Polygon - San Diego Comic-Con 2013: next-gen, toys and morehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2013-07-24T09:00:04-04:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/42992032013-07-24T09:00:04-04:002013-07-24T09:00:04-04:00Disney Infinity's Toy Box gives players freedom to create, but requires patience
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<p>The marketable appeal of <em>Disney Infinity</em> is its huge stable of Disney and Pixar characters, all of them available for purchase in the form of collectible toys and play sets that can be imported into the game. But the longterm draw may be the game's Toy Box mode, where players will be able to game worlds from scratch.</p>
<p><em>Infinity</em>'s Toy Box mode is likely where many players will spend the majority of their time: creating game rules and levels from scratch, tweaking their custom-made games and playing in their sandbox. During our hands-on time with a near-final build of the game at Comic-Con, we began work on a cooperatively-built level. After joining up with another player on Xbox Live, we started in on building a race track in the sky.</p>
<p>My...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/24/4551802/disney-infinitys-toy-box-gives-players-freedom-to-create-but-requiresMichael McWhertor2013-07-23T20:44:02-04:002013-07-23T20:44:02-04:00The Wonderful 101's multiplayer mode is pure chaos
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<p>Platinum Games' "mass hero action" game for Wii U, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/the-wonderful-101/7832"><i>The Wonderful 101</i></a>, is a challenging experience when playing by oneself. Wrangling dozens of citizens, aligning them with your superheroic cause and battling giant monsters and robots, can be dizzying.</p>
<p>In the game's competitive-cooperative multiplayer mode, leading a team of superheroes becomes a rainbow of beautiful chaos.</p>
<p>At San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, Nintendo's gaming lounge offered a preview of <i>The Wonderful 101</i>'s five-player mode, an option that easily <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/13/4428182/the-wonderful-101-is-truly-bonkers">out-bonkers</a> its single-player campaign mode. In the build of <i>The Wonderful 101</i> we played, one player wielded the Wii U GamePad while four others used Wii U Pro Controllers.</p>
<p>Performing actions in <i>The Wonderful 101</i> relies...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4543528/the-wonderful-101s-multiplayer-mode-is-pure-chaos">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4543528/the-wonderful-101s-multiplayer-mode-is-pure-chaosMichael McWhertor2013-07-23T17:00:04-04:002013-07-23T17:00:04-04:00'Walking Dead,' 'Community' stars take to Nintendo at Comic-Con
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<p>Nintendo has a long history of <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/27/4471600/nintendo-wii-u-demos-e3-best-buy-marketing-approach">bringing its games to its fans</a>, and the company's fan base includes a lot of celebrities, as evinced by this gallery from Comic-Con of actors playing some new and upcoming Wii U and 3DS titles.</p>
<p>The celebrity event took place at the Nintendo Oasis, a special area set up on a yacht sponsored by TV Guide Magazine. Games playable there included <em><a href="/game/pikmin-3/8418" class="sbn-auto-link">Pikmin 3</a></em>, <em><a href="/game/new-super-luigi-u/9814" class="sbn-auto-link">New Super Luigi U</a></em>, <em><a href="/game/animal-crossing-new-leaf/3240" class="sbn-auto-link">Animal Crossing: New Leaf</a></em> and <em><a href="/game/donkey-kong-country-returns/2202%E2%80%8E" class="sbn-auto-link">Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D</a></em>.</p>
<p>In case you're unfamiliar with the actors pictured in the gallery, here's a list of the actors in each photo and the TV shows they're currently starring in:</p>
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<li>Norman Reedus (left) and Scott Wilson, <em>The Walking Dead</em>
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<li>Kenan Thompson, <em>Saturday Night Live</em>
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<li>Ken Jeong (left) and Alison...</li>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4550122/nintendo-comic-con-celebrities-playing-games-walking-dead-community">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4550122/nintendo-comic-con-celebrities-playing-games-walking-dead-communitySamit Sarkar2013-07-23T09:15:03-04:002013-07-23T09:15:03-04:00Video Games Live leaves behind yesteryear's bleeps and bloops
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<p>How magical was that? The entire audience at Video Games Live humming Halo's haunting introductory melody, thousands of people, pitch perfect.</p>
<p><span>Then there was a full orchestra and choir, conducted by composer Austin Wintory, filling the San Diego Civic Auditorium with </span><em style="line-height: 1.5;">Journey</em><span>'s ineffable loveliness. And Eimear Noone, bringing </span><em style="line-height: 1.5;">Diablo 3</em><span>'s clanging, underworldly strangeness to this forum of capital-C Culture.</span></p>
<p>Video Games Live on Saturday night was another Tommy Tallarico-hosted celebration of game culture, through its music. The noise wasn't just coming from the orchestra and choir, but also from the audience, who are always happy to contribute to the spectacle, cheering, singing, shouting, all broadcast live on the internet via Twitch.</p>
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<p>"I...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4546010/video-games-live-twitch-sdcc-2013">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/23/4546010/video-games-live-twitch-sdcc-2013Colin Campbell2013-07-22T22:30:05-04:002013-07-22T22:30:05-04:00Tekken Revolution allows Tekken team to explore off the wall, off-canon creations
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<p>At Comic-Con this weekend, Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada — with a little help from a room full of Tekken fans — <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/19/4539734/comic-con-crowd-chooses-next-tekken-revolution-character">announced a brand-new character</a> for free-to-play fighting game <i>Tekken Revolution</i>. The fan-favorite, known currently as "Female Vampire," was the clear winner, placing first in a Facebook poll and first at Namco Bandai's "The Future of Fighting Games" panel.</p>
<p>The character, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/12/4518990/tekken-revolution-character-poll-asks-if-youd-like-a-play-as-a-salmon">one of ten proposed ideas for a brand-new Tekken fighter</a>, is one of about 30 to 40 character concepts that have been pitched but never completed over the years, Harada told Polygon. Some of the character ideas date back to the original <i>Tekken</i>, which turns 20 years old next year.</p>
<p>In an interview with Harada at Comic-Con, he said he expects "Female...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/22/4539974/tekken-revolution-katsuhiro-harada-interview-comic-con">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/22/4539974/tekken-revolution-katsuhiro-harada-interview-comic-conMichael McWhertor2013-07-22T14:45:01-04:002013-07-22T14:45:01-04:00Saints Row 4's first DLC is a mockumentary of cut content
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<p>The first downloadable add-on for <a href="http://www.polygon.com/game/saints-row-4/9218"><i>Saints Row 4</i></a> will offer a "pastiche of all the things that were cut out of the game," Volition creative director Steve Jaros said at Comic-Con, and will be presented mockumentary-style with the game's characters explaining why the developer pared down certain features.</p>
<p>Those nixed features include things like a flying, fire-breathing dragon and <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/20/4542146/saints-row-4-was-originally-going-to-end-with-a-bollywood-dance-number">a Bollywood-style dance number</a>, content that proved to be too resource-intensive for <i>Saints Row 4</i>. The game's first downloadable content, titled <i>Enter the Dominatrix</i>, is expected about six weeks after <i>Saints Row 4</i> launches on Aug. 20.</p>
<p><i>Enter the Dominatrix</i> was previously the name of a <a href="http://www.polygon.com/gaming/2012/5/3/2996562/saints-row-the-third-expansion-enter-the-dominatrix-confirmed">planned expansion to <i>Saints Row: The Third</i></a> before former publisher THQ and...</p>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/22/4546194/saints-row-4s-first-dlc-is-a-mockumentary-of-cut-contentMichael McWhertor2013-07-22T12:00:05-04:002013-07-22T12:00:05-04:00Truth and fantasy in Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
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<p>History is doomed to repeat itself, especially if you're the sort of person who likes to play Assassin's Creed games.</p>
<p>The formula is always roughly the same. It demands a flinty central character who clambers across architecture and arching boughs. Using a variety of dashing weapons, he sneaks around, dispatching those unfortunate goons born on the wrong side of history to shameful eternity.</p>
<p>He moves in time from the Renaissance to the War of Independence to the Age of Piracy, always in search of that wrong to right, that swash to buckle.</p>
<p>This is historical fiction, video game style. Vaguely-approximately, sorta-kinda, the old days.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 9px;">Let's face it. N</span><span style="line-height: 1.5;">o-one seriously expects genuine history in a franchise that has managed to tether itself...</span></p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/22/4543968/truth-and-fantasy-in-assassins-creed-4-black-flag">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/22/4543968/truth-and-fantasy-in-assassins-creed-4-black-flagColin Campbell2013-07-21T21:00:02-04:002013-07-21T21:00:02-04:00DuckTales Remastered video goes in-depth with the Himalayas
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<p>A new <em><a href="/game/ducktales-remastered/11327" class="sbn-auto-link">DuckTales Remastered</a></em> gameplay video from Comic-Con features 28 minutes of gameplay from the title's Himalayas stage.</p>
<p>WayForward and Capcom released a trailer for the updated area <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/17/4531814/ducktales-remastered-trailer-visits-the-snowy-himalayas">last week</a>. In the Himalayas stage, players will brave snowy dangers in search of the crown of Genghis Khan. Check out the video above for an in-depth look at the level.</p>
<p><em><span class="sbn-auto-link">DuckTales Remastered</span></em> launches Aug. 13 as a downloadable title for <span class="sbn-auto-link">PlayStation</span> 3, Nintendo <span class="sbn-auto-link">Wii</span> U and <span class="sbn-auto-link">Windows</span> PC for $14.99. The <span class="sbn-auto-link">Xbox</span> Live <span class="sbn-auto-link">Arcade</span> version will be available Sept. 11. A boxed retail version of the game for <span class="sbn-auto-link">PlayStation 3</span> will be available Aug. 20 for $19.99.</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/21/4543628/ducktales-remastered-video-goes-in-depth-with-the-himalayas">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2013/7/21/4543628/ducktales-remastered-video-goes-in-depth-with-the-himalayasMegan Farokhmanesh