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.

XBLA Today: Monaco

Posted on May 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

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After a pair of false starts, the Xbox Live Arcade edition of Monaco is fully patched and ready for your thieving pleasure. It’s a steal at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) and that’s the last pun I’ll use to describe the game, I promise. In fact, let’s let Pocketwatch Games take it from here:

Assemble a crack team of thieves and execute the perfect crime. Sneak, steal, and run for your lives in single player or with up to four friends in local or online co-op. Find out why it won the 2010 IGF Grand Prize and has been described by Rev3Games’ Anthony Carboni as “quite possible the best co-op ever.”

Monaco has been a favorite of the festival circuit for a few years now, and Xbox 360 owners can finally see what all the hubbub is about beginning today.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Avast! Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag developers discuss the PS4

Posted on May 10, 2013 by John Scalzo

Sony hasn’t strayed far for their second “Conversations With Creators” video. After focusing on Watch Dogs in episode one, the consolemaker sticks with Ubisoft and asks the developers of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag what they think of the PlayStation 4.

Creative Director Jean Guesdon and Associate Producer Sylvain Trottier praised the systems’s power with Trottier saying: “First thing that’s going to change drastically is the graphics. Because we think visually, with the stronger GPU, stronger CPU, a lot of RAM, we’re going to exploit this console and push the bar visually.”

Trottier also discussed the development environment of the PS4 and he believes Sony has made great strides in helping developers make games compared to the PS3: “The beauty of working with Sony on this console for this generation was the fact that it was built for game developers. To be really honest, Sony fixed all the issues that could have been there on the console.”

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is expected to be a launch title for the PS4 when it’s released later this year.

Posted in PS4 | Tagged

Batgirl cripples The Joker in new Injustice: Gods Among Us trailer

Posted on May 9, 2013 by John Scalzo

The Killing Joke is one of the most famous Batman stories of all time. In the disturbing, The Joker believes that any sane man can become insane after one “very bad day.” To test this theory, he shoots and cripples Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, in front of her father, Commissioner James Gordon. The Joker’s plan doesn’t quite work out as Barbara Gordon rechristens herself Oracle and becomes the supreme source of information for Gotham’s supers and she later regains the ability to walk and retakes the mantle of Batgirl.

All of which leads us to the brand new Batgirl trailer released today for Injustice: Gods Among Us. The world’s favorite librarian dons her batsuit and delivers a massive beatdown to The Joker (who’s wearing his Killing Joke costume).

Batgirl will be available on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace soon. A Killing Joke costume pack will also be available as a separate download. Wii U owners will be able to download the character this Summer.

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

Nintendo Download: Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, More

Posted on May 9, 2013 by John Scalzo

mariodonkeykongminismove-logoThe Mario and Donkey Kong series never seemed to catch on with gamers like some of Mario’s other sideline franchises. But that hasn’t stopped Nintendo from producing new games in the series and the fifth, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, is available on the 3DS eShop starting today. SpeedX 3D: Hyper Edition, a tunnel racer, has also been added to the 3DS eShop this week.

Three other games and a demo are also available this week…

  • Xevious and Solomon’s Key come to the Wii U Virtual Console
  • Publisher Dream, a “game design tycoon” game, is available on the DSiWare Shop.
  • And finally, a Resident Evil Revelations demo will be added to the Wii U eShop on May 14.

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

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

Injustice: Gods Among Us DLC will be available for Wii U this Summer

Posted on May 9, 2013 by John Scalzo

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If you own the Wii U version of Injustice: Gods Among Us, you may have noticed that you weren’t able to add Lobo to the game’s roster of DC Comics characters. Don’t worry, the developers at NetherRealm heard you and they took to Twitter to assure Wii U owners that downloadable content for the game will be available on the eShop this Summer:

PS3 and Xbox 360 owners were able to download Lobo yesterday and Batgirl will be available for the two platforms “soon.”

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

Sony will announce the next Gran Turismo game on May 15

Posted on May 8, 2013 by John Scalzo

Sony plans to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Gran Turismo with a special event at the Silverstone Race Circuit in England on May 15. “The event will be a celebration of all that Gran Turismo has come to represent to a community of millions all over the world” and Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi will make a special announcement about the future of the franchise.

Sony didn’t come right out and say they’re announcing Gran Turismo 6, but since we know it’s already in development, I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet.

The only question is… PS3 or PS4?

Posted in News, PS3, PS4 | Tagged

XBLA Today: Doritos Crash Course 2

Posted on May 8, 2013 by John Scalzo

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I never thought I’d be excited for a sequel to a game with “Doritos” in the title, and yet, here we are. Doritos Crash Course 2 is now available to download from the Xbox Live Arcade and, just the first game, it’s a free download for all Xbox Live users.

Once again developed by Behaviour Interactive, the second Crash Course promises a bigger game and the ability to unlock all of the courses and bonus items by spending a few Microsoft Points on in-game Coins. Yes, Doritos Crash Course 2 is one of those “free-to-play” games. But you only have to pay if you don’t want to play. And who doesn’t want to play Doritos Crash Course 2?

Doritos Crash Course 2 is the sequel to the XBLA smash hit Doritos Crash Course. Run, jump, slide and wall jump your Avatar through 4 new worlds of irreverent obstacles, traps and pitfalls. In this 2.5 platformer, compete for medals and find stars to progress. Use your stars to unlock new courses, power-ups and vanity items. Compare your best time against up to 3 asynchronous game clips of your friends.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

EA will release The Sims 4 in early 2014; 10 other titles planned for 2013/2014 release

Posted on May 8, 2013 by John Scalzo

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EA announced earlier this week that The Sims 4 would be released sometime next year. Yesterday, company President Frank Gibeau confirmed that the next entry in the popular franchise will be available for the PC and Mac in early 2014.

The Sims 4 will be joined by ten other titles in EA’s “fiscal 2014” lineup. All of these games will be in stores before March 31, 2014, but most are already on the schedule for 2013:

  • Fuse (May 28)
  • NCAA Football 14 (July 9)
  • Madden NFL 25 (August 27)
  • NHL 14 (September 10)
  • FIFA Soccer 14 (September)
  • FIFA Manager 14 (October)
  • Battlefield 4 (Fall)

They’ll be joined by the free-to-play Command & Conquer (which is expected to be released sometime in 2013), the next Need For Speed game (NFS games are typically released in the Fall), and NBA Live 14. Many of these titles were also confirmed for release on the PS4 and the Xbox 720/Durango during the same briefing.

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