Hadouken!!!!

• 27Jul 08

  Inside San Diego Comic-Con 08!

  This month has been crazy! Watching the Dark Knight multiple times and getting all the bits on E3 08 has already made July exciting for a nerd like me! So what could make it any better? Ending the month with probably the biggest event in all of entertainment, Comic-Con International in San Diego! Since, 2003, there hasn't been a year I missed Comic-Con and this was no exception. I won't kill you with walls of text, so I'll keep the descriptions short and provide a bounty of pics.

  

  So I'll start off with the bad news. No celebrity pics this year I was fortunate to meet up with Zachary Quinto (Sylar of Heroes) and Tobin bell (Jigsaw of Saw) last year but the staff has prohibited the Professionals' drop off/pick up point to regulars. I can understand that, but some of the staff were real jerks about it when I attempted getting close to the place.

  Now for the show. I'll skip my workshops I attended there on the first day and head for the fun stuff....the Main Hall!

  As soon as I entered, the place was packed. The first thing I saw were "booth babes" getting people to try out the upcoming Ghostbusters game. I got a chance to play around....then I actually played the game.

  

  

  The game plays well. You'll be able to figure out the controls and objectives quickly, but I couldn't tell what my proton packs were shooting as there are different types. Taking out ghosts is fun yet very intense with the speedy ones. The graphics are gorgeous with all the likenesses of the actors and great use of physics. My play time was short, but it was surprisingly fun.

  Now on to more games!

  

  

  Microsoft and Sony's gaming booths showed things that I (and possibly all of you) already knew. There were some good things such as free shirts and trying out LPB.

  

  The next stop, and probably the best part in Comic-Con for me, was Capcom.

  Capcom showed some great games like Mega Man 9, Street Fighter 2 HD remix, and the best one of all.....Street Fighter 4. What made this booth so great? The fact that people got a chance to play the full arcade game of Street fighter 4. The play times were short so it was hard to really get a feel for the game. For this, the staff at Capcom held tournaments for the first 40 or so people in line. I was lucky enough to actually get in the tournament. As it started, most the players immediately played it like Street fighter 2 vets. The gathering crowd cheered on.

  When I played SF4, it felt amazing. The controls were the most responsive of all previous Street Fighter games. The gameplay was well balanced, allowing players to use EX and focus moves. I had chosen Ryu for the match hoping that he played just as good as I remembered. Every time my opponent would leave himself open, I would go for an uppercut or throw. I noticed though that the shinku hadoken was easier block or get out of. Another thing that I noticed was that many experienced players couldn't get their timing right and would makes themselves prone for attack. Knowing that I probably wasn't as experienced as the others, I felt really good that I was able to defeat 3 opponents before getting beat myself. One player that seemed to stand out was a cosplayer (I hope that was cosplay ) girl named Bethany I believe. While I didn't stay long enough to see who won, she totally kicked a$$.

  Things just got better in Capcom...

  Between breaks during the tournament, I was able to meet the producer of Street Fighter 4, Yoshinori Ono! Quite Unexpected! What was surprising was that he was able to speak and understand English to a certain extent (think Jackie Chan). We had quite a lengthy conversation about Street Fighter 4 and other games he was involved in. He was very nice to talk to and very down to Earth.

  I asked him: "So what are the additions for the console versions of Street fighter 4?"

  Ono-San:" *laughs* "oh no....ahhh.... I can't say..."

  Me: "Not Even the 360 version?"

  Ono-San: *laughs* no....sorry"

  At the end, I got his autograph for me and my friend.

  

  

  Now I really focused on the gaming aspects of Comic-Con, so i'll have to skim the rest, but don't worry!! The rest of the day was justtaking pics (mostly cosplayers). So here it is!

  Comic-Con Storm troopers!

  

  Guess what she works for?

  

  Ranger Poses!!

  

  So many Cosplayers, so little time

  

  Viz Media: Free Manga samples!!!

  

  The new car for Quantum of Solace and Iron....Monger? Ahhhh!!!

  

  

  Suddenly, a whole bunch of people became interested in Ghostbusters

  and so it was time to leave, but I sure got a whole bunch of freebies!!

  So if anyone is interested in any of the things I showed you, I strongly recommend that you go to Comic-Con! Try it at least once in your life....you won't regret it...as long as you get the 4 day pass

  • Posted Jul 27, 2008 5:37 pm PT
  • Category: Travel
  • 6 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts