The games of New York Comic Con 2012 in a nutshell, part 2
Matt Hawkins Time to see what else was worth playing at the just concluded New York Comic Con 2012.
As previously noted, Sony had a major presence at the show. And of all the titles they were pushing, PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale was clearly at the top of their agenda…
Anyone who has paid any attention to my coverage of the game over the past few months might recall my not so kind sentiments as their pertain to Sony’s “homage” to Super Smash Bros.” Well, I’ve finally turned a corner.
My problem was that I was simply tasting the single player experience, which also had a paltry number of characters contained. Fighting games only truly shine when you’re against other players, though more importantly, I distinctly recall the original Smash Bros for the N64 being boring as well also, with it’s lone 6 or so characters.
But now that the Battle Royale has a meaty roster, offering a nice variety of different move sets and play styles, I can finally conceded that it’s a fully featured fighter that should be loads of fun, especially among a group of pals who are PlayStation fanboys with a nice supply of booze handy.
Whereas just have small smattering of Sony characters was just weird, having a ton more makes it all gel, for whatever reason. The developers have not only tried their best to have everyone shine in their own ways (even more so than Nintendo’s effort to a certain degree), but the game overall feels tighter as well.
Clearly they’ve been listening to the feedback from the previous beta. Speaking of, a new one is happening soon; check out the PlayStation blog for details. Next, let’s check out Until Dawn…
Ultimately, many Move title (thus far) are very Wii-like, but with that extra bit of horsepower and bite that’s sorely needed. Like Until Dawn; there are plenty of equivalents on Nintendo’s consoles, but due to a variety of factors, most are fairly lacking, and not just because it’s a family friendly console.
Whereas most horror games for the Wii are produced in Japan and therefor has Japanese style scares (which is fine if you liked The Ring or The Grudge, but those movies bored me to death), Until Dawn is made by Europeans that love classic, American style horror flicks.
Meaning that one should expect being stuck in the middle of the woods at the dead of night (as opposed to the basement of some rundown building like in most scary movies in Japan… just a personal preference) and being surrounded by horny chicks (I like psychological scares as much as the next guy, but I like breasts better, so sue me).
Everything is controlled via the Move, which is used to navigate the flashlight and solve puzzles. The part I was able to check out involved figuring out where your hottie, with whom you were able to get it on with (the two of you was with a larger group, but were kicked out of the main abode for being too horny for everyone else’s tastes) has gone to (after being yanked through the window violently, right before coitus).
For those of us who have been dying for an interactive version of Friday the 13th, this might be it. Finally from Sony, there’s the Unfinished Swan…
Yes, it’s another one of those indie, arty-farty titles, which I realize is an odd fit around these parts. But sorry, I love these kinds of games, and Sony has been doing an amazing job of bringing forth some of the best from said category (with Journey from earlier this year being the last major highlight).
As the title implies, you’re in an all white world and you must follow the titular character by tossing globs of black paint all over the place. Right off the bat, the game just looks incredibly awesome, there’s honestly nothing else like out there. But the game builds upon the mechanics as you progress; eventually, it’s no longer just about following footsteps, but solving puzzles.
Listen, Halo 4 it ain’t, but it’s not trying to be. Unfinished Swan is definitely proof that not every game is the same damn thing, which it feels like sometimes. And for those of you with girlfriends; they are gonna LOVE this one. Price is right too; it’s just $14.99 and comes out tomorrow.
Moving onto to WB Games, there was Injustice: Gods Among Us…
The latest build was at the show, featuring Green Arrow. Here’s the deal: I LOVED Mortal Kombat 9 last year, and I should be into Injustice, since I dig comics too, but my tastes are more Marvel than DC. So it just hasn’t clicked. Also not helping is how the recent revamp of everyone’s attire is truly god awful (yes, worse than the threads in MK).
But visuals aside, it’s much like NetherRealm’s previous effort: a fast and furious fighter that pays heavy emphasis on combos, which is normally a real groaner, but everything is far easier to pull off than in Street Fighter 4, nor are there a billion and one other things to keep track of, like 20 different kinds of super meters or gems, like in Street Fighter X Tekken.
Though another part of the appeal of MK was how ridiculously violent everything was, and I have to wonder how much the developers can get away with this time. Considering the sorry state of Mortal Kombat Vs the DC Universe, my fear is that it too will be fairly neutered. Guess we’ll all see when it comes out in April of 2013.
The last game on the list wasn’t technically on the show floor, but EA held an event right before the con and I’m going to talk about it anyway…
I’ve been playing various incarnations of Need For Speed: Most Wanted for the past few months at various events, and I’ve always been left satisfied. Though for the most part, EA has constantly pushed the PC iteration of the multiplayer modes (which is the star attraction of the new game, and the publisher knows it). And I’ve always wondered how it would fare on a console, given that I’m not much of a PC person.
Well I’m happy to report that it’s operates just a painlessly and fluidly on your couch. For all intents and purposes, this is basically Burnout Paradise, which is hardly a shocker, given that both were made by the same developers, Criterion Games. But Most Wanted is actually better because things are far more structured this time around; I’m fairly certain that I wasn’t the only one who was confused and overwhelmed by Paradise.
Oh, and the fact that it actually has better visuals than Paradise, and has even more events, is also fairly mind-blowing. But what truly seals real deal is how you’re handling real deal automobiles and not just make believe rides. Unless there’s some unforeseen disaster, the next Need For Speed is looking to be the best one ever, period. It comes out on the 30th of this month.
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