New York Comic Con has come and gone and we got our hands on a new release and some upcoming games, including a newly announced title. Three Xbox Live Arcade games were on display at the Microsoft booth. There was the recent Robot Entertainment release Orcs Must Die, a welcomed multiplayer demo of Trials Evolution and the newly announced Fusion: Genesis, the first game coming from Starfire Studios. Though our time at the event was limited, we also did get to see the guys from Demiurge Studios and play some more Shoot Many Robots.

Orcs Must Die!
As you can tell from the giveaways, review, and our massive guide, we here at XBLAFans have been nothing but pleased with Orcs Must Die!. Chatting with one of the members of the team, they are laser focused on the launch of the game, making sure to solve any issues that may have arisen at the 360 or Steam launch and just standing proudly by their finished product. Though New York Comic Con is no vacation for them, Robot’s rep seemed relaxed and pleased to be able to have a presence at the event, and finally be able to say “It’s available now.”

 

Trials Evolution
Trials Evolution was also available at the booth and on display was its four-player competitive multiplayer. The game was running smoothly with four players. The physics and balance on the bike—which has always been a unique feel to Trials—took some getting used to, but after only a few races, we were able to be competitive in each and every track. In four-player mode, each racer’s track is identical to make sure no one gets an unfair advantage. Each race has a series of checkpoints. The checkpoints let you jump back into the game… even if you faceplant when leaning too much into a jump. Just wait until the next checkpoint and you’re dropped back into the race to try ro salvage a good run. Each player has the same number of points at the beginning of a race and you lose those points as you make mistakes and have to spawn at checkpoints. It’s a great system to allow less skilled racers to experience the track and learn the pattern, even with a skill disadvantage. Red Lynx is definitely trying to keep all skill levels in mind with this addictive multiplayer mode.

 

Shoot Many Robots
Outside of the Microsoft booth, I spent the majority of my time at the Ubisoft booth with the Demiurge guys playing their upcoming release, Shoot Many Robots. Shoot Many Robots has got a great sense of itself. It’s a simple game to pick up and play, but has a signifiant amount of strategy for a game that features beer as a way to replenish health. You will be able to really customize your character, with massive amounts of choice in weapons, hats and other clothing items. While you will be shooting a lot of robots—many robots, in fact—the robots don’t get stale. There is a good amount of variety with different-looking bots, and a leveling up system for your robotic nemeses. When the final whistle blows, the game will clock in at around 8 hours with higher difficulties adding on a bit more replayability. Couple that with the survival mode and you’ve got yourself one full experience.
The 2011 New York Comic-Con had a much bigger gaming presence than years prior, and that spells only good things for gaming fans on the east coast. We had a great time and certainly hope to see much more from these and other studios. It will be a long wait until PAX East but we believe there are a few games coming out in the next month or so, so I’m sure you’ll find something to play.