San Diego Comic-Con Day 3 Recap

Today marks the official winding down of San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest conventions in the world. However, before we hit the ground running and tackle Sunday, we thought we’d look back at a number of activities that took place on Saturday, the third day of the convention – and there was a lot to do.

The gaming section is located on the far end of the main hall, around the 0-200 sections. Here, you’ll find Capcom’s store, Bandai Namco’s booth, Nintendo’s Smash Bros. set-up, Microsoft’s mini-lounge and more. Perhaps the big highlight, however, is the Alien Isolation booth.

Consisting of just one large egg and several video screens, the Alien Isolation set-up is easily one of the best yet. One person climbs into the egg to experience the pure tension of the game, while lucky attendees outside get to see how they react to what’s happening on-screen. It’s really quite something, so if you’re around the show floor, be sure to check it out. (It’s also playable over at Nerd HQ’s headquarters in Petco Park.)

Next up, Deep Silver and Square Enix were once again hosting its Gaming Lounge over at Whiskey Girl, where gamers could walk in and try out the likes of Nosgoth, Hitman: Sniper for mobile, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris and other games. Among these new offerings was Sacred 3, which will arrive for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 next month. The game feels like a modern take on Gauntlet, with up to four players taking part in monster-bashing fun, while collecting goods and upgrading to new weapons and powers. We’ll have complete coverage on this release when it arrives in early August.

In addition to that, Hitman: Sniper looks like a great mobile action game, as you line up targets and strategically take them down, while also quelling any dangers that lurk with those suspicious of your activities. It feels like a classic Hitman experience, while custom built for new tablet devices. It’ll arrive later this year.

Activision invited us over to check out The Legend of Korra, a new game based on the animated Nickelodeon series of the same name. This is an action tour-de-force developed by Platinum Games, the makers of Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance and other hits – so you already have an idea of what you’re in for. This action-packed delight features the ability to switch between elemental powers on the fly, while maintaining a fast, brisk frame rate and plenty of detail. We’ll have a first look for you in the days ahead.

After stopping by and chatting with the Rooster Teeth folks (who are awesome, by the way – they introduced me to some lovely voice talent from RWBY), it was time to head over to the DC Entertainment booth. Here, the team had a number of classic Batman suits on display, including Michael Keaton’s classic 1989 set-up and Christian Bale’s rugged Bat-suit. Several comic book artists were also on hand.

However, our big draw was Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. In this new entry from Travellers Tales, the Dark Knight and his heroic companions take to outer space, where the mighty Brainiac has begun cooking up trouble alongside the Joker and Lex Luthor. This one’s a lot of fun, especially for fans of the series, as it introduces a number of new suits to play around with, as well as new characters like…Batcow? Yes, Batcow. We’ll have impressions soon.

Bandai Namco also invited us up to its suite to check out Lords of the Fallen, a dark, decadent action/role-playing game with some terrific action and one bad-ass character at the helm. We’ll cover this in a future impressions piece as well. Project Cars, the latest from Need For Speed: Shift developers Slightly Mad Studios, also looks outstanding, with fast-paced racing visuals and the kind of simulation gameplay that fans will eat up in droves.

As for the rest of our day, we hung out with the Square Enix/Deep Silver crew, then made our way down to Boom! Comics for a quick little get-together with fellow geeks. It was a fun Saturday night done right in San Diego.

We’ll see you on Monday with a full recap of the best moments of the show. But if you’re around, be sure to check out the Prima Games booth over at 1514, where we’re giving away lots of goodies and offering pre-orders on some sweet stuff, including a Dragon Age: Inquisition guide that you DON’T want to miss!