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.

World’s Biggest Pac-Man brings user-created mazes to your browser

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Microsoft and Namco Bandai have teamed up with developer Soap Creative to bring The World’s Biggest Pac-Man to your Internet browser. Specifically designed for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9, the game will run in any HTML5-capable browser.

So how did The World’s Biggest Pac-Man become the biggest Pac-Man maze in the world? The game actually allows players to create mazes that can be attached to the title’s massive continuous maze. And each new maze is linked through the secret passageways that Pac-Man is famous for. The World’s Biggest Pac-Man has been live for a little over 24 hours and users have already created over 1,800 mazes.

“We are giving the world one of its favorite video games through the browser, in a fun and engaging way that truly showcases how developers can deliver a new class of web experiences by taking advantage of modern web standards and hardware acceleration,” Microsoft Australia “developer evangelist” Michael Kordahi said.

While the game is web-only for now, I would bet my last Power Pellet that a “best of” pack will make it’s way to the Xbox Live Arcade someday.

Posted in News, PC |

Blizzard working on another unannounced game

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Buried at the bottom of Blizzard’s press release about the sale dates for BlizzCon tickets was a short announcement of the company’s latest hiring push. Mixed in amongst the open positions related to Diablo III, World of Warcraft, the remaining entries in the StarCraft II trilogy and the developer’s Titan MMO was a single job listing under the heading “Unannounced Game Title.”

The job description is almost frustratingly vague, but it does seem to confirm that Blizzard is working on a fifth project unrelated to any of their currently in-development titles, even if they’re not ready to talk about it yet (emphasis mine):

Do you have a deep passion for developing the tools that empower designers and artists to create epic gameplay experiences? Does the idea of joining a new team in its early stages and establishing pipelines and development environments excite you? […] This person will help build and maintain the development tools and content management system to provide a foundation for the game’s asset pipelines. This is a key role on a new and exciting project within the company.

Posted in News |

BlizzCon 2011 tickets go on sale in May

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon show is always a big hit with gamers. And if you want to attend the 2011 edition of the company’s “celebration of the global communities surrounding Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft” you’ll have two chances to buy tickets.

The first batch of tickets will go on sale on Saturday, May 21 at 10 AM (Pacific Time) with another batch up for grabs on Wednesday, May 25 at 7 PM (Pacific Time). Tickets will be priced at $175 each and will only be available at the official BlizzCon website.

Blizzard fans looking for the complete BlizzCon experience will also have the chance to purchase tickets to the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner on Saturday, May 28 at 10 AM (Pacific Time). The $500 tickets will include admission to BlizzCon and the pre-show dinner, which takes place on Thursday, October 20. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Children’s Hospital of Orange County as guests get the “opportunity to rub elbows and trade war stories with Blizzard game developers and other employees before the show.”

If both of those options are out of your price range, then perhaps the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket (priced at $39.99) is for you. According to Blizzard, “the Virtual Ticket grants access to comprehensive live HD coverage from the show floor on each day of the convention, including exclusive interviews, demos, and more.” Ticketholders will be able to access all of the Virtual Ticket content through a multichannel Internet stream and also via Pay-Per-View on DirecTV. BlizzCon Virtual Ticket buyers will also receive this year’s BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in-game items

BlizzCon 2011 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on October 21 and 22.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged ,

Steam features for Portal 2 on PS3 detailed

Posted on April 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

We’ve known for some time now that Steam support was coming to the PS3 version of Portal 2. Valve’s VP of Marketing, Doug Lombardi, appeared on the PlayStation.Blog today to talk a little more about how it’ll work:

Portal 2 for PlayStation 3 is the first title to support Steam on a console. Specifically, that means it offers cross-platform matchmaking, gameplay, friends, chat, and achievements, all powered by Steam. Steam on the PS3 also saves co-op game progress and single player saved games to the Steam Cloud, enabling players to pick up where they left off on any PlayStation 3.

That’s pretty cool. Lombardi also revealed that the PS3 game will offer access to a player’s Steam Friends list when they link their PSN and Steam accounts. This link will also make it so that earning a PS3 Trophy in Portal 2 will unlock the same Steam Achievement in your Steam account.

Portal 2’s release (on the PC and Xbox 360 in addition to the PS3) is just a few days away.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Yar’s Revenge, Might & Magic on XBLA today

Posted on April 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Pick your poison in today’s Xbox Live Arcade update: a futuristic shooter or an RPG puzzler set in olden times.

Yar’s Revenge is a new version of the classic Atari 2600 shooter that reimagines Yar as a teenage girl in power armor. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is another reimagining of a classic game, albeit one originally released for the DS in 2009. The XBLA version includes high definition graphics and a brand new 2 vs 2 co-op mode.

Yar’s Revenge can be downloaded for 800 Microsoft Points ($10) while Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes has been priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).

More information on both games can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Madden NFL 12 blitzes stores on August 30

Posted on April 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Rob Semsey, the Director of Public Relations at EA Sports, has tweeted that Madden NFL 12 will be released on August 30. Normally, the Madden series rushes stores during the middle of the month, but with this year’s labor problems between the NFL and the players union, perhaps the publisher wanted to give the development team at EA Tiburon a little more time before the season starts.

Semsey said the later release date was picked “to align closer to the start of the NFL regular season.”

Whatever the reason, the currently cover athelete-less Madden NFL 12 will be released for the PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 whether the lockout is resolved or not.

Posted in News | Tagged , , , , ,

Dungeon Hunter, Patapon 3 added to PlayStation Store

Posted on April 13, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sony’s massive “Spring Fever” sale may be over, but that doesn’t mean the consolemaker plans to stop adding awesome games to the PlayStation Store.

This week’s offerings include Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, the first ever multiplayer action RPG for the PS3; Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, the “ultimate puzzle RPG”; and a downloadable version of Assassin’s Creed. Best of all, Dungeon Hunter and Might & Magic have been discounted this week for PlayStation Plus members. Dungeon Hunter will be available to download for $9.74 (instead its regular $12.99 pricetag) while Might & Magic can be had for $11.99 ($3 off its $14.99 regular price).

The PSP Store also received one new game this week, Sony’s rhythm puzzler Patapon 3.

More information on all of these titles can be found after the break and a full listing of every new add-on to the PlayStation Store can be found at the PlayStation.Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged ,

Street Fighter X Tekken gets trailer, adds PC version

Posted on April 12, 2011 by John Scalzo

Above you’ll find the first trailer from Street Fighter X Tekken, Capcom’s latest crossover event. Watch as Ryu, Ken, Guile, Abel and Chun-Li from the Street Fighter series take on Kazuya, Nina, King, Marduk, and Bob from the Tekken franchise. You’ll get a glimpse at the game’s Tag Battle fighting system as well as a view of the Capcomized versions of the Tekken cast.

Street Fighter X Tekken will be coming to the PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime in 2012. Capcom used their Captivate event to confirm that a version is in the works for the PC as well.

Head on over to the Capcom-Unity blog to see the first screenshots of SFxT and another trailer.

Posted in News | Tagged , , ,