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.

New Releases: El Shaddai, No More Heroes Heroes’ Paradise, Age of Empires Online

Posted on August 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

The weekly New Releases roundup is back after a bye last week, but there’s still not much to talk about.

This week we have Ignition’s apocryphal bible tale El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. The trippy hack ‘n’ slash will be available on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Speaking of trippy, Konami will be bringing the Suda 51-developed No More Heroes to the PS3 as No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise. The port of the once-exclusive Wii game includes Move support, HD graphics, a new boss rush mode and a “character viewer” to get a closer look at the game’s leading ladies.

Also available this week is the retail version of Microsoft’s Age of Empires Online and a DS puzzler known as Puzzler World 2.

And that’s it for this week’s new releases.

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

Gotham City Impostors sneaks into Gamescom with new trailer

Posted on August 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Monolith Productions has unveiled a new trailer for Gotham City Impostors in advance of next weekend’s Gamescom show. Promising that “customization is key,” the video showcases the many weapons and wearable items that players will be able to get their hands on in this whacked out version of Gotham City. Wait’ll they get a load of me, indeed.

The fun begins in the first few months of 2012 on the PC, PS3 (PlayStation Network) and Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade).

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

Valve bringing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to PC, PS3, Xbox 360

Posted on August 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Get your crowbar ready because Valve has just announced a sequel to one of their most popular properties. That’s right, Half-Life 2: Episode Three Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be coming to the PC, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade during the first few months of 2012. This is good news and all, but maybe we can use those crowbars to “convince” Gabe Newell to start working on Episode Three.

A joint development between Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment, Global Offensive will “will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that [Counter-Strike] pioneered when it was launched exactly 12 years ago.” To that end, CS:GO will feature new maps, characters, and weapons alongside new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leaderboards, and more. But don’t think Valve has forgotten the past. Updated versions of classic CS maps, such as de_dust, will also be included in Global Offensive.

“For the past 12 years, [Counter-Strike] has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS:GO promises to expand on CS’ award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac,” said Doug Lombardi of Valve.

Valve plans to bring a playable version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to this year’s PAX Prime at the end of August and the Eurogamer Expo in September.

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

Google+ adds games, surprises no one

Posted on August 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

We all knew it was coming, but yesterday, Google officially added a “Games” stream to their Google+ social networking service.

Facebook users have often complained about feeling overwhelmed by the amount of game notifications in their feed, so Google+ plans to segregate all game activity under a “Games” button.

“The Games page is also where your game accomplishments will appear. So you can comfortably share your latest high score—your circles will only see the updates when they’re interested in playing games too. If you’re not interested in games, it’s easy to ignore them. Your stream will remain focused on conversations with the people you care about,” said Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering.

But if you think games and social networking are two great tastes that taste great together, then you’ll definitely want to hit the break for the full list of games now available on Google+. (more…)

Posted in News, PC |

NCAA Football 12 is the valedictorian of July’s NPD chart

Posted on August 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

The NPD Group has revealed the top ten bestselling games for the month of July and NCAA Football 12 jumped to the head of the class. None of the rest of the month’s new releases managed to crack the list (including the awesome Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon or the alluring Catherine). Even the heavily-hyped Duke Nukem Forever was unable to maintain its place in the top ten.

With few new releases, only 17 titles were released during the month, gamers spent their money on other things in July. According to The NPD Group’s Anita Frazier, July was the “lowest month [for game sales] since October 2006.”

Maybe that’ll show publishers that the gaming community is pretty desperate for new games in the Summer. So maybe they shouldn’t backload every worthwhile game into the September-November period. In the meantime, check out the full top ten after the break. (more…)

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Create or Destroy” in new Ridge Racer Unbounded trailer

Posted on August 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

Namco Bandai’s Ridge Racer Unbounded appears to owe quite a debt to Criterion’s Burnout series. But it looks like Unbounded will also have some new options under the hood.

Dubbed “Create or Destroy,” players will be able to create their own city and then share those creations online. They can then destroy those cities during some absolutely wild races. For example, the Gamescom trailer above shows players driving through a mall, toppling the elevator inside and then crashing through the front door. Oh, and I’m sure that mall has everything.

Ridge Racer Unbounded will be released next year for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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

Nintendo of America is watching Xenoblade’s reception in Europe

Posted on August 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

Xenoblade will be published in Europe next week and even though a Nintendo of America spokesman said the company has “no plans” to bring it across the Atlantic, Xenoblade is a major subject of conversation around Redmond.

Speaking to IGN, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said: “We will be watching very closely what happens in Europe. Certainly if there are business opportunities and positive consumer uptake from some of those titles, that will be great data for us to consider as we look at what to do with these titles.”

Don’t pop the champagne corks just yet, but this is the best news to come out of Nintendo of America about Xenoblade since the company first announced it under the title Monado: Beginning of the World (yes, at one time, Xenoblade had an official American release scheduled).

Posted in News, Wii | Tagged

Nintendo Download: Avenging Spirit, Super Adventure Island II

Posted on August 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

It’s Thursday and Nintendo has added several new games to their trio of download services. This week’s new releases include:

Nintendo DSiWare
* Go! Go! Kokopolo – Take control of hyperactive wildcat Kokopolo in a fast, frantic, action-packed caper of pure arcade mayhem. Hunt down those responsible for disturbing your afternoon slumber.
* Crazy Hamster
* My Asian Farm

3DS eShop
* Avenging Spirit – This classic action game introduced a unique system for possessing and controlling other characters. Help a heroic ghost rescue his girlfriend from her kidnappers so he can finally rest in peace.

WiiWare
* Kyotokei
* Super Adventure Island II (Virtual Console)

More information on all of this week’s releases can be found in the Nintendo Download weekly newsletter.

And don’t forget, today is the last day for current 3DS owners to log-in to the 3DS eShop and register for the 3DS Ambassador program.

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii |