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Killzone 3 Review: Next Generation Gaming

Almost two years to the day after their last game set the PlayStation 3 on fire, Guerilla Games returns to the universe of their sci-fi franchise with Killzone 3. Despite its gritty realism, brutal encounters, and unparalleled production values, Killzone 2 suffered a lot of criticism from mainstream shooter fans who called for more conventional gameplay and were tired of the grey and monochromatic settings. The production values are still unmatched, but Guerilla went above and beyond accommodating the concerns of the wider console demographic, for better or for worse. While the final product departs significantly from its predecessor, Killzone 3 still manages to honor its spirit by once again raising the bar for first person shooters and pushing the boundaries of the imagination. (more…)

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Daily Scoop: February 28, 2011 – GDC!

It’s GDC week, kids! Hopefully we’ll see some great announcements coming out of this week. Keep your eyes on Warp Zoned for news and updates as soon as we get them!

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is EA’s NCAA Football 11 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It’s got football, and sports stuff, and something called “An All-New Locomotion System” which just makes me wonder how much I really don’t know about football. It’s also got ESPN broadcast package integration, which sounds really serious. It’s $39.99 today down from $59.95, so if you’re a big fan of football games and haven’t had a chance to pick this up yet, this could be your lucky day.

The t-shirt of the day goes to Ript Apparel, whose “Street Water” gave me a good laugh this morning:

Initially I wondered if there was some Wonder Twins joke going on here, but since Zan isn’t forming out of that bucket of water to deliver a liquidy punch, I’m going to assume I added too much geek to it. Still, it’s an awesome shirt, and if you’re into Street Fighter, I’m guessing it’s worth the $10.

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Square Enix keeps it up, Parasite Eve likely joining PSOne Classics

Square Enix has been on quite a roll lately. After reinstating digital PSP downloads on the PlayStation Store with Tactics Ogre and re-releasing the elusive and legendary Xenogears as a PSOne Classic, another masterpiece from Square’s golden age is joining Sony’s retro corner. Parasite Eve recently received an ESRB rating for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable (the two platforms you can bring your PSOne Classics on), likely M for Mature as it was when it originally released on the PlayStation in 1998.

Parasite Eve followed in the footsteps of Final Fantasy VII, innovating the cinematic RPG sub genre, popularizing the use of FMV cutscenes and intense set pieces. A new entry in the series, The 3rd Birthday, is coming March 29 on the PSP.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged , ,

Entire Nintendo 3DS shipment gone within a day

The initial shipment of the Nintendo 3DS in Japan, 400,000 units, has completely sold out in less than 24 hours. Retailers were already taking pre-orders for the next shipment that was set to arrive today. Nintendo plans to distribute a total of 1.5 million units to stores in the country by the end of March, (the end of their fiscal year) and if this keeps going, I imagine those will be gone just as fast. The total worldwide shipment in the same time frame will be 4 million units, and if the rest of us go as crazy for this handheld as the Japanese have, well, that’s a pretty big install base in a very short amount of time.

This is insane. You can hear some thoughts on the 3DS from the Warp Zoned staff, including yours truly, on the third episode of our podcast here.

Posted in 3DS, News |

Former Bizarre Creations staff come out from the dark as Lucid Games

It’s been a sad couple weeks with series being cancelled and studios saying goodbye, particularly Bizarre Creations. Fans of the studio will be pleased to know, then, that many of the senior members of the studio are already back, ready to continue doing what they do best as Lucid Games (logo above). The studio will likewise be staying in Liverpool, England and could be hiring for as many as 50+ new positions. “Our approach is to create for fun, quality and simplicity – it’s how our games make you feel that matters to us. We are committed to hiring character, hiring talent and training skill,” said Managing Director Pete Wallace. They seem to be really excited about bringing in new talent, with Wallace further stating, “if you are interested in being a part of something new and feel you can meet or exceed the standards you have seen in our previous games then get in touch.”

The fan favorite developer is already in talks with several publishing partners about potential projects and building up a team to deliver. It’s great to see developers bounce back like this, let’s hope we don’t let them down this time around.

Posted in News |

Virtua Tennis 4 serving retailers May 10

Sega announced that Virtua Tennis 4 will be available in the United States on May 10 for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. The lucky Europeans who probably care about tennis a lot more than we do get the game a little early as an award on April 29. Adapting to the current trends on the HD platforms, Virtua Tennis 4 will be compatible with both PlayStation Move and Xbox 360 Kinect.

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Weekly Warp-Up: Everybody Loves Shooters

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…

In case you missed it earlier in the week, there’s still one more day until our Comic Jumper giveaway is over. You can’t win if you don’t enter, so if you want a chance to play one of the funniest games ever, hit the link.

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Ah, March. You’re coming in like a lion, all right… but you’re going out like one, too. Not only are there a ton of awesome games coming out, but there’s also the highly anticipated arrival of Nintendo’s new handheld hardware, the 3DS. More than a few franchises are getting new chapters this month, too. The Warp Zoned staff got together to share what games and tech they’re most looking forward to during the month in The Next Level: The Games of March 2011.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you definitely know that the Call of Duty franchise has taken the gaming world by storm, breaking records and bringing very strong opinions about what makes a good CoD game into the mix. So Mike Gutierrez asks the eternal question, Modern Warfare 2 vs Black Ops, in his latest G-Spot column.

Finally, Sega is prepping the latest adventure of Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 4, for a stateside release. Our hands-on preview explores all the fighting styles of Kazuma’s clan and should get you excited for the game’s March 15th release.

Hit the jump for the rest of the Weekly Warp-Up. (more…)

Posted in News |

SOCOM 4 Full Deployment Edition detailed, curiously missing headset

Before Halo would take players to Xbox Live, SOCOM introduced the console demographic to online multiplayer shooters, giving them a headset with the game to encourage tactical play. Yesterday Sony detailed the Full Deployment Edition for SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals, which regrettably is missing a mic. On the bright side, this is actually a really great Move bundle, considering SOCOM 4 was one of the first games announced with Move support. Along with the game, the bundle includes the PlayStation Eye Camera, a Motion controller, a Navigation controller, and the PlayStation Move Sharpshooter. $150 is kinda steep, but it’s everything you need, and a little more (Killzone 3 plays fine with Move without any plastic gun peripheral), to get in on Sony’s take on motion controlled gaming.

Also, your SOCOM 4 Beta information should be coming next week for all of us who’ve already picked up Killzone 3 or plan to. SOCOM 4 is oscar mike April 19.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged