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.

Red Faction: Armageddon, Alice 2, others added to PlayStation Store

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sony wants you to get your ass to Mars and return to Wonderland today as they’ve added Red Faction: Armageddon and Alice: Madness Returns to the PlayStation Store. Another “Full PS3 Game,” Techland’s Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is also available to download now.

As for new “PSN Games,” survey says… Family Feud Decades is the number one (and only) answer. According to Sony, it’s perfect for “all the family get togethers in your house over the holidays.”

Hit the jump for more details on all of these games and for a complete list of this week’s new game add-ons, hit up the PlayStation.Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged ,

Doink-Doink! Telltale announces Law & Order: Legacies

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

There’s been a murder in the offices of adventure game specialists Telltale Games. Don’t worry, all the developers are fine. But their episodic adaptation of Law & Order: LA is dead. In fact, Law & Order: LA is so dead that Lennie Briscoe was heard making one of his trademark quips about its demise from beyond the grave.

Speaking of Lennie Briscoe… he’ll be making an appearance in Telltale’s new “Law & Order” game, Law & Order: Legacies. Legacies brings together an all-star lineup of detectives and DAs to investigate a case that spans from 1999 (Briscoe’s heyday) all the way up to 2011. Besides Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), players will be able to play as Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Mike Logan (Chris Noth), Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon), Michael Cutter (Linus Roache) and Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston).

Law & Order: Legacies will be released in seven episodes with the first two episodes available to download from the iTunes App Store on December 22. Additional episodes and a PC/Mac release will follow in 2012.

You can check out a behind-the-scenes look at Law & Order: Legacies after the break. Doink-Doink! (more…)

Posted in Mobile, News, PC | Tagged

3DS, Wii, DS Q1 2012 game schedule released; Kid Icarus: Uprising, Circle Pad Pro dated

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has announced that the Circle Pad Pro will be released on February 7 (the same day as Resident Evil Revelations) as part of a massive release schedule update for the 3DS, DS, and Wii. The infamous second 3DS control stick will be sold exclusively through GameStop stores (and on GameStop.com) for $19.99. Nintendo also confirmed that Kid Icarus: Uprising will be released on March 23.

In non-3DS release news, a trio of Nintendo-published Wii games will make it onto stores shelves in early 2012: Rhythm Heaven Fever on February 13, PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond on February 27, and Mario Party 9 on March 11.

Hit the jump to view the complete 3DS, DS, and Wii release schedule (first party and third party) for the first three months of 2012. (more…)

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

NetherRealm NOT putting the Mortal Kombat franchise on hiatus

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Ed Boon dropped a bombshell when accepting the award for Best Fighting Game at last weekend’s Spike TV Video Game Awards. He told GameSpot that the studio had completed their work on DLC for Mortal Kombat and that they were putting the franchise on hiatus to work on other projects.

However, that appears to not be the case. Instead, the famed developer has revealed, via his Twitter account, that NetherRealm Studios will begin a two-pronged development schedule, working on the next Mortal Kombat game (which, per a WB Games profile in the LA Times, will be released in 2013) and other non-Mortal Kombat projects:

NetherRealm’s most recent game, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown, was added to the iTunes App Store last week.

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Last Guardian director Fumito Ueda leaves Sony Japan

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Fumito Ueda, the director of the upcoming The Last Guardian, has decided to leave his position at Sony Japan. The developer, who also created the critically acclaimed Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, will remain with Team Ico as an independent contractor (not officially under Sony’s employ) to finish development on The Last Guardian.

According to Sony, Ueda is “committed to completing” the game.

No reason was given for Ueda’s departure from the company, but with The Last Guardian entering its seventh year of development in 2012, perhaps the project became too big for him.

[Source: Gamasutra]

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

“Death Lives” in new Darksiders II trailer; Summer 2012 release date confirmed

Posted on December 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

“What Began With War… Ends With Death”

A new Darksiders II trailer is here, and with it, comes confirmation of the game’s Summer 2012 release on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Darksiders II is also being planned as a Wii U launch title, so 2012 is going to be a good year to be the Grim Reaper.

Or is the Death that’s a part of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse a different scythe-wielding skeleton? Demonology is hard.

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

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD to shred on PSN, XBLA next Summer

Posted on December 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

If you caught this weekend’s Spike TV Video Game Awards, then you know Tony Hawk is returning to the virtual halfpipe next year with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. Today, Activision dropped a few more details on the game.

Developed by Robomodo, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD won’t be a straight remake of the original game. Instead, it’ll actually be a high definition remix of the first two Pro Skater games. It’s also being planned as a $15 downloadable title for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

In addition to the remixed original content, Tony Hawk HD will update the gameplay to match where skateboarding is today. At least, so says The Birdman himself: “We’ve updated many elements [of the game] to reflect today’s skateboarding scene as well. Long-time fans of the series will appreciate the huge amount of polished content at a very low price.”

As always, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD will feature a wide variety of skateboarding pros including Tony Hawk, Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole, Eric Koston, Andrew Reynolds, Rodney Mullen, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins (Pastrana), and Tony’s son, Riley Hawk (who was just six years old when the first THPS was released).

If you missed the debut trailer for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, you can check it out right here.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Skyrim wins Game of the Year at 2011 Spike TV Video Game Awards

Posted on December 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

It’s seems like we’ve been hearing about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim non-stop since the game’s release on November 11. Apparently, the Spike TV Video Game Awards Advisory Panel took all that chatter to heart as they awarded Bethesda’s RPG masterpiece their Game of the Year award last night. Not surprsingly, Skyrim took home Best RPG and Bethesda was awarded Studio of the Year as well.

However, the big winner of the night was Portal 2. Valve’s full-fledged retail sequel to the surprise hit Portal took home five VGAs including Best PC Game, Best Multiplayer, Best Performance by a Human Male & Female, and Best DLC.

Another big winner, believe it or not, was Bastion. The Supergiant Games-developed action RPG won for Best Downloadable Game, Best Original Score, and Best Song (“Build That Wall”). Congratulations to everyone at Supergiant, you deserved each and every one of those wins.

Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword each won two VGAs.

The complete list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)

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