NYCC Capcom’s Lineup Will Blow You Away

At this years New York Comic Convention (October 13th – 16th) Capcom will be turning up in full force with a wicked lineup of games for you to get your hands on. Not only will they have games for you to play but they will also be running daily tournaments, holding signing sessions with key names in the industry, and holding special offers and deals for the Capcom store!

At their booth, across all the days, you’ll be able to play the upcoming 2011/2012 titles before they release. You can get your hands on Dragon’s Dogma, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil Revelations, Street Fighter x Tekken, Dead Rising 2: Off The Record, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter IV: Volt, and the incredible Asura’s Wrath. From Friday through to sunday there will be tournaments for all to enjoy. From 11am-12pm its Street Fighter x Tekken, 2-3pm will be Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. A special Dead Rising 2: Off The Record Tournament will happen on Saturday from 4-5pm too. You can signup for all of these between 9-10am.

Head along on these days and times to the locations mentioned and you’ll be in for a real treat from Capcom:

Friday 14th October: 2:45 – 3:45 pm – American Airlines Theatre (1A06)

STREET FIGHTER – Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono will be on stage to give fans all the latest news on Street Fighter X Tekken. You’ll hear all about whats in store for both Tekken and Street Fighter characters and, as Friday is Street Fighter Day, lucky fans who come dressed up as their favourite characters will be invited onstage to win some incredible prizes! The entire show will be followed by a Q&A session so you can get all those answers that you’ve wanted so dearly.

Saturday 15th October: 2:45 -3:45 pm – American Airlines Theatre (1Ao6)

ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3 – Producer Ryota Niitsuma will be on stage to give fans all the latest news on the legendary game fighting series. You’ll get exclusive behind the scenes peek at its latest additions, as well as a chance to get up onstage and showcase your own skills for a chance to win awesome prizes! Afterwards there will be a Q&A session for you to enjoy.

Saturday 16th October: 6:15 – 7:15 pm – MTV Theatre (1A10)

RESIDENT EVIL – Mark the 15th anniversary of the figurehead of survival horror by celebrating ‘Resident Evil Day’ by dressing up as your favourite classic, and new, RE characters! Producer of RE: Operation Raccoon City, Rey Jimenz, will be on hand to dish out the latest on this unique RE game, as well as all the latest information on RE: Revelations, RE4 HD and RE Code: Veronica X HD. Afterwards will be a Q&A session too.

Sunday 16th October: 12:15-1:15 pm – American Airlines Theatre (1A06)

WORLD OF CAPCOM- here you can learn the latest on Capcom’s biggest upcoming games; Dragons Dogma, Asura’s Wrath, and Dead Rising 2: Off The Record, with Executive Producer, Jason Leigh. Once again this will be followed by a Q&A Session.

If all these activities wasn’t enough, Capcom have a great special event planned for NYCC. Head on over to Level 1 -Exhibit Hall 1B at 12 -1 pm on Saturday 15th, and you can get to see Street Fighter Producer, Yoshinori Ono, and Tekken Producer, Katzuhiro Harada, don full football gear and draft select fans from the crowd for a series of football challenges in a custom indoor SFxT football field! Cheerleaders will be on hand to make sure that everybody knows which franchise has the best fans of all.

Sounds like Capcom have a lot in store for their fans at NYCC! When you aren’t busy with all that they have planned, head on over to their booth for more fun. You can find them at the entrance of the Exhibit Hall at booth #722.

Capcom Bringing Panels Galore To NYCC’11

Capcom is set to go hard at this years New York Comic Con. We got a list of the panels and plans for Capcom at NYCC this year as they show off the rest of their 2011 lineup and a little bit of 2012.

Capcom looks to show off Street Fighter X Tekken and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 as well as their entire slate of Resident Evil titles and new properties such as Asura’s Wrath and Dragons Dogma. New York Comic Con is going to be Capcomified this October. Check out the listings below with their descriptions.

Street Fighter X Tekken Panel- Friday October 14th @ 5:15

Legendary Street Fighter producer, Yoshinori Ono will provide the latest update on the highly anticipated fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken – the ultimate fighting game team up! Come hear, firsthand, just what is in store for your favorite Street Fighter and Tekken characters in this explosive genre defining game. Street Fighter fans are encouraged to come in costume as Capcom deems Friday to be “Street Fighter Day”! Some lucky fans may be called onstage to demonstrate their mad fighting skills firsthand to win awesome prizes! Followed by a Q&A session plus some special surprises!

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 Panel-Saturday, October 15th @ 2:45

The wait’s almost over as the much anticipated followup to last year’s monster fighting hit is only a month from launch. Come to this panel to hear the latest news about this legendary fighting game franchise straight from producer Ryota Niitsuma. Get an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek as well as a chance to come onstage to showcase your fighting skills against each other for fantastic prizes. Followed by a Q&A session.

Resident Evil Panel- Saturday, October 14th @ 6:15

Share in the joy of Resident Evil! 2011 marks the 15th anniversary of the legendary video game franchise that gave fear a face and horror a home. Capcom declares Saturday to “Resident Evil Day,” so please come dressed as your favorite classic and new RE characters! Come find out the latest information about the newest entries to the Resident Evil franchise: the brutal truth behind Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City with producer, Rey Jimenez, Resident Evil: Revelations for the Nintendo 3DS, the gorgeous re-imagining of Resident Evil 4 HD andResident Evil Code Veronica X HD, plus some surprises! Followed by a Q&A session.

World Of Capcom Panel- Saturday October 15th @ 12:15

Capcom continues to entertain its fans with the best games in the industry. Fans won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn firsthand about Capcom’s newest hit properties, Dragon’s Dogma and Asura’s Wrath, as well as the latest on the just released Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. Followed by a Q&A session.

It looks be a great show if your a Capcom fan. Look to TGH for complete coverage of these and other NYCC events.

Resident Evil 4 & Resident Evil Code Veronica X Download Sizes Revealed

Capcom is set to release their first HD titles onto the world starting with Resident Evil 4 and shortly followed by Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. These two highly anticipated titles will be available separately on XBLA and PSN. Now we have gotten word on the download sizes for both titles on PSN.

Resident Evil 4 HD will be the larger of the two downloads weighing in at around 3.3 Gigs. It is actually not quite bad for a fully featured downloadable title. Code Veronica X will be 2.4 Gigs and the smaller of the two. Fans of the series will be happy to hear that these titles won’t put a large dent into the HDD come release.

Resident Evil 4 HD will be available on September 20th and Code Veronica X HD the following week on September 27th on PSN and XBLA Games on Demand.

Recently Discovered Umbrella Corp Website Details Revealed

A few sites have been mentioning the new Umbrella Corporation website that is used as viral marketing for Capcom. Many of them mention that the site may be related to an unannounced Resident Evil title, more specifically Umbrella Chronicles 2. We contacted a Capcom representative and were told the truth behind the website.

We were told that the website seen HERE as Umbrella Sciences is actually for Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City. So that debunks all of the rumors of Umbrella Chronicles 2 sadly. We were also informed that there is a sister site HERE titled Inserted Evil which is an anagram for Resident Evil.  Also, to further promote the title Capcom handed out Umbrella Corporation business cards at PAX Prime as to recruit for Umbrella’s team in the game.

The Umbrella Sciences site has a false error message that pops up so more content seems likely in the future. As for the Inserted Evil site, it has a lot more to offer including a video, Evil and Evidence categories and the ability to recruit other members. In the top right it also allows for the user to view the clues, 8 of them are unreleased and one of them is locked and requires the user to find the clue through the ARG site. It seems Capcom is looking to really push this title in terms of marketing in hopes of it taking off.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Q4 2011 on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

Capcom’s PAX Lineup Revealed

Today Capcom announced what games they will be bringing to this years Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle.

Attendees will be able to get their hands on a whole host of Capcom goodness, including; Street Fighter x Tekken, Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Street Fighter III: Third Strike – Online Edition, Street Fighter IV: Volt, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil: Revelations, Dragons Dogma, Asura’s Wrath and finally Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.

Now thats one long list, and one full of some brilliant titles. However that isn’t all that Capcom are going to be bringing. They promise that there will be ongoing tournaments and giveaways throughout the show as well as a live stream by Capcom-Unity.

You can find them at the Capcom Booth #3425 at PAX Prime 2011

PAX Prim 2011 runs from the 26th August till the 28th August 2011.

Two New Gameplay Videos For RE:Operation Raccoon City

Everyone cannot wait until the next full fledged iteration of Resident Evil so instead we have to wait for Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City which is a fun romp through the universe from the developers over at Slant Six. Today Capcom has released two new gameplay videos of the upcoming title.

The new videos show a whole heap of gameplay for fans. The first video weighs in at around 4:50 while the second gameplay video lasts a whopping 32 minutes and change. So if you want to hunker down and check out some gameplay get ready for some skull smashing zombie time in the heart of Raccoon City. Check out the videos below.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is set to release later this year on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Resident Evil 6 Logo Leaks From SDCC 2011

So it seems that the rumors were true. Time to  begin the speculation and anticipation for Resident Evil 6. An image has leaked from San Diego Comic Con via RelyOnHorror.

The title is reportedly being shown behind closed doors at SDCC. The new logo looks ‘dark’ and dreary which is a good thing. The picture also notes a date 9/15/2011. September 15th is one of the business (press) days for TGS. So it is likely that it will be revealed at a conference. Time will tell.

Let us know what you think of the title which is sure to release some time in 2012 for all major platforms and heck, maybe the Wii U.

Source: RelyOnHorror 

Where Are the Scares?

Not too long ago I got a chance to play through FEAR 3 (type it F3AR and I’ll punch you in the face), and while the gunplay maintains a lot of the intensity the original was known for, one thing really stuck out- there was not a single point where I was afraid.

I’ve been frightened before by games. A couple friends coached me through the dog hallway in Resident Evil- incorrectly- to make that already intense scene go off the scale. Of course, jump scares like that are fun, but don’t have much staying power.

In the summer of ’99 I borrowed a little game called Silent Hill from a friend. I’d tried out a lot of Resident Evil clones, and wasn’t really expecting much. Seven hours later, I had to make my way from the basement up to my room, through a dark Victorian house. I had been so immersed in that strange world I hadn’t realized how creeped out I was, and I couldn’t shake that feeling. It was fantastic.

So games have been able to scare, even when they couldn’t render anything realistically. We’ve moved forward in every way, so why do we have only a few games that can effectively scare its audience?

To start, fear can be a very personal feeling. For most, the feeling boils down to being afraid to die. For games, this can not maintain fright. After all, we can just quick load and the sequence replays, typically step-for-step. Oh, and we’re well aware what’s happening on screen isn’t remotely real. Basically, most games just hope to tap into that flight or fight response we’re beholden to.

Elaborating on the fear of death, we can be scared of how we die, and what kills us. Read the process of death by Ebola. Suddenly just outright dying doesn’t seem so bad. In fiction, it’s all about the monsters. We have unending tides of walking dead, all sorts of big, slimy beasts, and worst of all those monsters we can’t really define- Silent Hill usually excelled at that last one, especially 2.

Then there’s the abstract aspect of fear. This one is difficult, in that it can be very personal. I once had a dream I was in a blank white room. There was a low rumbling, like a giant engine far below me, and the paint on the walls began to bubble. I woke in a panic, and had a lot of trouble getting back to sleep because I couldn’t quite define what had scared me. Developers can only hope to accidentally hit on that feeling.

The Condemned games from Monolith have come close to that through claustrophobia and strange dream logic. Most people have had dreams in which the darkness was suffocating- you just couldn’t seem to get your eyes open enough, and no lights functioned properly. It’s an unsettling feeling that’s not outright dangerous, so the mind doesn’t try to mask it with humor or anger.

Most recently Amnesia nailed that feeling out of the park, to an uncomfortably dead-on degree. As the player passes through darkness longer and longer, the walls seem to close in and vision becomes stifled. Eventually the player becomes unable to walk properly, and crawls helplessly along the floor. It’s like Frictional games speak the language of nightmares.

Another effective effort to disturb the player came years ago with the lauded Eternal Darkness. Silicon Knights, using a straight-forward action adventure template, turned the genre on its head by out and out fucking with the player. We couldn’t properly assess the dangers, logic went out the window, and the mind reeled.

Eternal Darkness remains, after nearly ten years, one of a kind. Strange, considering it’s nearly unanimous praise. The scare tactics are almost quaint now- eliciting gasps and laughter more than terror.  Silent Hill Shattered Memories attempted similar ideas with its psychological evaluation, but the effect was usually too subtle to even notice.

So where can horror genre games go from here? Resident Evil has become a straight forward comic book-styled action game. Silent Hill’s track record has been pretty uneven, definitely under the bar set by the first three titles.

Is it gamer’s faults? We complained about stiff, awkward controls and punishing save systems- things that heightened the danger but were frustrating in many circumstances. Going back to the more old-school sensibilities would alienate a majority of players, which doesn’t make business sense.

The slow-burn dread that builds from not having saved for an hour and not knowing what you’re about to encounter is lost with games’ modern sensibilities, and the demand for lithe, reactive character controls inevitably lead to a more action-game feel. Resident Evil 4 found a good balance of intensity, but 5 then became a straight-up action game.

On the flip side, Limbo drowned players in an atmosphere of pure danger. Checkpoints were constant, failure was sudden but brief. Instead, player fear was based around the idea that when you succeed against a particular scene, the next one will kill you gruesomely. On top of that, the ending provides no closure, no explanation.

For genre fans, the future is a bit obscured. We can bet on more Resident Evil games, but will they even attempt to be frightening? Can Silent Hill reclaim its title as the most unsettling game series? Or will they just leave it to more independent studios to produce the horror that takes risks, by extension making the player take risks?

The Horror genre isn’t going anywhere, but it is an uncertain business avenue. The primary question anyone would have about a horror game is ‘Is it scary?’ and that’s a very nebulous question, up for personal interpretation. Publishers don’t give big budgets to game designs full of maybes. But like it’s film brethren have proven, imagination and intuition are the most important ingredients for horror, not money. Horror packs all the adrenaline wallop pure action can deliver, but with an emotional core that sticks with players. If the genre is lacking now, it’s only temporary.

HMV refuses to take Mercenaries 3D

UK music, film and games retailer HMV confirmed earlier today that they wont be taking in trade-ins of Capcoms newest 3DS game, Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D.

This is quite a controversial stance for the retailer to take, especially as its trying to expand its influence in the new, and pre-owned, games retail sector.

Head of PR for HMV, Gennaro Costaldo, spoke to VG247 saying that the reason why HMV chose to refuse trade-ins was because ”potential customer disappointment for those purchasing a pre-owned version.”

This all comes from the players not being able to delete the saved data from the game cartridge. Many believe that this is due to Capcom trying to discourage secondhand purchases of the title, however Capcom deny this completely.

“The game’s value at second-hand in the UK is not affected by whether or not the game can have its data reset,”

“Customers in the UK will not experience a reduced second-hand value should they wish to trade in their purchase.”

Gamestation and Game will still be accepting trade-ins of the title and Gamestop in America will also.

Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D will release in the UK this Friday. What’s your opinion over all of this trade-in controversy.

Out This Week: 6/26-7/2

This week marks yet another big release in titles. The Nintendo 3DS sees great potential in The Mercenaries 3D where as consoles get their choice with a retail release of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 and UFC Personal Trainer. Check out the full release list.

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3 (PS3, Xbox 360)
MSRP: $59.99/£49.99
When Tecmo-Koei and Namco Bandai teamed up for the original Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, it seemed like a match made in heaven. That original release was everything fans expected, but after a somewhat quiet sequel, Gundam 3 looks to have completely overhauled the combat as well as the series’ visual style. In a much more fitting style, they’ve opted for cell shading this time around. Jump in to the titles 300+ missions this week.

UFC Personal Trainer: The Ultimate Fitness System (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)
MSRP:  $49.99/£32.00 $39.99/£27.99
We’ve seen our fair share of exercise and training games on the various platforms and some are actually effective. What we’re getting this week, however, promises to be The Ultimate Fitness System and, with the UFC branding, we’re inclined to believe them. Featuring an “authentic UFC fitness experience” with customizable mixed martial arts exercise and training tools, UFC Personal Trainer has some potential. After all, if it’s good enough for a fighter it should be good enough for the rest of us, right?

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (Nintendo 3DS)
MSRP: $39.99/£39.99
Initially found in Resident Evil 3, Mercenaries mode is a bit of a fan favorite and, if we’re being fair, it could be the best thing on the Resident Evil 5 disc. Having realized that RE fans are absolutely in love with the zombie killing time attack mode, we’ve got The Mercenaries hitting 3DS this week. Featuring that same addicting gameplay, Mercenaries has also added skill slots (like perks) that buff abilities and weapons. With 30 levels, there’s a lot of action to be enjoyed.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (PS3, Xbox 360)
MSRP: $39.99/£29.99
Arcade Edition marks the third release of the game that, essentially, breathed new life into fighting games. After a few years out of the spotlight, Street Fighter IV brought about the genre’s revival. Arcade Edition features a few more characters (Yun, Yang, Oni, and Evil Ryu) as well as all of the balancing updates found on the Arcade versions of the title.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition (Xbox 360, PS3)
MSRP: $59.99
Black Ops is kind of hot right now. Treyarch has the third map pack, Annihilation, on the way and there are rumors of a fourth. If you somehow aren’t one of the five million people who already own the game, there’s no better way to jump in than a retail release with a voucher for its first map pack, First Strike.

