Most Recent: News

Blockbuster isn’t dead… yet

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Chris Urie

It seems that Blockbuster isn’t going down without a fight. The company has emerged from bankruptcy protection and will continue to operate over 1,500 stores nationwide that would have been closed during the liquidation.

“We’re pleased that we will continue to operate more than 90 percent of the stores that were offered at auction in April,” said Michael Kelly, the president of Blockbuster.

With a new lease on life, Blockbuster is taking the fight to Netflix with a new and improved Total Access package that includes something for everyone (even us gamers): new releases 28 days before Netflix, unlimited in-store exchanges, games for PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 and no additional charge for Blu-ray movies.

So don’t be too sad yet. That familiar big blue movie ticket marquee may not be going anywhere. At least until Netflix purchases Gamefly and stops fooling around with the prices.

Posted in News |

Freddy Krueger is the final Mortal Kombat DLC character

Posted on July 21, 2011 by John Scalzo

You know what, I’m just going to take credit for this one.

A misreading of a tweet from series creator Ed Boon back in April first birthed the “Freddy Krueger in Mortal Kombat” rumor. It was quickly debunked, but apparently the team at NetherRealm thought it was a good idea as well. With a little help from parent company Warner Bros. (the conglomerate’s movie arm owns the rights to Krueger), the Dream Warrior will now do battle with a bunch of ninja warriors.

PS3 and Xbox 360 owners will be able to download Freddy Krueger on August 9. In keeping with the previous DLC characters, he will be priced at $4.99 (or 400 Microsoft Points). Check out the trailer above for a full look at Freddy and his new “two-gloved” fighting style as well as a pair of Fatalities that can only be described as awesome. I mean, a blood geyser straight out of the original Nightmare on Elm Street? Flawless Victory, NetherRealm.

Oh, and you’re welcome.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Fruit Ninja Free now on Andriod Marketplace

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Chris Urie

For those of you who don’t have an iPhone, you can now get Fruit Ninja for free on the Android Marketplace.

Have a vendetta against fruit? Look at it all just sitting there in the supermarket. It needs to be taught a serious lesson. That’s what the developer Halfbrick thought when they created Fruit Ninja, the wildly popular mobile app centered around ninjas and visceral sprays of juice. With unlockable backgrounds and blades, the fun and zen like trance you can receive is unending.

Free is good. Free is nice. Thanks, Halfbrick.

Posted in Mobile, News |

Legend of Zelda Symphony Concert set for Oct. 21; nationwide tour in 2012

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Chris Urie

Break out those ocarinas and Wind Waker wands! To celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo is hosting a symphony concert, which will be held October 21 at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets are $35 and will be available beginning August 1st.

All of the songs will be hand-picked by Nintendo composer Koji Kondo and his team. This is sure to be a compilation of some of the most iconic music in gaming history. But we all remember the swelling feeling of adventure the first time we stepped out onto Hyrule Field in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and in 2012 we’ll all get to experience that lovely music live as Nintendo plans to follow up the Los Angeles concert with a nationwide Legend of Zelda Symphony Concert tour!

Tour dates will be announced soon, but for the time being, you can get your Zelda kicks on the 3DS with Ocarina of Time 3D.

Posted in Etcetera, News |

These are the Special Editions of Star Wars: The Old Republic you’re looking for

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Chris Urie

The dawn of BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic is upon us, and we get lots of tasty editions to pre-order from, even if there still isn’t a solid release date.

Beta testing for the game starts in September, and hopefully it will highlight the new ideas that BioWare and Lucasarts have brought to the MMO game. The Old Republic is supposed to have a deeper focus on story rather than herding X amount of Nerf.

The pre-orders will get you first access to the game and an in-game color stone to change up your weapon. The launch supply of the game will be limited in order to keep transition to the servers nice and smooth. If you are cuddling with your Darth Maul pillow in anticipation, you might want to ante up some cash.

The three editions of Star Wars: The Old Republic are:

The Collector’s Edition – It includes a ton of real and in-game swag. You get a Darth Malgus Statue, the journal of Jedi Master Gnost Dural, The Old Republic soundtrack, a security key and a map of the in-game Star Wars galaxy. Virtual items include a Flare Gun, Training Droid, personal HoloDancer, HoloCam, the STAP vehicle and access to the Collector’s Store, an in-game store with new in-game items exclusively for owners of the Collector’s Edition. The Collector’s Edition will also include 30 days of game time and will set you back a resounding $149.99.

Digital Deluxe Edition – This edition includes 30 days of game time and five virtual items, including the Flare Gun, Training Droid, personal HoloDancer, HoloCam and the STAP vehicle. It is a little bit cheaper, weighing in at $79.99.

Standard Edition – You get the game and 30 days to play it. This one will cost you a reasonable $59.99.

In true George Lucas fashion, we get many editions of the game. Hopefully they won’t feature any updated special effects, extra scenes, or Jar Jar Binks.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Activision looking to new studios to ‘reinvent’ Guitar Hero, eventually

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Well, this is awkward. Since cancelling the Guitar Hero franchise earlier this year and the intense flood of reactions thereof, Activision has had a lot of chances to reflect on just what went wrong with the music genre. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick told Forbes this week he saw the problem as a lack of “nourishment and care.” However, he also hinted that the series is far from over.

“We said you know what, we need to regain our audience interest, and we really need to deliver inspired innovation,” said Kotick. “We’re going to go back to the studios and we’re going to use new studios and reinvent Guitar Hero. And so that’s what we’re doing with it now.”

So if you’re a fan of where the series was and are looking forward to a glorious new era for Guitar Hero, keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned at Warp Zoned as we get more information.

Posted in News | Tagged

Zombies and Miniskirts: Suda 51 announces Lollipop Chainsaw

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Chris Urie

No, it isn’t a Highschool of The Dead video game, but it is damn close. Lollipop Chainsaw is a new trip in the works from Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, the same people that brought you No More Heroes, Killer 7, and Shadows of the Damned. Although there is no release date yet, the game is evidently in the fine tuning stages and the studio has secured a publisher to release the game in English for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Juliet Starling is a cheerleader at San Romero High School (I get what you did there Suda, you clever mouse, you) whose whole school becomes zombified and she needs to teach those brain hungry flesh munchers a lesson with a chainsaw and a miniskirt.

“Actually I’ve wanted to do a crazy horror-action game like this set in a school for a while now,” Suda told Famitsu magazine. “Something where the classrooms, corridors, gymnasium and so on are suddenly transformed into something completely different. I was also working on a game concept centered around using a chainsaw as a weapon, and once the idea for the Juliet character began to form, it was just a perfect fit.”

Surprisingly, Lollipop Chainsaw aims to be a somewhat cute game. It will evidently be trading in gushing sprays of blood for bursts of pink light. And Akira Yamaoka, the man behind the sound and music for Silent Hill and Shadows of the Damned, has been hard at work on creating bubbly pop tunes for Lollipop Chainsaw.

Looks like all that cheerleading practice will help you survive the slavering hoards of undead. And let’s hope Fox doesn’t decide to headshot Lollipop Chainsaw with a lawsuit due to its rather obvious similarities to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

[Source: Andriasang]

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Xbox 360 Limited Star Wars Kinect Bundle coming to a retailer not so far, far away

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

To celebrate the launch of the ambitious Kinect Star Wars, Microsoft is preparing a limited console bundle to go with it. Featured left, the Kinect sensor, controller, and Xbox 360 console are all custom tailored after everyone’s favorite droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, including special “power on” and “tray eject” sounds for the system. The bundle also includes a headset and a 320 GB hard drive.

You’ll get a nice share of software to go with it, including the Kinect Star Wars game, the Podracing mode thereof, Kinect Adventures, and a limited edition Star Wars theme. The Xbox 360 Limited Star Wars Kinect Bundle retails for $449.99 and will be available day and date with Kinect Star Wars when it launches this holiday season.

The bundle is ironically coming out the same year that the Star Wars films are being released on Blu-ray.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,