By: Michael McWhertor

Capcom USA held its Spring Gamers Day in San Francisco yesterday, showing off a number of new titles and, in the Capcom tradition, copious amounts of familiar brands. Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Phoenix Wright were all there and in mostly playable form. Capcom staffers and producers from Osaka were in attendance, including Devil May Cry producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Lost Planet director Keiji Inafune.

While there were virtually no "megaton" announcements to sate the unrealistic expectations of message baord posters in the form of Street Fighter 4, Dead Rising 2 or a new Bionic Commando, there were a few surprises.

Two of the previously unannounced games that were shown (one playable, one not) were... deep breath, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

Following the massive success of last year's Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting for Xbox Live Arcade, the suits at Capcom's eyes saw the potential for profit. This year, they'll rake in dollars, yen, euros and zenny, with the two HD remakes of their classic arcade fighters, plus two more titles, the board game Talisman and top-down action shooter Rocketmen: Axis of Evil.

Capcom's HD Remixes will both feature new artwork courtesy of Street Fighter comic book art collective Udon Entertainment, 1080p resolution and, of course, network play. New artwork? Yes. While Puzzle Fighter HD will feature only new backgrounds drawn by the artists at Udon and 3D gem effects, Street Fighter HD will ship with new sprites completely redrawn for HD resolutions. Only concepts were shown, but it seems like a massive undertaking and I look forward to first screens.

PLAYSTATION 3 and PC owners won't be shut out, however, as Capcom is going multi-platform with their "digital initiative", bringing most games out for all platforms.

Sadly, though, there was no mention of any of these titles coming to the Wii. The good news for the Nintendo faithful, however, is that a number of great looking games are coming, including the most interesting new title at the show Project Treasure Island Z. (It's a working title, so I'll just refer to it as Treasure Island Z.)

Capcom had a playable build of Treasure Island Z, as well as Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, and Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition for Nintendo's white waggle box. On the Nintendo DS side, Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations was officially announced, as were Mega Man ZX Advent and Mega Man Star Force. Mega Man Star Force will take the Mega Man Battle Network series into 3D, as well as taking milking to the next dimension with three separate editions, Leo, Pegasus and Dragon.

On the new IP front, Capcom announced that they've acquired two new licenses, Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law and MotoGP. The former is well known to Adult Swim viewers and is scheduled to appear on the PSP and PlayStation 2.

As for the MotoGP IP, previously published by THQ and Namco, it has been secured until 2012 and will first appear on the PlayStation 2 this fall. Apparently, MotoGP is one of the biggest sports in the world and might actually be preferred to stuff like the very popular "sliced bread" and "bees knees", but the announcement didn't seem to generate too much buzz with the jaded videogame press.

So what wasn't putting the crowd of pasty gamers into a PowerPoint coma at the event? Read on and you'll be treated to a smattering of half-drunk impressions.

Treasure Island Z (Wii)
Probably the most enjoyable game at the show... that I'm allowed to write about. Producer Hironobu Takeshita not only enthusiastically demonstrated the Wii-remote control scheme for his game, he nailed the group solve element he talked about during his presentation. Treasure Island Z lets players take control of the pirate Zack who, aided by his golden flying monkey Wiki, is tasked with solving puzzles to become the greatest pirate in the world. Forget raping, plundering and pillaging, point and click adventuring is where the pirate action is.

So, about that group solve element. Treasure Island Z is a Skittles-colored, cel-shaded level based game. To root out each level's treasure and progress, you'll need to figure out what tools you need to perform certain tasks. You'll also need to figure out how to use the Wii-remote to get that done. Figuring out how to get things done will lead to plenty of backseat gaming, with group think being a big contributor. It's like a single player party game.

For example, you'll find a crank in the game, with one end bearing a triangular head, the other with a Phillips head. When holding the crank, you'll need to "flip" the remote in your hand to switch ends. You'll also need to perform scooping gestures, turn it like a key, and play it like a flute.

In addition to all this puzzle solving, the game sports a neat mechanic. Swinging the remote back and forth turns your partner Wiki into a bell. What's great about that bell is that when it rings, the game's enemies will transform from living thing into a helpful tool. Centipedes become saws. Snakes become wrenches.

On the down side, there is a ton of trial and error gameplay which can lead to frustration when playing. Regardless of this small issue, it was one of the more refreshing titles of the show.

Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition (Wii)
If you've played Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube or PlayStation 2, you won't notice much different here. The game plays just like its counterparts, but now uses nunchuk and Wii remote control. Leon's laser sight is gone, replaced with a constant Wii remote reticle. The game's producer Masachika Kawata spoke on Resident Evil 4 WE's "search knife system" indicating that using it may make the game "too easy" but when using the Wii-remote to flick my knife at the game's zombie-like villagers, I didn't agree.

While Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition will obviously get a chance to shine at retail again, players who have run through the game once or twice may have a hard time justifying a second (or third) purchase based solely on the game's new control scheme.

Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)
When Kawata showed the first person shooter Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles on Broadway Studios' massive screen, the feeling of panic from Sega's The House of the Dead was fondly remembered. This mostly on-rails shooter with story elements doesn't quite play as well as Sega's arcade lightgun game at this point, however, and will probably leave a bitter Resident Evil Gun Survivor taste in many gamers mouths.

The game is still very early—only at about 30% according to Kawata—but the energy just wasn't there. The producer's attempts to focus on the "point, shoot, aim" gameplay, resulting in what he described as a "more direct style of horror than you can get in third person" haven't quite gelled yet. I found the shooting overly repetitive and dull, but found a few interesting moments of gameplay. For instance, taking on the giant snake from Resident Evil 1, players have an opportunity to get to higher ground during limited time windows, adding quick shooting and strategy to the constant gunfire.

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
I played a couple rounds with one of the Capcom staffers on hand who had worked with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo on the Capcom Puzzle World collection. He went easy on me for the first game, letting me win, but showed his true skills (hampered with a malfunctioning Xbox 360 d-pad) for the next match and kicked my ass. Brandon "The Enemy" Sheffield from Insert Credit then mopped up the floor with me one round later.

The Xbox 360 version showed off the new backgrounds and graphical effects, but as I mentioned earlier, the upscaled sprites were from the original arcade release, making for a slightly blurry presentation. The game plays just like the arcade version, but features some balancing tweaks for a more level playing field.

Unfortunately, I had limited time with the games on the floor, meaning Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (a 3D shooter with inevitable comparisons to Robotron in its future), Lost Planet (like the Xbox 360 version but slightly prettier) and Monster Hunter 2 Freedom (it's like work!) would have to wait. I did, however, spend time with another Capcom title, one that you'll have to wait until May 1 to read about. Don't get too excited, though, as this PS3, Xbox 360 and PC game has already been announced.

We'll have tons of new screens and videos for you in just a flash.

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