NYCC: Saturday Recap

Remember to check out Ren’s recaps of Thursday and Friday, too!

Two days of non-stop celebration of all things nerdy definitely took its toll on me on Saturday morning.  I was sore every which way from Sunday.  With a couple of extra hours of sleep, some Ibuprofen, and a hot shower, I prepared myself for Day 3.  The Javits Center was even more packed this day than yesterday.  Long lines were everywhere, especially in the video-game booths, which was unfortunate for me because I wanted to devote my Saturday to seeing all the new games; which meant more lines! While I did enjoy a lot of games being showcased, like Street Fighter V in the Capcom booth, and was a little disappointed with Nintendo’s booth, which did not have much to show in new games, I was very impressed with Square-Enix’s booth.

The first game they were showcasing was Hitman.  For those who are fans of the Hitman franchise, the new game looks and feels very familiar.  The only difference is that it seems much larger in scale.  Square is promising a giant globetrotting adventure, and they have worked hard to give you a feel of all of the cities you will be visiting in the game.  However, since this is a game about assassinating a target, the cities will not be sandboxes.   They also have added color scripts to keep the game feeling fresh and so that it doesn’t get too repetitive while playing.  The next game they showcased was Rise of the Tomb Raider.  I loved the first installment in the new Tomb Raider franchise, so I definitely loved this one.  The game mechanics are the same, however, they’ve added new weapons and modes of gameplay.  You can now complete each and every mission in a full stealth mode without killing anybody.   Or, if you’re like me, you can go in, guns blazing, and just tear the island a new one.

They also had a demo of the new episode of Life is Strange, I haven’t had the chance to play any of the games in this series, but the demo had piqued my curiosity.   Unfortunately, when it came time for me to try it, they began to have technical difficulties.  So I had to satiate my appetite by watching someone else play.  I moved on to play the crowd favorite,Just Cause 3.  The first thing I noticed when playing JC3 was just how absolutely gorgeous the game was.  Imagine the most vibrant and picturesque movie you have ever seen, and then turn up the contrast to 11.  With that you will get an idea of just how beautiful JC3 looks in person.  The controls were tight, and the gameplay, also familiar from its predecessor, showcases new mechanics to keep things feeling fresh like they did in Rise of the Tomb Raider.  I will definitely be reserving my copy.

Finally, Square brought out what we were all waiting for.  Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to Human Revolution, takes place two years after the Augmentation incident of HR.  Square debuted two new gameplay videos, however, they were both done in developer mode with all augmentations, inventory, and invulnerability.  The game is currently in a post-Alpha state, and is heading into the Beta stage soon.  So, with that said, the video showcased at NYCC was still buggy and had some weird physics issues, but it looked better than the demo they had at E3, which was a pure alpha build.  Watching these videos, you kind of get a feel for the amount of work that is put into making a AAA game these days.

I hoofed it down to the Marvel booth, since it felt like it was on the other side of the building, only to be surprised by another free print.  This one for Jessica Jones!  Side note: I’m really happy that Marvel is focusing so much on their smaller scale, human-focused, storylines.  A trait that I find Marvel excels at.  At the Panel for Jessica Jones, Jeph Loeb was preceded by the cast, who took the stage, and revealed to us who Carrie Anne Moss, and Erin Moriarty were going to play.  Carrie Anne Moss will be taking the role of Jerri Hogarth, who, in the comic is portrayed as male, but the creators fell in Love with Carrie and wanted to give her that role.   Hogarth is the executor of Wendell Rand’s, and is tasked with finding Danny Rand, whom fans might remember is the Iron Fist.  Erin Moriarty’s character is named Hope, but details were scarce, as it would end up spoiling the first season.

I was hoping to catch a glimpse of David Tennent, but he is currently doing a play in London.  A brief video of him was shown saying how excited he was for fans to see the show.  Krysten Ritter was very flattering of the Tenth Doctor, “David Tennet is magic. “  She said, “His range is incredible and he is one of the best scene partners I could ask for. At the end, they showcased the pilot for Jessica Jones, and the least I can say is that I’m very excited for it.  It looks just as dark and gritty as Daredevil, and the show appears to be done in the style of classic noir films like Chinatown.   If Daredevil season one is any indication, Jessica Jones is going to be another knockout, and, once again, it looks like Marvel Studios can do no wrong.

Finally, I would like to conclude this day’s write up, with my favorite cosplay on the floor.  A picture of Mad Max: Fury Road’s eponymous character, Max Rockatansky, as he looks when he’s strapped to the hood of the car.