Most Recent: News

Weekly Warp-Up: July 7, 2013 Edition

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…

As if the Xbox One saga couldn’t get any weirder, Don Mattrick, Microsoft’s Xbox Division head, has left the company and taken a job as CEO of Zynga. Was the fan backlash too much to handle? Did Mattrick know a sinking ship when he saw one? Or does he just want a new challenge?

My money’s on… well, money.

Also this week, the Warp Zoned staff took of their monthly playlists with our examination of What We Played in June 2013 and The Games of July 2013.

For more news from the week that was, hit the jump.

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Posted in News |

Tales of Xillia 2 coming to North America, Europe in 2014

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Namco Bandai plans to release Tales of Xillia for the PS3 on August 6. The game was originally released in Japan in 2011 and took two long years to travel across the Pacific.

Luckily, fans of the Tales series won’t have to wait very long for the sequel. The publisher has announced (during France’s Japan Expo) that Tales of Xillia 2 will be released in North America and across Europe in 2014.

[Source: Siliconera, Facebook]

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Microsoft rejected over 36 ridiculous names before settling on “Xbox”

originalxboxconsoleIn a world where the original Xbox (commonly called the Xbox 1) exists, Microsoft’s debut of the “Xbox One” name was seen as an oddball move by many. But it could have been worse. Much, much worse.

In 1999, Seamus Blackley was one of the engineers working on the Xbox project, which was a shortened form of the console’s code name: DirectX Box. But the geniuses who gave us a product named “Microsoft Bob” decided that the “Xbox” name (even though it was the preferred name by Blackley and his team) would never be accepted by the public. So they proposed a few alternatives. Almost 40, in fact.

Among the frontrunners were “Eleven-X,” “FACE” (an acronym for “Full Action Center”), “Microsoft Active Reality Zone” (which would be shortened to “MARZ”), “MEGA” (which would stand for “Microsoft Entertainment & Gaming Attendant” or “Microsoft Entertainment & Gaming Assembly”), and “CyberPlayGround.” Xbox doesn’t sound so bad now, does it?

The complete list of rejected names can be found at Edge Online.

Posted in News |

New Releases: NCAA Football 14, Civ V: Brave New World, MGS: Legacy Collection, More

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This week, we’re bouncing back a bit from last week’s extremely slim week thanks to the annual college football simulation from EA Sports: NCAA Football 14. This year’s edition is available on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 and Denard Robinson (formerly of the University of Michigan and now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars) is your cover athlete.

Also available this week…

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

XBLA Today: The Walking Dead: 400 Days, Capsized

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The latest addition to Telltale’s The Walking Dead saga, “400 Days,” is now available on the Xbox Live Arcade. The episode has been priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5) and requires The Walking Dead: Episode 1 to function:

Centered on a truck stop on a Georgia highway, this DLC episode for Season 1 of The Walking Dead tells five linked stories of survival. The Walking Dead: 400 Days offers more of the horror and human drama of Robert Kirkman and Telltale’s award-winning series. Echoes of the choices you made in Season 1 will carry over into ‘400 Days’ and the choices you make in ‘400 Days’ will resonate into Season 2.

Also available this week is Capsized, a side-scrolling shooter with hand-drawn graphics. Capsized is available to download for 800 Microsoft Points ($10):

Feverishly blast through a hostile planet packed with blood-sucking aliens in Capsized, an action-packed survival shooter that combines innovative physics-based combat with nods to classic platform games. Navigate through perilous environments while fighting bloodthirsty creatures to save your crewmates and escape with your lives. Use a grappling hook, jet pack, space-age weapons and powerups to fight through more than a dozen non-linear levels with lush, explorable environments across multiple modes. The Xbox Live release also includes exclusive levels, newly enhanced graphics and Achievements.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Here’s the 12-minute gameplay video of Destiny from E3 2013

In case you missed it in all the chaos that was this year’s E3, Bungie has released the extended gameplay demo of Destiny, their upcoming sci-fi shooter, that was shown at Sony’s Press Conference.

The game is set in the distant future after the collapse of a Golden Age of exploration, with players taking on the role of a Guardian of the last city on Earth. Destiny is planned for a 2014 release on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Celebrate the 4th of July with a new Saints Row IV trailer

Volition is celebrating America’s Independence Day with a brand new trailer for Saints Row IV. There’s plenty of fireworks and Keith David gives a speech that rivals the great Bill “President Whitmore” Pullman… what more could you want? And, I think this goes without saying but, like all Saints Row IV trailers, this one is completely not safe for work.

Saints Row IV will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on August 20.

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

Nintendo Download: Pilotwings, Sonic Drift 2, more

pilotwings-titleNintendo rests for no holiday. As you celebrate the 4th of July today, Nintendo has updated the Wii U eShop with Pilotwings, so players can soar like an eagle in the Super NES classic on our nation’s birthday. Three more classic titles, the Game Gear’s Sonic Drift 2 and the Master System’s Vampire: Master of Darkness and G-LOC Air Battle, are now available on the 3DS eShop.

Also available this week…

  • Deer Hunting King (3DS), a deer hunting sim.
  • Fishdom H2O: Hidden Odyssey (3DS), a “find the hidden object” adventure game.

Finally, there’s a big sale this week on Mighty Switch Force! ($2.99 until July 11) and Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition ($6.67 until July 11). More information on all of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U |