E3 2011: Capcom (Impressions)

by: Tina - posted: 6/13/2011 6:52:00 PM

I’d first like to preface this preview by saying that Capcom’s “VIP Presentation” didn’t procure much of anything save for very minimal gameplay and a boatload of cinematic trailers. I was expecting to be able to deliver a more educated perspective on the line-up of games Capcom was presenting, but we’ll have to make do with their rushed presentation.

First on the presentation was Dragon’s Dogma. The open world action game features a bore of a storyline in which the protagonist is attacked by a vicious dragon. There is obviously some undisclosed information about why the dragon chose you in particular to feast on, but the end result is the same: your heart has been literally ripped out of your chest leaving you to become an undead, arisen. As a noble warrior and with the help of some companions to help you fight and distract your enemies, you’ll go on a journey to recover your heart and gain vindication against the treacherous encroachment of your (very) personal space by said evil dragon. It’s very obvious that there will be some sort of forced Shyamalan “twist” to this storyline, which is alluded to by throwing around the ideology of the “chosen one,” etc. The gameplay looks fairly boring from what I saw, as well. Basically you’ll be running back and forth while attempting to slice at tentacley-looking creatures drab in dull colors. Allegedly each creature has significantly different weaknesses that will have to be targeted by different skills and weapons. One boss in particular, the three-headed chimera that we saw on the E3 floor, has to be dealt with in terms of each individual head: the lion, goat and snake.

The only redeeming quality to the fighting style is the short animation of jumping on the heads of your enemies to gain a tactical advantage when plunging your sword into their necks. Otherwise, your basic sword wielding is the only battling to look forward to. I will venture a somewhat-educated guess and say that this one will be worth skipping. They called it capcom’s biggest and most epic franchise yet. available in 2012.

After a boring demonstration of Dragon’s Dogma, we transitioned to Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS, which features Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. The controls looked difficult and clunky to maneuver. Jill goes underwater in part of her mission on a cruise ship while in search of her partner who has gone missing, during which she encounters freakish, octopus-like mutations of creatures that swim and fling violently her way. It was the same, boring repetition of events, however. The colors seemed to be all washed out in a grey tone, and the creatures looked less than creative. There was literally nothing intriguing about Resident Evil: Revelations from what I saw on the showfloor. Even the music was awkwardly cheesy and felt retro in a bad, non-nostalgic way.

Street Fighter x Tekken was also shown. This is a pretty basic no-brainer for most gamers, as it really depends on your loyalty to fighter games and these two franchises in particular. Animations in fighting moves were adrenaline-pumping and fast paced as they should be. I have a difficult time commenting on fighters without spending a big bulk of time getting accustomed to several characters and seeing how they play off of each other in battle, however. Based on a few video montages of fighting scenes, all I can say is that it looks promising.

Capcom’s famous Dead Rising franchise continues with Dead Rising 2: Off the Record. The re-imaging of the disastrous events in Fortune City take place with Frank West at the journalists’ helm this time around, and continues with the quintessential, quirky Dead Rising humor in tandem with the setting of a zombie apocalypse. Features like Prestige Points gained by taking photographs of your ventures are still prominent in this iteration, but fortunately the reinterpretation of the story allows the developers to make various new technical improvements as well as introduce some new storyline components for a less monotonous and predictable game. Frank West can run over crowds of zombies in a clown car, dress up in funky clown-type costumes, and even dress the zombies up in a similar fashion to strike poses with them. Although I’ve always personally found the gameplay to be a bore, any Dead Rising fan will be excited to see the return of the fabled first hero/journalist in addition to new storyline components. The setting is fantastic, as well. The alien, amusement park setting has many deadly weapons in hidden forms for Frank to use against the zombies. The game clearly has a score of odd weapons to experiment with.

Asura’s Wrath is actually one of the few Capcom titles I think has promise. The art design in the game that blends Asian mythology and science fiction is fantastic, and I absolutely love the protagonist. Asura runs on rage, and the angrier he gets, the more obvious and deadly it becomes. He can even sprout multiple limbs when really being pushed beyond the edge. The best part about him, though, is hands down how limitless his anger really is. Even against all odds and against the most outrageously large, planet-sized enemies, Asura is still willing to put up a hearty fight. His enthusiasm seriously knows no bounds. Asura bravely faces off against just one finger of a deity that rips his arms off his body. The finger is even triple his size, let alone the entirety of the boss. Although it’s clearly a danger to him, as he is seen in the trailer with arms crushed beyond repair (and literally disintegrated), he still pushes forward motivated by the sensation of vengeance against the injustice of being stripped of his powers and the kidnapping of his daughter. He is a demigod himself. Salvation to gaya.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City entails taking on one of six specialized characters in a mission to either cover up any involvement Umbrella Corporation had in the outbreak of the T-virus, or to expose them in doing so. Each team of four complements one another very well, and it seems to be a co-op game produced to have different kind of shooter-preference gamers collaborate with one another. the BioHazard multiplayer mode pits four against four as the Umbrella Security Service and United States Special operations task-force go head to head amongst the zombie population. Players will have to fend off attacking zombies, lest they get bitten and consumed by the virus themselves. Then, you’ll have to watch as your control slowly slips from your character as he/she goes to attack your teammates in a fit of zombie-rage. Because I am a huge Left 4 Dead fan, I was hoping this role reversal would actually see some of your own actions played out. Unfortunately, you can only watch as your character lifelessly makes its own decisions. The title will pay a lot of homage to the classic Resident Evil titles in terms of both setting, storyline and even weaponry. It should be an interesting throwback to the franchise, while providing an entertaining and chaotic competitive multiplayer experience.

The last game at Capcom’s presentation was DmC Devil May Cry. While I would love to give you my opinion on the game, the entire theater was literally ushered out hurriedly during the trailers for the game. From the glimpse that I managed to steal while glancing back past my shoulder, Dante is as feisty as ever and looking even more graphically impressive. That’s really all I can tell you while maintaining my professional courtesy to you readers.