Comic-Con 2011: Top 10 Costumes

This past weekend, July 21st-24th, Comic-Con International held its annual four-day event in San Diego, California. Over the years this event has become more and more known for thousands of people showing up dressed up in various costumes (or cosplay) that resemble their favorite characters. These costumes range from simple purchased outfits to ones that required countless hours to make, to sexy outfits that leave many Comic-Con attendees doing a double take.

Instead of displaying hundreds of pictures I’ve gone through many sources and have picked out the 10 best costumes from this summer’s Comic-Con. Many of these pictures come from a massive thousand picture gallery at ComicVine, which is awesome, by the way. Check out the Comic-Con pictures below. Click on each picture to view the full size version.

#10 – Anya Stroud from Gears of War 3

#9 – Doctor Doom

#8 – Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid

#7 – Blondie and Babydoll from Sucker Punch

#6 – Portal Aperture Science Girl

#5 – Ash Ketchum from Pokémon

#4 – Mileena from Mortal Kombat

#3 – Iron Man and Black Widow

#2 – Knightingail Assassin Eloa

#1 – Kairi and Sora from Kingdom Hearts

Comic-Con 2011: Cosplay Gallery

This past weekend, July 21st-24th, Comic-Con International held its annual four-day event in San Diego, California. Comic-Con is one of the main sources for artists to showcase their comic books, science fiction or fantasy films/shows, or any other related element in pop culture. Over the years this event has become more and more known for thousands of people showing up dressed up in various costumes (or cosplay) that resemble their favorite characters. These costumes range from simple purchased outfits to ones that required countless hours to make, to sexy outfits that leave many Comic-Con attendees doing a double take.

Pictures taken from Comic-Con can be found amongst a large number of web sites. However instead of displaying hundreds of them I’ve gone through many sources and have grouped together some of the best from this summer’s Comic-Con. Many of these pictures come from a massive thousand picture gallery at ComicVine, which is awesome, by the way.

Check out the Comic-Con pictures below. Click on each picture to view the full size version. The full gallery is at the bottom of the post.

Comic-Con 2011 Full Cosplay Gallery

Click each thumbnail in the gallery to view the full size version of the picture.

Google Goes Social With Google+

Online search giant Google has unveiled a new product called Google+, which is the company’s latest attempt to break into the social networking market. Being in control of so many different products and niches on the internet, many consider this to be Google’s attempt to take part of Facebook’s user base. Google+ has similar features to Facebook, but also provides an easy way to manage contacts into groups, and integrates the company’s maps and images into the service.

The new social network Google+ contains a few key features that could make Google a permanent player in social networking. Circles, a system that allows users to place friends into groups, allowing them to share different forms of content with targeted clusters of friends; Hangouts, live multi-user video conferencing that permits friends to drop in and out of live group conversations; and lastly, Sparks, a feature that connects individuals on the network to others with common interests.

Google+ also features integration with Google’s Picasa picture manager. Picasa is easier to use and has many more features than anything Facebook has so far. Google has also made sure to attract mobile users right away, by concurrently having both an Android app and iPhone app at the ready. The current version of Google+ has only been released to a small number of users, which is being called a closed beta.

In short, Google+ is just another social network. The initial feature set and hype around the product both seem to be pretty strong. What remains to be seen is if people will enjoy using it, and like it enough to convert themselves and their friends to it. Facebook already has the huge user base, but Google+ is fresh and advertisement-free. I think Google+ has a lot of promise and is definitely worth giving a shot, that is if you’re able to find yourself an invite.

E3 2011: Best Upcoming Games

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was held this week from June 7th to June 9th at the Los Angeles Convention Center. As a quick summary, E3 is a multi-day event for the computer and video game industry, during which developers present their upcoming games, hardware, game demos, and so on. This year’s E3 showcased many new exciting games, however the vast majority of them are sequels to previous blockbusters. Some new hardware was also announced, including the Wii U from Nintendo and the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s next-gen handheld device.

BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite is an upcoming first-person shooter and will be the third game in the BioShock series. The game is being developed by Irrational Games for a 2012 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC platforms. BioShock Infinite is not a direct sequel or prequel to the previous two BioShock games. The story takes place in an earlier time period and different setting, however it features similar gameplay concepts and themes. The main character is a former Pinkerton agent, Booker DeWitt, who attempts to rescue a woman trapped aboard the collapsing air-city Columbia in 1912.

Being the third game in the successful BioShock franchise, BioShock Infinite will have a big reputation to live up to. Irrational Games is promising exciting new gameplay mechanics, new environments, and a highly plot-rich story. In the trailer shown at E3, BioShock Infinite looked to be way above their competition, showing off high-flying aerial maneuvers, action-packed combat sequences, and a handful of jaw-dropping story moments. This game is sure to impress, but fans will have to wait until sometime in 2012 before they can play it.

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider is getting a complete overhaul. This upcoming action-adventure game will be the ninth installment of the Tomb Raider series, however the game is set to provide no correlation to the entirety of the previous entries in the series. The series reboot is intended to emphasize the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character, Lara Croft. Square Enix will be handling the publishing of the game as well, which given Enix’s history, should make for a better Tomb Raider game than those in the past.

At E3 there wasn’t much revealed about Tomb Raider outside of a very impressive trailer, which introduced the new Lara and outset of the game. In my opinion, the re-imagining will be a good move for the series. Tomb Raider first debuted in 1996, and a total of eight games have since been published. This remake should be able to take the game series in a brand new direction. The new Tomb Raider will feature a much younger and desperate-looking Lara, with the tagline “a survivor is born.” The more human, less fantasy version of the character has gone over extremely well so far with fans. Tomb Raider is scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2012 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

One game that is at the top of many gamers’ most wanted list is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The demo for the anticipated RPG featured plenty of exciting things, including a Dragon Shout that created a thunderstorm, a revamped third-person mode, and some good ole dragon fighting. The ability to commune with, battle, and ultimately take down dragons is one of the main reasons we play this type of video game in the first place. Bethesda is looking like it might deliver one of the best role-playing games ever with Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The last installment in this series was the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which debuted back in 2007. Skyrim’s main story revolves around the main character’s efforts to defeat a dragon god who is prophesied to destroy the world. Set two hundred years after Oblivion, the game takes place in the land of Skyrim in the midst of a civil war after the assassination of the king. One of the main features of this game is the open world gameplay, as the player can explore the land at will and ignore or postpone the main quest indefinitely. Skyrim will hit the shelves this November for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Battlefield 3

Battlefield 3 (BF3) is a first-person shooter that is the eleventh installment in the Battlefield franchise, and the direct sequel to Battlefield 2, which was released in 2005. The latest success for this franchise has come from the “Bad Company” series of games.

Battlefield 3 will feature the maximalist combined arms battles that made the series popular across single-player, co-operative, and multiplayer modes. It will reintroduce several elements absent from the Bad Company games, including fighter jets, the prone position, and 64-player battles on PC. The game will feature locations such as Paris, Tehran, and New York, and combat will usually take place in urban streets, metropolitan downtown areas, and open landscapes.

Trailers of Battlefield 3 at E3 showed off best-in-class graphics and a large sense of scale. This game is expanding on the Bad Company games, with more detailed destruction in multiplayer battles and more natural looking soldier animations. Battlefield 3 is set to be released in fall 2011 on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

If you’re looking for a gaming experience that feels like you’re watching a movie yet playing out all the action sequences, look no further than Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. In 2009, Uncharted 2 delivered one of the most seamlessly cinematic gaming experiences ever. Two years later, Uncharted 3 is looking to top its predecessor with more action and epic adventures. Just one catch though, this will be exclusive to the PS3.

Uncharted 3 will see protagonist Nathan Drake and mentor Victor Sullivan traveling around the world in search of the legendary lost city, the Iram of the Pillars. Chloe Frazer and Elena Fisher will also return in this game. Uncharted 3 had two blockbuster demos shown this year at E3. The demos exhibited impressive physics technology, outstanding graphics, and action-packed fight scenes that would rival any box office movie hit. This game is the closest thing you’ll find to a summer blockbuster action film, premiering exclusively for the PS3 this November.

Honorable Mentions

In order to keep this post from turning into a monstrosity, I can’t review all of the big announcements that were at E3 this year. Here are some other noteworthy games that look pretty impressive:

• Halo 4
• Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Mass Effect 3
• Gears of War 3
• Batman: Arkham City

E3 2011: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty has been the first-person shooter game of choice for millions of gamers for the past few years. Ever since the “Modern Warfare” series was introduced and became so successful for Call of Duty, the franchise has been known for producing a high quality and innovate gaming experience. The next game in line for the series, Modern Warfare 3, was officially announced only weeks ago, but there has been quite a bit more information revealed about the game this week during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Activision presented two demos for Modern Warfare 3. The first was a non-playable demonstration of the single player campaign, which introduced players to some of the explosive sequences set on the game’s global stage: New York and London. The second demo offered a close look into the game’s new cooperative Spec Ops Mode: Survival, which is more or less Call of Duty’s take on Horde mode from Gears of War.

In MW3′s Spec Ops Mode: Survival, you and one partner kill waves of enemies, and try to survive as enemies increase in number and difficulty. For example; in the first round, you face a small handful of shotgun-equipped enemies, but the later rounds introduce better-equipped soldiers, dogs, helicopters, and so on. This new survival mode could have the potential to be the most addictive Call of Duty mode yet.

The one thing to keep in mind is that the game shouldn’t stray far from the proven formula of the Modern Warfare series. Veteran Call of Duty gamers can expect a top-notch shooter that will feel fairly similar to the previous Modern Warfare games. Since there aren’t any major changes since the last game, I would expect to see a more polished and stable multiplayer experience. The only question mark about Modern Warfare 3 is that a new studio formed by Activision, Sledgehammer Games, has been co-developing the game with Infinity Ward. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be released for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 8th.