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.

Travel through time with the Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Comic-Con trailer

Posted on July 9, 2015 by John Scalzo

Electronic Arts and PopCap have released a brand new trailer for Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 as part of today’s San Diego Comic-Con festivities.

The trailer focuses on the “Seeds of Time” map, which takes players on a whirlwind tour of history through prehistoric dinosaur days, ancient Egypt, and ancient Rome. It also rattled off many of the games features including the inclusion of over 100 “crazy” characters, 12 new Battlegrounds, 24-player online “mayhem,” four-player online co-op, a two-player splitscreen mode, and Solo Play.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will be available in Spring 2016 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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

The Behemoth’s Game 4 will officially be known as Pit People

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Slightly more than a year after it was first announced, The Behemoth has finally settled on an actual name for Game 4, their upcoming strategy RPG for the PC and Xbox One. Ready? Here it comes…

“Game 4 will henceforth be known as Pit People.” Confused? I’ll let the developer explain:

The Pit is the place where our story’s heroes get a fresh start in life! It’s basically what you and I know more commonly as an arena.

Pit People was the name written on the original concept sketch that started it all. Every interaction took place in an arena. Over time, adventuring became a big part of the game. However, a key moment in the story now occurs in the Pit, and so the name remained! In the end, we’re in the beginning!!!!!!!!!!

With a shiny new name all picked out, The Behemoth has also opened Pit People’s official website, which is packed with trailers, screenshots, and in-depth details on the game’s development. However, one hting you won’t find is a release date, as Pit People’s launch date is still “To Be Announced,” or more accurately, “When it’s done.”

[Source: The Behemoth Blog]

Posted in News, PC, Xbox One | Tagged

Brazilian stage confirmed for Street Fighter V… and Blanka’s sure to follow

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

Yoshinori Ono, the Executive Producer of Street Fighter V at Capcom, is heading to Brazil. More specifically, he’ll be attending this year’s Brasil Game Show to announce a new character addition to Street Fighter V. Ono teased this announcement in the trailer embedded above by revealing the game’s Brazilian stage.

Hmm… a Brazilian stage… an announcement in Brazil… this can mean only one thing… E. Honda is coming to Street Fighter V! Wait, wait, wait. On second thought, I’m not sure that’s correct. Let me try again. I’m sure to get it right this time…

Blanka is coming to Street Fighter V! Yup, that makes a lot more sense.

The 2015 Brasil Game Show will be held from October 8 through October 12 at the Expo Center Norte in Sao Paulo.

Posted in News, PC, PS4 | Tagged

Here’s the first trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight’s Batgirl: A Matter of Family expansion

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

Batman: Arkham Knight will travel back in time to explore the untold history of Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl in the Batgirl: A Matter of Family expansion. WB Games will release A Matter of Family next week, but first, they’ve decided to give gamers a sneak peek at the add-on (including Harley Quinn in her classic harlequin costume and the return of Mark Hamill as The Joker) in this brand new trailer.

However, savvy comic readers might know exactly how A Matter of Family will end. The expansion follows Batgirl (and Robin) to an abandoned amusement park, where the pair will attempt to rescue Commissioner Gordon from the clutches of The Joker. This same scenario was used in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, the famed Batman book where The Joker shot and paralyzed Batgirl. These events would eventually lead to her rebirth as the Oracle that Arkham players know and love.

But the Batman mythos is nothing if not adaptable, and its possible that Rocksteady and WB Montreal will write a different ending for the world’s most famous librarian.

Batgirl: A Matter of Family will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One on July 14 as part of the Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass. Everyone else will be able to purchase the expansion for $6.99 beginning July 21.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Super Impossible Road brings racing without a net to the PS4

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

I have put a ridiculous amount of time into the mobile version of Impossible Road. Its procedurally-generated track stretches on forever and hurtling your little marble off the edge to skip a huge portion of track is hold-your-breath exciting.

But Impossible Road is about to get even more impossible as developer Wonderful Lasers has announced the game will be released on the PS4 as Super Impossible Road. The console version will add a four-player splitscreen mode and a futuristic new presentation as the the leaderboard competition found in the mobile version has been dropped in favor of a multi-marble race down the roller coaster-like track. But developer Kevin Ng told the PlayStation Blog that players will still be able to jump ahead of their opponents by going over the edge:

The shortcut rule is simple. When you leave the track, you have around five seconds to touch down again, otherwise the screen will white out and you will re-spawn. And you’ll be re-spawned back at the last gate you went through, so you’d better make sure to roll through a gate here and there on the way down. It’s a simple system to understand, but it adds a lot of depth and strategy to race management.

Think of it as “Rainbow Road: The Game” and you’ll have a pretty good idea how Super Impossible Road works.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2015

Posted on July 8, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off tomorrow (with a Preview Night tonight), and Activision has announced the Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut during the show.

The Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition will include special variant figures with a “Dark” twist. Priced at $99.99, players who opt for the Dark Edition on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, or Xbox One will receive figures figures (Dark Spitfire, Dark Hot Streak, Dark Super Shot Stealth Elf, Dark Sea Shadow), a two-sided collector’s poster, and the Kaos Trophy (which unlocks exclusive Kaos content).

But if you’re an Amiibo hunter, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for the Wii U’s Dark Edition. Also priced at $99.99, it’ll also include the Dark Spitfire and Dark Hot Streak figures, but the other two will be replaced by Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Barrel Blaster. And that’s not all… the Dark Edition for the Wii-exclusive Skylanders SuperChargers Racing will come packed with Dark Hammer Slam Bowser and Dark Clown Cruiser. Because of a Skylanders/Amiibo switch in the base, both Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Hammer Slam Bowser are considered official Amiibo figures by Nintendo.

Gamers who will be attending this week’s San Diego Comic-Con will get a chance to test out the Dark Edition characters on a Skylanders SuperChargers demo station at Activision’s booth (#121), the Xbox Lounge at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, or at the Nintendo Game Lounge at the Marriott Marquis and Marina. Everyone else will have to make do with scoping out a few Dark Edition screenshots at the Activision Games Blog.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , ,

PS Store Today: Rocket League, Geometry Wars 3 Vita, Skullgirls 2nd Encore, more

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

The PS3 is being left behind in this week’s PlayStation Store update. But if you own a PS4 or a Vita, you’ll have a handful of new titles to play… especially if you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber.

PS4 players will get to go for the goooooaaaaaalllllll this week in Rocket League, a car combat game that adds a giant soccer ball to the arena. If you prefer to do your gaming on the go, one of 2014’s best games, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved, is now available for the Vita. Best of all, both these games are free for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Also available this week is Skullgirls 2nd Encore, the second update (and first to appear on the PS4) to the popular fighting game from Lab Zero Games. It’s joined by another updated re-release today, Ar Nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star, which expands Koei Tecmo’s RPG for the Vita.

More information on these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts is available at the PlayStation Blog

(more…)

Posted in News, PS4, Vita | Tagged , , ,

Game Critics Awards panel declares Fallout 4 the “Best of Show” at E3 2015

Posted on July 7, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The Game Critics Awards, a panel comprised of journalists from 38 different publications, have handed out their 2015 “Best of E3” honors and Bethesda’s Fallout 4 took home the big prize… which should come as a surprise to pretty much no one. In addition to being named “Best of Show,” Fallout 4 was also awarded “Best PC Game” and “Best Role Playing Game.”

However, Fallout 4 couldn’t win all the awards, and its quantity was actually matched by Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which collected three awards of its own. Among the traditional awards, Nathan Drake’s next adventure won “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.” But it was also selected for a “Special Commendation For Graphics” award by the Game Critics Awards panel.

Star Wars: Battlefront was the only other multi-award winner, taking home “Best Action Game” and “Best Online Multiplayer.” More interestingly, this year’s Best of E3 awards included two repeat winners… Super Mario Maker for “Best Family/Social Game” and No Man’s Sky for “Best Independent Game.”

A full list of this year’s winners can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,