The bad news? The Comic Con International in San Diego for 2012 is halfway over. The good news? We had a great second day at the event, highlighted by a number of awesome video game companies and a couple of great parties to round out our day.
We began by stopping by Capcom’s suite to get a good look at DMC: Devil May Cry, the upcoming reboot coming from the folks at Ninja Theory. We had a chance to talk to some of the production team about the concerns behind the reboot and whether the balance of the gameplay would be right, but they alleviated our fears by explaining that everything that fans have come to expect would indeed make a return in this upcoming 2013 release. Look for full impressions soon here at Prima Games.
We then headed over to Konami’s private suite a few blocks from the show floor over at the W. Along with getting our fill of bacon and orange juice (breakfast of a champion if you ask us), we got hands-on time with several games, including Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate and Metal Gear Rising Revengeance. (You can find those impressions on our site today.) Other games present included Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 and Zone of the Enders HD Collection, much to our delight.
After making another stop at the Nintendo Lounge (we just posted our report on the Prima Games page), we made a stop over at Disney, where we were able to sit in a session with Warren Spector and his Epic Mickey 2 team, asking them questions about the upcoming game and what we can expect from it. It was a great discussion, covering everything from the co-op that was going into the sequel to Disney’s full cooperation into making Oswald the Rabbit a talking character. We were also shown footage from the game, including a rousing musical number that opens it up. (Spector then admitted that his dream project that he hopes to make one day is a musical comedy game.)
Our next stop was the Art of Death and Darksiders II panel, where Joe Madureira and his team discussed the vivid art style going into the game, how Death was initially drawn up, and more. They showed several sketches throughout the panel, much to the delight of many of Joe’s fans, and also discussed the upcoming game, due for release on August 14th for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. (They didn’t elaborate too much on the Wii U version, but relax folks, it’s coming.)
After that, we attempted to get into The Last of Us panel, but it was way too flooded for anyone to get in, so instead we opted to roam the show floor some more, checking out Lost Planet 3 at the Capcom booth and taping a confessional for the upcoming Street Fighter 25th Anniversary. (If you stop by and talk about the game, Capcom will be posting random videos on their site the following week.) We also managed to stop by Sideshow Collectibles and reminded ourselves that we shouldn’t put out a second mortgage just to have that collectible Obi-Wan Kenobi figure. But…how often do we get to buy one?!
After investing in a Super Heli-Carrier that was being sold exclusively over at Hasbro’s booth (guess that solved the second mortgage question), we dropped off our stuff and made our way over to a special roundtable interview with Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen. He went into exquisite detail over the course of his career, what motivates Prime (and to some aspects, Ironhide) and what he thought about the upcoming game. He also discussed his work in Transformers Prime as well as the classic shows. And at the end, he was gracious enough to give us a handshake. Truly a highlight for the show.
Of course, we stopped by Sonic Boom 2012, Sega’s yearly event that celebrates everything Sonic. This show pulled out all the stops with performances by Crush 40 and Cash Cash, along with trivia and costume contests, free food and, of course, an appearance by Sonic himself. And we got an awesome hat and shirt out of the process.
Finally, we rounded out our evening at the Halo 4 party, where we got to talk to Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O’Connor and several other team members about the project. We also got to play in some Spec Ops and multiplayer action with a few maps, and caught a glimpse at the now-confirmed Halo 4 Special Edition console, coming out on November 6th alongside the game. Consider it pre-ordered.
Overall, day two wasn’t as star-studded as the first day, but it was still plenty of fun, and now we’re ready for day three. Bring it on!
