There’s really nothing better than a splicer piloting a huge mech and repeatedly blowing up a zombie in another mech. Such was my experience at New York Comic Con this year, and yes, I was the one dressed up as a Bioshock splicer, thank you for asking.
I almost felt bad for that zombie guy. He waited in line for more than 15 minutes only to end up eating missiles, EMPs, and grenades over and over. Oh, and so he could try out Hawken. I hope he really paid attention to the incredibly polished graphics and gameplay from Adhesive Games while he got destroyed over and over again by some nerdy writer in a torn vest. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Hawken is beautiful, smooth, fun as hell, and will be free-to-play when it releases on December 12. *droooool*
I also played a bit of Halo 4‘s multiplayer, which I expected to just be more Halo, and I wasn’t proven wrong. However, the game is also faster, more customizable, and has a new game mode I actually care about called Dominion. The loadouts players can select pre-match aren’t that special except that they are loadouts instead of items found on the battlefield (which they also still were). Even the Dominion idea, which is holding two of three bases as long as possible, feels like something that should have been included in a previous Halo. There are a few nice touches: sprinting, moving, and even looking are quicker; the multiplayer announcer is a great touch; and the visuals are always vivid. I’m curious to see what else Halo 4 reveals, but to be perfectly frank, it’s going to take some actual innovation at this point for me to get fired up over a new Halo game.
What else did I kick ass at? Ah, yes, Injustice: Gods Among Us. NetherRealm Studios has done a terrific job of keeping the fighting polish and over-the top aspects of Mortal Kombat intact — both of which feel completely at home in the DC Universe. For instance, as Superman, I punched someone up into space and then hit him back to Earth. Trust me — that happens all the time in comic book fights. I did have a fun personal moment when I realized that one of Harley Quinn’s basic attacks is shooting a revolver, and it deals a very small chunk of damage to her opponent. I know all the champions are balanced to the same level for obvious reasons (otherwise, Catwoman couldn’t scratch Superman at all, for instance), but it’s funny to think that shooting people in the face with a .45 revolver only stings them a little.
And lastly, the Tomb Raider demo didn’t disappoint. Although, I have to admit that I’m torn. On one hand, I really admire the emotional connection and story Square Enix is going for, but on the other hand, it’s a bit heavy-handed and feels overall like a slightly sappier Uncharted. Of course, Uncharted owes Tomb Raider a debt already and thus, we see the circle of life. I think it was witnessing Lara Croft kill her first animal with her bare hands, a deer she had wounded and now had to put out of its misery, that pushed the demo over the line into cliché territory for me. However, as I said, I’m still giving Square the benefit of the doubt, because the demo was extremely polished, fun to play, and the reboot’s heart is very much in the right place. Square Enix also held a live archery contest in a place where I saw at least three different Hawkeyes walking around, so that gives the company bonus points in my book.
Overall, I had a really solid experience at New York Comic Con. Speaking of which, I think there may have even been some comics off somewhere behind the giant Lego Hulk statue, but I’m not really sure.
New York “LEGO HULK SMASH!” Con
Comments are closed.