAX06.

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Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

I spend my first five minutes at Turbine's area watching a very stocky dwarf run around the Shire without pants.

Nikolaus Davidson, lead designer on the game, is standing beside me with a latte in his hand. "I don't understand," he muses out loud. "You start the game with pants on. How did you manage to lose them?" The player sitting at the kiosk shrugs, too intent on slaughtering the monster in front of him to explain that he sold his pants to buy a new axe. Davidson shakes his head and takes another sip.

The game is strictly following Tolkien's books, taking place after Frodo leaves the Shire but before the Fellowship is formed in Rivendell. Davidson describes the gameplay as an equal mix of PVE content and PVP encounters. Turbine is designing the game to be solo friendly, a departure from Dungeons & Dragons Online's emphasis on grouping. Their goal is to make an MMO for MMO enthusiasts, with a deep crafting system, plenty of instanced dungeons, and a specialization and leveling system that employs 360-like achievements to further customize your character. The most innovative component Davidson mentions about LotRO is their PVP system. Turbine calls it, "Monster Play," where a player logs into the game as a monster NPC to lay waste to Middle Earth and its inhabitants. Players will be able to unlock more powerful monsters as they progress with their normal character. Turbine is hoping for a Spring 2007 release.

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The Marshomech

Off in the corner of the Exhibit Hall, Jamie Cheng is standing in front of his booth. The indie developer is there to show everyone Eets, a fantastic cross between Lemmings, The Incredible Machine, and the best use of marshmallows since Ghostbusters. But bright, wacky graphics and addictive gameplay are often not enough to sell software. Sometimes you need a little help.

You couldn't go anywhere at PAX without seeing this terrifying, yet strangely cuddly creature wandering the halls. Sometimes he was glad-handing. Other times he was preparing for fierce battle (I witnessed him lose in Super Smash Bros. Melee, his wrath would have shaken the foundation if he wasn't so damn cute.) A few times he inadvertently scared the living bejebus out of some young children.

Mostly, he just hugged people.

I picked up a copy of Eets at the show, and I can tell you that the Marshomech is truly a fearsome creature. The rest of the game is a blast, as well. Expect a GWJ review soon. Until then, here's more Marshomech lovin'.

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Warhammer: Online

My biggest worry about Warhammer Online has always been its similarity in art style to World of Warcraft. For the two people reading this who don't know, Blizzard was heavily influenced by Games Workshop's fantasy tabletop game when creating Azeroth. While the two may look alike, Mythic is going out of their way to make WH: O's gameplay separate itself from WoW.

John Cox talked me through a demo of their current build, starting off in the Greenskin newbie lands and teleporting me through some of the higher-level environments. Mythic is giving the game a massive RvR focus, expecting to have as many as 400 players battling it out in specific sections of each zone. Participating in the RvR combat should feel a lot like watching a game of its tabletop successor. On the PVE side of the game, Mythic is including public quests, where players will receive a quest the moment they enter a zone. Players of all levels will be able to work together to accomplish goals or compete with different factions to complete the same quest. Character builds will include multiple tiers of standard skills, morale skills (think combos) and passive tactic skills. Cox told me that he expected players to level their characters to the endgame in two to three months.

Mythic is hoping for a Fall 2007 release for Warhammer: Online. They're currently accepting beta test applications.

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Women and PAX

I think the Frag Dolls are trying to change their image. Ubisoft's all-girl gaming group has often been portrayed by the media as branded booth babes, supermodels being trained to aim for the head in Ubisoft's first-person shooters. Two years ago, at the first PAX, their presence in the room would make gamers' knees go weak. Adorned in Ubi tee shirts and made up like they were ready for their close up, they stood out like sore thumbs amongst the attendees dressed up as Final Fantasy characters and Jedi masters. This year, they look like they actually belong. They're still quite attractive, but the Dolls don't quite have that fish-out-of-water aura about them. They look right at home standing in line for Pocky or setting up demos.

I'm thinking this while sitting in the Satellite Theater, waiting for a presentation of Dark Messiah of Might & Magic and Assassin's Creed. The Frag Dolls are walking around, loading software on six different Xbox 360s. (Unfortunately, they cancelled the Assassin's Creed demo) I should be hyped up about seeing the new Might & Magic title, or even frustrated about the fact that Ubisoft is running 30 minutes behind schedule. But I can't get over how well the Frag Dolls fit in at PAX.

Of the 19,323 attendees this year, somewhere between 12 – 15% were female. Walking around the convention it seemed like more, and not just exasperated girlfriends being dragged along. Multiple times I saw entire groups of women gamers walking the exhibit floor, collecting swag and playing the upcoming titles. Microsoft's Trixie was at their booth, handing out stickers and signing people up for the Xbox Gamerchix group. Up in the console freeplay area, girls were rocking out in Guitar Hero, and winning more often than many of the men. I sadly couldn't attend the Women in Gaming panel, but I heard it was a blast.

Could this be the end of the gamer gender gap? It's too early to tell, but if PAX is any indication the ladies want to play some games. The more, the merrier.

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Guitar Hero 2

It didn't matter where you'd go at PAX, you were surrounded by Guitar Hero. RedOctane's rhythm game was huge at the convention. Every PS2 in the console freeplay area was running the game with two guitar controllers, and they were occupied most of the time. Men, women, parents, and children all spent their time rocking out. People walked around the convention with their personal guitar controllers slung across their back, the cord wrapped around the neck of the controller so as not to obscure the stickers people had modded their axe with. And of course, the Guitar Hero 2 demo at RedOctane's booth was packed.

I spoke with Chris Larkin while watching everyone and their mother try out some of the new songs in the game, but I couldn't get him to tell me anything new. I tried every trick in the book, every con I know, but Chris would give me a look that said, "I'm dying to tell all, but you'll have to be patient." He spoke instead about how killer the Primus song, "John The Fisherman" is, and how at some point RedOctane would love to add a custom solo feature, allowing players to write their own riffs. The demo itself was a blast; the songs feel tighter and rock harder. The game comes out this November, and I'm sure we won't be let down.

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There was so much more happening at PAX this year than I could possibly cover, and next year's event won't be any different. Thanks to Gabe, Tycho, and the Penny Arcade crew for throwing one of the best parties of the year.