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 Retail Releases: Sea of Thieves, Ni No Kuni II, Detective Pikachu, More

Posted on March 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Game publishers love to launch highly-anticipated new games just before the end of a financial quarter, so we’ve got a bounty of new games to choose from in this week’s New Retail Releases report.

Leading the way is Sea of Thieves, a multiplayer pirate simulation for the Xbox One from Microsoft and Rare. But if you’d rather explore a different kind of world, Bandai Namco and Level-5 will bring Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, an RPG sequel created in conjunction with animators from Studio Ghibli, to the PS4. Even players who are still attached to their 3DS handhelds will have new options this week with Nintendo’s launch of Detective Pikachu.

Several multiplatform titles will also make their way onto store shelves this week including Hazelight’s co-op prison break sim, A Way Out (PS4, Xbox One); MLB Advanced Media’s retro-styled baseball game, RBI Baseball 18 (PS4, Xbox One); and Koei Tecmo’s second adaptation of the Attack On Titan anime, Attack On Titan 2 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One).

Finally this week, THQ Nordic will bring back Titan Quest in an upgraded new re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Badland Games will make Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition available on retail shelves for the PS4 and Vita.

That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , ,

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is “Video Game of the Year” at 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards

Posted on March 18, 2018 by John Scalzo

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild took home another trophy last night when the “open-air” adventure was named “Video Game of the Year” at the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards. The Nintendo Switch launch title also scooped up awards for “Excellence in Design” and “Excellence in Gameplay”

PUBG Corporation’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds also picked up three awards last night (“Esports Game of the Year,” “Trending Game of the Year,” and “Excellence in Multiplayer”), and a handful of other games (Cuphead, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Nier: Automata) were two-time winners.

You can find the complete list of winners from the 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards at Video Game Canon.

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

Sonic Mania Plus will be available on store shelves (with bonus content) this Summer

Posted on March 17, 2018 by John Scalzo

Sega is planning a retail re-release for Sonic Mania, and players who have yet to purchase the side-scrolling platformer will be able to purchase the upgraded Sonic Mania Plus package this Summer for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

Announced at the SXSW Gaming Expo (and via Twitter), Sonic Mania Plus will include an artbook and a Genesis-themed reversible cover, as well as new in-game content including remixed levels in an Encore Mode, a four-player Competition Mode, and two additional playable characters (Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel). All these extra goodies will push the game’s price to $29.99, a $10 premium over the currently-available downloadable edition.

But fans who already own Sonic Mania will be able to purchase all the new in-game content as a downloadable expansion.

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

Sega teased a new Sonic R racing game at the SXSW Gaming Expo

Posted on March 17, 2018 by John Scalzo

A darkened room is illuminated by the quick flash of a headlight and the sound of a revving engine in a new “Top Secret” trailer from Sega. But the appearance of a familiar “R” logo definitively pegs this mystery project as a sequel to 1997’s Sonic R.

The trailer made its debut last night at the SXSW Gaming Expo during Sega’s “Gotta Go Fast: The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Panel,” but Sega didn’t provide any further details about the game.

Hopefully we’ll learn more about Sonic’s return to racing soon.

Posted in News | Tagged

Burnout Paradise Remastered, Tesla Vs Lovecraft, Surviving Mars, more added to Xbox Store

Posted on March 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

Twisted wreckage and meticulous city-building highlight today’s Xbox Games Store update…

Electronic Arts and Criterion made a return trip to Paradise City today with the Xbox One launch of Burnout Paradise Remastered. The racer will include all previously-released downloadable content, as well as enhanced visuals (1080p on Xbox One and up to 4K on Xbox One X).

Also available to download for the Xbox One today is Tesla Vs Lovecraft, an overhead shooter that pits the famed inventor against the creator of the Cthulhu Mythos. But the tales of the Old Ones aren’t fiction in this game, as Tesla will need to suit up in a giant mech and do battle against “massive amounts of eldritch abominations.”

Finally today, Paradox Interactive and Haemimont Games have released their sci-fi city-builder, Surviving Mars, for the Xbox One.

You can learn more about the rest of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store (including Aero Fighters 3 and Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse) after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, PC, Xbox One | Tagged

EA announces revamped Progression System for Star Wars: Battlefront II will be available on March 21

Posted on March 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts has announced that Star Wars: Battlefront II‘s revamped Progression System will “begin rolling out” on March 21. In a complete reversal from the pre-release Beta, the new Progression System ensures that any item impacting gameplay can only be earned through gameplay, and “will not be available for purchase.”

The developers provided more details about the update on the game’s official website:

With this update, progression is now linear. Star Cards, or any other item impacting gameplay, will only be earned through gameplay and will not be available for purchase. Instead, you’ll earn experience points for the classes, hero characters, and ships that you choose to play in multiplayer. If you earn enough experience points to gain a level for that unit, you’ll receive one Skill Point that can be used to unlock or upgrade the eligible Star Card you’d like to equip.

You’ll keep everything you’ve already earned and unlocked. You will keep all of the Star Cards, heroes, weapons, or anything else you have already earned. What you have earned will still be available to use with this update regardless of how much or little progress you have already made.

Crates no longer include Star Cards and cannot be purchased. Crates are earned by logging in daily, completing Milestones, and through timed challenges. Inside of these crates, you’ll find Credits or cosmetic items, such as emotes or victory poses, but nothing that impacts gameplay.

A secondary update to the Progression System will appear in April, allowing Star Wars: Battlefront II players to purchase cosmetic items with real money. But an earnable in-game currency, Credits, can also be used to unlock these customization items.

Star Wars: Battlefront II is now available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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

Telltale’s latest Batman: The Enemy Within trailer offers a season recap ahead of the final episode’s March 27 launch

Posted on March 16, 2018 by John Scalzo

Telltale Games will close the book on Batman: The Enemy Within in a few weeks, but first they wanted to give their fans a look back at the season so far in a new trailer. Naturally, this trailer is chock full of spoilers, so don’t watch it if you’re not completely caught up with Batman: The Enemy Within.

Since the complete second season will soon be available for download, we’re excited to share the official full season trailer for Batman: The Enemy Within, the five-part episodic game series that continues Telltale’s unique take on the World’s Greatest Detective. This trailer recaps the events of the entire season but focuses primarily on the relationship players built with former Arkham Asylum inmate John Doe, a relationship that will soon culminate in the birth of The Joker.

Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 5: Same Stitch will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on March 27.

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

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Clustertruck, Kirby Star Allies, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on March 15, 2018 by John Scalzo

The virtual stockers who help run the 3DS eShop are getting the week off, but Nintendo still plans to add 17 new titles to the Switch eShop over the next seven days.

This week’s biggest new release is definitely Kirby Star Allies, which will be available to download beginning tomorrow. Kirby Star Allies is a side-scrolling platformer that includes a drop-in/drop-out multiplayer option and new Friend Abilities to use against enemies. Also available to download on Friday is Tesla Vs Lovecraft, an overhead shooter where players will have to fight H.P. Lovecraft’s nightmarish monsters in a mech suit piloted by Nikola Tesla.

Horrible monstrosities are also at the center of Koei Tecmo’s Attack On Titan 2, and Switch owners will be able to do battle against the Titans for the first time on Tuesday, March 20. WayForward will also bring the third game in the Shantae series, Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, to the Switch on the same day.

Finally, if you’re looking to download something today, the truck-to-truck jumping of Clustertruck is now available through the Switch eShop, as is a re-release of Bad Dudes, a classic beat ’em up from the 1980s.

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

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged ,