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.

Atlus-published PSP games get huge price drop on PSN

Posted on March 28, 2012 by John Scalzo

Atlus wants to takeover your PSP or Vita with their “Re-Vita-lized PSN Price Drop Event.” The publisher has slashed the prices of their PlayStation Network games by 25-50%, meaning that now is the best time to dive into a quirky Japanese RPG (or several, which I’m sure Atlus would prefer).

Here’s the full list of “Re-Vita-lized” titles and their new prices:

  • Persona (New Price: $19.99, Original Price: $39.99)
  • Persona 2: Innocent Sin (New Price: $29.99, Original Price: $39.99)
  • Persona 3 Portable (New Price: $19.99, Original Price: $39.99)
  • Knights in the Nightmare (New Price: $14.99, Original Price: $29.99)
  • Riviera: The Promised Land (New Price: $9.99, Original Price: $14.99)
  • Yggdra Union (New Price: $9.99, Original Price: $14.99)
  • Class of Heroes (New Price: $14.99, Original Price: $39.99)
  • Crimson Gem Saga (New Price: $14.99, Original Price: $29.99)
  • Hexyz Force (New Price: $14.99, Original Price: $29.99)
  • Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble (New Price: $14.99, Original Price: $39.99)
Posted in News, PSP, Vita | Tagged

South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge is a sick little monkey on XBLA on March 30

Posted on March 27, 2012 by John Scalzo

South Park Digital Studios has revealed that South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge will be available to download from the Xbox Live Arcade on March 30. The XBLA-exclusive platformer will be priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Tenorman’s Revenge was developed by Other Ocean and sees the titular Scott Tenorman attempt to take his revenge not just on Cartman, but the entire town:

Fans can play locally or online as Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny as they travel through time and space to battle Scott Tenorman and his army of Ginger robots before they destroy South Park and, more importantly, the boys’ Microsoft Xbox 360 hard drive.

Oh, by the way, I realize the “South Park” reference in the article title comes from the first season. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the show, mmm’kay?

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

Really control your TV with The Force in this Kinect Star Wars launch trailer

Posted on March 26, 2012 by John Scalzo

When was the last time you tried to use The Force to reach your television remote? Was it when you were a little kid? Or was it yesterday? I’m betting on the latter.

Next week, Microsoft and LucasArts will make The Force an ally of gamers everywhere when Kinect Star Wars launches for the Xbox 360. It may not make your remote easier to reach, but it will make The Force feel more real than any game before.

Want proof? Check out the game’s launch trailer up top.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

New Namco Bandai teaser site has a big X

Posted on March 26, 2012 by John Scalzo

Namco Bandai Japan has launched a teaser site with a big ol’ X on it. The rest of the page is pretty bare, but we know the publisher is hard at work on a game with a very prominent “X” in the title. I’m not saying for sure that this is related to Tekken X Street Fighter, but the evidence is… you know what, no, I’m saying it. This site is definitely related to Tekken X Street Fighter, I’m sure of it.

Unless I’m wrong, which I could be.

Posted in News |

Rumor: Silicon Knights working on Eternal Darkness 2

Posted on March 26, 2012 by John Scalzo

Dennis Dyack, the President of Silicon Knights, recently sat down with GamesIndustry.biz to discuss his company’s legal squabble with Epic Games. He also hinted that the company’s next project, a “next generation” game will be a sequel to one of their most requested properties:

Dyack’s not ready to talk about the next-gen project, but given his comments on Eternal Darkness recently, we have a strong suspicion that Silicon Knights is actually working on the fan favorite.

“We’re really excited and we’re working on our next generation stuff. We’re working on an IP that’s our most requested and we’re really excited about that.”

Interestingly enough, Nintendo reapplied for the trademark to Eternal Darkness in February 2010, making Eternal Darkness 2 a very real possibility. Though it should be noted that Silicon Knights themselves own the trademark to Too Human, so we could also be looking at Too Human 2 (the franchise was planned as a trilogy after all).

Hopefully we’ll find out more at E3.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Konami delays Silent Hill: Book of Memories again

Posted on March 26, 2012 by John Scalzo

As you may have noticed from the latest new release report, Konami’s Silent Hill: Book of Memories will be a no-show on store shelves this week. A representative for the publisher confirmed the delay to Ripten:

Unfortunately Book of Memories has been delayed. Stay tuned for a more formal announcement.

Many online retailers, including Amazon and GameFly, have given the game a placeholder date of May 31 (which is a Thursday, definitely meaning its not the real release date). So don’t expect to see Silent Hill: Book of Memories for a while.

Posted in News | Tagged ,

Weekly Warp-Up: All About Mass Effect 3… Again

Posted on March 25, 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…

Mass Effect 3 was a major topic of conversation again this week as fan and fanboy alike have turned out in droves to debate the merits of Shepard’s final voyage. First came the news that a Mass Effect 3 player filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission about the game’s “terrible” ending. Then came the news that BioWare was actually considering a new ending, which the company’s co-founder confirmed a few days later. So congratulations, Mass Effect 3 is getting a new ending because a small group of people complained loudly enough.

If you’re uninterested in the meta-discussion of the game’s ending, but still love Mass Effect 3, then check out our look at the religious undertones of the series as a whole in The Cross and The Controller: Mass Effect’s Picture of Faith.

And speaking of religious experiences… the “Art of Video Games” exhibit opened last weekend at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and we were there to take it all in including the Pioneers Panel, Hideo Kojima’s panel, thatgamecompany’s meet and greet, and the exhibit itself.

And speaking of game developers, we also reviewed the excellent book Gamers At Work, a series of interviews with some of the biggest names in the development scene, this week.

And speaking of this week, you can read more about it after the jump. (more…)

Posted in News |

Get your first look at the infected from The Last of Us

Posted on March 24, 2012 by John Scalzo

Naughty Dog Co-President Evan Wells posted the montrosity on the left of your screen to his Twitter feed yesterday.

Mr. or Ms. Exploding Head is what “the infected” will look like in the developer’s next game, The Last of Us. Up until now, the only antagonists we’ve seen for Joel and Ellie have been humans living outside the quarantine zones. But these abominations will be roaming the ruined lands of the USA as well, and it looks like “shoot ’em in the head” won’t be an option.

I don’t think they have any plans to give the bust away to one of their fans, but we can dream can’t we?

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged