The show was held at an old bank downtown. If you've been to San Francisco before, or seen a Rice-A-Roni commercial, then you're aware of the vertical nature of the streets there. So, I'm trudging up those impressive "hills", and just when I had a beautiful, glistening sheen of sweat to complete my "wet" look, Galactus Jr. wisely points out that we're going the wrong way. After a much easier hike the other way, we find the entrance to the building decked out in the red, white and blue with "old glory" waving proudly out front. I suppose they didn't know that Thor isn't an American. Anywho, friendly people greeted us at the door and we were ushered into the main lobby where we loitered around until the presentation. An ominous 10 foot statue of The Destroyer (villain armor from the movie) was standing in the corner under an equally threatening Marvel guard, and the helmet of Loki and Thor were displayed under glass near the cheese and crackers. (See video)
They told us that Captain America's Shield was also in the building, but that we had to search for it. The cheeky bastards! That ended up being in the basement vault (did I mention this was an old bank) amidst a cover of camoflage, where a photographer awaited to take your picture with the iconic disc. Galactus Jr. eagerly stood alongside the shield in various heroic poses. As you can see here, he was appropriately attired for the shoot.
At the presentation, various reps from SEGA and their associated contractors spoke, each lauding their versions on the differing platforms. One thing they all wanted to make clear was that
the games are independent of the movies. We can all attest that many superhero video games have suffered when limited to being just a promotional item for the movie. Well, they all wanted to make the point that this is not the case with Thor and Captain America games. While there are tie-ins to the movies, the games have their own storylines and no limitations on the venues of play, characters or boss battles. Here are a few clips from their own mouths...
SEGA PRESENTATIONS for Thor: God of Thunder
PS3/Xbox 360 Promo
Nintendo Wii Promo
Nintendo DS Promo
SEGA PRESENTATIONS for Captain America: Super Soldier
PS3/Xbox 360 Promo
Nintendo Wii Promo
Nintendo DS Promo
They also showed the latest trailers for both games...
Thor Wii
Captain America
Thor: God of Thunder "Fate of Asgard Trailer"
Then it was on to the "hands on" playing of the games. Multiple rooms had oodles of demos set up, each manned by a knowledgeable and friendly person to help and show off the features of the game. I was glad to have Galactus Jr. with me, who is well versed in all the platforms, so I had my hands free to film and interview. I think he was happy with the set up as well.
Playstation 3 Demo:
Like the demo dude said in the above video, the big announcement at this event was the fact that both Thor and Captain America video games will be released in 3-D. We went back and played those versions and I have to tell you they were a lot of fun to play. The added element of 3D does enhance video game play, and you don't really "get used to it" like you do at the movies where, after a time, your brain doesn't really register the 3-D that much any more. Of course, you gotta have those expensive 3-D televisions and wear the glasses, but hey, if you have money to burn, its added fun. Unfortunately, there is no film of us playing those 3d games since you can't really see it in a youtube video (and I was too busy playing to film those.), but what I CAN tell you is that the graphics are ultra-crisp and they really POP.
Here's some of the Wii footage for your enjoyment... One of the things that Galactus Jr. wanted to relay was that he had a lot of fun with the Wii versions--especially the Captain America game.
I had put my Wii down for quite sometime--hadn't been that interested to play it, but these games (Thor & Captain America) have renewed my interest because its to much fun to throw the shield and hammer. -- Galactus Jr.
Immediately after this wii demo, Galactus Jr. and I went to an authentic SF oyster bar and downed 50 fresh oysters between us. Later that night, they came back out in liquid form ... several times. But as you can see, SEGA treated us to a very good time.
And we hope you enjoyed the ride along with us!
Big G and Little G