new york comic con 2010

PLATFORM: NY Comic Con 2010

RELEASE DATE: Oct. 8-10,2010
LOCATION: New York City
MY STATUS: Friday/Saturday

Welcome to a partial look at NY Comic Con. In case you've been sleeping under a rock this event has gone completely mainstream becoming the hub for all things movies, television and of course video games. It is impossible to actually try to recap it all for you. I'll be reporting on all the games I saw of course but even still it is tough to get to see them all. This year there were major booths for a lot of top brands and some great games being showcased. Comic Con can get very busy and crowded, the crowds were estimated to be close to 100,000 over the three days. However whether it was some guy sporting a giant backpack of a half naked fairy princess bumping into you as you try to find your way down the "alleys" everyone seems to get along very well. It is a strange paradise that celebrates all things sci-fi and fantasy. I took as many pictures as I could of the action.

Square Enix had one of the major booths. With games, posters and speakers showing off their latest wares including very anticipated Final Fantasy 14. Which looks incredible and the sound track seems very promising. I listened to the whole FF14 presentation and am still a Iittle fuzzy on how the MMO aspects of this completely online game will work, but I'm fairly certain Square Enix will have some compelling stories to tell. (I'm still swimming around the  Crystarium playing FF13!) Also set up on the surrounding consoles were head to head Front Mission Evolved game stations and the re-release of the original Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts Re:coded! I got my hands on FME and had some fun. Basically a 3rd person shooter with Mech robots I think I got a bad one though cause I was having trouble moving around and it seemed overly slow compared to the other players. I wish this game had a PS Store demo I'd download it for sure.

Nintendo had a nice display showing off Kirby Epic Yarn which looks kinda like fun only hidden beneath some very childish graphics. It is interesting to see how they are rebooting the Kirby franchise with a new art style and powers for Kirby. Kirby is famous for swallowing and spitting out his enemies absorbing their powers and with this new incarnation they have done away with that in favor of new yarn powers. Should be exciting to try out but the line to play was way too long.The game features two player multiplayer (co-op) but I swear it looks like co-op up to four players.

Both Marvel and Capcom had the largest presence. On showcase, as expected, Marvel Vs Capcom 3! Featuring a stunning graphic style, similiar to last year's SF4, this looks to be the fighting game of the year.They were having a public showdown with the players on hand. Looked very fun and scarily competitive. I can't wait to get my hands on this game. Even thinking about getting a fighting game stick for my home.

Another great looking Marvel title is Marvel Super Hero Squad Online. It is being designed by The Amazing Society who specialties in making family friendly games. It is steered toward the younger audience and is in line with the Cartoon Network show. However, unlike the previously released titles, this is a full online MMO where you can play as these hyper stylized (almost gangsta') Marvel Super Heroes. I was explained this game one on one and it sounds very promising. The greatest feature by far is that it is browser based so anyone can play. Sign up now for the beta.

A first for me is seeing the Electronic Sports League with Intel as a sponsor. Their presence was very large containing tons of game stations an oversized projector. They were having Star Craft 2 competitive contests complete with news casters walking us through the game. There was another game they were playing which I didn't quite catch but it looked rather medival maybe warcraft. Both were PC games and the ESL I later learned is the largest competitive gaming league in the world. Just not here in the US.

So much too see and so little time. This Con could go on forever and I would never get bored. Everywhere you look there is something fun to see. A couple more Marvel goodies I noticed consisted of sneak peaks of Thor God of Thunder and Captain America Super Soldier. Thor is still under construction and they just had a semi private slide show featuring some comic and game art. Cap was playable. Become Captain America, third- person, action adventure set in World War II and featuring the Red Skull. I'm thinking Call of Duty with Cap! Alas, I'm a little skeptical as it is being made by Sega.

Hope you enjoyed the recap. Time to get ready for next year: October 14-16, 2011.