Best Comic-Con 2013 Video Game Highlights

Next-generation consoles and popular franchises dominated this year’s event.

Comic-Con 2013 took place this past weekend in San Diego, California.  Thousands of people from around the world flooded the event, checking out new movies, TV shows and of course, comics.

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Video games have taken their own spot in the show over the past few years, and 2013 was no exception. Sony came out in full force with games for both its current PlayStation 3 system as well as PlayStation 4, Nintendo filled its booth with playable Pikmin 3 kiosks and Microsoft gave the public a taste of the Xbox One in a gaming lounge not too far from the convention center.

On that note, here are some of the highlights we experienced during the four-day event.

Exciting Panels

Panels are usually reserved for big-name movies and the comic book world.  However, there were several devoted to the art of video games. Capcom hosted special sessions for DuckTales Remastered, Street Fighter and its traditional “World of Capcom” get-together, where it provided the world exclusive premiere of its new Strider game coming early next year. Each of these panels was a rousing success.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone hosted a lively get-together for South Park: The Stick of Truth, talking about the upcoming Ubisoft production. Deep Silver also had its own jam-packed panel for Saints Row IV, which featured Keith David, who plays the vice president in the game, along with other voice actors and production members.

Not to be outdone was the Walking Dead game panel, in which Robert Kirkman and Telltale Games revealed bits and pieces about Season 2 of the episodic series, while stopping just short of giving it a full-on preview. One thing’s for sure, though – Clementine will return.  

Let’s Play Some Games

Microsoft’s Xbox One suite was fantastic, providing players the opportunity to go hands-on with Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5 (pictured above) and Killer Instinct, in addition to Xbox 360 releases. It also provided plenty of giveaway opportunities, including the chance to win a system.

Ubisoft had a huge presence at Comic-Con as well. It brought a replica of the Dackjaw from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, where players could hop aboard, get their hands on multiplayer and pre-order the game. The company also had a presence inside the Xbox lounge and on the show floor, with such titles as Watch Dogs and Rayman Legends. Fans couldn’t get enough of those games, especially with the introduction of the new Rayman mini-game, Kung Foot. We’ll have a strategic preview of that game soon.

Other companies on the show floor included Capcom, who showcased a playable DuckTales along with Lost Planet 3 and Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies for 3DS; PopCap Games, who had zombies promoting the forthcoming mobile game Plants vs. Zombies 2; and Namco Bandai, packing a number of hit anime titles, along with Pac-Man and the Ghostly Encounters, for all to play.

The Shiftylook Arcade provided plenty of classic Namco coin-op fun, while also featuring upcoming games from D3 Publisher, including new Adventure Time and Regular Show titles. Disney also opened up a special suite for Disney Infinity, inviting dedicated Disney fans – along with families – to come in and try out the figure-activated platforming adventure.

Lots of Surprises

Comic-Con 2013 also contained a few surprises.  First up, several new characters were unveiled for Lego Marvel Super Heroes, WB Games’ action/adventure for all ages. The list included Juggernaut, the Winter Soldier edition of Captain America and comic creator Stan Lee – who came out to thunderous applause during the Marvel Games panel to give it an official thumbs up.

As we mentioned before, Capcom also came out of left field with the reveal of Strider, a new take on the classic arcade franchise. Developed by Double Helix – the same team working on the Xbox One brawler Killer Instinct – it appears to be a quality side-scrolling “Metroidvania” type game, where you explore new areas as you cut down enemies.

Until Next Year

Overall, this year’s Comic-Con event was quite enjoyable.  Sure, we were tired by the end of each day, but it was great seeing all the games in action and taking in the sheer hoopla and madness of the event. Plus, many folks dropped by the Prima Games booth this week to talk about upcoming guides, including the forthcoming Legend of Zelda set. 

It was also a great place to play old-school games, between the Nerd HQ arcade set-up at Petco Park, the Geek and Sundry retro-cade and Shiftylook’s entertaining entourage of Namco classics. The King of the Nerds arcade was good fun as well, allowing us to play a few sessions of Galaga while indulging in a fiendishly good homemade cereal bar.  

Bottom line, we’d happily do it all over again.


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Prima Games Staff
The staff at Prima Games.