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.

Xbox Store Today: Yooka-Laylee, MX Vs ATV 2017, The Sexy Brutale, more

Posted on April 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

Relive the late 90s with today’s Xbox Games Store update, as Playtonic Games has released Yooka-Laylee for the Xbox One. Most of Playtonic’s employees are veterans of Rare, and they’ve brought the same “collectathan” style of platforming to their latest game. In Yooka-Laylee, players will guide a giant chameleon and a wisecracking bat through the jungle as they hop on floating platforms and attempt to stop the nefarious Capital B from destroying the world’s books.

Also available to download for the Xbox One today is MX Vs ATV 2017 Official Track Edition, an update to MX Vs ATV Supercross Encore that includes all 16 official tracks from the 2017 Supercross Championship Season. Why don’t more sports games do this?

Finally today, Cavalier Game Studios and Tequila Works teamed up to bring the mysterious and intriguing The Sexy Brutale to the Xbox One. Players will waltz through the titular casino mansion as they attempt to solve a murder… and escape the neverending time loop they’ve found themselves trapped in.

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Sega will release Yakuza Kiwami for the PS4 on August 29

Posted on April 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

Sega has announced that Yakuza Kiwami will be released for the PS4 on August 29.

Yakuza originally launched for the PS2 in 2005, and Sega is billing Yakuza Kiwami as an “Extreme” remake of their gangland tale. In addition to the expected graphical bump, the PS4 re-release will also include re-recorded Japanese audio, nearly 30 minutes of brand new cutscenes, and loads of other bonus features. In another bit of good news, Sega tagged the game with a wallet-friendly sticker price of $29.99, and players who purchase the game during its initial printing will receive a special Steelbook case.

Yakuza Kiwami Features

  • A Family Patriarch’s Ransom of New Content – “Kiwami” literally translates to “Extreme,” and the game was named that for good reason. Not just a simple graphical upgrade, Kiwami adds nearly 30 minutes of cutscenes alone, providing all-new insight into the game’s plot and creating common threads with series prequel Yakuza 0. There’s also added distractions (Pocket Circuit car racing, MesuKing: Battle Bug Beauties, new hostesses, and more), side quests, combat updates, re-recorded Japanese dialogue, and more to bring the original Yakuza game into the latest console generation.
  • A Place for Newcomers and Veterans – Yakuza Kiwami is the ultimate bridge in the series. Newcomers or those whose Yakuza experience started with Yakuza 0 will have familiar, exacting controls, top-notch Sega localization, and a solid starting point for entering the Yakuza franchise fresh. Veterans will experience a familiar Kamurocho and plot, but with new levels of story depth and graphical polish.
  • But It Was Me! Majima! – Completely new to Kiwami is the “Majima Everywhere” system, where the series’ deranged, one-eyed maniac will constantly surprise and challenge Kiryu to combat when he least expects it. We’re talking “popping out of a goofy costume” levels of surprise, so players must stay on their toes and be ready to defend themselves from Kiryu’s chief rival.
  • Extreme Revitalization – Kiwami is rebuilt from the ground up with all new HD assets, optimized for the PlayStation 4 and running in 1080p/60FPS. And following suit with Sega’s commitment to the Yakuza series, the game will release in both physical and digital formats in the west.

    • If you’re unfamiliar with Kazuma Kiryu’s story, Sega also launched the Yakuza Experience website today, and you can learn more about the franchise’s history with an interactive timeline and character map, as well as the first issue of a 10-part digital comic series.

    Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

    Clutch the Awakened Automaton wants to kill all the humans in this Quake Champions trailer

    Posted on April 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

    HAL… The Terminator… Bender… Hollywood loves robots that are also remorseless killing machines. So let’s all welcome Clutch to the fray, as the the “Awakened Automaton” is the subject of the latest trailer for Quake Champions. Bethesda and id Software have also provided the public with a rundown of its rather aggressive abilities:

    Clutch (Awakened Automaton)
    It was just a mining automaton with limited AI and a force-shield to protect organics and drills. But it was the first to return from the cavern filled with floating ruins and strange markings. Its custodians transferred the data it had gathered to their master neural network. But, after analysis, the network… malfunctioned? Suddenly, Clutch was returning to the cavern as automata began killing organics. Clutch killed them, too, if they were in its path. Once at the cavern, Clutch followed the network’s instructions. A dark mass of writhing tendrils materialized. Clutch stepped into it.

    Active Ability – Barrier: Whether you’re in team games and want to protect allies, or just need a quick save in Deathmatch, throw down Clutch’s Barrier Active Ability to block incoming attacks for a limited time. This large force-shield once protected organics and drills in the mines, but in the Arena, it serves as a solid defense against enemy Champions.

    Passive Ability – Still Defense: Got some aggressive, rocket-happy bunny-hopper coming at you head-on? With Clutch’s Still Defense Passive Ability, stand strong and gain 20% damage reduction against incoming attacks while walking or standing still. In addition, running forward without changing direction will increase your speed. Handy in the mines, devastating in the Arenas.

    Quake Champions’s Closed Beta will reopen this Thursday, April 13, and if you haven’t received an invitation yet, be sure to sign up for a chance to enter the Arena at Quake.com.

    Posted in News, PC | Tagged

    “Single-Stick Shooter” Deathstate is coming to the PS4 on April 25

    Posted on April 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

    Last year, indie developer Workinman Games told us that their PC-exclusive “single-stick shooter,” Deathstate, would eventually make the jump to consoles. Now known as Bread Machine Games, the developer revealed this morning that it’ll be out for the PS4 on April 25.

    So how does a “single-stick shooter” work? I’ll let Bread Machine’s Keith McCullough explain:

    Creating a bullet hell/roguelike was tricky. The bullet hell genre is more about dodging and positioning than shooting and aiming, so we knew right away players would need strong directional dodges. We love Binding of Isaac and wanted to follow its model, but we quickly discovered that the extreme volume of bullets, constant dodging, cooldown management, and twin-stick aiming added up to an overwhelming combination.

    Our solution: lose the second stick!

    In Deathstate, you are always shooting (as long as something is close enough to be shot). This shifted the player’s attention squarely onto movement and avoidance, and allowed us to get crazy with projectiles. Really crazy. On our highest difficulty, Insanity Mode, the bosses absolutely unload.

    Featuring a retro-style aesthetic and a “Carpenter-esque” synth soundtrack, players will venture into an alternate plane of existence known as the “Deathstate” to discover the truth about what happened to their missing professor. But once you’re inside this weird realm of “Lovecraftian non-euclidean sunken temples [and] Hellraiser-esque labyrinthine black light hellscapes,” you’ll need to fight back against the pulsating denizens of hell by harvesting their organs to use as weapons. Eww…

    You can learn more about Deathstate by visiting McCullogh’s full write-up at the PlayStation Blog.

    Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

    Yooka-Laylee, Cosmic Star Heroine, Kero Blaster, more added to PS Store

    Posted on April 12, 2017 by John Scalzo

    Retro-inspired games once again rule the roost in this week’s PlayStation Store update.

    In Yooka-Laylee, the king of the jungle isn’t a great ape or a ferocious bear, but rather, a chameleon named Yooka and a bat that goes by Laylee. Both characters will head out on an N64-style platforming adventure this week to find collectibles and stop the nefarious Capital B and Dr. Quack. Developed by Playtonic, Yooka-Laylee is now available to download for the PS4.

    Also available this week is the latest addition to Sony’s Play Collective promotion… Cosmic Star Heroine. The PS4 RPG was developed by Zeboyd Games, and it features a gameplay style inspired by 16-bit RPGs like Chrono Trigger. Players will guide Alyssa L’Salle, an intergalactic superspy, across the galaxy as she’s forced to turn against her superiors at at the Agency of Peace and Intelligence to uncover the evildoers behind a horrible conspiracy.

    Finally this week, the creator of Cave Story, Studio Pixel, is back with Kero Blaster, a new side-scrolling platformer for the PS4.

    You can learn more about all of these titles (and the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store) after the break. (more…)

    Posted in News, PS4, Vita | Tagged ,

    Here’s your first look at the new multiplayer maps from Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Continuum DLC Pack

    Posted on April 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

    After previously teasing fans with “Shaolin Shuffle,” a 70s-set new chapter in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s Zombies Mode, Activision and Infinity Ward have returned with a look at the Continuum DLC Pack‘s multiplayer maps.

