MCM London Comic Con Expo 2017 Gaming Roundup

MCM returned to London’s ExCEL centre in the Docklands for 3 days (26th May 2017 to 28th May 2017) and had loads of entertainment to choose from anime, comics to gaming. Out of all the three days, Saturday was the busiest as expected although somewhat quieter due to the events in Manchester, also there were more security around and bag checks but that didn’t stop many people from enjoying the event.

The likes of Nintendo, SONY and Rising Star Games had their own sections within the gaming part of MCM Expo as well as ESL (Electronic Sports League) and GAME.

Opening Time @ MCM London Expo

ARMS:

The first game I tried at the Expo was Nintendo’s upcoming ARMS which is seen as many as a spiritual successor to Wii Sports Boxing as both games require you to use motion controls to play with. In ARMS’ case the left/right joycons are your left and right arms respectively.

The demo was similar to the one I played at Switch hands-on in Hammersmith, but I found it to be more stable. There were 5 characters to choose from and after a small tutorial you was put into battle and had the choice of 3 weapons per arm and you are able to mix it up e.g. Boomerang on your left arm and glove on the right arm which is great for trying out different fighting strategies.

Punching is done by moving one’s hands in a similar fashion, with the position of fists contributing towards techniques, such as movement, blocking, and even the direction of blows like curving your punches. During your fight you can build up a meter which enables you to use “Flurry Attack” by pressing ZL and ZR which releases a yellow aura for your character while they release their fury onto your opponent.

My favourite characters were Spring Man and Ribbon Girl as they are the easier to play with for newcomers. ARMS has the potential to be a better example of the Switch controllers’ features as opposed to 1-2-Switch which many felt was just a tech-demo.

Arms will be released on 16th June.

Splatoon 2:

The sequel to the popular Splatoon was on demonstration at MCM Expo and was set up to have up to 8 players per single match.

Aside from some new weapons and some new arenas, Splatoon 2 feels more like an expansion than a sequel to the Wii U original as the graphics are only slightly touched up compared to the original.

Before we played the level, there was a small tutorial to get players used to the controls which is a great way to show newcomers to the franchise. There was 4 weapons to choose from include one of the new weapons (Splat Dualies)

The map we played was The Reef and the mode was Turf War which is your team has to cover the most ground with their ink colour to win. The original Splatoon had the benefit of the gamepad being used as a map to see your location as well as the other players. Splatoon 2 had to change this to using the X button to get the same feature which can be distracting as the enemy team tries to defeat you.

The game was available to play in tablet and classic controller modes and I prefered the latter for the most part as those had TV monitors to watch on.

Splatoon 2 will be released on 21st July.

Ultra Street Fighter II:

The latest version of the famous Street Fighter II has landed on the Switch with HD graphics and two “new” characters Evil Ryu and Violent Ken.

Ultra Street Fighter II is based mainly on Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994 remake of the original for SNES) and has the HD graphics from Street Fighter II HD Remix (PS3/Xbox 360). The characters Evil Ryu and Violent Ken are new to the Street Fighter II universe, but have been on other spin-offs such as Street Fighter Alpha 2 and SNK vs Capcom Chaos. Speaking of graphics/audio there is an option to switch back to the original sprites and sound effects or have a mix (HD Graphics and classic sound effects).

The game itself plays like the classic game and I was using the Pro Controller although the Joycons can be used as well, but the Pro Controller is a must have for this game and fighting games in general. Some are considered about the price for the game as the PS3/360 HD Remix is only £9.99 in comparison so some will wait for a price drop to happen before purchasing.

Ultra Street Fighter II has local and online multiplayer and is out now on eShop & physical retail for £34.99.

Other Games:

Nintendo weren’t the only company with highlights, as SONY had Tekken 7 and their VR range in store, Rising Star Games had Cooking Mama Sweet Shop and Harvest Moon Lil’ Farmers (both on the 3DS). Also there were some indie developers like ASOBI.Tech and UEL Games promoting their games and talking about their development.

Farpoint VR by Impulse Gear:

This Virtual Reality shooter puts you on Jupiter and as expected uses the PS VR and a special gun shaped controller(PS VR Aim Controller) bundled with the game. The objective seems to be finding your colleagues on the planet and shooting mutant spiders and their eggs with different weapons and grenades.

Playing through this, you get a sense of actually being on the planet and looking around in 360 degrees and even looking at your gun shows it’s detail. Farpoint has some unique features such as to take a new weapon or get some grenades you hold your gun over the objects to collect them and also to change your weapon you have to swing it up towards your shoulder and whip it back down. One small flaw I had was the game putting you in flashbacks without any notice ruining the flow of your mission.

The game isn’t exactly groundbreaking based on it’s plot, but the PSVR and Aim controller really make this game a must have if you own the PSVR.

Farpoint is out now for £44.99 RRP or £74.99 with the PSVR Aim controller bundle.

Mao Mao Castle by AsobiTech:

This Space-Harrier arcade styled game has made it’s appearance in several venues such as Gamerdisco & EGX Rezzed. It’s very popular with it’s cutesy graphics and simple gameplay. You play as a cat/dragon hybrid and your goal is to reach his home which is a castle in the sky and you have to collect rainbows, avoid obstacles and cut down flowers while keeping his 9 lives. There is a dash function which is handy for breaking down walls and other obstacles, but the dash meter drops and takes time to rebuild so it must be used wisely.

Asobitech had the LEAP motion controller on show to play the game, which you hold your hand and move it over the sensor to move the cat and make a fist in order to use the dash features. This was a great way to play Mao Mao Castle has you feel part of it.

Using your hand to guide the cat/dragon through the game with the LEAP Controller.

Mao Mao Castle is expected to come out soon for Android and iOS. The demo is available on their website.

Other Events:

They were many stalls ranging from comics, anime to even food vendors offering Japanese and burgers/chips as well as the EXCEL’s range of coffee shops and restaurants. There was quite a few board games being promoted from Final Fantasy: Trading Card Game to Star Wars themed games for those who want to take a break from video gaming.

Several live action/voice actors such as Veronica Taylor (Original voice of Ash Ketchum) and KJ Apa (Plays Archie in Riverdale) were giving talks about their experiences in their respective series and signing autographs.

The next MCM London Comic Con will be at the EXCEL from 27th October to 29th October, with ticket sales being available closer to the show dates.

Visit MCM London’s website here.

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Tags: 3ds, asobitech, capcom, MCM Expo, MCM London Comic Con, nintendo, nintendo switch, PSVR, Sony

This post was written by Cyburn, posted on June 2, 2017 Friday at 4:10 pm