Man, San Diego Comic-Con is kicking my ass. So much to do, so much to see, so many games to play. By now I've had a chance to play many of Comic-Con's gaming offerings, but not all of them. Here's my take on many of the titles I've played so far. Read on for the breakdown, yo.
Warner Bros. Interactive featured two of the games I was most excited to play: Batman Arkham Asylum and Scribblenauts. My excitement, it turns out, was completely justified.
Scribblenaunts, in case you haven't been following this amazing DS game, lets you solve puzzles by writing a word, and then that object appears in the level. I had to catch a butterfly in one level that was hovering around me, so I wrote "net" and "trampoline." My little character then bounced up to catch the butterfly. One level I tried had multiple paths to reach my goal: over a barrier, under it, or through it. First, I went under by diving into the water below with scuba gear. Then I replayed the same level and blew a hole through the wall with dynamite. My only concerns with Scribblenauts is that I might not be as clever as the developers. One level challenged me to get past a tornado. I thought a tank might be heavy enough to drive through it. It wasn't. The ladder wasn't tall enough, the stairs not steep enough. Apparently, the correct solution was "wormhole."
Batman: Arkham Asylum is the Batman game I've been waiting for. Mixing action, stealth and puzzles in a way that's more seamless than I could imagine, this game makes you feel like Batman. If the word "stealth scares you away, chase the thoughts of sluggish creeping out of your head. In this game, you use stealth to hunt, grappling to high groud to get the drop on enemies so you can take them out quickly and quietly. The hand-to-hand action revolves around the counter button, which will help Batman take out attacking foes like the chumps they are. After my first tutorial, I was chaining attacks together like, well, like Batman. This game just shot to the top of my "must play list."
Lego Rock Band was Rock Band. There's really nothing more to say. Other than a songlist of
age appropriate music and a Lego skin, nothing about LRB felt at all different from the core series.
Over at
Capcom's
booth I spent a good chunk of time with Dark Void, the upcoming
Rocketeer-esque action game. Like Arkham Asylum, Dark Void is another
game that I'm newly jazzed about. As the jetpack-wearing protagonist,
you fly around in a very Crimson Skies-style arcade flight game, but
when you land, it plays like Gears of War. The best part is that you
can transition between the two styles at any time. Stuck in a tough
firefight? Take flight and aim at your foes from above. It's really
cool stuff, and I wish I got a chance to play it for longer.
I owe
Sega's Bayonetta an apology. I was
convinced that this game would be nothing other than a goofy Devil May
Cry clone. And it is. But it's a fun one. The combat is fast and
frantic, and the special moves are so goofy and over the top it's
impossible not to get into it. The visuals are nice, the combat flows
extremely well, and it appears not to take itself too seriously without
being smarmy. When I'm wrong I'll admit it, and I was wrong on
Bayonetta. This game's been delayed until 2010, and I'm suddenly bummed
about that.
