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Capcom’s Gamescom conference wasn't locked on a disc

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Cacpom

Capcom, in its infinite wisdom, opted to hold their press conference in the middle of Cologne’s industria – far from the city and away from suburbia. After a tram, three trains and a not particularly short walk, I found myself in a small room, filled with some of the world’s premier games journalists. “What on earth am I doing here,” I thought as a took a sip of the free, very non-alcoholic beverage that’d served as the only sustenance  I’d had today.

It turns out that I was there to look at games – so any delusions I’d had about free beer were out of the window. the first of those games, it turns out, would be the new DmC – a non-canon spinoff of Devil May Cry, developed by the rogues behind Heavenly Sword and Enslaved. I’ve been following the game with mild apprehension; another Japanese game diluted by Western gaming sensibilities. the game’s received its fair own controversy, mostly a result of the younger Dante’s rebel-with-an-attitude makeover – something that’s not sat particularly well with purists. I’ve been quite sceptical of the game – perhaps more so than I should have been. Now though, I’ve laid much of that scepticism to rest.

Though its a prequel to Devil May Cry, it certainly got its very own flavour and aesthetic. Dante’s still packing his rebellious Attitude, but the world in which he dispenses his combo-tastic gun and blade-driven ass-kickery is rather different; instead of a fantasy world of monsters, we have something ultra-modern, more grounded in reality. Or at least, and imagined, future reality.  What is mostly in tact – and this is something that might even keep those darned purists happy is that Dante’s combat; swirling, slicing blades punctuated with punch gunplay is as sexy as it ever was.

We next got a look at Lost Planet 3 – another Capcom game that’s done little to hold my interest until now. The biggest reason for my lack of caring is the games predecessor – the less than lacklustre Lost Planet 2. thankfully, it seems the game’s evolved substantially since Capcom tried to shoe-horn Gears of War characters in to their shooter. Mostly by shoehorning Gears of war itself in to Lost Planet 3. This time around, you’ll be shooting at great big beasties (and not so big beasties, like fiery wasps and  life-sucking, cat-sized mosquitoes) from behind conveniently placed, chest-high cover.  Once again, it’s set on an icy tundra, where says the game’s promotional material, that survival is not enough.  You do get to pilot great big utility mechs though. And that? That’s enough.

The next game – and this is one I can’t even begin to try muster up enthusiasm for, is Street fighter X Tekken for the PlayStation Vita. Don’t get me wrong; I think SFxT is a great game for newcomers to fighting games, but it’s one I’ve played to death, and have little interest in playing to death all over again on a tiny screen. It has got some new features though – most notable cross-platform play with the PlayStation 3 version  of the game. Beyond that, it’s got a couple of new ways to play to make the game even more accommodating to new players – and a much larger roster of characters than its console counterparts.

Branka

Following that, Capcom’s overworked Yoshinoro Ono took to the stage – dressed in a Blanka outfit and carrying a rather large cake to celebrate Street Fighter’s 25th anniversary.  He said a bunch of stuff about the series, but I was too busy giggling at his ensemble and trying to decipher his Japanese English to make out anything he said. He did, however, for his own amusement (presumably) ask everybody to stand up  and Shouryuken the air so he could take a picture. This is what games journalism is all about, folks.

Resident Evil 6 followed Oshinoro – and I still think it looks pretty terrible. not allaying my fears in any way was the announcement of residentevil.net, a new social stat tracking service for Pc, smartphones and tablets that’ll launch alongside the game. It’ll allow players to track their in-game stats and compete with friends, using Resident Evil as a means to push social gaming. I’m getting bored even typing this, so take a look at the post we did about it earlier, if the thought of Facebook and Twitter invading your videogames is something that gets you giddy. 

memoreyes

Last on Capcom’s list of things to show off was some actual new IP. Developed by DONTNOD, a studio comprised of people who’ve worked on games like Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six and Heavy Rain, it’s an interesting action title with a dash of stealth sensibilities that blends together bits that are reminiscent of Uncharted,  Deus Ex and even Devil May Cry. It’s set in Neo-Paris, a blade-runner-esque take on the city in 2048. In this fictional future, science(!) has made it possible for people to share and trade (end even wipe) memories and emotions digitally – but this comes at an expense. Memoreyes, the corporation behind this has unfettered access to people’s thoughts  and memories – and is using them for dodgy, shadowy purposes. Enter Nilin, a sort of memory freedom fighter, whose own memory – her entire history – has been taken from her. You’ll play as her, running, jumping climbing stuff like a sexy female Nathan drake from the future – with a bit of a twist. Nilin is able to remix and rewind people’s memories – allowing her to rewrite their pasts, and alter their future. It’s on of the singularly most intriguing games I’ve seen his year – and it’s got me pretty damned excited. Pity it’s nearly a year away.

And that’s it. that was Capcom’s conference. And it was awesome, because they gave us Street Fighter cupcakes afterwards. Forget what I said earlier. This is what games journalism is all about.

Cupcakes

Last Updated: August 14, 2012

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