At New York Comic Con, we were able to get a booth tour from Capcom which got us some hands on time with three of their much anticipated titles. The first of which was the upcoming rerelease of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Back at Comic Con in San Diego, after announcing the first set of new characters being added to the game, there was a massive leak which revealed the full roster. Now, Capcom has gone official with all but a few of these characters and had them available for us to play as at the Con.

We demoed the game on a traditional controller for the XBox 360. As there was an all day tournament going on, the wait for even press to play using the fight sticks was outrageous and considering most households would use a regular controller anyway, we felt like this would give us a good idea of what to expect from the game. Focusing our teams on the newer characters, we had to learn on the fly just what kind of play styles to use with them.

Vergil was the most reminiscent of Dante from the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 focusing on using his sword for a majority of his attacks. Firebrand from Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins ended up being surprisingly fun to play with as we didn’t really have any idea what to expect from him. Nova and Ghost Rider felt like the badasses we expected them to be but sadly Rocket Raccoon was not an option for us yet.

The most surprisingly fun character was Phoenix Wright. The best character comparison we could make was him being like Dan from Street Fighter. His attacks may look horribly wimpy as he throws paperwork at opponents but he is perfect for luring opponents into a false sense of security.

Today, Marvel.com revealed the next iteration of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with the stereotypical Capcom naming motif with Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The game will feature six new characters from each of the companies as well as the much requested Spectator Mode during online matches and the correction of various balancing issues.

The Marvel roster is going to be beefed up with heavy hitter Ghost Rider and fan favorite, Hawkeye. Not Ronin, not Bullseye dressed as Hawkeye, not the Young Avenger Hawkeye chick. But Clint Barton, the real Hawkeye. (Although I probably just accidently named off all three of the alternate costumes.) Capcom will be adding Marvel vs. Capcom’s most requested legacy character Strider as well as series newcomer Firebrand, the little red demon thing from Ghost ‘n Goblins.

Additionally, some screens have leaked online featuring both the character artwork and screen shots of the remaining eight unrevealed characters. Here are what we have found across the internet.

Dead Rising 2 was easily one of the most fun games of the past year to come out. Aside from the series’ signature creative violence, part of what helped hype the game was the XBox Live exclusive Dead Rising: Case Zero.  The prequel to the events of Dead Rising 2, Case Zero help set the stage for the unique father / infected daughter relationship that would drive the events of Fortune City.

Dead Rising 2: Case West looks to continue the downloadable trend by filling in the events that take place after Dead Rising 2 but also letting players catch up with their favorite war covering and zombie invasion surviving photo journalist Frank West. Frank, the protagonist from the first Dead Rising, will fight alongside DR2’s Chuck Green. There will apparantly be some cameos from survivors of Dead Rising which will also help explain the events that happened in between the two games further.

Returning to the DR fold will be Frank’s signature camera (as well as a disposable for Chuck). Just like capturing PP in the first DR with awkwardly posed zombies and rampaging psychopaths, we hope Dead Rising: Case West gives us that same photogenic eye.

Dead Rising 2: Case West won’t strictly be a co-op experience though. Capcom has revealed that if a player wants to go through the game solo, Frank will be controlled by computer AI. And while AI of survivors has been the leading cause of their deaths in the past, Frank won’t be able to be killed as long as he is under computer control.

Stick to the Flickcast for more coverage on Dead Rising 2: Case West when it comes out next month on XBox Live Arcade.