    All four new maps are on display in the new trailer, which also encourages players to tackle them using a variety of different tactics (including “Run and Gun,” “Sniper,” “Stealth,” and “Heavy”):

    Multiplayer Maps in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Continuum DLC Pack

    • Turista – A plush spa and resort, “Turista” is nestled in the middle of a giant skeleton of an ancient creature. With sniper spots scattered across a majestic, central waterfall, Turista also boasts tight interiors for fans of close-quartered combat and a three-lane design that caters to a variety of play styles.
    • Scrap – Set in an abandoned junkyard on the Moon, “Scrap” features a combination of extended sightlines and tactical pathways that reward players who engage in both long and short range combat.
    • Archive – Fast, frenetic engagements set the pace in “Archive,” a post-futurist art gallery where tight engagements contrast with open exterior battlegrounds in this wide three-lane style map.
    • Excess – Perched atop a gilded penthouse in a sprawling future metropolis, “Excess” is a small, circular map re-imagined from the classic Modern Warfare 2 map, “Rust,” that retains the intense, fast-paced combat from the original.

    Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Continuum DLC Pack will be available to download for PS4 players on April 18. But PC and Xbox One owners will have to wait until sometime in May for a chance to purchase the expansion.

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

    Overwatch goes back to the past and revisits Tracer’s first mission in the new Uprising event

    Posted on April 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

    Blizzard is taking the world of Overwatch back to the past with the new “Uprising” event, which begins today and will be available until May 1st. Players will travel back to the heyday of the Overwatch, and relive Tracer’s first mission in a special cooperative brawl mode.

    As you might have guessed, the “Uprising” event will also feature more than 100 themed Loot Boxes containing new Skins, Highlights, Emotes, and Sprays:

    Relive Tracer’s First Mission
    Journey seven years into the past and join a group of Overwatch agents fighting through the streets of King’s Row to quell an uprising led by Null Sector, a rogue group of omnics. Team up with your friends and play as Tracer, Torbjorn, Reinhardt, or Mercy to defeat the robots and liberate the city. There are no reinforcements. Failure is not an option. The future depends on you.

    Experience a pivotal moment in history from before the fall of Overwatch. Join a strike team of Overwatch agents — including the newest recruit, Tracer — as they undertake a vital mission to stop an omnic uprising in King’s Row. Drop into the action and play as one of the four charged with completing this critical objective.

    More information about the “Uprising” event can be found at PlayOverwatch.com. And two additional videos, a new “Origin Story” trailer and another “Developer Update” with Director Jeff Kaplan, can also be found after the break. (more…)

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

    Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (and Jak and Daxter) will be released for PS4 on August 22

    Posted on April 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

    Naughty Dog has announced (via the PlayStation Blog) that Uncharted: The Lost Legacy will be available as a standalone digital download and as a retail disc release on August 22.

    Like with The Last of Us: Left Behind, Naughty Dog is putting a considerable amount of developmental muscle into Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and Creative Director Shaun Escayg discussed this new direction while also unveiling an early scene from the game:

    In December we said that we’re approaching this project as a true Uncharted game — complete with its own deep narrative with complex character development, all-new destinations, refined gameplay, and blockbuster cinematic moments. We’re especially excited to have Chloe as our new protagonist and explore more of her story as she and Nadine venture across India in search of the fabled Tusk of Ganesh. To that end, we wanted to share a new scene from early on in the game as Chloe and Nadine try to unravel the clues leading to the Tusk’s location.

    Because of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy’s expanded scope, the game will be priced at $39.99 ($49.99 CAD). However, players who purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition, Explorer’s Pack, or Triple Pack of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will receive a free copy of the downloadable version. And for fans jumping into the Uncharted series for the first time, anyone who pre-orders The Lost Legacy will receive a download code for the PS2-On-PS4 re-release of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.

    Oh, and by the way, it looks like Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy will be available to download for the PS4 on August 22 as well.

    Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged , ,