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Weekly Warp-Up: 2013 Comic-Con/PAX Australia Crossover 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…

The Summer convention season is certainly in full swing this week. Sine the 2013 E3 Expo took place a little more than a month ago, this year’s first-ever Comic-Con/PAX Australia convention crossover didn’t have much in the way of big announcements. But plenty of people got to play plenty of games, so that’s cool.

And what did the rest of us get? Well…

Oh, and Warner Bros. is working on a Batman vs Superman movie. For realsies this time. That’s pretty impressive. We’ve got more news from the rest of the week available after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

New Releases: The Smurfs 2

smurfs2Welcome to the Smurfiest week of new releases ever. And why is that… because The Smurfs 2 is this week’s only retail release. The game will be released for the DS (but curiously, not the 3DS), PS3, Wii, Wii U, and the Xbox 360.

If the lack of new releases has left you feeling blue, don’t worry, the game industry’s many digital download services will surely have an additional batch of new games this week.

Posted in DS, News, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360 |

Soul Calibur II HD Online will be available this Fall

Does your soul still burn? Then I suggest watching this beautiful trailer for Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur II HD Online, a PlayStation Network/Xbox Live Arcade remake of the arcade classic. As the title states, this version of Soul Calibur will include high definition graphics and online battles.

Scheduled for release this Fall, Soul Calibur II HD Online will include all of your favorite “Soul Warriors” and Heihachi Mishima, the Tekken character who crossed-over with the PS2 version of the game. That’s nice and all, but why isn’t Namco Bandai working on a Wii U release featuring Link?

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

New Tomb Raider comic and game sequel confirmed

tombraiderrebootartDark Horse Comics hosted an “Art of Video Games” panel yesterday in which they revealed a brand new Tomb Raider comic for 2014. The first issue is currently scheduled to be released on February 26 and it’ll be written by Gail Simone (who has also recently worked on Wonder Woman and Batgirl). In an interview with Kotaku, Simone revealed that the comic will pick up after the end of this year’s Tomb Raider reboot and lead directly into a game sequel:

Kotaku: When does this series take place with respect to the events of the new game? Will this still be a new Lara who’s just starting out as an adventurer?

Simone: Very much so, we start just a few weeks after the end of the game, and this is all in continuity, it will be Tomb Raider canon, and lead DIRECTLY into the sequel. This is what got me excited; we get to be part of Lara Croft history.

Even though the Tomb Raider reboot sold exceptionally well, there were reports that Square Enix was unhappy with the game’s retail performance. I for one am thrilled they’re moving forward with a sequel.

Posted in Etcetera, News | Tagged , ,

Copperhead slithers into Batman: Arkham Origins

batmanarkhamorigins-copperhead

The Arkham games have a reputation not only for being fantastic action/adventure titles, but also for being extremely in tune with their source material. I didn’t exactly grow up with Batman, and I only knew about as much as the Christopher Nolan movies taught me, but then I played Batman: Arkham Asylum, and I got a bigger taste of Batman’s world than I had anticipated.

In addition to run-ins with mainstream villains like The Joker and Poison Ivy, Arkham Asylum dug deeper into the Batman world to bring out enemies like Victor Zsasz and Killer Croc. There were also plenty of nods to even more obscure antagonists, like the deranged Humpty Dumpty, or the dreaded Calendar Man. Keeping with the tradition of providing the most authentic and fan-service loaded experience possible, WB Games has revealed the inclusion of another little-known villain in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins: the assassin, Copperhead.

The most notable aspect of Copperhead’s appearance in Arkham Origins is, of course, that he is not a male. As of the “New 52” revamp of their entire multiverse, DC Comics is taking a different direction with Copperhead. According to DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns (via Newsarama), this new version of the character will be featured in the comic books shortly after the release of Batman: Arkham Origins. For a closer look at the lethal new Copperhead, check out the cinematic official reveal trailer after the break, which showcases the deadly assassin’s arsenal of quick and deadly maneuvers. (more…)

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

Daily Scoop: July 19, 2013 – Melting

Just when I didn’t think it could get any hotter, it went and did. Supposedly it’s going to rain this weekend, but I’ll believe it when I see it. All I know is I’m going home tonight, cranking up the air conditioning, and playing video games all night. Well, maybe I’ll do some laundry and other responsible stuff, but I wouldn’t hold your breath, guys.

So there are two amazing things happening today – one is that Monaco is on sale for 50% off on Steam (and they’re matching it on their website!). Also in today’s Steam deals are Skyrim ($35.99), Grid 2 ($29.99), and Metro Last Light ($29.99), among others. Check the sale out!

There’s also a new Humble Weekly Bundle out, and this one is a must-have! It’s the discography of Jim Guthrie, and right now it’s under $5. Go treat yourself! You won’t regret it.

And let’s wrap this up with a few t-shirts: (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Ace Combat: Infinity takes to the skies with a PS3 destination

Nacmo Bandai has announced that Project Aces has a new Ace Combat game in development: Ace Combat: Infinity. The latest Ace Combat game takes place in the year 2019, and concerns a series of asteroids plummeting towards Earth. It’s a teaser trailer, so that’s all the information we can expect for now.

Currently, Ace Combat: Infinity has only been confirmed for a PS3 release. This might be distressing to Xbox 360 owners, but they should remember that the last two games in the series, Fires of Liberation and Assault Horizon, made their way to Microsoft’s console.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Revenge of the Swine! Angry Birds Star Wars II announced

From the secret, frozen, underground laboratory of Rovio, located somewhere in Finland, comes their latest Angry Birds incarnation, a sequel to the super-popular Angry Birds Star Wars of last year. This new game, Angry Birds Star Wars II, will be released on September 19th and will be available for download from all mobile app stores. The game also features a couple new twists in the gameplay.

In addition to new stories, levels, characters, special powers, and “new sides to fight for,” Rovio has proudly announced an interesting gimmick called “Telepods.” Made by Hasbro and available come September wherever toys are sold, Telepods will allow you to teleport your favorite characters directly into the game using, presumably, magic. You can also customize your slingshot lineup as well as choose which characters to include in that launch. There will be 30 collectable Telepods, so start saving up your nickels now, kids.

So many Telepods to play with, of course, means that there are over 30 “never-before-seen” Angry Birds Star Wars characters to play with, AND…OMG, GET THIS: “Another first for the series is that you can choose your side! Players can choose to “Join the Pork Side.”

Since this game sequel will feature the Star Wars prequels, the first two levels in the game appear to be called “Naboo Invasion” and “Escape to Tatooine.” So pull out The Phantom Menace, in the meantime, to prepare yourself. But don’t forget to plug your ears when Jar Jar comes onscreen. (Note: Rovio has not said either way whether Mr. Binks will appear in the game, but we can only pray to our respective gods that the Empire shot him in the face with a blaster and dismembered him into pieces as small as ice cubes with a Lightsaber. Oops, I hope there are no children reading this. He’s fine, younglings! Uncle Jar Jar is just fine!)

Check out the trailer to find out how these Telepods work (I’m being told it’s not “magic”), some screenshots of the game, as well as an interior shot of what looks to be the secret Rovio fortress featuring several English-speaking scientists. I’m starting to think they’re not really Finnish.

And in keeping with a really successful and marketable franchise, there will be ABSWII merchandise coming out the wazoo (which, I gather, must be some rural Finnish village), including but not limited to toys, plushies, books, clothes, pharmaceuticals, and more! Okay, one of those is not real. But I won’t tell you which. All this plus the Telepods will make their debut in September alongside the main event, Angry Birds Star Wars II, the game.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged