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.

Blizzard is still unsure if Diablo III will come to consoles

Posted on May 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

Remember a few months back when Blizzard “confirmed” that a console version of Diablo III was in the works? Yeah, it turns out that definitive yes may have been less definitive than we were lead to believe.

Speaking to Gamasutra, Director Jay Wilson revealed that the console version is still very much in the theoretical stage and that the developer still isn’t ready to announce it:

Gamasutra: Are you still experimenting and exploring the console version of Diablo III?

JW: Yeah. We haven’t officially announced it, because we’re not “experimenting.” We tell people that basically we’re experimenting, because it helps us hire people. The better people we hire, the better chance we have to actually make it. That’s why we haven’t kept it super secret, but we also haven’t confirmed it, because we’re not sure yet whether we think it will work, and whether we think we have the resources to do it.

I hope they don’t cancel it. I’ll forever wonder if the devil made them do it.

Posted in News | Tagged , , ,

Download Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown from PSN/XBLA on June 5/6

Posted on May 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

Sega has announced that Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown, the latest addition to their fan-favorite fighting franchise, will be available to download from the PlayStation Network on June 5 and from the Xbox Live Arcade on June 6. Both versions will be priced at $14.99 (that’s 1200 Microsoft Points in Xbox 360-land).

Sega will also be adding character customization DLC packs to the PSN and XBLA for all 19 fighters on June 5/6. Each pack will be priced at $4.99 (which is 400 Microsoft Points) and include 600-950 customization items. Two other mega packs, one consisting of nine characters’ worth of DLC items and the other with 10 characters’ worth, will be available to download for $14.99 each. (again, that’s 1200 Microsoft Points).

If you ever get sick of customizing your favorite character and want to do some actual fighting, here’s what you can expect from Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown:

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown brings the latest arcade version of the Virtua Fighter 5 series to consoles worldwide, adding two new characters… Virtua Fighter 3 favorite Taka-Arashi and newcomer Jean Kujo… and dynamic and interactive fighting arenas. Console-only features include a robust and detailed Training Mode, eight player Online Room Match Mode, and a match record feature to replay, save, and upload fights.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Pikmin 2 coming to Wii on June 10 with latest batch of Nintendo Selects

Posted on May 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has announced that Pikmin 2 will finally make its way to the Wii on June 10, more than three years after the “New Play Control” version was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe.

Instead of carrying the “New Play Control” banner that the other GameCube re-releases were saddled with, Pikmin 2 will be released as part of the Nintendo Selects line, complete with a $19.99 budget price.

Nintendo plans to add three more titles to their Nintendo Selects line on June 10 alongside Pikmin 2. Mario Power Tennis (another GameCube re-release), Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl will all be given new maroon packaging and a price cut.

Donkey Kong Country Returns and Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be priced at $29.99, while Mario Power Tennis will match Pikmin 2’s $19.99 pricetag.

Posted in News, Wii | Tagged ,

Crystal Dynamics buries Tomb Raider until early 2013

Posted on May 14, 2012 by John Scalzo

Darrell Gallagher, the Studio Head at Crystal Dynamics, has revealed that the developer’s long-awaited reboot of Tomb Raider won’t make it out this Fall as previously planned. Instead, the game’s release has been pushed back to early 2013 for “polish” and to implement some “finishing touches”:

We’re doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve. We believe this is the right choice and I guarantee it will be worth the wait.

You know, the game looked pretty darn polished when Crystal Dynamics showed it off at last year’s E3 Expo. But speaking of E3, the developer once again plans to make Tomb Raider the showpiece of the Square Enix booth. To get the gamers of the world excited, they’ve released a new screenshot dubbed “The Reach,” which supposed to offer a hint as what the E3 demo will look like. Hit the jump to see Lara Croft make “The Reach.” (more…)

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

Weekly Warp-Up: Call Your Mother Edition

Posted on May 13, 2012 by John Scalzo

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

On this Mother’s Day, let’s not forget the woman who put up with all the whining about how you’d just die without the latest video game doodad when you were 12 (having a Game Boy was very important to my existence, seriously). So give your mom a call, I can wait. Oh, and while you’re at it, if you’re a guy and you’ve got a girlfriend/wife, even if she’s not a mother, be nice to her today. Odds are you’ve whined about something game-related in the last few weeks that they didn’t care about. I know I have.

OK, we good? Great. I’ll bet your mom told you to put down those stupid video games and crack a book every once in a while. Thankfully, we can help. This week we studied Scarygirl’s Transformation From Graphic Novel to Game and reviewed the anti-mainstream screed Rise of the Videogame Zinesters.

Now you’ve made mom happy, it’s time to spend the rest of your Sunday catching up with our massive Hands-On Preview/Interview with Producer Dan Sochan of Square Enix’s Sleeping Dogs. It’s out this August and it may just make you say “Grand Theft What?” after you get a chance to try it.

Still need more game news? Check out the rest of the week that was with the Weekly Warp-Up. (more…)

Posted in News |

Redbox will only rent first disc of Max Payne 3 on Xbox 360

Posted on May 12, 2012 by John Scalzo

If you were planning on renting Max Payne 3 from your local Redbox kiosk, then The Consumerist has some bad news for you. It seems that the rental machines will only stock the first disc of the Xbox 360 version, depriving gamers of the second half of the story.

Max Payne 3 is being split across two discs on the Xbox 360 (conversely, the full game can fit on one blu-ray disc on the PS3). Disc one contains the first half of the story and the multiplayer modes. The Story Mode concludes on the second disc. And Redbox has a longstanding policy of not carrying multidisc titles. Something had to give, and that something turned out to be disc two. There’s a warning on the game’s listing in the kiosk and on the Redbox website, but is that enough?

Here’s what a Redbox representative told The Consumerist:

Redbox kiosks are only equipped to rent out one disc per rental fee. Since customer feedback has told us that many of our game customers like to test out titles before they buy them, we’ve decided to offer Disc 1 of Max Payne 3 for Xbox 360 so that renters can try it out for a low daily rate. Disc 1 contains the entire online multiplayer mode and the first half of the extremely substantial single-player game. We think that’s a great deal for just a couple of dollars a day, and we’re excited to offer it! We’ve added a message on the website and on kiosk screens to let renters know about the limited game-playing.

Hmm, I think this is going to irritate a lot of people. But I guess the real question is, what’ll happen to all of those disc twos?

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Developing a “future generation” video game, LucasArts is

Posted on May 12, 2012 by John Scalzo

LucasArts has become the latest developer to jump into “future generation” game development after a job listing for a Graphics Engineer was discovered on Gamasutra. The game is described as an “Action/ Adventure Title,” but any further details are being kept tightly under wraps.

LucasArts hasn’t done much development in recent years, choosing instead to work with TT Games, BioWare, and Behaviour Interactive to create several new games based on the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises.

However, the company did internally develop Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II this generation. And the second one did end on a rather massive cliffhanger…

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One | Tagged

New Releases: Diablo III, Max Payne 3, Game of Thrones, More

Posted on May 12, 2012 by John Scalzo

It’s finally time to give the devil his due, Diablo III will be available in stores this week. With a whole mess of big releases, this marks the end of the “new game drought” that has been plaguing gamers all throughout the month of April. And Diablo III isn’t even the only long-awaited return this week…

  • Max Payne is back for another round of stylized neo-noir action in Max Payne 3 for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360.
  • George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones makes the jump to the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 courtesy of Atlus.
  • The Test Drive series returns to its roots in Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends (PS3, Xbox 360).
  • Rising Star Games makes it US debut with Cave’s sidescrolling shooter Akai Katana (Xbox 360).
  • And there’s Battleship, the game-based-on-the-movie-that-was-based-on-the-board-game is now available for the 3DS, DS, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.

This week is so chock full of new releases, there’s even more after the break! (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , ,