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.

Wii U release date and launch price will be announced tomorrow

We all suspected it, but today, Nintendo confirmed that the Wii U’s launch price and release date will be announced tomorrow during their next Nintendo Direct presentation. Company President Satoru Iwata broke the news via Twitter (helpfully translated by Joystiq):

Good evening, it’s Iwata from Nintendo. Tomorrow at [3 AM Eastern Time] we’ll broadcast online the Wii U’s sale information. We’ll tell you when the Wii U will launch and how much for.

The US presentation will be hosted by Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime and it’ll take place tomorrow as well, at the more reasonable hour of 10 AM (Eastern Time). You can watch the Big Reg do his thing online at Nintendo.com/wiiu or Facebook.com/WiiU.

Posted in News, Wii U |

PSN Today: Max Payne 3, Double Dragon Neon, La Pucelle Tactics, more

There’s a lot to recommend in this week’s PlayStation Store update. The biggest new release is the downloadable version of Rockstar’s Max Payne 3, which can be purchased for a limited time for $44.99. It’s such a steal, Max Payne might arrest you… if he was still a cop…

Also available this week is the return of the Lee brothers in Double Dragon: Neon. The WayForward-developed beat ’em up is a free download for PlayStation Plus subscribers (along with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) and a demo is available for the rest of us that want to test the waters before dropping $9.99 on the game.

It may not be of interest to many, but this week’s PS2 Classic is La Pucelle: Tactics. Nippon Ichi’s prequel to the Disgaea series hooked me hard back in 2004. If you like Strategy RPGs, give it a shot.

Hit the jump for the complete list of this week’s new downloadable games (including FIFA Street, Anomaly: Warzone Earth, and Red Johnson’s Chronicles 2) and travel over to the PlayStation Blog for a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons. (more…)

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged , ,

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron DLC trailer shows off Dinobots, Insecticons, G1 Optimus

Activision has released a new DLC-centric trailer for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and it’s filled with a ton of new bots now available for the game’s multiplayer (in fact, there’s so many bots, you just might plotz).

Terrible rhymes aside, how would you like to play as Zeta Prime, Wheeljack, Perceptor, Blast Off, and Ultra Magnus? With the Multiplayer Havoc Pack, you can. Or how about Grimlock, Swoop, Slag, and Snarl? With today’s release of the Dinobot Destructor Pack, you can.

A third DLC pack, the Massive Fury Pack, will be released on September 25 and include Hound, “G1 Retro” Optimus Prime, and the Insecticons (Sharpshot, Hardshell, and Kickback).

Roll out!

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

Bohemia “would be stupid” not to bring DayZ to consoles

DayZ‘s lead developer, Dean Hall, has already expressed his desire to bring the zombie sim to consoles. Now, ArmA II developer Bohemia Interactive is throwing their weight behind the idea as well.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com, Producer Jan Kunt confirmed that the company is definitely looking into it:

“Obviously [with] DayZ, you’ve seen the success of Minecraft on Xbox Live Arcade, and we’d probably be stupid not to try to do something similar. We’ve always wanted to make games for consoles as well.”

DayZ, the ArmA II mod, is available now with a standalone version planned for release later this year. The console version remains officially unannounced… for now.

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

Get an early look at the Skill Trees for Borderlands 2

With just a week to go, are you just itching to return to Pandora? Well, Gearbox wants to scratch your Borderlands 2 itch a might early as they’ve released the Skill Tress for Axton, Zero, Salvador, and Maya. Gaige the Mechromancer will have to wait.

To access the Skill Trees, head over to borderlands2.com/us/#characters and click on the character of your choice. Then head down to the bottom of the page and click on “View Skill Tree.” From there, you can distribute your Skill Points and see how your Commando, Assassin, Gunzerker, or Siren stacks up.

Borderlands 2 will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on September 18.

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

Obsidian teases “Project X” with a four, an ouroboros, and some words

Obsidian Entertainment has relaunched their official website with a teaser page for their next game, currently codenamed “Project X.” The mysterious “Project X” is symbolized by the number four surrounded by an ouroboros (the snake eating itself on your right). The image is accompanied by a short discussion and a link to Obsidian’s “Project X” forum:

“What do the words mean?”

“Nothing. The Dirge of Eír Glanfath is sound without form, a lone voice crying out in mourning because it must.”

The forumgoers throw out all sorts of possible answers to the question of “What is Project X?” including Dungeon Siege 4, a Wheel of Time game, Fallout 4 (unlikely, as Bethesda is working on it internally), or an original property set in a fantasy setting. Of course, the four could just mean an announcement is coming four days from now.

They’ve also discovered additional flavor text in the source code of the teaser page:

To tenderness, fellowship. To fellowship, vigilance. So bring we all to the Night Market. I am the Spindle of Esenath. Know me by my light and stand with me in darkness.

So now the only question is, what do those words mean?

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Check out the trailer for Ikaruga creator’s next game, Kokuga

The director of Ikaruga, Hiroshi Iuchi, has a new game coming soon to the 3DS, the similarly named Kokuga. And like Ikaruga before it, Kokuga looks to provide gamers with plenty of tricky shooting situations and a new gameplay mechanic to help them fight back.

In Kokuga, that mechanic takes the form of a deck of powerup cards that players can tap at any time. Four cards are “dealt” to the player when they begin the game and new cards are added as they tap the cards in their current hand.

Kokuga is in development at G.Rev and will be released in Japan on September 27. An American release has yet to be announced.

[Source: Siliconera]

Posted in News | Tagged

Purchase Pokemon Black 2/White 2 before November 12, get Genesect for free

Nintendo has announced that early purchasers of Pokemon Black 2 or Pokemon White 2 will be able to download the Mythical Pokemon Genesect using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 will be released for the DS on October 7, and everyone who purchases the game by November 12 will receive the Mythical Pokemon Genesect:

Genesect, the newly discovered Mythical Pokémon, has been restored from a 300-million-year-old fossil. Modified by Team Plasma, this Pokémon has a signature move called Techno Blast. Genesect is the only known Pokémon with this move. Genesect is a Bug- and Steel-type Pokémon with the ability to adjust its power levels based on the foe it’s battling.

“This limited-time distribution will get players off to a great start with what is sure to be one of 2012’s biggest games,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing.

Posted in DS, News | Tagged