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 Witcher 3: Wild Hunt announced for PC, next-gen consoles

Posted on February 5, 2013 by John Scalzo

Game Informer’s March cover (which is available for digital subscribers now, with the print edition slated to ship out in two weeks) will be devoted to the next adventure of Geralt, the witchiest witch who ever witched.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be available in 2014 for the PC and “all high-end platforms available” (which is surely code for next-gen consoles). CD Projekt RED told Game Informer that The Witcher 3 will be “30 times larger” than the second game in the series thanks to the game’s new engine, the internally-developed REDengine 3. If you’re looking for an open world action RPG, The Witcher 3 might be just what you’re looking for:

[T]he detective work that precedes deadly combat when monster hunting, storylines that weave and twist together between political intrigue and otherworldly menaces, and a tired hero who wants to set things right but can’t put down his swords until his conscience allows – if it ever does.

Check out the trailer above where the developers at CD Projekt RED give Game Informer their first look at The Witcher 3.

Posted in News | Tagged , , ,

Fear the infected in the latest gameplay video for The Last of Us

Posted on February 4, 2013 by John Scalzo

The Last of Us is creeping ever closer to its Spring release date and, on the most recent episode of GameTrailers TV, the developers at Naughty Dog revealed the infected for the first time.

Known as “runner” and “clickers,” the infected in The Last of Us are shuffling monsters that are also quite deadly. Check out the interview/gameplay video above and continue counting down until May 7.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

XSEED confirmed as Killer Is Dead’s US publisher

Posted on February 4, 2013 by John Scalzo

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We missed this one last week, but XSEED Games confirmed that they are indeed the publisher of Suda 51’s next game, Killer Is Dead. The game will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this Summer.

European/Australian gamers will be happy to know that Grasshopper Manufacture’s latest will also be available in Europe and Australia this Summer courtesy of Deep Silver.

Grasshopper released the first trailer for the game last week, check it out here in case you missed it.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Ravens win as Madden Super Bowl Simulation is scary accurate this year

Posted on February 4, 2013 by John Scalzo

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EA Sports’ Madden NFL Super Bowl Simulation is always pretty close to the final result, but this year’s prediction was so scarily accurate that some might be wondering if the fix was in. As prognasticated by Madden NFL 13, Super Bowl XLVII ended with a Baltmore Ravens victory over the San Francisco 49ers. But the simulation also accurately served up a wide variety of indiviudal moments from the game:

  • The 49ers were held to a field goal in the first quarter.
  • Joe Flacco threw a touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin.
  • The Ravens put the game away with a Justin Tucker field goal.
  • The margin of victory was three points (34-31 in real life versus 27-24 in the simulation)
  • Joe Flacco was named the Super Bowl MVP.

But of course, no simulation could have predicted the 34-minute blackout that overtook the game or that the Star Trek Into Darkness trailer would be super good (Benedict Cumberbatch just needs to be in every movie… ever). With this correct prediction, the Madden Super Bowl Simulation improves to 8-2 since EA Sports began making picks in 2004.

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

Weekly Warp-Up: Hello PlayStation 4? Edition

Posted on February 3, 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…

It’s finally here… I think. Sony is ready to announce their plan for the PlayStation 4/Orbis… I think. It’s all still very murky and it could just end up being another teaser of a teaser of a teaser, but it’s something to look forward to. Come on, February 20, don’t disappoint me!

If you’d prefer something a little closer to now, the Warp Zoned staff took their monthly look back at What We Played in January 2013 and a look forward at The Games of February 2013. Our UK Correspondent, Andrew Rainnie, also delved into the question of when’s the right time to buy a Wii U game when you’re still unsure about purchasing the system in Why I Bought A Wii U Game Without Owning A Wii U.

There’s more news from the here and now after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

New Releases: Dead Space 3, Sly Cooper 4, Fire Emblem: Awakening, More

Posted on February 3, 2013 by John Scalzo

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This week’s biggest new release is the return of Isaac Clarke in Dead Space 3. Everyone’s favorite alien-hunting engineer (wait, was Ripley an engineer?) has help this time in the form of the appropriately named John Carver. Go grab a buddy for co-op and check out Dead Space 3 this week on the PC, PS3, or Xbox 360.

Also available this week is Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time returns in a new adventure available simultaneously for the PS3 and Vita. But remember, if you buy the PS3 version, you’ll get the Vita version for free as part of Sony’s Cross-Buy promotion.

Namco Bandai will be bringing Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 to the PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360 this week in a unique way. The Xbox 360 version will be available on store shelves as a disc-based game while the PS3 and Wii U versions will be released exclusively as digital downloads.

And speaking of digital downloads, you can obtain the 3DS strategy game Fire Emblem: Awakening on Monday as a download from the 3DS eShop or in stores.

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360 | Tagged , ,

Watch the God of War: Ascension Super Bowl commercial early

Posted on February 2, 2013 by John Scalzo

Super Bowl XLVII is less than 24 hours away, and with it, all those amazing commercials. I’m sure the game will be pretty good too. But back to the commercials…

Sony has produced a 2:09 live action spot to promote the release of God of War: Ascension during the big game. They’ve been teasing bits and pieces of the commercial all week, but if you’d rather not wait until tomorrow, you can watch it right here.

God of War: Ascension will be released for the PS3 on March 12.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Madden NFL 25 chosen as name of this year’s game; Cover Vote begins March 11

Posted on February 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

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After teasing us yesterday with the above image, EA Sports has officially announced this year’s version of Madden NFL Football. But instead of carrying the name Madden NFL 14 like we all expected, the game will instead be known as Madden NFL 25 in celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary. This is really going to confuse people when the year 2024 rolls around.

“There’s no better way to celebrate and mark the culmination of 25 years of innovation than by naming this year’s game Madden NFL 25,” said Cam Weber, General Manager of American Football for EA Sports. “This year’s game will push the boundaries with gameplay and feature innovations that will lay a very strong foundation for the next 25 years of this storied franchise.”

EA also announced that this year’s Madden Cover Vote will begin on March 11. For Madden NFL 25, the team at EA Tiburon is going back in time to pit 32 NFL legends against 32 current players. Like last year, the bracket will be unveiled live on ESPN2’s SportsNation.

Madden NFL 25 is in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 and will be released on August 27.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged