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.

Mortal Kombat 10 is in development and will be released alongside next film adaptation

Lance Sloane, a producer at Warner Bros., was working the Comic-Con show floor this year to promote the second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. GamerHub.TV talked with Sloane during the convention and the conversation eventually drifted to the next Mortal Kombat film adaptation and the heavily rumored Mortal Kombat 10. Sloane didn’t have any specific information about either project, but he was able to confirm that NetherRealm Studios is hard at work on the next game in the series and that Warner Bros. wants to release it alongside the third Mortal Kombat movie (emphasis mine):

GamerHub.TV: What is the current status when it comes to a Mortal Kombat movie?

Lance Sloane: Well, we’ve been in greenlight committee for a while at the studio. We’ve got a great script. And we’ve got a great director with Kevin Tancharoen. Who is on board. It’s just figuring out the business side of it and when we would do it and when we would launch it and how do we sync up with the launch of the game they’re working on now. It’s not 100% yet, but we’re getting closer every day.

A sequel to the Mortal Kombat reboot was a certainty after its very successful launch in 2011. Ed Boon even admitted as much at the time. So while Sloane’s statement doesn’t give us any new information, it’s nice to know that forward progress is being made on the next Mortal Kombat game.

Posted in Etcetera, News | Tagged ,

Neil Gaiman will bring Wayward Manor to PC, tablets this Fall

Few names carry more cred in geek circles than Neil Gaiman (maybe Joss Whedon, as long as you ignore Season 6 of Buffy). Because of his reputation, there was much rejoicing in geek circles today as Gaiman announced that he plans to take his first step into the video game industry this Fall. The fantasy author has contributed the story to Wayward Manor, a PC/Mac/tablet game in development at The Odd Gentlemen (who also worked on The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom).

Wayward Manor, which shares a similar art style with the film adaptation of Gaiman’s Coraline, stars a ghost who just wants to enjoy his death in peace:

Set in a 1920s Victorian Gothic pastoral estate, Wayward Manor focuses on the plight of a ghost whose hope of a peaceful after-life is interrupted by a remarkable cast of intruders. Awoken from his post-mortem slumbers, our ghost must find ever-more inventive and brilliant ways to scare them away. As the ghost learns more about the living characters, he also learns more about his own death and after-life, and the danger they are all facing.

Players can pre-order the game, as well as a huge stash of Wayward Manor-stamped swag, at WhoHauntsNeil.com.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC |

Call of Duty: Ghosts officially announced for Wii U… for real this time

callofdutyghosts-rumor-boxIn case you were worried, Activision has confirmed that Call of Duty: Ghosts will be released for the Wii U on November 5, the same day as the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 editions. I’m unsure why it took Activision so long to put out an official announcement (the Wii U boxart was leaked by retailers back in April), but Wii U owners can breathe a certified sigh of relief now.

“As we have said before, we’re committed to doing everything we can to support the Wii U, which is why we’re excited to be bringing some of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world to the platform this year,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing.

The Wii U version of Call of Duty: Ghosts is being developed by Treyarch and will include second-screen features on the Wii U GamePad and Wii Remote support, if you’re so inclined. Additional Wii U-exclusive features will be announced at a later date.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Precursor relaunches Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter campaign with no episodic content

shadowoftheeternals-header

The first time Precursor Games tried to obtain funding for Shadow of the Eternals, their spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness, they had a tough time. When the campaign was suspended last month, backers had pledged only 10% of the requested $1.35 million total.

Today, the developers are back with a second shot at Kickstarter glory, but with some major changes to their pitch. The new Shadow of the Eternals will be no longer be released in an episodic fashion. Precursor is now stating that they will create a complete 8-10 hour game if their funding goal (which has been lowered to $750,000) is reached. David Hayter, the former voice of Solid Snake, has also been brought aboard as the voice of Detective Paul Becker, the game’s main character. Finally, Precursor will bring the game to the PS4 if they reach an unnamed stretch goal.

The rest of the pitch looks very similar to what we saw before, including a level that takes place in Csejthe Castle (home of Elizabeth Bathory, “The Blood Countess”), the Sanity Events, and an action-adventure look that is very reminiscent of Eternal Darkness. If all goes well, Precursor expects to release the game sometime in the Fall of 2014.

The Kickstarter campaign for Shadow of the Eternals will run through Friday, August 23. As of this writing, just a hair over $40,000 has been pledged towards the project.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Wii U | Tagged

Nintendo Download: Kid Icarus, Picross E2, Chain Blaster, more

kidicarus-boxWelcome to another week of downloadable games for your Nintendo systems:

  • The Virtual Console section of the Wii U eShop has received the NES classic Kid Icarus.
  • The 3DS eShop has received a trio of new titles. There’s the crossword puzzle game Picross E2, the fishing sim Angler’s Club: Ultimate Bass Fishing 3D, and the overhead shooter Chain Blaster.
  • Finally, the DSiWare Shop is now home to Cute Witch! Runner, an endless runless starring a cute witch.

More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U |

Microsoft will allow indie developers to self-publish games on Xbox One

xboxone-logoUPDATE: Major Nelson has confirmed that independent developers will be able to self-publish games on the Xbox One. He also promised that more details would be revealed at this year’s Gamescom event.

ORIGINAL STORY: It looks like another of Microsoft’s big Xbox One policy mistakes is going bye bye. According to a report on Game Informer, independent developers will have the ability to self-publish their games on Microsoft’s next-gen console.

This brings the Xbox One’s policy towards indie developers more in line with Sony’s PS4, which highlighted self-published games from Supergiant Games (Transistor), Klei Entertainment (Don’t Starve), Switchblade Monkeys (Secret Ponchos), and others at this year’s E3 Expo. Another indie title, Jonathan Blow’s The Witness, was at the center of the Sony’s PS4 press conference in February.

In addition to allowing developers to self-publish their titles, Microsoft is revamping the certification process for game updates. According to GI, the process will be similar to Apple’s iTunes policy and will strive to have a 14-day turnaround for an approvals.

I wonder what outspoken Microsoft critic Phil Fish (the creator of Fez) thinks of that.

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Saints Row IV Season Pass announced as game goes gold

saintsrowthirddominatrixAfter escaping THQ’s collapse relatively unscathed, Volition is proud to announce that development work on Saints Row IV is done. In industry terms, the game has “gone gold” (insert your own scatological joke here).

To celebrate, Volition has announced that gamers are now able to pre-order the (rather affordable) Season Pass that will be released with it. The Saints Row IV Season Pass will be sold for $9.99 and will entitle the owner to two downloadable expansions and an exclusive weapon, The Rectifier anal probe (again, insert your own scatological joke here).

The first expansion is scheduled to be the previously announced Director’s Cut of the “Enter the Dominatrix” scenario. It should be available sometime in the Fall and a second expansion will follow in “late 2013.” Saints Row IV will be released on August 20.

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

Stealth Inc, Zeno Clash II, Z.O.E. 1 and 2 HD, Do Not Fall, more added to PS Store

psnplay

Sony is kicking off their 2013 Play promotion with Stealth Inc: A Clone in the Dark (available for the PS3 and Vita). The “fast-paced stealth platformer” has been priced at $9.99 and features “brutal hazards, ruthless enemies, fiendish puzzles and red pixels galore.” Sounds like a good time (even without its original title: “Stealth Bastard”).

Also available this week is Zeno Clash II, a sequel to ACE Team’s first-person melee game; the HD remakes of Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (which are sold separately); Do Not Fall, a platformer that asks, “What if an entire game was made up of disappearing platforms?”; and a PS3 version of Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational.

Finally, The Smurfs 2 is now available in the PS3 Full Games store.

More details about all of these games can be found after the break and a full list of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged