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Platinum confirms that Scalebound will be released in 2017

Posted on January 5, 2016 by John Scalzo

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Scalebound, an action RPG in development at Platinum Games, was noticeably absent from the “snapshot” of 2016 Xbox One exclusives that Microsoft released yesterday. And now we know why. A post on the developer’s official website has revealed that the game has been delayed into 2017:

Development on the game is going well and we’re really happy with how it’s coming together. Scalebound is one of the biggest games PlatinumGames has ever created: an epic adventure filled with exploration and fantasy gameplay, inventive multiplayer, and action-packed battles on an unbelievable scale – all set in a beautiful and evolving world. It’s the game our team has always dreamed of making.

In order to deliver on our ambitious vision and ensure that Scalebound lives up to expectations, we will be launching the game in 2017. This will give us the time needed to bring to life all the innovative features and thrilling gameplay experiences that we have planned.

Microsoft originally announced Scalebound during their E3 2014 Press Conference and unveiled the first gameplay trailer this past August during their Gamescom Briefing.

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Rise of the Tomb Raider will officially be released for the PC on January 28

Posted on January 5, 2016 by John Scalzo

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Square Enix has finally made it official after Steam leaked the news a week ago… Rise of the Tomb Raider will officially be available for the PC on January 28. Lara Croft’s latest will make the jump to the PC with a number of improvements over the Xbox version released in November, including Windows 10 support and a 4K resolution display option.

Players interested in purchasing Rise of Tomb Raider for the PC will get three different bundles to choose from:

  • A $59.99 Standard Edition will be available in stores and online.
  • A $89.99 Digital Deluxe Edition, available only online, will include the game’s Season Pass.
  • A $149.99 Collector’s Edition, available exclusively from the Square Enix Online Store, will include the game, a 12-inch Lara Croft Statue, Replicas of Lara’s Journal and Jade Necklace, a copy of 2013’s Tomb Raider, the Season Pass, and a Collectible Steel Case.

In other Rise of the Tomb Raider news, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg has confirmed (via Twitter) that “well over” one million copies of the game have been sold on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 to date.

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

Microsoft offers a “snapshot” of their 2016 Xbox One/Windows 10 exclusives

Posted on January 4, 2016 by John Scalzo

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Microsoft loved to promote their 2015 release schedule as the “Greatest Games Line-Up in Xbox History,” but the publisher plans to continue to use that tagline in 2016. Mike Nichols, the Xbox Division’s Corporate Vice President of Marketing, has posted a look back at some of Microsoft’s achievements from the previous year on the Xbox Wire, but the executive also gave us a “snapshot” of Big Redmond’s 2016 lineup of Xbox One and Windows 10 exclusives.

Most of these release dates are well known, but it’s nice to learn that the Windows 10 version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will be released this Spring. And it looks like Keiji Inafune’s ReCore will also be released for the PC in addition to the Xbox One, though its release date has been changed from “Spring 2016” to “TBA 2016”:

Greatest Games Line-Up in Xbox History Extends to 2016

  • Cobalt (Xbox One / Xbox 360 / Steam) – February 2
  • Killer Instinct: Season 3 (Xbox One / Windows 10) – March
  • Quantum Break (Xbox One) – April 5
  • Fable Legends (Xbox One / Windows 10) – Spring (Open Beta)
  • Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (Windows 10) – Spring
  • Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (Xbox One / Windows 10) – Spring
  • Crackdown 3 (Xbox One) – Summer (Multiplayer)
  • Gears of War 4 (Xbox One) – Fall (Launch) / Spring (Multiplayer Beta)
  • Halo Wars 2 (Xbox One / Windows 10) – Fall
  • Gigantic (Xbox One / Windows 10) – TBA 2016
  • ReCore (Xbox One / Windows 10) – TBA 2016
  • Sea of Thieves (Xbox One / Windows 10) – TBA 2016

Microsoft has several other unannounced titles on track for 2016 and will make further “new title reveals” in the coming months.

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

Daily Scoop: January 4, 2016 – Welcome back!

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Nicole Kline

It’s been an amazing 11 days off from work and school! I did so much gaming and it was a blast. I also slept, ate, and tried to catch up on some movies I hadn’t seen. All in all, it was wonderful, and I’m going to miss all that free time!

Anyway, it’s also great to be back! Let’s jump right into the deals. You have less than a day to get the Humble Square Enix Bundle 3. Pay $1 or more for The Last Remnant, Life is Strange Episode 1, Murdered: Soul Suspect, and Tomb Raider I, II, and III. Beat the average to unlock Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Just Cause Collection, Front Mission Evolved, Gyromancer, and Yosumin. Pay $8.99 or more to unlock Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Tomb Raider GOTY Edition, and Hitman Absolution: Elite Edition.

