Author: Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

In addition to being Warp Zoned's UK Correspondent, Andrew Rainnie is a screenwriter and filmmaker. You can email him at andrew AT warpzoned DOT com or you can, if you're inclined, visit his personal website.

Joe Danger 2 explodes onto PSN on October 9 with bonus content

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

This Tuesday, October 9, Hello Games’ stunt bike extravaganza Joe Danger 2 lands on the PlayStation Network in North America. With a bargain price tag of $14.99, gamers will have over 125 levels to complete, which the developer has worked out at over 50 hours of gameplay, more than most full retail releases!

Hello Games has crammed the new game full of features, including a prototype version of the first game lovingly referred to as “Joe Danger Gaiden.” The developer has revived it, and thrown all the new features from Joe Danger 2 in there as well, including Pro Medals, Ghosts and hidden challenges. On top of this, the game features replays and YouTube support, the ability to edit your own levels and share them with players around the world, leaderboards and more hidden content than a jetpack-owning monkey could find!

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Injustice: Gods Among Us comic book incoming

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

The DC Universe one-on-one fighter Injustice: Gods Among Us is all set to receive a comic book based around events of the game, according to comments from NetherRealm Studios’ co-founder Ed Boon at the EB Expo in Australia.

“We’re working on an Injustice comic book to carry the story and tell the events that came before the game. With a game like Mortal Kombat, so many things spawned from there, like the movie. Obviously the extreme version is it would spawn a lot more things, but I know for sure we are making an Injustice comic.”

More things? Could he be hinting at the rumoured Justice League film as DC prepare to try and follow the success of Marvel’s The Avengers? Or is that just wishful thinking? Given DC’s excellent run of animated direct-to-DVD films, perhaps there could even be an Injustice film if fans of Batman and his brood show enough interest in the comic.

While there was no more information on the comic series, I’d expect it to emerge alongside the game in April 2013.

[Source: The Verge]

Posted in Etcetera, News, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Assassin’s Creed team moving on to new projects, including more Assassin’s Creed

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

With the game nearing release, it appears the huge development team behind Assassin’s Creed III is moving onto other projects, or, in the case of Creative Director Alex Hutchinson, hoping for a holiday. Although he does admit that the world of the Assassins and Templars could soon tease him back:

“The franchise can go in many different directions and it’ll be much healthier for it. As for the team, they will now disperse through the company, taking on different roles on future projects. Some people are moving to different stuff in the universe. Some people are doing other stuff at Ubisoft. The amount of people and the type of people you need to start are the different than the people you need at an end of a project.

I’d love to do more Assassin’s Creed stuff, [but] not if it started Monday! But I always say that, then you go away for two weeks, and then someone says I have this idea, and you’re like that’s really cool, let’s give it a shot.”

So there you have it, more Assassin’s Creed is definitely coming along with other stuff, which is possibly Tom Clancy or Rayman-related since we’re talking about Ubisoft. Hutchinson has been with the series since the beginning and The Verge also gave him a chance to reflect on his baby:

“When you lay [the development process] out linearly you realize it’s huge. We might have made a monster. I think it’s fun as well. It’s kind of a nervous excitement. There’s still a bunch of stuff in there people don’t know about, which is fun. The idea that games can still have surprise left in them, that games can still have sense of wonder and discovery, I find really attractive.”

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Wii U confirmed to be region locked

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

After their excellent Wii U media event earlier this month, with price details released alongside reveals for unannounced games such as Bayonetta 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Nintendo has potentially made a massive misstep with the confirmation that the Wii U will be region locked.

While it is hardly a surprise, every one of Nintendo’s previous home consoles has been region locked, it is disappointing given the public outcry by western gamers for titles only released in Japan. Of course, we all remember how that turned out for Wii owners. The system’s region lock, and Nintendo’s subsequent refusal to release certain games in the west, led to the successful Operation Rainfall campaigns for titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and (hopefully) Pandora’s Tower.

[Source: CVG]

Posted in News, Wii U |

Game-centric crowdfunding site Gambitious launches

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

In a relatively short space of time, Kickstarter has proven to be a great tool for indie game developers seeking crowdfunding to pay for their latest masterpieces. However, if it has one flaw in this regard, it is that it is a general fundraising site; it allows all creative projects to seek funding, and therefore its rules are broad and general.

Gambitious, which launched today, has set out to become the definite crowdfunding site for gamers. As CEO Paul Hanraets explains, it was created with developers and gamers specifically in mind.

“Crowdfunding is causing a great seismic shift in how projects get funded, however, there are risks of crash-and-burn due to unfulfilled projects and unfinished games. Unlike other crowdfunding platforms, Gambitious is designed specifically for the video game industry and ups the ante of developer credibility, investor engagement and development cycle understanding.”

So how does it differ from the king of crowdfunding that is Kickstarter? The minds behind Gambitious have taken the approach that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so many of the features will be familiar to users of other crowdfunding platforms. For example, the project must secure 100% funding in order to obtain the money, and Gambitious takes the same 5% cut as Kickstarter. However, the differences, while subtle, are what potentially make it best for game design.

Gambitious has designed their site in a similar manner to the popular TV show Shark Tank, in that developers can sell equity shares in their company or creative entity in exchange for the funds. While Kickstarter stays away from business launches, this added option could give Gambitious the edge as it will allow developers to find financial partners not only for their current project but possibly future titles as well. The equity-based crowd investing is only currently available to members of the European Union, although Gambitious hope to allow Americans to participate sometime in 2013.

Posted in News |

Zone of the Enders HD lands in October bundled with Metal Gear Rising demo

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

As Shirley Bassey once sang, “It’s all just a little bit of history repeating.” Just as the original Zone of the Enders was released on the PlayStation 2 with a demo of Metal Gear Solid 2, Konami’s upcoming Zone of the Enders HD Collection will parallel its predecessor by bringing with it a demo of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance when it splashes onto the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 30th in North America and Canada. Konami has yet to announce a European release date, although several UK retailers have it listed with a January, 18 2013 release date.

The demo will be available on its own post-release, although no specifics were given as to when this might be. Given that Raiden will not be debuting until February though, if you wish to play the demo this side of Christmas, it is probably a fair bet that the Zone of the Enders HD Collection will be the only way to do so.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Kickstart This! Horror Edition

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

In our third installment of Kickstart This! we’re preparing for Halloween a bit early. Many of these titles have a certain horror flavour to them, including Monsters, a 2D shooter with a story provided by our very own Nicole Kline. Other titles featured are grid-based tactical game Pangenic, psychological puzzle game Broken, romantic adventure Zombie Cruise, and Worlds Beyond, an RPG about the end of the world. And let’s not forget side-scrolling beat-em-up Crisis Heart Brawlers: Clash at Otakon. It has nothing to do with horror. It’s just awesome. And needs your money!

Let us begin. (more…)

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, Top Story |

Bad Piggies take flight in first gameplay trailer

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Andrew Rainnie - UK Correspondent

The green menaces from Rovio’s Angry Birds franchise are finally getting their own title, Bad Piggies. Described as “The Piggest Game Ever,” the publisher has launched a new trailer showing how the mechanics of the game work. While it still maintains the Angry Birds style, the game comes across as more of a mash-up of World of Goo and LittleBigPlanet. Players must construct vehicles for both land and air (pigs can fly, but cannot swim apparently) that will be able to navigate the topsy-turvy levels without killing the Piggies navigating inside.

bad Piggies is set for release on iOS, Mac and Android on September 27th, and soon after on Windows Phone, and PC.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC | Tagged