Last weekend Newegg.com held Lanfest 2K5 in Pasadena, California. Having just been introduced to computer gaming, I checked it out for myself and for BoxGods.com. Read on for the perspective of an interested newcomer. Why didn't someone tell me there were hot chicks at these things?

Online registration was easy, but I got stuck having to pay through Paypal®. I would have preferred just entering the information once. Instead I had to register for Paypal® first, but it all went smoothly. The venue was easily accessible with ample parking. A major plus for someone unfamiliar with Pasadena.

Unfortunately, I could not make the first day of the event, but Sunday check-in was a breeze. The staff was eager to please and had me on my way within minutes. I arrived around 9:30 am and suspected most of the gamers were recuperating from Saturday as the majority of the tables only had a representative present who was just starting to set up for the day. My thinking was validated when I checked out the main area and found guys crashed out on the couches.

I am scattering a few pictures in here in no particular order--there was a lot going on at any one time so it was a bit chaotic =)

There was a large screen that displayed the action from the tournament with live play by play and a BYOC area with 400 computers set up with free-for-all games taking place.

BYOC was set up with the following games in most every skill level and a wide range of computers being used :

CounterStrike 1.6 - CounterStrike Source -  Half Life 2 Deathmatch

Battlefield Vietnam - Battlefield 1942 - Battlefield 2

Call of Duty - Painkiller - Unreal Tournament 2K4

A whole lot of gaming goodness was goin' on!!

I didn’t make it into the tournament area, but the tournament games being shown on large screen kicked ass. Rows of couches were set up theater style for everyone to enjoy the show. And the action was unreal. CounterStrike Source and CounterStrike 1.6 each had 16 teams of 5. Call of Duty had 8 teams of 5. From the few awards I saw being handed out, the teams where made up of players from all over the US.

The play by play on the games really added to the excitement with the action even more enhanced by the big screen view jumping from player to player giving the audience a chance to see what was around the corner or how different teams worked together. You couldn’t stop yourself from watching the action, and there was always a crowd