Sniper Ghost Warrior (PS3)
MSRP: $39.99/£39.99
Last June, Sniper Ghost Warrior offered Xbox gamers a shot at a more tactical FPS experience in what was essentially a sniper simulation. Fully realistic ballistics, breath control, and a reliance on your spotter all factored in to the experience. Now PS3 owners will finally be able to get their trigger fingers on the title with a myriad of exclusive content including new weapons, single player levels, and multiplayer maps.

New Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D Trailer

Today Capcom has revealed a new trailer for the upcoming Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D title on the Nintendo 3DS featuring famous characters from the Resident Evil universe.

Mercenaries 3D looks to be the intense gameplay experience on handheld consoles. Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D features re-mastered stages from Resident Evil 4 and 5. Players will fight against the clock to defeat infected  in a set amount of time. Players can even join co-op via network play. Check out the trailer below.

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D- Character Trailer

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D will be released in North America on June 28th and Europe on July 1st. What do you all think? Graphically we are impressed with the Nintendo 3DS power right now. Let us know in the comments below.

Capcom+Microsoft Partnership:Top 10

You all know by now that Capcom & Microsoft have partnered to reveal something on the 26th. All signs it pointing to a new game. These are my predictions on what it could be in no particular order. (Please Note The Following Are Predictions And Are No Way To Be Considered Confirmed)

10) Partnership: Yea its not a new game but it’s still possible that all they are announcing is a partnership. Highly doubtful, but usually a BIG BIG game they will hype up a little more than 5 days.

9) XBL Game: Maybe its an exclusive Xbox Live title? I mean those Street Fighter Games preformed pretty well on XBL and a remade edition of Street Fighter 3 or Street Fighter Alpha 2 would make fans happy.

8.)  Final Fight Remake: I would have to give hats off to MS if they make a Final Fight remake. With lets say the Resident Evil 5 graphics engine, alright maybe thats wishing but more likely the SFIV graphics engine would still be sweet.

7.) 360 Version Of Viewtiful Joe or Okami: This would make every fanboy erupt and possible explode, meanwhile making every Nintendo fan cry. It’s not completely likely yet not completely out of the question.

6) Devil May Cry 5: To me this is the most likely on the list. It preformed better on the 360 and it would anger a lot of Sony enthusiasts if Microsoft bought the rights to DMC5 and it seems all the more likely I think about it.

5) Maximo: The return of the underwear knight! Its possible and it would be geared to the hardcore and the casual, it could very well be a great game! Seriously….

4) Natal IP: What better way to announce a partnership than to smack a Natal game on there? People would love it and it would be the first full fledged Natal game.

3) Power Stone: Every Dreamcast fan would have a field day, and they would make a lot of money if it was a full fledged remake. Seriously I have all the ideas.

2) Capcom VS SNK: A remake with SFIV graphics would blow the socks off any fighting game currently out and im hoping guess is the right one. That would be amazing. Think about it people.

1) Mega Man Next: Maybe it’s an all new Mega Man title to capitalize on Mega Man 10′s release hype? Possible but unlikely. Would be amazing to see though.

Will any of these happen? Maybe. I’d put my money on the SNK and DMC5 but thats me. Give us your ideas in the forums and in the comments below. Peace.

New Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition Trailer

[WARNING! Contains Spoilers about RE5!]

Capcom have released a new trailer for the upcoming Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition. The Gold Edition will feature two new playable chapters, also to be released seperately. The first, “Lost in Nightmares,” reteams Chris Redfield with Jill Valentine, and expands upon the flashback episode glimpsed in the Resident Evil 5 campaign, where Chris and Jill infiltrate Wesker’s mansion. Lost in Nightmares will be available for download on February 17th on Xbox Live and 18th on PSN, along with a new costume pack.

The second episode, entitled “Desperate Escape,” follows Jill and BSAA agent Josh Stone, as they escape the Tri-Cell facility to aid Chris and Sheva in defeating Wesker. This content will be available on March 3rd on Xbox Live and 4th on PSN, along with a costume pack. Furthermore, on March 12th, a Gold Edition will be released: this will be a single Blu-Ray disc containing all content for the PS3, and a single DVD with a token for all of the released content on Xbox 360.

Check out the trailer below for new gameplay footage featuring the two new episodes, plus a glimpse at the new costumes!