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.

Miyamoto confirms Super Mario Bros. 3DS… again

Posted on February 1, 2011 by John Scalzo

The latest Iwata Asks column is all about the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. But after the Nintendo president and his illustrious panel of guests finished talking about the past, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto dropped some hints about the plumber’s future.

Miyamoto: [I]n the interests of adopting new technology for the Super Mario Bros. tradition, I am now making a new Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo 3DS system.

While Super Mario Bros. 3DS remains officially unannounced, this isn’t the first time Miyamoto has talked about a new Mario game on Nintendo’s upcoming handheld. Back in October, during an investor’s Q&A session, he actually revealed that there are two Mario games in development for the 3DS. What makes today’s quote interesting is that, according to Miyamoto, we may be playing a Mario game on the 3DS sooner rather than later:

Miyamoto: I want to show everyone as soon as possible what the new Super Mario Bros. will be like on the Nintendo 3DS.

And we can’t wait to play it. So what are you waiting for Nintendo? Announce this thing already!

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged

Kevin Tancharoen talks Mortal Kombat: Rebirth

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Scalzo

Director Kevin Tancharoen recently sat down with Gamasutra and revealed that his awesome Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film caught the public’s attention by accident.

“I am not the most technically savvy YouTube person. What came out wasn’t the final product in my mind. I wasn’t done yet,” he told the industry blog. “It was still in its rough phase, but I couldn’t send a 2GB file over email, so my friend said I could create a private page on YouTube and sent it to him to review. It turns out it wasn’t that private.”

The interview also confirms that the web series will be spread out over nine episodes, instead of the previously announced ten, and that they will be between seven and ten minutes long (totalling a feature length running time of 63-90 minutes). All of the actors from Rebirth are currently in negotations to reprise their roles including Michael Jai White (Jax), Jeri Ryan (Sonya Blade) and Ian Anthony Dale (Scorpion).

Tancharoen is not alone in building the Rebirth universe as Mortal Kombat creator Ed Book is working very closely with the director. “We’re working together hand in hand, Tancharoen said. “I’ve got to admit, I had a little fanboy geek moment when I met him. I flashed back to when I was 12 or 13 and played the first game and was obsessed with it. He was very, very happy with the short. He knows it took liberties with the universe of Mortal Kombat, but was okay with that. It blows my mind.”

Filming on Mortal Kombat: Rebirth will begin in February with a “Spring” release planned on digital download services.

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

Warp Zoned’s Guide to Gaming Videos on YouTube

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Scalzo

Do you want all of the latest game trailers the second they’re released? Then pull up a stool and take a gander through Warp Zoned’s Guide to Gaming Videos on YouTube. Below, you’ll find the official YouTube Channels for more than 100 publishers and developers. And they run the gamut from the big guys (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) all the way down to small indie developers (The Behemoth, Dejobaan Games, Halfbrick Studios).

So what are you waiting for? These videos aren’t going to watch themselves! (more…)

Posted in Features |

Nintendo Download: 1/31/2011

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Scalzo

This week’s Nintendo Download offers up a quintet of new games for your downloading pleasure. The DSiWare slate includes All-Star Air Hockey, Mahjong, 101 Dolphin Pets and a diary application. Wii owners will get a chance to download Magic Destiny, a guide to astrology and other fortunetelling systems. Demo versions of Racers’ Islands: Crazy Racers and Zombie Panic in Wonderland have also been added to the Wii Shop Channel.

Hit the break for all the details on this week’s Nintendo Download. (more…)

Posted in News |

Crytek considers resurrecting TimeSplitters 4

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Scalzo

Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli recently sat down with CVG to talk about the developer’s working relationship with Crytek UK, which was formerly known as Free Radical Design.

If you’ll recall, before Crytek acquired Free Radical, the company was hard at work on TimeSplitters 4, a new entry in their wild first person shooter series. After the purchase, Crytek put TimeSplitters 4 on hold, renamed the company and set them to work on the multiplayer portion of Crysis 2.

But TimeSplitters 4 may yet live as Yerli told CVG, “Yeah, we have been discussing [TimeSplitters 4], but nothing has been confirmed yet, so let’s see after Crysis 2.”

It’s not confirmation, but it’s definitely a very good sign.

Posted in News | Tagged

Weekly Warp-Up: Handheld Wars Episode I

Posted on January 30, 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…

Sony’s Next Generation Portable
The public finally got their first glimpse at the PSP2… even if Sony doesn’t want to call it that. And the hardware manufacturer wasn’t shy about showing off the system’s stellar lineup including Uncharted, Killzone, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, Call of Duty and a lot more. The gameplay videos are just astounding (and really makes my wallet wince when I think about how much the NGP will cost). All told, more than 80 publishers and developers have pledged to support the NGP. You can watch the entire NGP reveal at the PlayStation Meeting 2011 here.

Get Warp Zoned!
Zipper Interactive’s ambitious MAG ignited a lot of interest when it was released a year ago. Giving gamers a 256-player war, it represented a new frontier for console owners in the online multiplayer battle fields. One Year Later, we examine Zipper’s commitment to making MAG a game we’d all want to play through updates, patches and bugfixes. Zipper’s next game, SOCOM 4, was also given an April 19th release date by Sony this week.

Hit the jump for the rest of the Weekly Warp-Up. (more…)

Posted in News |

3DS eShop opening in May, to sell 3D Classics

Posted on January 30, 2011 by John Scalzo

The same Nintendo financial briefing that revealed that new Kirby games are in development for the Wii and DS also confirmed a few details about the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

According to Nintendo, the eShop will be available after the 3DS’ first system update, which is scheduled for sometime at the end of May. This update will also enable DSi-to-3DS transferring of DSiWare games and the 3DS Internet browser.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told the crowd that the reason for the delay was so Nintendo could create an online storefront that allowed gamers to easier browse the eShop’s offerings. He also noted that he didn’t want any gamers to be “buried” in eShop’s menus.

Another possible reason for the delay was Iwata’s announcement of “3D Classics.” That’s right, games available on the 3DS’ Virtual Console will be given a 3D facelift. Which titles Nintendo has planned for the 3D Classics line is currently a mystery, but we’ll likely learn more as the handheld’s March 27th launch looms.

Posted in News | Tagged

Watch the complete NGP reveal press conference

Posted on January 30, 2011 by John Scalzo

Did you miss your chance to attend the PlayStation Meeting 2011 last week? What’s that? It took place in Tokyo and the guest list was very limited so we all missed it? Right… I knew that.

Thankfully, Sony has uploaded a video of the entire thing onto YouTube in six parts. So while the details of the event have been reported on ad nauseum since Thursday, we can all finally watch it for ourselves.

Posted in News | Tagged