All the embargoes are finally gone and we rocked every bit of content we could from this year’s GDC. It was my first trip out there for the show and I had a blast! Hope you enjoyed the coverage we were able to bring. In case you missed any of it, here’s a nice big wrap up.
This isn’t the first time I’ve played the upcoming Wolverine game, but this go around at GDC showed off one of the game’s boss battles and a few new elements that weren’t finalized back to NY Comic Con. While early reports are coming in of the movie not being too hot, the game looks to be damn good.
One of the features being shown off at GDC was the damage modeling on Wolverine. With 4 separate layers of damage (clothing, skin, muscle, and bone), Logan can take a beating, but regenerate his way back to life. Clothing only returns at checkpoints, which is somewhat understandable seeing as cloth can’t regenerate like he can.
BioWare gave us an early look of Dragon Age Origins at this year’s GDC during a private event. Dubbed as a “spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate 2″, the game is dark, gritty, and more realistic than previous titles.
There are six different origins stories that you can begin the game with as you take on the role of a Grey Warden to stop the spread of Blite, an evil force in the world. There is extensive character customization you can do before starting the game, as is expected with RPG’s or this caliper. You’ll journey with a group of three followers to aid in your quests. In the demo shown, we got to see Morrigan, a seductive sorceress, Sten, an 8 foot tall Canary warrior, and Leliana, a “hot chick who likes everyone”.
One of my favorite titles around the launch of the Xbox 360 and PS3 was Marvel Ultimate Alliance. As a big comic book fan and a fan of co-op, it was a good fit. The game was fun, but had its fair share of issues. Activision is stepping it up with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, slated for release this Fall.
In a demo shown at GDC, we got to see the Latveria level where Dr. Doom’s life force is still causing havoc. Lead by Nick Fury (unplayable in this level), your team must go through and fight off everything in sight.
The storyline is much more modern this time around, focusing squarely on the Marvel Civil War. Some additions and changes were made to work best for the game (such as including The Hulk, even though he wasn’t part of the Civil War story in the comics). There will be 24 playable characters to make up your squad, with the ability to switch them out at almost any point this time around. No more waiting to get to a location where you can make changes. This also allows for bringing your allies back to life at various points. This was done to make the game more accessible and to give it a nice pick-up-and-play feel.
GDC is all wrapped up, even though the coverage is not. With everything that went down, we want to know what you thought? Were you impressed with this year’s show? Disappointed? Angered to the point of smashing your Wii Remote?
Personally, I think the conference went very well for what it’s designed for: discussing game development. You have to remember, this isn’t the place for huge announcements and game reveals; that’s saved for E3. There were some great panels, sessions, keynotes, and discussions all over to get a good feel of the current state of the game industry.
We rocked a full preview on The Conduit back at NY Comic Con, but this week at GDC, I got to check out a bit more of the game with the Creative Director, Matt Corso. Matt was one who really developed the customizable control scheme, so you can thank him for being able to play the game exactly how you want.
The demo I saw started at the beginning of the game and went through the end of the second level. After the first tutorial-like level, the game takes you back in time five days as the story events unfold. Corso indicated it was a “Pulp Fiction like story”, but wouldn’t comment on whether you play through the previous five days or if the story bounces around in time. If it’s a lot like Pulp Fiction, my guess is bouncing around. All in all, Matt said the story would be a “wild ride” with a lot of information being delivered through the player’s headset as well as radio and TV broadcasts.
I think above all console digital distribution platforms, the PSN continues to be at the forefront of leading innovation and amazingly fun original titles. The latest being Fat Princess from Darkstar Industries. The concept is simple; two teams of medieval soldiers battle it out to try and get your princess back from the opposing team’s clutches. The gameplay, however, is surprisingly deep, comical, and full of fun. I’d heard a good deal regarding Fat Princess previously but had never gotten my hands on, so I was skeptical of all the hype. After playing it at Sony’s PlayStation.Blog Lounge at GDC, I cannot wait for its release this summer on the PSN.
The game employs a cell shaded look, which is popular right now in various titles. You are among either the red or blue team trying to rescue your princess and prevent the other team from doing the same. As the title suggests, you can continuously feed the princess cake to make her rather portly. The purpose of this insanely funny act is to make it harder for the opposing team to carry her out of your castle. Instead of just one person needed to carry a skinny princess, it’s harder for the other team to get a hefty girl out of the castle without rushing multiple people.
I’m not ashamed to admit I was very late to the party with checking out Dexter on Showtime. I missed the first season and caught on somewhere in the middle of season 2 and am still in the process of catching up on all the episodes from the beginning of the series. I knew enough to hold my own while checking out the Dexter game coming to the iPhone from Marc Ecko Entertainment and Icarus Studios this week at GDC.
The game is still very early in development with a planned Summer 2009 release (most likely after the upcoming v3.0 update, since it takes advantage of the new accelerometer APIs), but it already looks amazing for the platform. You’ll very easily be able to recognize all the characters from the show. While not in the build I saw, almost all of the original actors will be lending their voice talent to the game, so the authenticity level will certainly be there.
There is a new Zelda game announced and it is not for the Wii to the dismay of many. It will be for the DS which is not a bad consolation prize. Here is a look at the latest trailer right from GDC. Playing Zelda on the go FTW.
One of my all time favorite games is the original Punch Out on the NES (the Mike Tyson version is the best, by the way). From my early days of gaming through today, I always have gone back to the game. I think I’ve beaten the Virtual Console version about 20 times already. When Nintendo introduced the Wii version, I was both skeptical and excited. I think after getting my hands on the game on the GDC show floor, those sentiments still remain.
First off, the game looks terrific. There is a semi cell shaded look to everything that works great on the Wii. The crowd is jubilant, the ring is done well, and the fighters look and move nicely. I was sad to see an actual referee and not Mario there to count out a knocked down fighter, though. I can’t say much about how it sounds since the show floor is loud as hell.
I saw a few opponents that took their cues from their earlier counterparts, which is very nostalgic. Where the nostalgia broke for me was the new motion controls. While they worked fairly well, it just didn’t give the same feeling as the original Punch Out games. Switching to the classic control setting felt better, but at that point, it was like playing a prettier version of the original. While the visceral feeling of throwing punches works great for Wii Sports Boxing, I don’t feel that it works exactly the same way in Punch Out.
I’m going to reserve final judgment until I can get some more time with the game without hundreds of people walking around and watching. As for now, I’ll be happy with my original Punch Out from the Virtual Console.
Recent Comments