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.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Graveyard Keeper, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, more coming to Xbox Store this week

The dead and the undead make this a rather somber week for the Xbox Games Store. Thankfully, there’s a bomb defusal party game thrown in to lighten the mood.

Telltale Games will bring players back to the world of The Walking Dead, as they follow Clementine on the final leg of her journey in the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season for the Xbox One. Continuing the dead bodies theme this week is Lazy Bear’s Graveyard Keeper, a medieval cemetery management simulation for the Xbox One.

Finally this week, if you’d prefer to remain among the living, you should heed the rules of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes… that’s the only way to win in Steel Crate’s bomb defusal party game for the Xbox One.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged , ,

The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Death’s Gambit, Phantom Doctrine, more coming to PS Store this week

Sony has revealed this week’s PlayStation Store update, and it’s the typical blend of late-Summer weirdness and big franchises trying to sneak in before the Fall’s big rush.

Telltale Games is leading things off with the first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season, the final entry in Clementine’s journey, for the PS4. Players have stuck with the character through three games, and now they’ll finally see if she can find a place to call home.

Also available to download this week for the PS4 is Death’s Gambit, a brutal side-scrolling platformer from Adult Swim Games. Rather than avoiding the undead, players will become an agent of Death and attempt to unravel the mystery of Siradon.

Finally this week, PS4 owners will be able to purchase Phantom Doctrine, a tactics-style RPG that takes place during the Cold War.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store (including Guns, Gore, & Cannoli 2, State of Mind, and Super Night Riders) after the break. (more…)

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THQ Nordic acquires rights to the TimeSplitters franchise

THQ Nordic is doing that thing again where they buy up the rights to an old franchise. This time, the publisher has purchased the right to the TimeSplitters trilogy from Crytek.

All three games in the franchise (TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect) were originally developed by Free Radical Design, and THQ Nordic’s purchase is a homecoming of sorts for the series. Crytek originally acquired the rights to the franchise after purchasing the developer in 2009. They were then shut down by Crytek in 2014, and the majority of the staff went on to form the core of THQ Nordic’s Dambuster Studios.

Now that you’re all caught up, it’s tempting to wonder if this means that TimeSplitters 4 is on the way. THQ Nordic wasn’t ready to talk about the future, but they do have a habit of re-releasing classic games (like the Re-Mars-tered Edition of Red Faction: Guerrilla) and commissioning sequels (like Darksiders III) from the franchises they acquire:

TimeSplitters was largely considered as one of the most influential console games of the early 2000s. The three game series earned a large and passionate fan base thanks to its unique humour, art style, and pop culture references while encouraging customization and modification to give each person their own individual experience. TimeSplitters was originally created by the development studio Free Radical Design that later become Deep Silver Dambuster, part of the THQ Nordic group.

Finally, THQ Nordic also announced they’ve acquired the rights to Second Sight, another shooter produced by Free Radical in the early 2000s.

UPDATE: THQ Nordic’s Deep Silver label has confirmed that “forthcoming products” based on TimeSplitters and Second Sight are both currently in development. We don’t yet know if they’re sequels or remasters (or both), but hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

Posted in News, PC, Retro |

Capcom will bring Devil May Cry 5 demo to Gamescom 2018

Capcom’s Hideaki Itsuno has confirmed (via Twitter) that the first playable demo of Devil May Cry 5 will be available for fans during this year’s Gamescom event.

Presumably, we’ll learn more about the rest of Capcom’s presence at the big European showcase sometime this week, because the 2018 edition of Gamescom will throw open its doors on Tuesday, August 21st…

Devil May Cry 5 is a direct sequel to 2008’s Devil May Cry 4, and it’s set to be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Early 2019.

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

Dark Horse will release a God of War comic miniseries in November

Sony and Dark Horse Comics are planning to give fans another God of War adaptation to add to their bookshelves this Fall.

The first issue of the God of War miniseries will be available on November 14, and it’ll be written by Chris Roberson (iZombie, Witchfinder). The art team will include artist Tony Parker (Mayday, This Damned Band), colorist Dan Jackson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and letterer John Roshell of Comicraft. E.M. Gist (The Strain, Will Save The Galaxy for Food) will provide cover art for Issue #1.

According to Dark Horse, the miniseries will serve as a prequel to this Spring’s critically-acclaimed sequel for the PS4:

The God of War comic series finds Kratos living in the remote Norse wilds after his war on the gods of Olympus. Seeking to put the rage that defined most of his life behind him, Kratos inadvertently sparks a feud with a mysterious cult of berserkers after attempting to save a stranger being mauled by a monstrous bear. But for the former Ghost of Sparta, no good deed goes unpunished.

In case you missed it, Titan Books will publish a God of War novelization later this month, and it’ll be written by J.M. Barlog (the father of Game Director Cory Barlog).

Posted in Etcetera, News, PS4 | Tagged

Spider-Man’s Launch Trailer swings into view

Insomniac’s PS4-exclusive Spider-Man will be available in just a few short weeks. So naturally, it’s a great time for Sony to unveil the game’s Launch Trailer, which features Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Aunt May, The Rhino, Scorpion, Mister Negative, and several other friendly (and not-so-friendly) denizens of the wallcrawler’s neighborhood.

The publisher also recently spent two hours with Insomniac’s superhero game, and Kristen Titus wrote about her experience with Spider-Man for the PlayStation Blog:

Early on in Marvel’s Spider-Man there’s a scene where our hero — currently crawling through the air vents of a collapsing building — takes a moment to field a call from his dear Aunt May. May’s checking in, blissfully unaware while Peter is quickly stringing up bad guys and saving civilians moments before he’ll come face to face with a major nemesis. It’s just another day in the neighborhood.

Spider-Man will be available for the PS4 on September 7.

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Dark Souls Remastered will make its Switch debut on October 19

Bandai Namco has announced that Dark Souls Remastered will finally make its way to the Nintendo Switch (alongside an Amiibo figure for Solaire of Astora) on October 19.

With the unique portable capabilities of the Nintendo Switch, players will be able to experience Dark Souls’ groundbreaking action-RPG gameplay that has inspired millions of players around the world anywhere at any time. Explore deserted castles, dark forests, decrepit towns, and many other haunting areas filled with fearsome beasts small and large. Throughout their adventures across Lordran players will build their character by strategically adapting to daunting foes while amassing a large collection of weapons, armor, magic and sorceries to wield for a truly unique playstyle.

Bandai Namco also reconfirmed that an online Network Test for Dark Souls Remastered for the Switch will be held before the game’s launch. But we’ll have to wait a bit longer to learn when we’ll get to sit down with the Network Test, as the publisher said that more information about it will be announced at a later date.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

New Retail Releases: World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth, Runbow Deluxe Edition, More

The war between the Alliance and the Horde continues to rage in World of Warcraft‘s seventh expansion, World of Warcraft: Battle For Azeroth. This time around, Blizzard will add two new continents, four allied races, and the Warfronts PvE mode to the game. The level cap will also increase to 120.

Runbow: Deluxe Edition, 13AM’s competitive runner, is also available on retail shelves this week for the PS4 and Switch. The Deluxe Edition includes several Costume and Music Packs for the game, as well as an original soundtrack.

A handful of other games will make their way to retail stores this week, and you can find them after the break. (more…)

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