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.

Prey 2 is officially still in limbo

Posted on October 18, 2012 by John Scalzo

Back in April, Bethesda officially declared that development on Prey 2 had stalled. A company spokesman would confirm that the game wasn’t being cancelled, but that it would definitely not make its planned 2012 release date. In the six months since that news was handed down… not much has changed.

Nathan Cheever, a designer at Human Head Studios took to Twitter this week to confirm that the game is still in limbo:

As we said at the time, the original Prey took 11 years to go from announcement to release. So this delay is, sadly, par for the course for the series.

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

New York Times to publish Tetris-themed crossword next week

Posted on October 18, 2012 by John Scalzo

A lot of people see Tetris pieces in their dreams. But next Thursday, October 25, people will also be able to see Tetris pieces embedded into the famous New York Times crossword.

The puzzle design, which you can see on your left, was created by Kotaku reader “Caleb.” Caleb Madison is considered the New York Times’ resident crossword whizkid, so it likely belongs to him.

In addition to the block shapes, the puzzle contains a few other Tetris-themed surprises, but unless you want to be spoiled, don’t click on that Kotaku link.

And speaking of Tetris, did you know it was recently named the “Scientifically Proven Best Video Games of All Time“? Because it was.

Posted in Etcetera, News | Tagged

The Scientifically Proven Top 100 Video Games of All Time

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

We greatly expanded and updated The Scientifically Proven Best Video Games of All Time as The Video Game Canon in 2017. You should check it out!

When it comes to deciding which video games qualify as the best of all time, everyone has an opinion. And sometimes those opinions result in a violent argument over the mental faculties (or lack thereof) of the listmaker. So we thought we’d add a little science to the equation to find out exactly which games can be considered the “100 Best Video Games of All Time” and which ones have been fighting above their weight class all these years. (more…)

Posted in DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS2, PS3, Retro, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

XBLA Today: Serious Sam 3: BFE, Zombie Driver HD, Discovered

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

Today’s trio of additions to the Xbox Live Arcade couldn’t be more different.

First up, there’s Serious Sam: BFE (1200 Microsoft Points/$15), one of the wildest first person shooters on the PC, now available for the XBLA:

Serious Sam 3: BFE is a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters where men were men, cover was for amateurs, and pulling the trigger made things go boom. Brutally fast-paced action, massive shootouts, and thrilling cooperative play make for the most explosive Serious Sam game ever! Contains the full single-player and cooperative campaign modes.

Next up is Zombie Driver HD (800 Microsoft Points/$10), a top-down car combat game that pits a variety of vehicles against the lumbering undead:

Insane mix of cars, speed, explosions, blood and zombies! Fight through an epic narrative campaign or test yourself in the Slaughter and Blood Race modes. Engage huge bosses, save survivors, drive crazy vehicles such as a bulldozer, fire truck or even a tank and smash everything in your way. Take part in the Blood Race tournament – chase other cars and take them down without mercy on brutal racing tracks. Jump into the Slaughter mode and survive as long as possible on specially crafted arenas.

Finally, we’ve got Discovered, a Kinect-powered “original interactive film” that promises to give you a taste of stardom. Due to a sponsorship from Intel, Discovered is a free download on the XBLA:

Do you have what it takes to be a superstar? Get schooled by Chris Evans on the secrets of the action hero. Get styled and learn how to work the runway with Chanel Iman. Rock the party with Redfoo of LMFAO. Live video play puts you in the action: punch, jab, kick, jump — pose, smile — surf the crowd. Pass these celebrity tests and you’ll be slated for stardom. Share the custom movie poster of you and Evans, and your magazine cover shot, with your friends.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Tik Games needs Kickstarter campaign to finish Chucky: Wanna Play?

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

Tik Games first announced Chucky: Wanna Play? last May with an expected release date of Fall 2011 on the PC, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade. But the Fall came and went and gamers certainly didn’t get lucky with a brand new Chucky game. Now we know why.

The developer has turned to Kickstarter to help fund the rest of the development of Chucky: Wanna Play?, which has now become a PC exclusive. Tik Games is seeking $925,000 to complete the game for an expected release date of May 2013.

“After securing the video game publishing rights for this menacing little character, we decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the development. This allows us to build the game for gamers and not worry about watering down our vision to appease mass market game resellers,” said Alex Tikhman, Co-Founder and VP of Publishing & Business Development for Tik Games. “If our campaign is successful, we will create a game that truly captures the edge-of-your-seat thriller action of the menacing spirit Chucky.”

The Chucky: Wanna Play? Kickstarter campaign will run through November 14, and if you’re willing to open your wallet extra wide, Tik will even let you contribute to the game’s development.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Vita Version of Jet Set Radio has been delayed

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

You may have noticed that yesterday’s PlayStation Store update featured a distinct lack of Jet Set Radio for the Vita.

The Dreamcast favorite was originally scheduled to be added to the PlayStation Store yesterday, but Sega decided to delay the game’s re-release on the handheld due to a need for “necessary development optimizations.” The publisher didn’t offer up an English translation of that bit of marketing speak or a new release date, but they did promise to announce one soon.

A release date, that is, not a translation of “necessary development optimizations.” Because I think that’s just gibberish.

Posted in News, Vita | Tagged

Pikmin 3 will be available in Spring 2013

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

The latest Iwata Asks interview has revealed that Pikmin 3 will be released in Spring 2013. The new release date was confirmed during a discussion of the Wii U GamePad.

Pikmin 3 was previously tagged as a Wii U “launch window” title, as Nintendo expects it to be available before March 31, 2013. Combined with its new “Spring” designation, I’d say it’s pretty likely that the game will find its way to stores sometime in the month of March.

Of course, the Spring season officially begins on March 20, 2013, so there’s a distinct possibility that Pikmin 3 will miss its “launch window” release.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

CoD Black Ops Declassified to be released on November 13, includes CoD Roads to Victory

Posted on October 17, 2012 by John Scalzo

I think the entire world assumed that the Vita-exclusive Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified would launch in close proximity to Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but Dan Amrich, Activision’s Community Manager, has confirmed they’ll be available on the same day.

Amrich announced the November 13 release date on his blog, One of Swords. He also revealed that Declassified will come with a voucher for a downloadable copy of Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, a PSP-exclusive entry in the series that was released back in 2007.

For now, this offer will only apply to North American copies of Declassified. Amrich is hopeful the same voucher will be included with European copies of the game, but as of today, all bonus content for Europe is still being finalized.

Posted in News, Vita | Tagged