Marvel vs. Capcom 3: First Impressions.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has been the long awaited sequel many didn’t see coming due in part that a lot of the licenses for characters are split between different publishers so to see the game announced last year with the inclusion of Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron-Man etc was a refreshing surprise.

Now I never played the previous games though I had an interest in playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 when it was released on Xbox Live Arcade, I was on the fence about it after hearing mixed things about it and the high entry level of skill to play the game so I wasn’t sure if I would get much out of it. Then hearing about Marvel vs. Capcom 3 I thought I might as well jump in to the new game like many others.

On a first impression the game is not that hard to a new user,  picking up skills as you play the game is a process, like struggling to pull off air combos but after a bit of practice they become second nature it is this kind of thing that I am enjoying about it the more time you put into it the more you get out of it.

WWE All Stars : The Wrestling Game Comeback

All Stars is the bright refreshing change for the wrestling game genre which for many years has become well… stagnant with the Smackdown vs. Raw series which has clearly seen better days and is in desperate need for some kind of a reboot of the franchise. All Stars goes for a fresh approach in the style its trying to create with Legends vs. current WWE Superstars which opens up a plethora of dream matches like The Rock vs. Cena, Triple H vs. The Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant vs. the Big Show and more.

THQ’s new San Diego studio are the team behind the new All Stars game, the studio was bought when Midway closed its doors and since then people have been wondering just what have they been working on since then for THQ as there last game was a wrestling game. This is not the teams first try at a wrestling game they worked on the 2009 TNA iMPACT which I found to be at its core a great game with a lot of great improvements and innovations for the genre, the game just lacked content which could be linked to a lack of budget, but the game showed great of potential for the future.

Utilizing Kinect: Wrestling Games

Kinect just launched and developers are still getting their heads around the technology and how it might be best used in games. An idea I have had is a way of implementing Kinect in a way that can add to a gaming experience without using it strictly for gameplay or menu navigation, thinking outside the box at the applications of the hardware.

The Possibilities of Kinect

With Kinect now out, the general public can play the game for themselves but eyes now turn to what Kinect enabled titles could possibly do or achieve in the future. My view upon Kinect is something like untapped potential, it could offer a lot to a player in the way of physically interacting with a game world and characters in way that has not been possible in the past.

My main issue with Kinect is that it should be treated in a much different way to the Wii and should not be labeled under just motion controls as it is far different to the Wii and Sonys Move.

The key to Kinect is establishing a foundation of ideas and functions that is at its core and using those fundamentals to create a game, I think first person perspective games could be great way of seeing what is possible with Kinect because the genre is about putting you inside a persons head be it a character created by yourself or a character moulded around a story. Having a game where your individual actions, be it very subtle are reflected on screen could do wonders for immersion, now take into account voice recognition face recognition the possibilities could result in totally new refreshing elements of game play that has not be tried or seen to date.

Heavy Rain is a good example of what could be a good idea for a Kinect game based on physical movements, instead of pressing X or R1 etc, actually performing the actions corresponding to the onscreen actions could be a really cool way of using Kinects abilities.