#NYCC2019 – Friday: Pop Culture x Gaming
The Power of the Nerd took hold of me @ New York Comic Con 2019 and I noticed there was more gaming than usual. Aside from the usual card games of Dungeons and Dragons and Yugioh, the video game industry took over the central floor of the con as they tried to grab the eyes of the patrons, showcasing the latest and greatest tech before the X-MAS season. Although, there were a lot of games for my viewing pleasure there were some that I gravitated to, simply because I grew up with them or they hit me with that ‘wow factor’. For some games, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Either way, for Friday, #NYCC 2019 will belong to the gaming community. Now let’s get to it.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
A new installment to Capcom’s Monster Hunter World Series, this DLC is super massive as it boasts an impressive array of monsters that look like they each could hold their own in the ring against Godzilla (Josh would definitely disagree with me on that) and let me tell you, I was super impressed with the graphics, playability and fps on this Capcom-based bad boy. From my experience in playing this game, the player travels to various areas of the Monster World fighting monsters, collecting experience, and items to keep them alive, battle more monsters, gain skills and rank, and destroy the ultimate monster to beat the game. While that may be a badly described summary, the best aspect about this game is the playability of the characters and the strategy that’s involved in the game. When you’re part of a team, the magic gets even better. In my opinion, teamwork makes the dream work for this stocking stuffer right chere’.
Resident Evil’s: Project Resistance
Waiting Line for RE: Project Resistance @NYCC2019
Now this game right here is a combination of ‘survival of the fittest and strategy’ and the playability here is pretty awesome. Coming off of their remake of Resident Evil 2, Capcom decided to make this game and make the player in control of the zombies, where you can position them anywhere in the game. Additionally, you can be in control as either the survivor or the mastermind. In this series, absent is the back-story of the characters, included, are the skills they need to survive followed by any weapons they need. The game is weird in the sense that it moves too fast and you’re unable to digest what is really taking place. From my brief experience playing, I could either be the sadistic ‘mastermind’, living out my ‘Saw - let’s play a game’ lifestyle or I could be one of the survivors, hacking and slashing my way through the twisted gameplay setup by the mastermind. It’s a different take on the franchise and resembles, to me, Mario Maker and Left for Dead. I feel its worth playing, if you want to spend any extra money the X-MAS.
Will you work with your allies as a Survivor, or will you crush their attempt to escape as the vicious Mastermind? The choice is yours in this 4 vs 1 asymmetrical co-op experience. By Gamespot #ProjectResistance
1-Up Arcade
1 -Up Arcade’s ‘Big Bertha’
The rookie of NYCC 2019 this year. 1-Up Arcade has been climbing the gaming industry charts for some time now. Having won the prestigious 2019 Toy of the Year Award for electronic games, 1-Up Arcade didn’t disappoint as they dominated the gaming industry by having ‘Big Bertha’ show up and letting the customers play with her at will.
Big Bertha refers to the ginormous arcade machine that towered over the mini-arcades and the tabletop ones. This new company, which specializes in rebooting old arcade classics (like Super Street Fighter II to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), reduces the size of the arcade platforms and creates miniature to child size systems that are easily accessible and button friendly for children. They also fit easily in your home as well. My favorite one is X-Men; Children of the Atom. It was a pain in the butt to play when I was a kid and now that I’m a grown ‘Man-Child’, I can buy this arcade game (which also comes with The Punisher and Marvel Super Heroes) for myself. At full retail, its $399.00 value might be troublesome for some gamers.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War
Never seen this game in my life. As a matter of fact, I found it by accident as I was walking alongside one of the lanes and when I looked up, I saw it. A survival horror, battling Hilter’s Zombies; Hitler just won’t quit in trying to take over the world, dead or alive. Following the Nazi Zombies from Wolfenstein and the Call of Duty series, this game takes it a step further by creating a third person shooter reminiscent of Resident Evil 4 and above. Now with added combo kills, specialized attacks, and more blood seals, this game looks promising for the Christmas season.
Rebellion's next Zombie Army game revealed, Zombie Army 4 Dead War. By Gamespot
The MPV of Gaming for #NYCC2019: PlayStation
PlayStation Floor
In the center of the gaming area the grand palace stood. Gargantuan in size, this company has dedicated its entire life to gaming and more and more gamers are converting to its platform. Too many titles to count, the PS arena was the medium for gamers to play these up and coming titles at the con. Where was XBOX? I didn’t see a single Microsoft controller in existence @ NYCC2019. I did, as a side note, see some Switch related products. There goes Nintendo, never in the limelight unless they really want to be.
Thoughts
Friday was gaming country as people far and wide came to #NYCC2019 to enjoy their favorite games. For some gamers, new memories were created as they played the newest titles, some also had the time to reminisce and play the older, rereleased ones on arcade platforms. One example is the Street Fighter II arcade by 1-Up Arcade. Since its arcade rerelease, Street Fighter II fans were lined up to take turns on who were ‘gonna catch them hands’. As for me, there were a lot of lines to play video games and being that I had a limited schedule, I backed out of a few. Gaming Culture has definitely changed, but it is evolving into a better more diverse enjoyable experience for everyone.
My Friday started and ended with the famous Gamestop quote: ‘Power to the Players!!!” This year, I think I have a better idea as to what that phrase means. Reedpop’s focus on gaming this year has allowed gamers to have a greater voice in this new wave of pop culture. As the gaming industry shows off their newest DLCs and titles, this Christmas might be lit for gamers!!!
