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.

Magic 2012, Adventures of Shuggy coming to XBLA tomorrow

Posted on June 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

After two weeks without an Xbox Live Arcade update, Microsoft will add two games to the XBLA tomorrow.

The new additions include Valcon’s puzzle platformer The Adventures of Shuggy and the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Both games will be priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) each.

You can find more information about both titles after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360 |

L.A. Noire tops NPD chart in May

Posted on June 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Rockstar Games’ detective procedural L.A. Noire has topped The NPD Group’s list of bestselling games in May. The PS3/Xbox 360 game was followed by several other new releases including Brink at #2 and Lego Pirates of the Caribbean in the third slot.

The remainder of the top ten is a mix of recently games (Portal 2 at #4 and Mortal Kombat at #5) and holdovers from last Fall’s game rush (Call of Duty: Black Ops at #6 and NBA 2K11 at #8).

The complete top ten can be seen here:

1. L.A. Noire (PS3, Xbox 360)
2. Brink (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
3. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360)
4. Portal 2 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
5. Mortal Kombat (PS3, Xbox 60)
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (DS, PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
7. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)
8. NBA 2K11 (PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360)
9. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
10. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

The A-Z of E3 2011

Posted on June 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

This year’s E3 Expo was probably best characterized by the nearly complete lack of surprises that emerged from the show floor. Nearly every game on display had been announced ahead of time and the ones that weren’t (like Super Smash Bros. 4 for the Wii U) are just words in a press release. And speaking of the Wii U, Nintendo’s next system lost some of its luster after the console’s entire feature set leaked online before E3… but the tablet controller certainly has potential.

And here’s a bunch of other games that have potential too. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, Features, PC, PS3, Top Story, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged

THQ closes Homefront developer Kaos Studios

Posted on June 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

THQ had high hopes for Homefront and while the shooter received less-than-stellar reviews, it managed to sell over two million copies. I guess that wasn’t enough as the publisher announced the closure of Homefront developer Kaos Studios today. THQ Digital Warrington, the developer of downloadable titles Red Faction: Battlegrounds and Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team, was also shut down.

THQ also revealed that development on the Homefront franchise would move to the recently created THQ Montreal. The company’s Montreal studio assisted Kaos during the development of the game, so they have some knowledge of the Homefront universe. THQ’s Vice President of Core Games, Danny Bilson, previously confirmed that Homefront: London is already in the planning stages.

Many of THQ’s other internal studios are now hiring and the publisher has encouraged the former Kaos and Digital Warrington employees to interview for open positions at Relic Entertainment, Vigil Games and THQ Montreal. We wish them the best of luck.

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

Peter Molyneux is unhappy with Fable: The Journey E3 demo

Posted on June 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

The next game in the Fable series, Fable: The Journey, made its worldwide debut during Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference to an audience that wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The game appeared to be an on-rails shooter where players controlled a wizard in the kingdom of Albion. Making arm gestures towards the Kinect sensor created magical spells that blasted a group of trolls on the screen.

But according to Fable-creator Peter Molyneux, that’s not an accurate representation of the game. He told OXM UK that showing that version of the demo was a “horrendous mistake” and that the final version of the game will not be on rails. If the game isn’t on rails, the famed developer didn’t reveal how players will control the movement of their character in the game.

It’s possible that Fable: The Journey is one of the “hybrid” games that makes use of a Kinect sensor and a standard controller that Microsoft has hinted at before. But I guess we’ll find out for sure next year as Fable: The Journey is currently scheduled for release in 2012.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Weekly Warp-Up: What We Saw at E3 2011

Posted on June 12, 2011 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…

The Warp Zoned staff was unable to attend this year’s E3 Expo, but we pored over every press release, every trailer and every screenshot bundle to bring you the best that E3 2011 had to offer.

After the break you’ll find a company-by-company breakdown of our E3 coverage. And don’t forget to circle June 5, 2012 on your calendar, because next year’s E3 is sure to provide lots of surprises. (more…)

Posted in News | Tagged

Sega exec reveals “Spring/Summer 2012” release for Wii U

Posted on June 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

E3 is over and we still don’t know when the Wii U will be released. All Nintendo will say for now is that the new console will be in stores sometime in 2012. But a Sega executive may have spilled the beans without even realizing it.

Alan Pritchard, Sega’s Executive Vice President of Marketing, sat down with GameSpot during the closing hours of the show to talk about Aliens: Colonial Marines, the Vita, the PSN, movie games and the Wii U. It was during that last subject of conversation that the two sides had this exchange:

GameSpot: Will Sonic Generations be released for the Wii U?

Pritchard: The timing just doesn’t work. Generations releases this November, and the Wii U is coming out next spring/summer. […] But to bring out Generations on a platform six or eight months after we release PS3, 360, and 3DS probably won’t be the best strategy.

Pritchard talks about the Wii U’s release window as falling pretty solidly within the April to June timeframe (Nintendo itself has confirmed the console won’t be released before April). And if anyone at Sega would know, it’s the guy in charge of marketing the games the publisher plans to release for the system. It’s too early to say for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Pritchard was telling the truth.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

New Releases: Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D, Duke Nukem Forever, Alice Madness Returns, More

Posted on June 11, 2011 by John Scalzo

14 years, 1 month and 17 days.

That’s how long Duke Nukem Forever has been in development. An actual war against aliens that stole our babes wouldn’t take that long. But after the countless delays, the constant cries of “vaporware” and the empty promises of George Broussard… it’s finally here. And that’s all that matters because I always bet on Duke.

Interestingly enough, Duke Nukem isn’t the only oldtime franchise being resurrected this week. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, the fourth version of the classic game, will be available this week for the 3DS. Think about that, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998 and has been remade three times since Duke Nukem Forever was announced. Amazing.

And now that E3 is over, publishers are pushing out a ton of other big titles as well, including…

Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

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