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.

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn will be released on June 5

Posted on April 6, 2018 by John Scalzo

Shaquille O’Neal’s glorious return to video games is almost upon us… Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on June 5. Developer Saber Interactive announced the launch date earlier this week alongside a new trailer, which has been embedded above.

A Legend Reborn is a reboot of the original Shaq Fu, and it once again showcases the martial arts mastery of the legendary NBA center, this time in a side-scrolling brawler:

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn is an action-packed beat ‘em up starring the one and only Big Diesel himself: Shaquille O’Neal. Battle the hordes of Hollywood and hell on a one-man journey to avenge your fallen home and martial arts master. Beat down foes with devastating combos, face off against outlandish celebrity bosses, and unleash your fury with a variety of hard-hitting weapons and power-ups.

A special Retail Edition of Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn will come bundled with a Season Pass, and it’ll also be available on June 5 for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Further details about the post-launch DLC included with the Season Pass will be revealed at a later date.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged

SNK Heroines gets a September 7 release date and Shermie joins the roster

Posted on April 6, 2018 by John Scalzo

Developers from SNK hosted a special 40th Anniversary panel at PAX East earlier this afternoon, where they confirmed that SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy will be released for the PS4 and Switch on September 7. Fans of the King of Fighters franchise will also be pleased to learn that Shermie has been added to the game’s roster:

Meet Shermie, a beautiful and hard-hitting grappler making her graceful return to the ring. Since first appearing in The King of Fighters ’97, she has remained a popular pick among players and is ready to take her place as the belle of the brawl with her devastating suplexes and bone-crunching drop kicks! Be careful, because one wrong move and you’ll get a taste of her Dream Finish, the Inazuma Leg Lariat!

Shermie’s Debut Trailer has been embedded above.

Posted in News, PS4, Switch | Tagged ,

World of Warcraft’s Battle For Azeroth expansion will arrive on August 14

Posted on April 6, 2018 by John Scalzo

Blizzard has announced that the World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth expansion will march into stores on August 14. The MMORPG’s seventh major add-on will be available in three different packages, including a Standard Edition ($49.99), a Digital Deluxe Edition ($69.99), and a Collector’s Edition ($99.99).

Players who purchase the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive access to a Seabraid Stallion (Alliance) Mount, a Gilded Ravasaur (Horde) Mount, and Tottle the Baby Tortollan Pet, as well a variety of content for the remainder of Blizzard’s catalog. These in-game items include an “Azeroth Is Burning” Card Back for Hearthstone; a Primal Flamesaber Mount in Heroes of the Storm; Horde and Alliance Sprays for StarCraft II; and a collection of faction-themed extras for Overwatch.

Battle For Azeroth’s Collector’s Edition will come housed in collectible packaging with everything from the Digital Deluxe Edition and several bonus items…

World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth – Collector’s Edition

  • Horde & Alliance Double-Sided Mark of Allegiance – Declare your allegiance with this hefty two-sided emblem (stand included). Place it on your desk or shelf and proclaim your chosen faction to the world.
  • Hardcover Double-Sided Book: Elegy & A Good War – This limited-edition hardback collects two new World of Warcraft novellas depicting the Burning of Teldrassil from the points of view of the Alliance and the Horde. Each story includes original artwork exclusive to this edition. Written by Christie Golden and Robert Brooks.
  • Battle For Azeroth Digital Soundtrack – Each Collector’s Edition contains a key to download the stirring orchestral pieces from the expansion’s soundtrack—the perfect mood music for laying siege to your enemies.

Players who pre-order any version of Battle For Azeroth at the expansion’s official website will receive a Level 110 Character Boost to use immediately, as well as a chance to “begin [your] journey to recruit the first four of the expansion’s new Allied Races.”

Finally, a new trailer for World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Activision officially announces Spyro Reignited Trilogy for PS4 and Xbox One

Posted on April 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

After what feels like months of teasing, Activision officially announced the Spyro Reignited Trilogy earlier today. The compilation is in development at Toys For Bob, and it’ll include Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon.

Each game will receive a full high definition makeover by the developer, and the colorful environments will be “remade from the ground up” by the developer. The Spyro Reignited Trilogy will also sport “updated controls, brand-new lighting, and recreated cinematics for added flavor”:

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is an awesome gaming experience that builds on the excellence of the first three games. Each level in Spyro Reignited Trilogy is mapped faithfully from the originals. The characters are creatively re-imagined with additional flair, allowing fans to rekindle the fire with Spyro and his crew like never before. Players will experience a trilogy that’s loaded with an astonishing amount of detail, refreshed modern day mechanics, full analog stick support, and smooth camera handling. Spyro Reignited Trilogy also re-imagines Stewart Copeland’s original soundtrack from the first three games.

“We’re deeply passionate about staying true to the legacy of the original three Spyro games with the Spyro Reignited Trilogy,” said Paul Yan, the Chief Creative Officer at Toys For Bob. “We’ve poured a lot of love into making the personalities and worlds feel just like fans remember them, while also keeping the game collection surprisingly fresh with lush, high definition detail. We’re bringing back the Spyro we all fell in love with 20 years ago.”

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on September 21. A short trailer showcasing some of the improvements being made to the series (and which can also be accessed in the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy by pressing Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Square on the Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped title screen) has been embedded above.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Super Daryl Deluxe, Urban Trial Playground, Lode Runner Legacy, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on April 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

Here we go again… it looks like 19 new games will be available to download for the Nintendo Switch over the next seven days.

Later this week, Switch owners can look forward to Super Daryl Deluxe, a hand-drawn MetroidVania about an awkward teenager and a weird school, on Tuesday, April 10. But available to download from the Nintendo eShop today are Urban Trial Playground, a motorcycle stunt game, and Lode Runner Legacy, a reboot of the popular puzzle-adventure series.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged

Overwatch’s “Retribution” seasonal event begins April 10

Posted on April 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

Just in time for the Spring, Blizzard is launching the latest seasonal event for Overwatch next week. Like last year’s “Uprising” event, players will be heading back to the past in “Retribution,” a limited-time PvE mode featuring Genji, Moira, McCree, and Reaper:

Travel eight years into the past and join Blackwatch as they seek to capture a high-ranking member of the Talon organization. Fight in the streets of Venice as Genji, Moira, McCree, or Reyes (later known as Reaper) to complete the mission and unlock pieces of the past with over 100 items from last year and 60 new ones—including highlight intros, emotes, sprays, and more.

To help get fans up to speed on the events preceding the “Retribution” mission, Blizzard uploaded a new prequel comic to their website. The publisher is also giving Overwatch players who missed out on last year’s “Uprising” event another chance to relive Tracer’s first mission in the “Overwatch Archives.”

Overwatch’s “Retribution” event begins on April 10, and will conclude on April 30. In the meantime, Game Director Jeff Kaplan and Lead Engineer Tim Ford talked a bit about “Retribution” in the latest Developer Update video, which has been embedded after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Activision unveils first trailer for Call of Duty: WWII’s War Machine DLC Pack

Posted on April 5, 2018 by John Scalzo

Last week, Activision deployed the first details about Call of Duty: WWII‘s second expansion, The War Machine DLC Pack. More recently, the publisher gave fans a sneak peek at the upcoming add-on content in a new trailer:

Tensions escalate in DLC Pack 2 for Call of Duty: WWII — The War Machine. Join the Allies and stop the powerful Axis advance in three new Multiplayer maps that illustrate the might and global reach of the Axis War Machine. Strike back and take part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in “Operation Husky,” the all new objective-based War Mode mission. Plus, experience the latest Nazi Zombies chapter: “The Shadowed Throne.”

To complement the trailer, Activision’s Editorial Manager, Kevin Kelly, took a turn at the keyboard of the PlayStation Blog, and delivered a few additional details on “Operation Husky”:

Operation Husky takes its historical cues from the real-life Operation Husky, the codename for the Allied invasion of Sicily, that took place in July of 1943. This operation wrestled control of Sicily away from Axis powers and put into motion a course of events that opened up the Mediterranean Sea lanes for the first time since 1941. It also toppled Italian leader Benito Mussolini from power and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Italy.

As an Allied participant in Operation Husky in Call of Duty: WWII, you’re a soldier in the town of Ragusa, Sicily. Your mission is to retrieve key intel to initiate a bombing of enemy forces.

Or you might find yourself on the flipside of that equation as an Axis soldier, trying to stop the Allied advance, as they try and complete their mission.

There are three key objectives for the Allies to complete before they can declare victory, so let’s take a look at what they are.

PS4 players will be able to download Call of Duty: WWII‘s The War Machine DLC Pack on April 10. PC and Xbox One players will get the chance to download the expansion sometime in May.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Insomniac’s Spider-Man will be released on September 7; Collector’s Edition also unmasked

Posted on April 4, 2018 by John Scalzo

Sony and Insomniac have announced that their highly-anticipated Spider-Man adaptation will be released exclusively for the PS4 on September 7. Insomniac’s James Stevenson swung over to the PlayStation Blog to reveal the good news, and also to talk a bit about the bonuses found in the game’s Digital Deluxe Edition and Collector’s Edition.

Spider-Man’s Digital Deluxe Edition ($79.99) will include the main game, along with access to a post-launch expansion (The City That Never Sleeps) that features “three new chapters each with new missions, new villains and characters, and additional suits for Spider-Man.” Fans who pre-order the game from Sony’s storefront will also receive a Limited Edition Collectible Pin (by mail) and the Spidey Suit Pack (which is highlighted in the trailer embedded above).

The Collector’s Edition ($149.99) will contain all the content from the Digital Deluxe Edition, as well as “a Steelbook case featuring the iconic white spider, Mini Artbook from Titan Books, and an awesome Marvel’s Spider-Man statue by Gentle Giant.”

Finally, a second Spider-Man trailer from Game Informer (promoting their upcoming in-depth coverage of the game) can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged