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.

Telltale unveils E3 Trailer and August 14 launch date for The Walking Dead’s Final Season

Posted on June 6, 2018 by John Scalzo

The end is nigh! And that’s because Telltale Games has announced that The Walking Dead: The Final Season will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 14.

The Final Season will consist of four episodes, and the developer added that players who pre-order it on the PS4 or Xbox One will receive a free digital download of The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series Collection (which includes Season 1, Season 2, A New Frontier, and the Michonne spinoff). PC players who pre-order The Final Season on Steam, GOG, GamersGate, or the Humble Store will receive a 10% discount off the retail price, while Windows Store shoppers will receive a free download of Season 1.

In addition to a release date announcement, Telltale talked a bit about fans can expect from the game on their official site:

Clementine, now a fierce and capable survivor, has reached the final chapter in her journey. After years on the road facing threats both living and dead, a secluded school might finally be her chance for a home. But protecting it will mean sacrifice. Clem must build a life and become a leader while still watching over AJ, an orphaned boy and the closest thing to family she has left. In this gripping, emotional final season, you will define your relationships, fight the undead, and determine how Clementine’s story ends.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season will also feature a “new over-the-shoulder camera system, greater freedom to explore detailed environments, and scenes with unscripted combat” that the developer hopes will create “the most engaging The Walking Dead game yet.”

Telltale Games will also bring The Walking Dead: The Final Season to the E3 Expo next week, but for now, be sure to check out the E3 Trailer embedded above.

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Pocket Rumble’s Switch launch will happen sometime before the end of July

Posted on June 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

Pocket Rumble is a retro-styled fighting game from Cardboard Robot Games that was originally expected to launch for the Switch in March 2017… just after the console’s debut. Obviously, that didn’t happen. But the developer is still hard at work on the game, which was inspired by the litany of SNK fighters originally released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color around the turn of the millennium.

In a new “Developer Update,” Cardboard Robot has revealed that Pocket Rumble will finally be released for the Switch sometime between now and the end of July. They also confirmed that everyone who backed the game on Kickstarter will receive a free download code for the Switch version.

For fans of Pocket Rumble, this won’t be the end. Cardboard Robot said that additional content will be added to the game on Steam as it’s completed. After it’s perfected through several rounds of testing and feedback, all of this content will be added to the Switch in one big update (“Version 2.0”) at a later date.

For now, you can check out the “Developer Update” video for Pocket Rumble that’s been embedded above.

Posted in News, PC, Switch | Tagged

Code Vein will sink its teeth into PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 28

Posted on June 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

Bandai Namco has announced that Code Vein, their upcoming vampire-centric action RPG, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 28. In addition to the launch date confirmation, the publisher also unveiled a very stylized new trailer, which has been embedded above.

Venture into the land of Code Vein and uncover its secrets. Players will be able to craft their own unique character and customize their experience by equipping numerous weapons, items, skills and gifts to accommodate their favorite fighting style or gain a competitive advantage against impossible odds. Various A.I. controlled partners will also be on-hand to explore the interconnected world with their own specialized attributes and personalities.

If you want to get your hands on Code Vein before its released, and you’re attending next week’s E3 Expo, you’ll want to stop by the Bandai Namco in South Hall (#1647). A playable demo of Code Vein will be available, alongside the publisher’s other upcoming games.

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

Red Faction: Guerrilla – Re-Mars-tered Edition will be available on July 3

Posted on June 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

THQ Nordic has announced that the third game in the Red Faction franchise, Red Faction: Guerrilla, will soon be available in a new Re-Mars-tered Edition for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game, which was originally released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in 2009, will be available on July 3.

Best of all, PC players who already own Red Faction: Guerrilla will be able to upgrade to the Re-Mars-tered Edition for free.

Be sure to check out the new trailer embedded above to get a look at Red Faction: Guerrilla’s “fully reworked graphics, improved shadow rendering, improved lighting, and reworked shaders and postprocessing.” And don’t worry, all these graphical tricks will be on full display in 4K resolution for players who own a PS4 Pro, an Xbox One X, or a suitably powerful PC.

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New Retail Releases: Vampyr, Sushi Striker, Onrush, More

Posted on June 4, 2018 by John Scalzo

The bold and the bizarre highlight this week’s New Retail Releases…

Dontnod, the creative team behind Life Is Strange, are leaving suburbia for the streets of Victorian London and Vampyr (PC, PS4, Xbox One) this week. The RPG infects players with the bloodsucking disease and asks them to save (or doom) the city from the 1918 flu pandemic.

Speaking of unusual meals, Nintendo is hoping players will be interested in a brand new competitive puzzler this week, Sushi Striker: The Way of The Sushido (Switch, 3DS). Build the ultimate sushi plate and do battle with bosses to stop the Empire’s tyrannical monopoly of the world’s sushi supply.

And Codemasters is back this week with Onrush (PS4, Xbox One), an extreme racing game that gives player the chance to “traverse huge ramps flying hundreds of feet through the sky.”

But if you’d rather participate in extreme fisticuffs, Arc System Works will release BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (PS4, Switch), a crossover fighter that brings together characters from the BlazBlue, Persona, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY franchises. Shoppers will also be able to slam it home as Shaquille O’Neal this week as the basketball great returns to take up side-scrolling brawling once again in Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn (PS4, Switch, Xbox One).

Finally this week, Switch owners can look forward to Happy Birthdays, the latest game from Yasuhiro Wada, the creator of the Harvest Moon series. PS4 and Xbox One owners will get their chance to try out the latest Elder Scrolls Online expansion, The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset. And Koei will launch the latest game in the Nobunaga’s Ambition franchise, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Taishi for the PS4.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at all the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged , ,

New Battle Princess Madelyn trailer shows off the game’s first level

Posted on June 2, 2018 by John Scalzo

Casual Bit Games continues to plug away at Battle Princess Madelyn, their side-scrolling homage to 16-bit classics like Super Ghouls N Ghosts and Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon’s Trap, and development is nearly complete on the first half of the game. To mark this milestone, the developer has released a new trailer highlighting the game’s animated introduction and gameplay from the first chapter.

Battle Princess Madelyn is currently in development for the PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One. The game was originally expected to be released in Early 2018, but rather than announce a new launch date, Casual Bit Games has said that it’ll be done when it’s done.

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

Ubisoft will unveil Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey at E3 2018

Posted on May 31, 2018 by John Scalzo

No matter how hard they try, Ubisoft just can’t keep an unannounced Assassin’s Creed game under wraps. This time, the Internet sleuths uncovered proof that the megapublisher is taking the franchise to Ancient Greece.

But rather than fight it, Ubisoft went ahead and announced that Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, which will indeed take place in Ancient Greece, will be fully unveiled at this year’s E3 Expo:

It’s unknown when Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey will be released, but Ubisoft famously took their time with Assassin’s Creed Origins, so don’t assume it’ll launch later this year just yet. We’ll likely find out for sure during Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference, which will be held on Monday, June 11.

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Just Shapes and Beats, West of Loathing, Pokemon Quest, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on May 31, 2018 by John Scalzo

The shapes are taking over the Nintendo eShop this week! And I’m not talking about Michael Myers…

Berzerk Studio brought Just Shapes and Beats to the Switch today, and the shapely side-scrolling anti-shooter asks players to survive its bullet-hell-like levels with up to three friends while grooving to a nice selection of beats. Also available to download for the Switch today is West of Loathing, the humorous “stick figure” RPG from Asymmetric.

Using a 16-bit palette, Fox N Forests is also now available to download for the Switch, and players will need to employ seasonally-powered magic spells to save the forest. And on June 5 comes Happy Birthdays, an updated version of Birthdays the Beginning, the new sandbox game from the creator of Harvest Moon, Yasuhiro Wada.

Finally, Nintendo wanted to remind everyone that players can still experience the action RPG antics of the cube-shaped Pokemon from Pokemon Quest, which was added to the Switch eShop this part Tuesday.

Over on the 3DS, Nintendo’s handheld is now home to Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, the new Castlevania-like side-scroller from Koji Igarashi and developer Inti Creates.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Icey, Pirate Pop Plus, Yesterday Origins, and more) after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U | Tagged ,