Capcom v. Street Fighter 2 was playable at Comic-Con, and gamers waited in imense lines to get their hands on this classic fighting game. In this version of the game, available now on Xbox Live Arcade, Capcom did not change much from the arcade or Dreamcast version. Capcom however, did bring updated, smoother images and widescreen support for the Xbox 360 platform. The resulting game is still just as fun and easy to play, but difficult to master. One of the features of the game is immediate access to all 56 characters from the start. Obviously, this allows gamers to jump in and immediately begin experimenting with an endless combination of three-character teams, but it also relieves the gamer from the frustration of tedious unlocking. If you haven’t already done so, download the free trial, or better yet, get the full version!

Over at the EA Showcase, we were able to spend some quality time with EA’s biggest upcoming titles. From Jack Black to rockstars, to lawsuits, there has been a lot to talk about with regards to Tim Schafer’s Brutal Legend. Having spent some quality time with this rock-parody title, the two main aspects of the game that really struck a chord with me (pun intended) are that first, gamers will laugh their head off playing this game, and second, the hack-and-slash action is superb. Sure, the game will probably be repetitive at times, but the writing is truly top-notch, and with Jack Black’s delivery and intonation, any repetition in action or characters will be broken up quickly.

Partnering up with Hasbro, EA has created a G.I. Joe game to accompany the blockbuster film hit. The game takes place after the events of the film, so the story will be fresh for gamers who have seen the film. More importantly, the game features Joes that were sorely absent from the film. While you can only play two Joes at any given time (A.I. controls one character, but you can switch between the two at-will), EA promises to have a huge lineup of characters to choose from. Moreover, there is offline-only co-op, with jump-in/jump-out gameplay. The graphics aren’t the prettiest, but the run-and-gun gameplay looks frentic, with hundreds of Cobra’s minions to dispatch. Each kill racks up points, which are used to unlock other characters and weapons, so there is some replayability value in this title.

Dragon Age Origins was also on-hand for us to check out, and for fans of Bioware’s Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect, this is one game you need to keep your eye on. The gameplay is similar to the aforementioned RPG hits, but of course, in an entirely new setting. Lord of the Rings afficionatoes will see many similarities, but that’s not a bad thing. Defending from orc raids and troll boss battles are done right here, with multiple spells and attacks available (spells and special attacks may be assigned to face buttons on the controller). What was really great to see was the character creation system; it is so deep, even character portraits are customizable. The blood and gore have been making headlines, but they aren’t over-the-top, and are presented at a level that isn’t distracting from the gameplay. And on a final note, no, we did not see any of the “adult” portions of the game.

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It’s certainly not a simple task, getting into the famed Hall H at Comic-Con. Hall H seats about 6500 people, and there are usually a far greater number of people who want to get into the hall than are permitted. So when a tiny movie called New Moon (of the Twilight series) is scheduled for the day, you can expect a bit of a wait to get into the hall. The New Moon panel was not scheduled until later in the day, but since the hall is not cleared between panels, in order to guarantee a spot closer to the stage, thousands of New Moon fans camped out overnight.

I was fortunate enough to make it into Hall H for all of the panels on Thursday. The first panel was presented by Disney, who was featuring its upcoming 3D films. Robert Zemekis appeared in person to discuss Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey, and to show the audience an extended clip from the film. All of the attendees were provided with snazzy 3D glasses, and the multiple projectors and giant-sized screens were upgraded to demonstrate the new revival of 3D. Christmas Carol, a computer-generated animated film, seems to be a new take on the timeless story, bringing Scrooge to be an even meaner character than he has been portrayed in film, and the various ghosts seem to be less like see-through men, and more like elemental daemons. The clip that was shown had a few moments that made the audience jump, so expect this film to be more of an adventure film than other incarnations.

Tim Burton was the next guest, who introduced the audience to his version of Alice in Wonderland. A 3D trailer, completely different from the trailer available online was shown to the audience. Personally, I have not been a huge fan of the Alice in Wonderland story, especially since as a young boy, I could not find too much in common with Alice. However, Burton’s vision of Wonderland has me captivated. The world Burton created is so far off the map, Alice seems less of a central character, and more like a captive audience member going through the same wild ride I will be taking when this film hits theaters. The trailer was set to MGMT’s “Time to Pretend,” which has since been playing over and over again in my head – it’s such a fitting tune! And just when the audience was led to believe this segment of the panel was completed, the mad-hatter himself, Johnny Depp made an appearance on stage. Depp embraced Burton, waved to the audience, and left the stage. It was amazing to see the incredible actor in person. Unfortunately, I’m afraid many of the audience members were far too smitten with Team Edward/Jacob to even realize what Depp has accomplished in his career as an actor.

Up next was the Tron Legacy panel, and Jeff Bridges, star of the original Tron film appeared on stage with the director of the upcoming film, as well as the director of the original Tron film. The actor who plays Jeff Bridge’s son in the film, Garrett Hedlund also appeared to discuss the film. A good number of concept images were shown, but the audience also got a sneak peek at the film with an extended clip as well as the trailer shown at last year’s Comic-Con. The world of Tron has evolved, and has fleshed out quite a deal since the events in the last film took place. Tron Legacy looks to have a great premise in addition to the visuals. Looking forward to seeing it in 2011 (and perhaps more clips at next year’s Comic-Con!)

Many of the booths (especially those run by TV/movie studios) give away tons of swag (stuff we all get) to everyone in attendance.  Of course, this is one of the main reasons it’s so hectic on the floor.  After all, who doesn’t want a free pen, keychain, poster, t-shirt, tote bag, doll/toy, or other cool item?  Thankfully, many booths have designated lines to keep the shoving to a somewhat tolerable degree.

The thing is though, it can get a little hairy on the floor.  The aisles are filled with attendees (over a hundred thousand will visit each day), keeping you in nearly constant contact with another human being during your entire time on the floor.  Alright, so that is a slight exaggeration, but that isn’t too far from the truth.  Attendees come in all shapes and sizes – there really is something for everyone at Comic-Con.  What is more, many attendees will come to the convention center decked out, from head to toe in a costume of their favorite superhero/character.  From the incredibly creative, to the scantily-clad, it’s everything one would imagine it would be: a true festival for uber-fans, and Comic-Con is worth attending just to check out these home-made costumes.

There is so much to check out on the floor, it’s really tough to take in everything in just one day.  But after braving the crowds, and walking around with sackfulls of swag, one day might be all a human being can handle.

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