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Nintendo Switch won’t offer “second screen” option, but will support Amiibos

Posted on October 24, 2016 by John Scalzo

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A Nintendo spokesman recently told The Wall Street Journal that we’ll learn more about the Switch in 2017, he also confirmed that the consolemaker still has a few more tricks up their sleeve. “We haven’t shown everything,” the spokesman said, and other media relations folks from Nintendo shared a few of those details this weekend.

First, the company told IGN that Amiibo figures will be supported by the Switch. Nintendo’s “toys-to-life” line has been incredibly successful, and it makes sense they’d want to continue it on the Switch:

“If a Nintendo Switch game supports amiibo then the Nintendo Switch home gaming system will as well,” a Nintendo representative told IGN.

Later in the same statement, Nintendo also confirmed that the Switch Dock won’t provide any additional processing power for the console:

Nintendo continued: “The dock is not the main console unit of Nintendo Switch. The main unit of Nintendo Switch is the unit that has the LCD screen, which the two Joy-Con controllers can be attached to and detached from. The main function of the Nintendo Switch Dock is to provide an output to the TV, as well as charging and providing power to the system.”

That’s a bit disappointing, as is the news that the Switch will drop the “second screen” options for displaying maps or menu screens included in many Wii U games. Speaking to Polygon, a Nintendo spokesman had this to say:

“Nintendo Switch is dedicated to deliver a single-screen experience, on whatever screen you might choose,” Nintendo officials told Polygon when asked if the popular Wii U feature would be included in the Switch.

There’s still so much we don’t know about the Switch (like whether or not it’ll include a touchscreen), but Nintendo did answer three big questions about the console this weekend, and after almost two years of silence, that’s gotta count for something.

Posted in News, Switch |

Weekly Warp-Up: Nintendo Switch, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last Guardian… It Begins…

Posted on October 23, 2016 by John Scalzo

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 Chicago Cub and Cleveland Indians will be squaring off in the World Series next week, but the video game industry might have topped that unlikely matchup with a series of blockbuster announcements this week.

First, Nintendo unveiled their NX console! Officially known as the Switch, the rumors of a console/handheld hybrid with detachable controllers proved to be right on the money. Later that same day, Rockstar unveiled the first trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2, which will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One in Fall 2017.

Not to be outdone, Sony revealed that development on The Last Guardian is complete, confirming that it will indeed launch on December 6 as planned.

Elsewhere on Warp Zoned this week, we visited the Resident Evil 20th Anniversary Tour and tried out Resident Evil 7: Biohazard with PlayStation VR. We also sat down to review the excellent Pac-Man Championship Edition 2. And we updated our Big List of Nintendo Switch Games after Nintendo’s revealing trailer.

More news from this week can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

New Retail Releases: Titanfall 2, World of Final Fantasy, Skyrim Special Edition, More

Posted on October 23, 2016 by John Scalzo

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EA and Respawn Entertainment will storm their way into stores this week with Titanfall 2 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In addition to expanded multiplayer options, Titanfall 2 will include a single-player campaign for the first time. We can finally say it… Your Titanfall sequel is ready.

Also available this week is World of Final Fantasy, a new “chibi” RPG from Square Enix that celebrates the grand history of the Final Fantasy franchise. Designed primarily for a younger audience, PS4 and Vita players will still need to save the world from an evil mastermind. Thankfully, they’ll be aided by dozens of heroes from previous games in the series.

If you’d rather skip all the fighting and just dance, Ubisoft has you covered with the launch of Just Dance 2017 on the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Just Dance 2017 includes dozens of songs, and the new Just Dance Machine mode, which will throw an assortment of different dance styles at players.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition will make its PC, PS4, and Xbox One debut this week, as Bethesda plans to relaunch their epic RPG on a new generation of platforms. And Telltale will bring together Minecraft: Story Mode – The Complete Adventure on a single disc for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Finally this week, one of my favorite puzzlers of the year, Tumblestone, will receive a retail release on the PS4 and Wii U.

A complete list of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , ,

The Last Guardian is officially finished and will make its December 6 release date

Posted on October 22, 2016 by John Scalzo

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It’s been quite a week for reveals, and video game fans got to witness the unveiling of Nintendo’s Nintendo console earlier this week, as well as the first trailer for Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. But a third bit of good news dropped last night, and it’s something a lot of gamers thought they might never see…

After being in the works for nearly ten years, development on The Last Guardian is officially complete.

Shuhei Yoshida, the President of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios, let the world know the game is done with a heartfelt message delivered through Twitter:

The Last Guardian was originally announced for the PS3 before development moved to the PS4 in 2015. With nothing left to stop it now, the game will be released exclusively for Sony’s console on December 6.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Even though Skyrim and NBA 2K17 appeared in Nintendo’s Switch trailer, they haven’t officially been announced yet

Posted on October 22, 2016 by John Scalzo

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and NBA 2K17 both played a huge role in the “First Glimpse” trailer for the Nintendo Switch. In addition to showcasing two games that are extremely popular with players around the world, the two games proved that Nintendo was taking significant steps towards expanding the third-party offerings of their next console.

