Been to CAX at least a dozen times. And still have a great time every year. Lots of great games, lots of fun reuniting with many friends that I basically only see once a year at CAX.
Though there were many great games, here are the two that stood out for me.
Pinball: Harry Potter (JJP). WOW! Just looking it before playing it, I was blown away. I knew I wanted it immediately. The ramp structure and above playfield rail system was very far above anything I've ever seen before in other pinball game. After waiting in line to play it, I was not disappointed. Fast, fair, no drain monsters. Only one play, but great game. Maybe my rating would change after I got to play it more, but right now, it's an A+. Ah, but as to the price, I'll probably never have it. Low end model, $10,000, medium $12,000, top end model $15,000.
Video: QB3. QB3 never got beyond the prototype stage, so while there is a flyer picture of the cabinet, as best I know, no cabinets exist. Someone made a cabinet. I talked to this person live in-person at the show. For the life of me, I cannot recall his name (if you are reading this, I'm sorry for forgetting your name, but I remember your face, and I will definitely not forget the absolutely stunning game you made). Really nice guy. Really sharp guy. He made a beautiful cabinet, matching the flyer as best he could. The game play was GREAT! Again, I immediately wanted it. The flyer shows the CP with a trac-ball, but his game had two joysticks, similar to Robotron, one for move, one for shoot. I discussed this with him and he told me that he disassembled the code and there was code present for a trac-ball, but the game code never called that routine. Also, I might have this wrong, but I think it was mentioned that he had to make up the sounds, or piece together the sounds? It ran on a vector monitor and the board was FPGA. Again, another "A" game.
Non-pinball/video: Got to go with Shoot The Bear. It was working early in the show, but later in the day it was down. So I didn't even get to play it. But I still give it the top of the "other games" (not pinball or video game).
Pleasant surprise: Missile Command Recharged (Alan-1): Missile Command is my favorite game, so I'm a harsh grader of anything related to it. This was a very nice game, played well. Played single or two-person simultaneous. Another good job you Alan-1 guys!
How about you? What were your top games of the show?
Joe