For four days, people came to the Javits Center in New York City to
experience one of the largest conventions on the east coast: New York
Comic Con 2013! Fans of comics, movies, television shows, and toys came
together to revel in their hobbies, and with them came video game
companies to show off their wares for the upcoming holiday season and
beyond. We here at 3RM attended a few of those days, and we have
impressions and video to provide from our experience!
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Nintendo was showing off plenty of upcoming games for the Wii U at their booth this year, and one of them was the latest venture with Platinum Games, the action-packed explosion that is Bayonetta 2. While the demo appeared to be the same as at E3, we still went over to its demo station to check it out. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any hands on the game, as it was only playable in one demo station and very busy throughout the convention, but we did get some gameplay from the last demo from the show.
Bayonetta 2 does not have a set release date, but we suspect an early 2014 release based on its being here at NYCC.
When it was first announced at E3 2012, The Wonderful 101 –
then known as Project P-100 – was an enigma to the gaming media.It was not shown at Nintendo’s press
conference, and all we knew was that it was being made by Platinum Games.Months later, however, the game has crawled
up to the top of many lists of anticipated launch window Wii U titles, and
from its presence at New York Comic Con this year, I would say Nintendo has
noticed.Placed alongside large screens
for ZombiU and Nintendo
Land, it seems Nintendo
wants this game to be seen, and after having played its demo, I can see where
this interest has grown.
The Wonderful 101 is a superhero adventure starring the
Wonderful 100, or at least some part of it.An alien armada has approached Earth with the desire to wipe out
humanity, but one hero is not enough to destroy the monstrosities.Instead, a super hero crew known as the
Wonderful 100 are called to defeat them, but only some of the team appears at
the onset.It will be up to the player
to ensure the rest of the Wonderful 100 comes together and works to save the
Earth from annihilation.
The demo available for play at NYCC happens to be the same
as the demos shown before, from E3 and PAX Prime.In it, players are given a three-segment demo
through a neighborhood, across a crumbling city, and on top of a gigantic alien
mech.The game itself plays in short
Missions, pitting the heroes against one or a group of alien enemies at a time.Initially, the group of heroes can only
attack as a swarm, rushing forth against the enemies, but as they attack in
groups, a gauge fills on-screen, and when there is enough energy, one of the
three lead heroes can create a group formation which can cause even more
devastating attacks.In order to use
said formation, the player needs to draw a shape on the Wii U GamePad touch
screen or via the right analog stick.A
circle creates the Unite Hand, whereas a line and L-shape create the Unite
Sword and Unite Gun, respectively.After
a Unite Power has been assigned, Pressing A switches to the assigned power
immediately, provided there is enough power to use it.
Attacks are not all the group can do together.Pressing the triggers can cause the team to
either dodge attacks in an arc motion or turn into a protective gel, sending
back any massive projectiles in the process.Outside of battle, members of the team can become ladders or chains on
which the lead members climb to reach destinations high and far.The team can even turn into a hang-glider to
traverse over deep chasms in the distance. Furthermore, more heroes can be recruited into
the group by encircling the group around people encountered in the level.The more heroes you have, the stronger your
Unite Powers.
At one point in time, the game shifted its view to the
GamePad controller.Inside a building,
the GamePad displays what the hero sees while the television still shows the
outside camera angle.This is helpful in
opening doorways and potentially other things later in the game.It was a brief break from more action-packed
areas of the game, and hopefully it will not be used too repetitively.
The game itself felt very smooth, despite all of the action
taking place in the game.I had
occasional issues with the buttons, but this may have had more to do with my
being new to the Wii U GamePad layout than the game itself.One issue I did have with the game was
bridging a chain between the boss’s arms; I had to resort to using the right
stick in order to reach long enough.Hopefully long stretches like that are not too prevalent in the final
game.Otherwise, the game was a delight
all the way through.Attacking gigantic
mechs with a large sword built out of other heroes was rewarding, and there was
an especially great feeling when the defensive pose could send gigantic cannon
balls straight into the face of the enemy.
The Wonderful 101 comes out sometime during the Wii U's launch
window, and there are still many questions left to be answered.Will there be multiplayer?How many areas will there be?Does MiiVerse play a big role in the game at
all?But most importantly, what is the
fastest way to get my hands on this game? I guess we will find out soon enough.
This is Third Rate Week (3RW), a usually weekly video in which we talk about the events happening on 3RM's website, what gaming news has occurred, what games we've been playing, and what we can expect in the upcoming week.
NOTE: This was filmed on Sunday, before the week's announcements were known.
This week: 00:20 - 3RM Update (Nothing to show) 00:42 - Game News -- Disney Restructure (Shift to Digital, Casual affair, Canceled Projects) -- New Games (Rodea the Sky Soldier, Anarchy Reigns, Hybrid, Kirby, Pandora's Tower) -- Sony NGP (OLED, Touch Panels, 3G, Motion Controls, Cameras, Games, etc) 12:42 - Opinion (NGP Reaction, NGP + 3DS Concerns) 20:25 - Games We've Played: Bonded Realities, Disney Epic Mickey, DKCR 21:00 - Next Week: Bionic Commando Rearmed 2, Namco Announcements
Platinum Games and Sega have announced their next project, Anarchy Reigns, a multiplayer action brawler to be released by the end of this year.
Anarchy Reigns is a multiplayer brawler, in which players can join together or against one another to bring the hurt and reign supreme. In an interview regarding the game, Platinum Games head Atsushi Inaba stated that this game would bring a new genre into existence: Multiplayer Melee Fighting Action. While no specifics were made in regards to how many people will play in each battle, Inaba stated that many players would face off against each other in each match.
Those worrying about offline play will be glad to know that there will be an offline story mode on top of the many multiplayer modes, although details about both the story and specific gameplay modes are currently slim.
“SEGA are delighted to continue our collaboration with PlatinumGames, one of the most creative and critically acclaimed developers in the world. ANARCHY REIGNS is set to offer gamers a fresh multiplayer experience with the quality and innovation PlatinumGames are renowned for.”
-Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing, SEGA West
Despite the game's similarities with Platinum Games' first title, Madworld for Wii, including protagonist Jack's appearance, the game is not being directed by Shigenori Nishikawa, who left Platinum Games with Shinji Mikami's Tango. Instead, the game will be the directorial debut for Masaki Yamanaka, who has worked on Madworld, Resident Evil 4, and God Hand.
Anarchy Reigns is slated as a Fall 2011 release for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
