San Diego Comic-Con Highlights Reel
While a good chunk of the news coming out of San Diego Comic Con was focused on other media, there was no small amount of announcements for video game fans—many of whom, recent studies have shown, may also enjoy comic books, movies and television series.
Mass Effect: Return of the Mako
At their panel for the newest Mass Effect game, Bioware revealed that the infamous Mako all-terrain vehicle from the previous games will make its return. Cue frustrated groans from fans everywhere. Players will be spending “a lot of time” with the notoriously hard to maneuver vehicle in this newest installment, which will have a focus on exploration. There is some light however, as the developers were quick to promise fans that the vehicle had been revamped, noting that they have been “playing with the physics” of the Mako to make it “as responsive as possible.” Players will have the opportunity to customize their Mako as well, which the team noted seemed only fair if they’re expected to spend considerable time in the vehicle.
Bioware has stayed tight-lipped about other details, however, leaving fans guessing as to where it slots into the series’ timeline. The development team has promised that the game will not follow Commander Shepard (hero of the previous trilogy) and will introduce new characters and new locations for players to explo
Marvel Contest of Champions Announced
The developer Kabam announced its mobile game Marvel Contest of Champions at the convention, making it the latest studio to capitalize on the comics giant’s cinematic success. Written by Marvel’s Sam Humphries, the game will take players on a tour of iconic locations in the Marvel universe, where they will meet and fight heroes and villains in order to assemble their own world-saving team. The game is set to launch on tablets and phones sometime this fall.
The Walking Dead Season Three
Developer Telltale Games has confirmed that its critically-acclaimed The Walking Dead will return for Season Three. Telltale, however, has not revealed a release date for the next season of episodes for its game and has refused to divulge any story details—unsurprising, given that the game’s final episode of Season Two has yet to be released.
Delivering us perhaps not the characters we deserve, but the ones we want, LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham will include the campy Batman and Robin played by Adam West and Burt Ward in the 1960’s Batman TV series among the game’s 150 playable characters. Comic-Con also saw the reveal of other throwback villains and heroes, including Bat-Mite Julie Newmar’s version of Catwoman from the same show.
Perhaps most exciting, though, is the reveal that Bat-Cow and Krypto the Superdog will also be making appearances. For those unfamiliar with the character, Krypto was Superman’s super-powered canine companion who hails from the planet Krypton as well. Bat-Cow, however, was a cow rescued from being sacrificed by Robin (Damian Wayne) during a raid on a villain lair, an experience that also led the fifth Robin to become a vegetarian.
LEGO Batman 3 will hit shelves this fall for new and previous gen consoles as well as Wii U, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS and PC.
Halo: Master Chief Collection Will be Complete with Glitches
In order to remain faithful to the original games, 343 Industries revealed their intentions to keep multiplayer and other gameplay glitches in the upcoming Halo: Master Chief Collection during a panel. While the conversation was a tough one to have internally, according to franchise development director Frank O’Connor, the team was determined to stick to their goal of simply re-rendering the games into HD—which meant not altering the original gameplay itself. Responding to a question about the infinite rocket launcher ammo glitch in Halo, 343 promised that they would however make an attempt to inform all players about these glitches, leveling the playing field.
The Master Chief Collection—which includes Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4—will also include all the associated multiplayer maps, giving players a staggering 100 to choose to from, all of which will be re-rendered. Halo: Master Chief Collection will drop on November 11 for Xbox One.
Firefly Cast Will Reunite for Firefly Online
Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres and the rest of the Firefly cast will return for the online strategy-RPG that was announced last San Diego Comic-Con. Based on Joss Whedon’s killed-before-its-time sci-fi western, Firefly Online puts players in the captain’s shoes, where they’ll hire a crew and do missions to compete and trade with other players. The game will give players the opportunity to explore the ‘Verse—the Firefly universe—customise their ship, and generally aim to misbehave. While the game was originally tentatively set to launch this summer, there is still no hard release date Firefly Online, which will be playable on mobile and PC.
Assassin's Creed and Oculus Rift Experiences
Ever wanted to drift in a Jaeger or seek out fellow X-Men with Cerebro? Or maybe take a more physical route and scale walls and leap off of a tower Assassin’s Creed style? Comic-Con attendees had the chance to both (assuming they were willing to brave some lines). Legendary Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. all offered Oculus Rift-based immersive experiences, ranging from standing in the path of a tornado for the movie Into the Storm to hunting down the mutant Mystique as Professor X.
Ubisoft, ironically, chose to eschew a digital experience for a real-world one, setting up an obstacle course and optional leap of faith off a model of Notre Dame’s bell tower outside the convention center. In a bit of wordplay for their Unity-themed course, the developer also teamed up with the razor company Schick to offer free shaves next to models of the guillotine—which earned the nickname “the National Razor” during the French Revolution.
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