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.

Gran Turismo 6 demo, MLB 13: The Show Home Run Derby, more added to PS Store

Posted on July 3, 2013 by John Scalzo

mlb13theshow-cutchThe 2013 All-Star Game will take place in two weeks, at beautiful Citi Field, and Sony wants to celebrate with a new PlayStation Store release: MLB 13: The Show – Home Run Derby. Sony has taken the popular mode out of the retail version and released it as a standalone PSN title with over 30 of the top hitters in baseball.

Also available this week for the PS3 is the Koei-published massive battler Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War and the bicycle simulation Tour De France 2013. Koei is also dropping a new game on the PS2 Classics section: Warriors Orochi. Over on the Vita side of things, three titles will vie for your download dollar: Farming Simulator, a farming simulator; Pinball Heroes Complete, a remake of the popular PSP pinball game; and Velocity Ultra, a puzzle shooter.

But the biggest addition to the PlayStation Store this week isn’t a full game, it’s a demo. In the Gran Turismo 6 “GT Academy 2013” demo players will be guided by GT Academy driver Lucas Ordonez around the famed Silverstone circuit well ahead of GT6’s holiday 2013 release date.

You can find more information on all of these games 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

The Walking Dead: 400 Days gets a release schedule and a launch trailer

Posted on July 2, 2013 by John Scalzo

During this year’s E3 Expo, Telltale Games revealed that a new downloadable expansion bridging The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Season Two would be available this Summer. Little did we know that “this Summer” actually meant “early July.”

The Walking Dead: 400 Days will be available to download from the PlayStation Store for the PS3 today in North America. It will be followed by PC, Xbox 360, iOS, and Vita versions over the next week and into August:

  • Tuesday, July 2 – PlayStation Store (North America)
  • Wednesday, July 3 – PC/Mac (Steam, Telltale Games Store)
  • Friday, July 5 – Xbox Live Arcade
  • Wednesday, July 10 – PlayStation Store (Europe)
  • Thursday, July 11 – iOS App Store
  • August – PS Vita (The Walking Dead: Season One retail release)

Aside from the Vita version (which includes the entirety of Season One), 400 Days will be priced at $4.99/400 Microsoft Points on all platforms and will require a copy of The Walking Dead: Episode One. Also, be sure to check out the brand new launch trailer for The Walking Dead: 400 Days above.

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

Xbox head Don Mattrick leaves Microsoft for Zynga

Posted on July 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

donmattrickWell this was unexpected. And it just might explain why Mattrick has been unable to give reporters a straight answer about anything over the last month.

According to a report on AllThingsD, Don Mattrick, the President of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment division, is leaving the company. This comes on the heels of an absolutely disastrous E3 outing for Mattrick and Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox One console. Was he fired? Did he quit in disgust? Did he purposely tank attempt to make things better with the gaming public? The world may never know.

What we do know is that the report comes from “multiple sources close to the situation” and that Mattrick’s new home may be as the CEO of Zynga. The troubled casual/mobile developer would certainly be a new challenge for Mattrick, but it is positively low-stakes compared to spearheading a major new console launch.

An announcement on Matttrick’s future could come as early as today. And if the reports are true, his Microsoft career will have culminated with the reversal of the Xbox One’s much-hated DRM policy.

UPDATE: It’s official.

Posted in News |

Rise of the Triad reboot to be released on July 31, includes free download of original ROTT

Posted on July 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

Prepare to get ludicrous! Apogee and Interceptor Entertainment have announced that the Rise of the Triad reboot will be released on July 31.

The Unreal Engine 3-powered PC exclusive has been priced at $14.99 and all pre-orders will come packaged with the “Apogee Throwback Pack,” a four-pack of classic Apogee titles including Rise of the Triad: Dark War, Extreme Rise of the Triad, Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold and Blake Stone: Planet Strike.

You can also check out the new trailer (which features plenty of gibs) above.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged ,

Beatbuddy slides onto Steam on August 6

Posted on July 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

beatbuddy-boxA few days after the release of last week’s very amusing new edition of Threaks News, the developers of Beatbuddy have announced that the game has a new name (Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians) and an official release date (August 6). The PC, Linux, and Mac title will be available to download exclusively from Steam for $14.99.

Beatbuddy was included in our Best of PAX East 2013 roundup and we’re thrilled the game will be available to everyone soon. Are you unsure what Beatbuddy’s all about? It’s all about the beat…

Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians tells a story of an ethereal, blue creature who is awoken from his eternal slumber in order to save the world of Symphonia from losing music forever to Prince Maestro. Beatbuddy’s quest takes him to a series of worlds where he encounters vibrant characters, such as Harmony, Clef, Trebble, and Quaver, who aid him as he opens paths and solve puzzles on his journey. Threaks has created a rich, interactive experience utilizing its patent-pending sound technology that syncs in-game animations with the beat, enabling players to experience music that is woven into the fabric of this action-adventure.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Weekly Warp-Up: The Annual “It’s Too Hot” Edition

Posted on June 30, 2013 by John Scalzo

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

Does everybody remember the “Rent is Too Damn High” guy from the 2010 New York governor’s debate? I’ve been thinking about him again recently, not least of which because it’s been too damn hot this week. Yup, that’s how little is going on in the game industry this week, I referenced the “Rent is Too Damn High” guy and the weather.

Anyway, UK Correspondent Andrew Rainnie looked at Nintendo’s performance during this year’s E3 Expo and has put together a few thoughts on what he considers “The New Conservatism of Nintendo.” And speaking of E3, the Game Critics Awards got together and announced the nominees for their annual Best of E3 2013 awards. This year, a trio of games (TitanFall, Destiny, and Watch Dogs) came away with more nominations than all the rest.

So cool down and take a gander at the rest of this week’s big news stories, after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

New Releases: Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition, Dark, Crash City Mayhem

Posted on June 30, 2013 by John Scalzo

mortalkombatkomplete-box

Happy July everyone! If you were looking for a massive list of new releases to while away a few Summer hours indoors when it’s just too hot outside… you’ve come to the wrong place. Just three games are on the release schedule for this week:

Hmm. Maybe this week’s downloadable slate will offer up something interesting…

Posted in 3DS, News, PC | Tagged

Yawn… Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition is up to seven million copies sold

Posted on June 28, 2013 by John Scalzo

minecraft360-header

Hey look! Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition sold another million copies. I love the game and I’m happy for everyone involved, but isn’t selling another million copies every few months a bit boring? Why not switch it up a bit? Next time, developer 4J Studios should make an announcement after Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition sells exactly 1,234,567 copies since their previous tweet. Whatever, it’s Friday afternoon.

Here’s the latest celebratory tweet from 4J Studios:

Seriously, congratulations.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged