Author: John Scalzo

John Scalzo is Warp Zoned's Editor-In-Chief and resident retro gaming expert. You can email him at john AT warpzoned DOT com.

THQ is looking to sell publishing rights to Devil’s Third

Posted on May 16, 2012 by John Scalzo

Tomonobu Itagaki made a name for himself many years ago at Tecmo’s Team Ninja by creating the Dead or Alive series. He was also responsible for resurrecting the Ninja Gaiden series and being an outspoken critic of the industry. Since leaving the developer in 2008, Itagaki has started Valhalla Game Studios with several former Team Ninja teammates, as well as begun work on Devil’s Third, which made a big splash at E3 2010.

THQ happily snapped up the publishing rights to Devil’s Third back then, but now the cash-strapped company is looking to unload the game due to development difficulties. According to THQ CEO Brian Farrell, the third-party developer who was creating the game engine for Valhalla Game Studios has closed down:

“Two ‘unforeseen’ events reduced Devil’s Third’s profitability. The company Valhalla was using for the engine went out of business, so we had to assist Itagaki-san and the team with a new engine. It took a fair amount of time and cost a fair amount of money. There has also been a substantial appreciation of the yen against the dollar.”

Who knows, maybe Itagaki’s next creation will end up at Tecmo Koei. Wouldn’t that be wild?

[Source: Destructoid]

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

Darksiders II continues the apocalypse on August 14

Posted on May 16, 2012 by John Scalzo

THQ has used their quarterly financial report to give Darksiders II an August 14 release ate. Originally set for a June 26 release, the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 game was pushed back two months to allow for more polishing.

“We look forward to launching Darksiders [II] beginning on August 14 in North America,” CEO Brian Farrell told investors. Let’s hope he’s equally looking forward to the release of the Wii U version, which will be a launch title for Nintendo’s next system.

[Source: Joystiq]

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

Naughty Dog releases “The Truck Ambush,” a new trailer for The Last of Us

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Naughty Dog has released a new trailer for The Last of Us. Titled “The Truck Ambush,” it features Joel and Ellie escaping from a band of outsiders after a truck ambush. Hmm.

As this trailer, The Last of Us continues to look amazing and will no doubt be a big hit on the PS3 when its released. Whenever that is.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Screw you guys… the South Park RPG is coming home in early 2013

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

THQ has announced that the Obsidian-developed South Park RPG (which may, or may not, be titled South Park: The Stick of Truth) has been delayed.

The PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 game, which was previously scheduled for a Fall launch, will now be released in early 2013. No reason was given for the delay, but it likely has something to do with THQ’s continuing money woes.

THQ plans to release the South Park RPG in a very crowded quarter for the company. Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2 are both already scheduled for an early 2013 launch.

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

PSN Today: Sonic 4 Episode II, PixelJunk 4AM, a lot more

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Sony has pushed out another massive week of updates for the PlayStation Store. So if you’re in the market for a new downloadable game, be sure to read on.

  • There’s Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, Sega’s continuation of the blue hedgehog’s 2D rebirth.
  • There’s PixelJunk 4AM, Q-Games’ music mixing game.
  • There’s GoldenEye 007: Reloaded for all the “Bond, James Bond” fans out there.
  • There’s Prototype 2, Activision’s new open-world game.
  • There’s a pair of classics in Myst (PSone) and Red Faction II (PS2).

There’s also a few more titles after the break (along with more details on all of these games). And if you’re looking for a list of the new game add-ons that were added to the PlayStation Store today, check out the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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Another delay for Silent Hill: Book of Memories… this time to October

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Konami’s Silent Hill: Book of Memories has gone through several different release dates this year. The Vita game was initially given a February release date alongside the handheld’s launch. When that date came and went, it was pushed back to March and then delayed a third time into May.

Now, with half the days of May gone by, it’s been delayed again.

Speaking to Game Informer, Konami has confirmed that Silent Hill: Book of Memories will now be released in October. So update your calendars accordingly.

Posted in News | Tagged ,

Diablo III launches with a growing list of errors

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

Perhaps Blizzard overreached with Diablo III. In development for over four years (and possibly as far back as 2001), the game is more ambitious than anything the series has seen before.

Naturally, that has lead to a variety of error messages plaguing players on the game’s launch day.

Blizzard currently lists five errors in the game’s official forum, with Error 3006 being the most serious. Joystiq describes it as a game-breaking bug that occurs if a player swaps an equipped item with a Templar. After the error occurs, players are unable to log back in to Battle.net, even if they restart the game.

Blizzard is looking into to these errors and will hopefully have a fix ready soon.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

FIFA Soccer 13 will bring the innovation this Fall

Posted on May 15, 2012 by John Scalzo

EA Sports has officially announced that FIFA Soccer 13 will be available this Fall on the… deep breath… 3DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Vita, Wii, Xbox 360, and iPod Touch/iPhone/iPad.

The latest addition to EA’s footie franchise promises to take a few revolutionary steps forward with an improved Career Mode, improved online play, and more than 500 officially licensed teams (clubs in soccer-speak).

The publisher has also revealed that big changes are coming to the on-field action, which you can read more about after the break. (more…)

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