comic-con 2010
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Preview: The Force Unleashed 2 at Comic-Con
During the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Comic-Con panel, LucasArts producer Haden Blackman led a gameplay preview for the assembled crowd, showing off some new elements of the sequel which again stars fallen Vader apprentice Starkiller. The demonstration built on last month's E3 preview, with plenty more scenes of messy Stormtrooper cleanup -- it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. As he showed troopers sliced, diced and Forcefully obliterated, Blackman noted that the development team has worked to diversify enemy AI. Player feedback from the first game criticized the different types of enemies for all acting the same, so LucasArts has created separate AI behavior for almost all of the enemies in the sequel. Of course, this also goes for the new enemies, of which Blackman introduced a giant walker equipped with a shield and a Carbonite gun. To defeat the menace, Starkiller must first use his Force power to rip off the shield, and then take on the vulnerable walker while dodging its freeze ray blasts. %Gallery-95704%
38 Studios on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has finally announced the title of its first game at Comic-Con, and while details on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are still sparse, you can't argue that the game's already got potential. Fantasy author R.A. Salvatore has been working on the game's world and story, comic artist Todd McFarlane is designing the art, and Big Huge Games has teamed up with Elder Scrolls veteran Ken Rolston to put the title together. That's Schilling's gamble -- as an experienced gamer himself ("I've got five 70-plus" characters in World of Warcraft, he says), he's trying to make something that thrills him. On Thursday, the team held a Comic-Con panel and teased a mix of "deep quest narrative" and "combat that keeps you doing combat." Todd McFarlane jumped up on his chair to show off how big his characters' motions were and promised that "we will kill some people better in this game than anybody kills anybody." But can this talented lineup pull it off? I sat down to chat with Schilling, Salvatore, and Big Huge Games' lead designer, Mark Nelson, to see if they could share anything beyond what the short trailer and the screenshots revealed. %Gallery-98022%
BioWare lending Maxis a hand on Darkspore development
We suppose the Sims franchise has a few elements in common with the role-playing genre -- after all, it's about character improvement and, more often than not, all of the characters are startlingly, impossibly attractive. Still, it seems Maxis is getting a helping hand on Darkspore development from a more experienced RPG developer -- according to Gamespot, the studio's Comic-Con panel revealed that fellow EA studio BioWare is helping out on the project. The capacity of this help is still unknown, but based on BioWare's strong roots in the genre, we strongly doubt they've been brought in to offer backrubs to weary programmers. We've contacted EA to find out more about this partnership, and to find out whether we can expect Darkspore to contain any romance sub-plots leading to tastefully directed sex scenes. Update: The scope of the studio's assistance seems to be limited to the hiring of BioWare writer Malcolm Azania (Mass Effect 2, "Kasumi -- Stolen Memory") to fill the role of lead writer for Darkspore.
SDCC 2010: You can play as iconic characters: Massively's interview with DC Universe Online
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/DC_Universe_Online_You_can_play_as_iconic_DC_characters'; Last week we had a chat with Sony Online Entertainment's President John Smedley about preorders and beta for DC Universe Online. We talked quite a bit about the ability to play as Batman via a preorder bonus, and one of the questions we asked was "Will there be more opportunities in the future to play as familiar DC Universe villains or heroes?" John replied that they were thinking about it, but it sounds like the DCUO team has been doing a lot more than just thinking about it. We caught up with DCUO Studio Art Director Mike Daubert at Comic-Con this weekend, and he had some pretty exciting news for us. Follow along after the jump to see what he had to say!
SDCC 2010: Our interview with Guild Wars 2's Jeff Grubb
The hype for Guild Wars 2 seems to get bigger every week, so it was a natural choice for the Massively staff at Comic-Con to seek out some time with Guild Wars 2 designer and Ghosts of Ascalon author Jeff Grubb. If you're relatively new to the Guild Wars world, Jeff provides a nicely detailed overview of what's been happening with Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, and the first tie-in novel. If you're a firmly established citizen of Tyria, you'll enjoy the look back, and you'll certainly enjoy the hints he drops here and there for upcoming events and reveals. Follow along after the jump to see what Jeff had to say.
StarCraft 2 action figures shown off at Comic-Con
Blizzard's line-up of action figures based on its handful of lucrative franchises will soon expand to include the burly, frontline soldiers of StarCraft 2. The DC Unlimited-manufactured miniatures were prominently displayed at the company's Comic-Con booth, which the toy trade site Figures.com captured through the magic of digital photography. The first set of action figures include a Terran Space Marine, the Protoss heavyweight Zeratul and returning StarCraft protagonist Jim Raynor. If you're hoping to recreate the strategic action of the series on your bedroom nightstand, you might want to check out Figures' detailed images of these three toys, which are set to hit store shelves in spring 2011.
Super Street Fighter IV's brawlers getting new DLC outfits this fall
We wouldn't blame you for confusing yesterday's Street Fighter-focused Comic-Con panel for a wedding ceremony -- after all, it contained announcements of something old, something new, something borrowed (that is to say, fighters from Tekken) and ... well, Chun-Li's new outfit is blue, isn't it? Fine, the analogy doesn't quite work, but the fact remains: Series producer Yoshinori Ono revealed that all of Super Street Fighter IV's characters would receive new outfits in a DLC pack to be released this fall. Kotaku caught an image of the slide showing off some of these new outfits, including a Catwoman-esque get-up for Cammy, and a nightmarish, open-chested leather suit for Rufus. Note that we're using "nightmarish" in the literal sense, here. As in: "We plan to have nightmares about this, possibly as soon as tonight."
Fable 3 gameplay footage from Comic-Con is very, very upsetting
We're not sure who was responsible for controlling the Fable 3 Comic-Con show floor demo shown in the video below, but whoever it was should be ashamed. Not because of all the peasant murder, mind you -- we've all done that -- but for executing the most aggressive flatulence attack we've ever seen.
inFamous 2 animated cutscene has attitude to spare
Though inFamous 2 protagonist Cole McGrath may have lost a bit of gruffness-of-voice since the series' first iteration, it seems he's gained a bit of .... well, gruffness-of-attitude. Check out the trailer below to see the negatively-charged man give the low-down on his new stomping grounds.
SDCC 2010: Massively's interview with Aion producer Lani Blazier
San Diego has been the place to be for the past few days, with developers bringing out all the latest and greatest to show off at Comic-Con 2010. We at Massively have been pretty busy, in part with Aion's web producer Lani Blazier. Aion's free expansion Assault on Balaurea is just over a month away, so Lani had plenty to talk about. She gave us a look at what we can expect with 2.0, and spent a bit of time answering our questions afterward. Follow along after the jump to see what she had to say.
Street Fighter X Tekken screenshots X-posed
Curious what the cast of Tekken looks like when dipped in Capcom's unique art style for Street Fighter X Tekken (that's pronounced Street Fighter "cross" Tekken, by the by)? Check them out in this batch of screenshots for the mashed-up fighter, posted in the gallery below. %Gallery-98167%
Preview: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (four new characters)
Dr. Doom, Super Skrull, Chun-Li and Trish joined the cast of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 in the Comic-Con show floor preview build; though Thor and Amaterasu didn't make the trip (lazy gods!). I checked out the new characters and chatted with producer Ryota Niitsuma about the latest roster updates. Of the four, Super Skrull seems to be attracting the most attention at the show. The famous comic book villain has been the hero at Comic-Con, wowing attendees with his Fantastic Four powers: slamming opponents with Thing fists, flaming on with Human Torch fire, and performing an impressive Mr. Fantastic stretch-throw impression. Niitsuma recalled that Skrull's mix of abilities was a tough concoction to brew -- but certainly a potent one in action. %Gallery-98120%
Capcom making online version of Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike
[Fighters Generation] Capcom didn't just announce two Street Fighter games in yesterday's Comic-Con panel -- that would hardly have been worth holding a panel. Producer Yoshinori Ono also announced that the company is working on Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online, an updated re-release of the 1999 arcade/Dreamcast game. It's "not going to come out in the immediate future," Ono told the crowds already daydreaming about online Q matches, "but just let everyone know that Street Fighter 3 is coming back." He didn't have any more details, simply directing suggestions to Capcom-Unity. It seems relatively safe to assume that an online-focused fighting game is being considered at least for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, probably as a digital release like Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
Six more Rock Band 3 songs (and three for Dance Central!) revealed
As hinted at yesterday by Harmonix's Twitter, a whole gang of tracks were confirmed to be included in Rock Band 3 during the developer's recent Comic-Con panel. These ditties include: "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears "Rock Lobster" by The B-52s "Foolin'" by Def Leppard "Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter "Cold as Ice" by Foreigner Also, three new tracks were confirmed for Dance Central: "Drop it Like it's Hot" by Snoop Dogg, "Push It" by Salt N' Pepa, and "Bust a Move" by Young MC. Never before has a rhythm game played host to a trio of tracks giving such welcome instructions.
Street Fighter X Tekken (and vice versa) revealed at Comic-Con
According to Event Hubs, Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono recently dropped a fairly sizable bomb on attendees of the company's "Street Fighter Mania!: SSFIV and Beyond" panel at Comic-Con: Street Fighter X Tekken. The oft-rumored project will be developed by Capcom using the Street Fighter IV engine (only with two-fighter tag team battles), and will feature a number of fighters from Namco's similarly successful fighting franchise, including Kazuya and Nina Williams. But that's not all! Ono also revealed that Namco Bandai would be developing Tekken X Street Fighter, which will be developed in-house at Tekken, and spearheaded by long-time franchise producer Katsuhiro Harada. Both titles will be released for 360 and PS3, though according to a cheeky slide at the end of the presentation, the current release window is "not for a while!" Update: Now with video!
Preview: Dragon Age 2
BioWare surprised fans at Comic-Con with a world premiere hands-on preview of Dragon Age 2, completely open to the public. A block down the street from the convention center, fans were treated to a short presentation by lead designer Mike Laidlaw, as well as a few very brief combat segments and a look at the story that kicks off the game. I'll get impressions out of the way first: It's faster and more brutal, less cerebral and more exaggerated. You might think that's because BioWare wants to make the game a little flashier and more accessible, and you'd be right in part. But Dragon Age 2's dark secret is that even if the action is a little more over-the-top and a lot darker, there's a real, solid, story-based justification for it. %Gallery-97140%
See how the other half lives in Gears of War 3 'Beast Mode' footage
We didn't think there was anything slower in the whole, entire universe than one of Gears of War 3's lumbering, impossibly muscle-bound protagonists. We were wrong -- as evidenced by the two GameTrailers videos posted after the break, that honor goes to the new Beast Mode's "Berserker" character.
Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions' other costumes revealed
You didn't think that Peter Parker's wardrobe would only contain four outfits in his upcoming outing, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, did you? No, no sir. Revealed during Marvel's Comic-Con panel were a handful of new costumes that will be unlockable in-game -- a few of which will be instantly unlockable as pre-order bonuses from select retailers: Scarlet Spider (unlock code included with Kmart pre-order) Negative Zone Spider-Man (unlock code included with Best Buy pre-order) Spider-Armor (pictured) Mangaverse Spider-Man Additionally, the previously revealed GameStop-exclusive Cosmic costume (which includes variants for each dimension) and the Iron Spider-Man suit featured in the 2099 universe (and immediately unlockable with an Amazon pre-order) were also shown at the panel. It's as yet unclear if the newly announced costumes will be tied to certain dimensions within the game or wearable throughout, like the Cosmic getup. [Update: Clarified details about the nature of the pre-order bonuses and previously announced costumes.]
Space combat has been confirmed for SWTOR! [Updated]
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Space_combat_has_been_comfirmed_for_SWTOR'; While at Comic-Con, the fan site Mos Eisley Radio tweeted a rumor that there will be space combat in SWTOR. Space combat has been strongly suspected since the announcement of player ships at E3, but there was nothing to confirm our suspicions. According to the folks at Mos Eisley Radio, James Ohlen said that each ship will be customizable, and, of course, that the player will be able to use this ship in space combat. Not moments later, this rumor was completely confirmed by SWTOR's community manager, Sean Dahlberg, on the official forum. He confesses in his announcement, "While we didn't quite make the numbers [of Facebook and Twitter followers], we definitely saw how excited the community is about this and how everyone came together. After all of that, there's no way we could hold back with our special reveal at Comic-Con!" So it seems the devs did not punish the fans for not reaching the social media goal after all. He reveals that further details will be available in the October edition of PC Gamer. [Thank you, Mos Eisley Radio, for keeping your ears open!] [Editor's Note: Brooks from Mos Eisley Radio just mailed us to say that all of his information is coming from Darth Hater's liveblog, so props to Darth Hater, and thanks for letting us know, Brooks! ~Sera]
Please hammer, hurt 'em: Thor officially in Marvel vs. Capcom 3
T.Q. Jefferson, director of Marvel Games, might not have had the element of surprise on his side when revealing the inclusion of the Mighty Thor in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but the confirmation was more than welcome when he made the announcement at the MvC 3 panel at Comic-Con. "Bringing him into this game is huge," Jefferson said. "The fact that we've got the movie coming out and another Thor game coming out from Sega, there's an appetite for Thor out there among the fanbase." For the especially curious among you, Jefferson revealed that the version of the Asgardian god used in this game will be Thor as drawn by Olivier Coipel in the latest comic series. Update: Now with video! %Gallery-98120%
