dater kombat

   Spent a lovely weekend in Boston where I finally got to set my sights on PAX East. Looking down at the expo floor, you couldn't help hoping that a poet had been dispatched. Cones and rods were fricasseed with stunning 3D displays, gorgeous flat panels, brilliant neon and even a chandelier or three. The show was all under the rosy-cheeked vigil of a certain electric mouse who acted as kind of a jolly magnetic north for those disoriented from sensory overload.    There was plenty on display, but as the place was packed (1.5 hour wait to see L.A. Noire and similar waits for the 3DS), we had to choose our battles carefully to ensure we had time to check out the afternoon panels.    We've always had a soft spot for fighters, and about 90% of our formative years were spent at various bay area Golflands, so naturally our pulses raced when saw the trademark Mortal Kombat dragon. We hopped in line and were treated to a few of the game's Story of Ricky style outrageous x-ray-enhanced beat-downs. It seems that every opportunity was made to show hyper-violent bone breaking action. As Cyrax, one of the game's cyborg characters, was getting his bones shattered for him, my friend commented "He didn't even know he had that skull!"    It felt good to be standing in front of an arcade cabinet again. I was a bit rusty and was dispatched with extreme x-ray prejudice by my opponent, reminding me that I need to bone up (har) on my fighting skillz. My friend fought a fierce match with his girlfriend and ended up Finishing Her to the shock and amazement of the both of them as well as the snaking line of people watching on the overhead monitors. I think he was slightly more excited than she was and the high-five on offer was not reciprocated. There may even be a night on the couch or ten in his future. Sounds like good material for the next installment of Mortal Kombat...