But hold on a second, it seems that Bethesda and 2K can’t yet confirm that Skyrim and NBA 2K17 will be available for the Switch.

In nearly identical statements to Polygon, both publishers said they were “happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Nintendo” and “[weren’t] confirming any specific titles at this time”:

However, when contacted by Polygon, representatives for both 2K Sports and Bethesda declined to confirm whether their respective games were in development for Nintendo’s new console. The two publishers sent remarkably similar statements, too, telling Polygon they were “happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Nintendo” on the trailer. Both companies added, “While we are not confirming any specific titles at this time, we are pleased to announce our partnership with Nintendo and support of Nintendo Switch.”

Nintendo likely had a hand in helping craft their statement to the media, but then why oh why were Ubisoft (Just Dance 2017) and Sega (Project Sonic) allowed to announce projects for the Switch (nee NX) earlier this year?

The answer to that probably lies in a statement a Nintendo spokesman made to The Wall Street Journal after the reveal. He said the consolemaker won’t make any new announcements about possible games for the Switch or reveal specific hardware details until 2017. That said, I think Skyrim and NBA 2K17 will definitely both eventually make their way to the Switch. It would be an incredibly terrible PR move to showcase both games in the console’s reveal trailer and then hope fans just forget about them over the next five months.

The Nintendo Switch doesn’t currently have a release date, but it is expected to be released next March.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged ,

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Review: Ghost Train to Paradise

Posted on October 21, 2016 by John Scalzo

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Nearly six years after Bandai Namco produced the nearly-perfect Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, the spinoff series returned a few weeks ago with the inexplicably named Pac-Man Championship Edition 2. As the third entry in the Championship Edition series, fans expect to see gorgeous neon-lit mazes and high-speed Dot chomping, and Bandai Namco delivers. But the publisher also added a few new moves to Pac-Man’s repertoire for CE2… along with boss battles. (more…)

Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox One | Tagged

Xbox Store Today: Battlefield 1, Jackbox Party Pack 3, Slain, more

Posted on October 21, 2016 by John Scalzo

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After debuting earlier this week with the mega-sized “Early Enlister Edition,” EA and DICE are back with the basic edition of Battlefield 1. Now available to download through the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One, Battlefield 1 is one of the first games to be set during World War I with an “adventure-filled campaign” and “epic multiplayer battles” on land, sea, air, and horseback.

Also available to download this week is The Jackbox Party Pack 3, yet another collection of party games for the Xbox One from Jackbox Games. This time, players will be able to answer endless questions in “Quiplash 2,” deal with deadly trivia in “Trivia Murder Party,” guess the results to silly survey questions in “Guesspionage,” fight it out with custom t-shirts in “Tee K.O.,” and trick their friends in “Fakin’ It.”

On the other hand, the only people invited to the party in Slain: Back From Hell are the the undead kind. In this new “MetroidVania” for the Xbox One, players will control the fate of Bathoryn, “a doomed hero in a Gothic world, who seeks to liberate six cursed realms from six deadly overlords.”

Finally this week, Horse Racing 2016 brings the “Sport of Kings” to the Xbox One.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Voice actor strike reveals unannounced games like Lego Marvel 2, Brothers in Arms, more

Posted on October 21, 2016 by John Scalzo

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SAG-AFTRA, a union representing voice actors and stunt performers, authorized a strike against game developers that began this morning. As part of the process, the union has published a list of projects that members are no longer allowed to work on, and it includes several unannounced games.

It wasn’t much of a shock to learn that EA Sports is already hard at work on Madden NFL 18 and NHL 18, but listings for Lego Marvel 2 and Brothers in Arms were a bit more surprising (though not unexpected). While WB Games has yet to make any noise about a new Lego Marvel game, Gearbox confirmed the existence of a fourth Brothers in Arms game last year.

A large number of mobile games also make up a large part of the list, as well as a few games that are denoted only by codenames. For example, Take-Two is working on something called “Alligator,” while EA is developing games under monikers as diverse as “Odin,” “Fearless,” “Scorpion,” and “Timbits.” We may never know what these codenames refer to (they may even belong to games that have already been released), but one of the union’s major demands is for developers to be more transparent during the hiring process and to use a game’s actual title when contracting with vocal/stunt performers.

Finally, several highly-anticipated 2017 titles will be affected by the strike including Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, Injustice 2, and Crash Bandicoot Remastered. So hopefully the two sides can reach an equitable agreement soon.

UPDATE: A representative from WB Games has informed us that the inclusion of “Lego Marvel 2” in the SAG-AFTRA strike list is actually a reference to Lego Avengers, which was released earlier this year. However, Lego Avengers was announced in January 2015, several weeks before the union’s deadline for projects that must be part of the picket line.

I’m not sure why it was included on the list (it’s possible the union goofed), but the official line from WB Games is that “Lego Marvel 2” is definitely not a reference to “Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2” or any other unannounced game. That said, I’d be very surprised if WB Games isn’t working on another Lego Marvel game, and we’ll likely hear more about “Lego Marvel 2” in the future.

Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , ,