Konami was staging tournaments and demos for their Blue Dragon Role Playing Card Game at their booth. Stalking the aisles was this Shu mascot, which did nothing but startle everyone.

I’m not sure what it is about “life-like” Anime mascots. Maybe it’s the blank stare or the irregular combination of human and cartoon anatomy, but I can’t help but feel weirded out all the time.

I actually challenge the Shu-wannabe to a game (which I knew nothing about), but it turns out the person inside the constume doesn’t know how to play either. Shame.

The (very) long awaited game from Sucker Punch is nearly here. I recently checked out a newest build at a Sony preview event.

What It Is
Infamous is an open-world Playstation 3 game geared towards a more adult audience. The premise of the game focuses around the character, Cole McGrath, who is given eclectic super powers after an unexplained explosion occurs in Empire City. This is being developed by Sucker Punch, the same team that brought us all those great Sly Cooper games over the years.

What We Saw
I went hands-on with the second tutorial mission in the game. The other level shown, a prison sequence, was played by a Sony rep. This demo took place at a Sony preview event, not at the New York Comic-Con, and lasted about 30 minutes.

How Far Along Is It?
The demo I saw was a pre-alpha build. The game is scheduled for release in May.

What Needs Improvement?
Good Cop, Bad Cop?: One key element in InFamous is being able to do good or bad deeds throughout the city, ether helping citizens or punching them in the mouth. This changes the type of powers you acquire throughout the game, but how (or if) this affects the overall main storyline is still in question.

Heads Up!: This is a bit nitpicky (actually it’s really nitpicky), but I’d like to see a fading HUD (a la Gears of War) for this game. Not because I own a plasma television and am scared of image-retention, but because the game is so expansive looking and pretty, it would be nice to be able to clear the screen of the icons and static graphics when not in combat. It would make an already great looking game pop even more. This is actually something I want out of every game released from now on.

What Should Stay The Same?
Climbing: It’s fun and easy to climb! I was told Sucker Punch has two people dedicated to making sure every area of the game that looks climbable, was climbable.

Enemy Design: One mid-sized enemy they showed from the prison featured a man encapsulated in this giant metal body that was made out of junk and being held together by this telepathic energy. You just have to see it. I have high expectations for the look of the enemies in this game.

Graphics: I don’t know what it is about this game, but I just like the way it looks. Maybe it’s because it was built from the ground up and the team could focus on developing for only one platform? Not just the geometry, but also the style in the textures. Really looks like nothing else out there.

Final Thoughts.
The game is coming around nicely. However, I’m starting to get to the point where I just want to see the whole thing rather than getting these little bite-sized chunks every few months. They said there will be a 2-minute or so install with this game. Also, Sucker Punch just loves demos, so while they wouldn’t confirm one, I would get my hopes up if I were you.

While the rest of the other video game publishers at the NYCC brought video games for fans to check out, Square-Enix brought lots and lots of toys. No playable demos. No trailers. Just toys.

At least these were new toys. On display were action figures and statues from Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, Star Ocean, and of course, Kingdom Hearts. Although, I bet most of these are already available in Japan. You don’t even want to know how many times I heard “Oh My God! Final Fantasy!” while standing there.

At the New York Comic Con today, Bethesda Softworks executive producer Todd Howard, responsible for overseeing Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls series, said that one of his company’s next project is an iPhone game.

Howard dropped the news of pursuing Apple’s portable platform during today’s “Vs. Mode Live” panel, in which he, BioShock lead Ken Levine, Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal and MTV’s Stephen Totilo flapped their gums about games to the delight of Comic Con masses. Croal dropped word of the reveal on his Twitter, offering no further info.

For all we know, it could be Fallout Touch. Bethesda is no stranger to portable development, publishing The Elder Scrolls Travels for Java-enabled cell phones and Nokia’s N-gage.

Additional highlights from the panel can be reviewed at MTV’s summary of the roundtable.

Ken Levine, Todd Howard Highlights From Our Comic Con Panel [MTV Multiplayer]

Has a good stand-alone Wolverine game finally been made? I tried out an early hands-on demo tonight of X-Men Origins: Wolverine at Activision’s pre-New York Comic Con press event to find out.

What It Is
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an action game based off the upcoming movie developed by Raven Software, which brought you Quake 4 and Soldier Of Fortune. The story focuses on the X-Men character Wolverine before and after he’s given his adamantium skeleton. I found the gameplay closely resembled God of War, surprisingly. You’ll be involved in plenty of tight, close-combat battles, as well as many platforming and playable, cinematic sequences.

What We Saw
I demoed the first level of the game at an Activision party for the Xbox 360. I spent about 20 minutes playing before I kindly passed the controller on to someone else. The level mainly took place in a jungle setting filled with various soldiers equipped with guns and swords.

What Needs Improvement
While the jungle environment looked very robust, it was at times a bit too linear. I felt I was always going on straight path. This was the opening tutorial level, though, so perhaps the later levels get a bit more exploratory.

I would also like to see more destructible environmental elements. The only breakable items seem to be clay pots.

What Should Stay The Same
The grotesque violence. Seriously. I wasn’t the only person there that was stunned at the amount of sheer brutality in this game. Normally, we don’t really see Wolverine hack and slash people to pieces, usually just a punch to the gut with little to no blood. The opening CGI movie and the following gameplay, however, were almost disturbing. The Activision rep proclaimed this to be the way fans wanted to see Wolverine. Well, you guys got your wish. Prepare for a bloodbath!

I also loved the leaping control. Being able to jump on an on-coming enemy and immediately start stabbing their guts felt very satisfying every time.

Final Thoughts
This game has as much over-the-top violence as something like MadWorld. Wolverine uppercuts heads off torsos, jams enemies into the blades of helicopters. and even throws bodies onto spikes coming out of the floor. I know most movie-licensed games aren’t very good, but this could one game that everyone will be talking about, even if it’s because of the violence.

Confused about our previews? Read our FAQ.

What’s that? You say you wanted more sandbox-style games? Activision has you covered with the release of Protoype on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this summer winter.

Rockstar Games is hitting up the New York Comic Con this weekend, giving players a chance to get some early hands-on time with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS.

Fans eager to see how the Grand Theft Auto saga plays out across two tiny screens need look no further that this weekend’s New York Comic Con. Rockstar will be there throughout the weekend at booth #1563, allowing players to put Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS through its paces, stealing a few cars, shooting some hookers, and possibly selling some drugs. Fun! Of course you’ll have to be 17 or older to play, so be sure to bring along photo identification, unless of course you’re underage, in which case you should just mug someone who looks like a slightly older you. You’re a minor who enjoys violent video games, so it should come natural!

That was a joke. Please do not mug anyone. It should go without saying, but I’ll say it, just in case.

SouthPeak is showing off a wide variety of titles at the NYCC this year, from the cute and cuddly Roogoo Twisted Towers! for the Wii and Roogoo Attack! for the DS, to more serious fare like the anime-inspired action adventure X-Blades and the futuristic military first-person shooter Section 8. There’ll be public demos, a signing with Ninjatown creator Shawn Smith, and an X-Blades tournament where players can win a rare figurine of the game’s main character, Ayumi.

While all of that is nice, the most popular attraction SouthPeak is bringing is most likely going to be Melinda Cohen, the model and in-game voice talent for their upcoming Nazi-shooter Velvet Assassin. You can keep your scantily-clad anime girls. A tough-as-nails special agent in bloody lingerie wins every time.