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 is coming to the PS3 this year

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Later today, Sony will host a 15th Anniversary celebration for the Gran Turismo series at the Silverstone Race Circuit. During the event, the consolemaker planned to reveal the next game in the franchise, but a leak has tipped their hand a bit early. Later today, Sony will officially announce that Gran Turismo 6 is coming to the PS3 this holiday season.

Kazunori Yamauchi, the father of the Gran Turismo series and the President of Polyphony Digital, has been hyping up Gran Turismo 6 for several years now. So even without the leak, this announcement probably wouldn’t surprise very many people.

We’ll probably learn more after the official announcement, but for now we know that Gran Turismo 6 will feature seven new tracks (including Silverstone), over 1,200 cars, more customization options, and “a renewed focus on downloadable content.”

What we don’t know is if a version of Gran Turismo 6 will be available for the PS4.

[Source: Eurogamer]

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Konami’s 2013 Pre-E3 Show includes MGS5: The Phantom Pain, Castlevania: LoS2, more

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Konami has announced they plan to host their third annual “Pre-E3 Show” this June. The “Pre-E3 Show” will be held on June 6 at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time), a week before the E3 Expo, and fans will be able to livestream the presentation through GameSpot.com, the GameSpot Xbox Live app, or Konami.com.

Konami plans to bring out the big guns for their 2013 “Pre-E3 Show” including “behind-the-scenes footage” of Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, the “inside scoop” on Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and a new gameplay trailer for Mercury Steam’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. And as always, a few “major” surprises are on the agenda for Konami’s “Pre-E3 Show.”

I’m hoping for a Contra reboot, but it’s a longshot, I admit.

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

Metro: Last Light, Dust 514, Star Wars Pinball, more added to PS Store

metrolastlight-posterSony has made up for last week’s paltry PlayStation Store update with a treasure trove of new titles in this yesterday’s update.

Leading the way is Deep Silver’s post-apocalyptic FPS, Metro: Last Light. Also now available is the “final release” of Dust 514. The Eve Online spinoff has been in open beta since January, but now CCP Games is ready to call the game “finished” (or as finished as an ever-evolving MMO can be). If you’d prefer a little more pinball in your sci-fi, this week also sees the standalone release of Star Wars Pinball on the PS3 and the Vita.

Let’s see, what else… Another Rockstar title has been added to the PS2 Classics collection, Manhunt, their “most dangerous game.”

You can find more new releases (and more information about the games listed above) after the break and a complete list of this week’s new game add-ons at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3, Vita | Tagged ,

Ubisoft is working on a ZombiU 2 prototype

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After New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU was the must have game of the Wii U’s November launch. Never one to back down from a sequel opportunity, the big brains at Ubisoft have begun work on a sequel. Or rather, as Ubisoft Montpellier Creative Director Jean-Philippe Caro tweeted, a sequel prototype:

As ZombiU 2 is currently considered a prototype, there’s a chance it won’t be released at all. But come on, this is Ubisoft we’re talking about. I expect to be bashing more zombie skulls with a cricket bat sooner rather than later.

Posted in News, Wii U |

Borderlands 2’s Krieg the Psycho DLC is now available to download

Gearbox has added Krieg the Psycho, the second downloadable character, and the first focused on melee combat, to Borderlands 2 today. Krieg is available to download from the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and PC download services for $9.99 (or 800 Microsoft Points). If you previously purchased the Borderlands 2 Season Pass, Krieg will be a free download.

“On behalf of the development team at Gearbox Software, I want to thank the fans of Borderlands 2 for the love and engagement that allows us to invest our hearts and time into supporting the game with an entirely new player character, Kreig the Psycho,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “Our fans now get the opportunity to step into the shoes of one of the most iconic characters in the Borderlands franchise as they slice their way through Pandora on the hunt for new loot!”

If the launch trailer isn’t enough to satisfy your clamoring for Krieg carnage, Creative Director Paul Helquist has posted a 15-minute walkthrough with the character at Game Trailers.

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

Ken Levine begins writing his next project

irrationalgames-logoIt’s a good day to be Ken Levine, the Creative Director at Irrational Games. First, Take Two announced that his most recent creation, BioShock Infinite, has sold 3.7 million copies since being released on March 26. And then, Levine revealed (via Twitter) that he’s begun writing his next project.

“This is something else,” he writes, a phrase which will surely lead the Internet to run wild with claims that Levine is working on BioShock 4 and that it’s better than the preceding three… or… that it’s something totally new and not related to BioShock in any way.

In a followup tweet, Levine revealed that he’s currently finding inspiration in Mad Men, P.T. Anderson, the Coen brothers, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Soderbergh, Tom Stoppard, Stephen Sondheim, and “games.” Whether or not any of these inspirations will make it into Irrational’s next game remains to be seen.

And no mention was made of BioShock Vita, which is a bad sign for the constantly delayed project’s future survival.

UPDATE: In June, it was confirmed that Ken Levine’s next project is actually the screenplay to a Logan’s Run remake.

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

Take Two announces release dates for WWE 2K14 and NBA 2K14

wwe2kTake Two Interactive had a very good year. The publisher’s 2013 fiscal year ended in March, so yesterday they presented their financial fortunes to shareholders and the press. Take Two also wants you to know that they’ve pinned down release dates for WWE 2K14 and NBA 2K14.

According to the press release, the first WWE game published by 2K Games will be released on October 29 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. As of today, a version of the game for the Wii U or an appearance on next-generation systems from Sony or Microsoft looks to be out of the question.

The future of NBA 2K14 is even more mysterious. We know it’ll be available on October 1, but Take Two has listed the supported platforms as “TBA.” Typically, the NBA 2K series is released for every conceivable platform, so the “TBA” is probably just a placeholder for “PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and the (currently unnamed) Xbox 720/Durango.”

But I guess we’ll find out for sure in October.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Motocross Madness Review: Avatars Racing Motorcycles

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Microsoft has used their Avatar Famestar program to promote a wide variety of game’s starring the system’s cartoony (but not too cartoony) Avatars. Last month, the energetic virtual characters vroom vroomed their way onto the professional dirt bike racing circuit in a Motocross Madness reboot. Originally released for the PC in 1998, this new version of Motocross Madness provides plenty of MX thrills for a budget price (800 Microsoft Points/$10). (more…)

Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged