comic-con posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Create a Ratchet and Clank comic, win entry to Sony Comic Con events

by Jem Alexander { Jul 3rd 2009 at 9:00PM }

So there's this contest going on at the PlayStation Blog, but you needn't bother. As you can see above, we've already won. If you insist on trying your luck, you can find the comic template at the PlayStation Flickr account. In order to win the prize, which is access to VIP events at Comic Con on July 22 & 23, including hands-on time with Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time and other games.

Can't make it to Comic Con? There's still some schwag in it for you, so you may as well give it a go. Except we've already won, as we've said. Still, your entries will need to involve something to do with time and must be sent to rcfcomiccon@gmail.com by midnight, July 10. Include your name, address and let them know whether you'll be in San Diego on July 22.

Game publishers continue takeover of San Diego Comic-Con

by JC Fletcher { Jun 24th 2009 at 7:30PM }

Big Download reports that many game publishers, including 2K, Konami, NCSoft, Ubisoft, and more, will be exhibiting at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, continuing the trend of game content at the event. We're interested in seeing how the growing game publisher turnout will affect Comic-Con. The convention is already dominated by giant media companies, but, well, game publishers like Activision really like having giant, flashy showings at conventions. Seriously, Comic-Con, if you let these companies get comfortable, they will take over. Pretty soon, the Guitar Hero games will outnumber the furry cosplayers.

To look at it from a more positive perspective, if you're going to Comic-Con, you're going to get to play some free video games. Also, we hope you got your tickets, because they're sold out. We've pulled every game publisher we could find in the exhibitors list, and listed them for you after the break. The Pokémon Company is on the list only because Nintendo wasn't, and there's a chance the Pokémon booth will have games and not just merchandise.

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Grab your own Grifball Spartan at San Diego Comic Con

by David Hinkle { Apr 7th 2009 at 2:00AM }

Click to kung fu-gripisize image

If you're attending the San Diego Comic Con and are a fan of all things Halo 3, then you'll likely be excited to hear that Toys R Us and McFarlane Toys are teaming up to sell the exclusive figure you see above during the show. Only 6,000 of these Grifball bad boys (or girls, because you really don't know who's under that 200 billion-dollar suit of armor) are being sold at the show, and you can grab your own for $15. We suggest making this a priority stop, as the figure features a Bomb, Gravity Hammer, Recon armor, and Sword Hilt, with the latter two being pretty big deals in the world of spinning space rings, we hear. Also, 6,000 isn't a lot when you consider 126,000 people attended the show last year.

San Diego Comic-Con goes down from July 23-26 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Gallery: Griffball Spartan from McFarlane Toys

NYCC 09: The Conduit revisited; hands on a 'new' game

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 8th 2009 at 11:59AM }

The Conduit is a story of hype because it is a story of hope. Not the interactive story (that might be about hope, too), but the story of the game's development. We won't rehash the dramatic rise to relevance of High Voltage Software's labor of love, but we certainly thought about it as we played a section of the game at New York Comic Con this weekend. The Conduit has a publisher -- finally -- in Sega, but it is still cherished for its grass roots origin. Technically, this was very much the same game we previewed back in October, but we couldn't help but notice the change taking place as we blasted through an alien invasion inside Sega's Comic Con booth.

The Conduit has made it -- acquired by a major third-party publisher. Its chapter as indie orphan is over. Now, on the verge of release, it competes with any other title that reaches store shelves. We may want to hold onto the sentiment of victory (the little guy making it to the big show), but the game has changed. We must consider The Conduit from a different perspective. In fact, dual perspectives: How does The Conduit rate as a Wii game; and how does it rate as a contemporary first-person shooter?

Gallery: The Conduit

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NYCC 09: BattleForge hands-off / system-down

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 8th 2009 at 9:57AM }

Know this: BattleForge is not a trading card game. BattleForge is an RTS. Correction: It's an online RTS -- it's not playable offline. And so, when producer Sebastian Nell connected to the server for a hands-on demonstration on the New York Comic Con show floor, the server temporarily went down, and we were left to chat in front of a blank screen.

BattleForge is still in an open beta testing phase, so we'll forgive the technical outage for now -- but surely this is a key issue that needs to be avoided after the official game launch. The other issue is the general misconception that BattleForge is a trading card game. It's true, traditional RTS units are represented as virtual cards in the game, and players command "decks" -- and "booster packs" (8 cards: 1 rare, 2 uncommon and 5 common cards) can be purchased for $2.50 from an online marketplace; cards can also be traded between players. Still, there aren't physical cards to be collected, and the trading card aspect is more bullet point than innovation.

Gallery: BattleForge

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Seen @ NYCC 09: Old frenemies in the bargain bin

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 7th 2009 at 5:29PM }

Once bitter rivals sharing the throne, these old familiars now find themselves huddled together under a discount sign. At least they're still on top of the heap ...

NYCC 09: Invincible Tiger hands-on (XBLA)

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 7th 2009 at 11:58AM }

We learned a valuable lesson today: Don't judge a game by its ... name. First uncaged earlier this week, Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao is the sort of hackneyed game title that simply can't survive in the brutal wilds of Joystiq.com. So, already composing the first kill strikes in our minds, we picked up an Xbox 360 gamepad and entered the Tiger.

First thought: Wow, this is kinda like Kung-Fu Master -- the venerable father of beat-em-ups. Next thought: No, this isn't like Kung-Fu Master. The level is a movie set, not side-scrolling, but stage-like, with vertical sections, props, and stunt areas. You don't move as an 8-bit Master, but as a fast and fluid 3D model: leaping, rolling, diving, flipping, kicking and splitting wigs.

Gallery: Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao

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NYCC 09: Original Splatterhouse included in reboot

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 6th 2009 at 9:15PM }

"Everybody wants that," exclaimed Splatterhouse co-producer Mark Brown, responding to a question about the original 1988 beat-em-up's inclusion in the forthcoming franchise reboot. "In one form, we're gonna deliver on it," concluded Brown, who was joined by writer Gordon Rennie in a design panel at New York Comic Con today.

Brown, who is producing the new Splatterhouse alongside Dan Tovar, called the original, the "crown jewel of the [Namco] back catalog," and confirmed the plan to bundle the classic arcade game (also ported to Turbografx-16 -- and now on Virtual Console) as an extra in the new game, perhaps as a "premium edition" bonus.

Splatterhouse is due out "later this year" -- Namco Bandai is targeting Q3 2009. The official game site has just gone live with a new trailer and screens. On a side note: Splatterhouse appears to be the first game to allow players to use their own severed limbs as weapons ... once their bloody stumps regenerate into new arms. Confirmed.

NYCC 09: Battlefield 1943 Pacific hands-on (XBLA)

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 6th 2009 at 7:15PM }

Battlefield 1943 Pacific is just like ... well, other Battlefields. That's a compliment, by the way. 1943 is no janky spinoff. It's small in scope, sure, but it offers (and even improves upon -- read: no more health packs!) the core experience of its disc-based brethren. This is visible -- even playable -- in a pre-alpha build (XBLA version) on the New York Comic Con show floor.

We got our hands on the Wake Island map, one of three in the downloadable game, which is modeled on the actual geographic location with a few gameplay-enhancing improvements. 1943's color palette is distinctly vibrant, clashing against the epic destruction that ensues once a match begins. As featured in Bad Company last year, the Frostbite game engine's destructible environments are exploding and imploding in 1943 as well, with buildings reduced to mere foundations as players carelessly toss grenades, launch rockets and even bomb from the skies (bombers can be somewhat controlled from within specially-marked, protected bombing HQs). Destruction is a gimmick -- but a good one.

Gallery: Battlefield 1943

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Joystiq @ New York Comic Con 2009!

by James Ransom-Wiley { Feb 6th 2009 at 3:13PM }

Click to begin your photo tour -- it's like you're really here!

Joystiq is here: Live from New York Comic Con 2009! Join us on the show floor as we bask in the glow of video games. Take that, you boring old comic ... books. Check out all there is to offer us thumb twiddlers, including a Platinum Games Inaba sighting -- and ... is that really you, Vin Diesel? -- in our gallery below:

Gallery: New York Comic Con 2009

Meet the Gears of War 2 crew at NY Comic Con

by Dustin Burg { Feb 4th 2009 at 4:45PM }

For those attending New York Comic Con, which takes place February 6-8th, know that the event will not be without a significant Gears of War 2 presence -- Cliff Bleszinski not included.

Dom Santiago voice actor Carlos Ferro, writer Joshua Ortega, writer/consultant Eric Nylund and DC/Wildstorm's Ben Abernathy will all be on hand throughout the weekend, signing autographs, schmoozing it up and hosting a special Saturday Gears 2 panel. If you're all about collectibles, NECA will be showing off the third Gears action figure series, including the too-cool 12" Marcus Fenix light-up figure. Feel free to dress up as your favorite COG / Locust character and be sure to take plenty of pictures with the celebrity Gears crew. We're almost positive they'd love to see your enthusiasm expressed through a homemade costume.

Activision, EA headline increased game presence at New York Comic Con

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 27th 2009 at 3:01PM }

The New York Comic Con has revealed a rather bountiful list of video game exhibitors taking part in this year's event. The game group is reported to take up 11,000 square feet, which represents a 50% increase from last year. The publishers attending with wares:

Activision-Blizzard: X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Prototype.
Atari: Champions Online, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution.
Codemasters: Fuel, Damnation and Overlord 2 on Xbox 360. Overlord Dark Legend on Wii. Jumpgate Evolution on PC.
Electronic Arts: Spore Galactic Adventures, Godfather 2, Dragon Age, Burnout Paradise, Battle Forge and Battlefield Heroes.
Konami Digital Entertainment: Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, Blue Dragon Role Playing Card Game.
Namco Bandai Games America: Afro Samurai, Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM 2, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 4 (with tournament), Splatterhouse, We Ski, Snowboard and "much more."
SouthPeak Games: Velvet Assassin on Xbox 360. X-Blades on Xbox 360 and PS3. Roogoo: Attack on DS and Roogoo: Twisted Towers on Wii.
TC Digital: The Chaotic TCG.

Although there are no further details, Cryptic Studios, Mythic Entertainment, Rockstar Games, Sega, THQ and Ubisoft are also expected to attend. The NYCC takes place February 6-8 at the Jacob Javits Center. We'll have hands-on impressions of several titles mentioned when we attend the show next week.

Today in Joystiq: July 30, 2008

by Ross Miller { Jul 30th 2008 at 11:59PM }

To be honest, we find the placement of the blue and purple Tetris pieces disturbing. Check out the highlights for today:

News
Shane Kim talks MMO stumbles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles midnight movie
ASA dismisses GTA IV telly ad complaints
PS3 firmware version 2.42 is now live
This Wednesday (today, we mean): Geometry Wars 2
Nintendo Q109 results drown company in billions
Capcom: Q109 sales up 15% (thanks Monster Hunter Freedom 2G)
The BBFC seeks to classify online interaction
Bourne game rights forget Vivendi, return to Ludlum Entertainment
Revealed XBLAugust prices incorrect
See Dark Void's jetpack action in video
Ticket to Ride Europe yet to arrive on XBLA, customers getting antsy
HAWX grounded until 2009
Ubi to release Armored Core for Answer in September
Rock Band concert tour, chance to humiliate yourself on-stage announced
ESA releases annual report publicly for first time
Doctor Who wants to time warp, play retro games
Wii MotionPlus co-developer demos tech in new video
GT5 Prologue update hits on Friday
PixelJunk Eden Trophies detailed, but not in gold

Rumors & Speculation
GTA: Chinatown Wars site hints at Nintendo WFC features
Zombies!!! coming to Xbox Live Arcade???
Rumor: Wal-Mart spotted selling 60GB Xbox 360

Culture & Community
DC, Capcom partner for Resident Evil, Devil May Cry comics
Eegra picks Game Makin' Shindig winners
Wii Brew's Wii Pack Generator delivers no-fuss homebrew
CollegeHumor reveals Bowser minion coup d'etat
Zero Punctuation apparently missed the actual E3
Edge: Nintendo tops industry's best publishers

See Dark Void's jetpack action in video

by Justin McElroy { Jul 30th 2008 at 2:15PM }

We know we've been banging the drum for Dark Void pretty hard, but we're hoping that after today you're going to understand why. The segment of the game in the above video is the exact one that sold us on it, from the flailing animations the hero Will makes in flight to the radical UFO hijacking. (Notable difference in our experience: We had a much-cooler walk-through guide, designer Jose Perez, who didn't pretend to still be freaked out by controlling the jetpack after he'd played/watched the demo 100,000 times. Really dude? Really?)

Even if you've gotten tired of hearing how great Dark Void looks, we urge you, take a look at this video and see if it doesn't get your thumbs flicking in anticipation. If you want more, we've put some gun-play video after the break.

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