There are 177 new Weeklong Deals at Steam. Yet Another Zombie Defense is $0.49, Anna’s Quest is $9.99, and Metal Dead is $2.49, among others. The Daily Deal is the Jackbox Party Pack 2 for $18.74, which is sure to be a blast!

There are lots of t-shirts today, so hit the jump to check them out! (more…)

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Weekly Warp-Up: Welcome to 2016 Edition

Posted on January 3, 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 Christmas tree has been taken down and the New Year’s confetti has been cleaned up. Yup, we are officially in the dead zone of video game news. Might as well strike up another round of “Auld Lang Syne” and take in another showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($625 million already, can you believe it?).

Believe it or not, one of the biggest stories from this past week is the announcement that another game in the Bases Loaded franchise is in development in Japan. For someone who played a ton of Bases Loaded back in the NES days, this is definitely big news. But it’s not exactly going to set the world on fire. “Auld Lang Syne” and Star Wars it is.

But before I go, I want to thank all our readers for sticking with Warp Zoned over the last five years. We love what we do and we’re going to keep doing it for as long as possible.

A small batch of news from this past week can be found after the break. (more…)

Posted in News |

Oculus Touch controller won’t be released until second half of 2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by John Scalzo

oculustouch-22016 is being touted as “The Year Virtual Reality Goes Mainstream,” but the calendar changeover was a rough one for fans of the Oculus Rift. Yesterday, the development team at Oculus announced that the Oculus Touch controller has been delayed, and that it won’t be available alongside the Oculus Rift headset’s early 2016 release.

Posting on the Oculus Blog, the developer said they need more time to perfect design of the controller:

On Touch hardware, we’ve made significant advances in ergonomics, and we’re implementing many changes that make Touch even more comfortable, reliable, and natural. We’re also implementing changes that improve hand pose recognition.

[…]

The feedback on Touch has been incredibly positive, and we know this new timeline will produce an even better product, one that will set the bar for VR input. We appreciate your patience and promise Touch will be worth the wait.

In order to make these improvements, the Oculus Touch controller will now be released sometime in the second half of 2016. However, Oculus still plans to bundle an Xbox One controller with every Rift headset.

Posted in News, PC |

Square Enix: Final Fantasy XV will finally be released in 2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by John Scalzo

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2016 is going to be a big year for the Final Fantasy franchise. Remakes and re-releases of both Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy IX are in the works, and Director Hajime Tabata is hard at work on the next game in the series, Final Fantasy XV. The fifteenth Final Fantasy game began life in 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, an action-oriented (and, at the time, PS3-exclusive) spinoff to Square Enix’s “Fabula Nova Crystallis” project. But after a number of delays, a title change, and a platform change, it looks like Tabata is finally ready to release the game for the PS4 and Xbox One in 2016.

He delivered the good news to Final Fantasy fans everywhere via the Square Enix Blog this morning:

We will finally release FFXV this year, in 2016! In development, previous phases required wisdom and strength. However, moving forward the final phase will focus on effort and willpower.

I vow to you all that every member in the team will do their best to the very last possible moment taking responsibility and pride in their craft.

We will do everything we can do to finish FFXV to create an experience we are incredibly proud of and one that you will enjoy and treasure.

While we still don’t know the exact date of Final Fantasy XV’s release, we do know that Square Enix is planning a simultaneous global launch, a first for the franchise.

Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

20 PS4 exclusives for 2016 get the spotlight in new trailer released by Sony Europe

Posted on January 1, 2016 by John Scalzo

While the PS4 continues to sell like hot cakes, the system suffered a bit of a new game drought in 2015. Everyone expected Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End to anchor the Fall, but it was eventually pushed back to March, and then again into April. But Nathan Drake will surely get his moment to shine in 2016, especially after Sony Europe put the adventurer front and center in a new video promoting 20 PS4 exclusives that’ll be released this year.

A Thief’s End is joined in the trailer by a number of other early 2016 releases including Firewatch (February 9), Street Fighter V (February 16), Ratchet & Clank (April 12), and No Man’s Sky (June). A quick glimpse of David Jaffe’s Drawn To Death has confirmed it’ll be released in the next 12 months (it previously had no release date), and the trailer promises that Media Molecule will be back this year with a beta (and possibly a full release) for Dreams.

Keep your eyes peeled for these PS4 games in 2016 as well:

  • Alienation
  • Boundless
  • Gran Turismo Sport
  • Gravity Rush 2
  • Hellblade
  • Horizon: Zero Dawn
  • The Last Guardian
  • Nier: Automata
  • Paragon
  • Shadow of the Beast
  • The Tomorrow Children
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • The Witness

Presumably, we’ll be hearing a lot more about all of these games in the coming days.

Posted in News, PS4 |