Most Recent: Top Story

Kickstart This! The Fox Force Five Edition

With the January blues firmly behind us, and the world beginning to thaw (especially in England, where flooding has put a dampener on everything), many of you may be realizing that those Dryathalon challenges have left you with some serious Bitcoin. Wallets and purses worldwide are slowly being opened after the cataclysm of Christmas, and money is pouring out. But what to invest it in? Instead of, say, a gallon of maple syrup, or an ill-advised betting spree on this year’s World Cup, why not put your money into something you can nurture, grow, and play? We’ve scoured the crowdfunding coal mines of Kickstarter to highlight five extraordinary projects worthy of praise and attention.

And money. Don’t forget money.

To begin, we have the heart-warming 2D RPG adventure Super Chibi Knight, followed by bizarre meat-infused retro experiment Hot Dog Heartache. After that, we explore the streets filled with incandescent rage in side-scrolling brawler Treachery in Beatdown City, as well as the Metroid-Contra morphgasm that is Hive Jump. Finally, to finish us off, we visit the 3D horror-exploration genre with ReLive.

Let’s put your money where your mouse is. (more…)

Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Top Story, Vita |

Borderlands: Gunsight Review: Another Terrible Book Tie-In

borderlandsgunsight-header

John Shirley is at it again with his third book in the Borderlands series. Borderlands: Gunsight has Brick on the cover, but don’t let that fool you: Brick isn’t more than a periphery character in this book. No, this book continues where Borderlands: Unconquered left off – with Mordecai shacked up with Daphne Kuller, AKA Kuller the Killer. And that’s not all it has in common with the second book – it’s just as terribly written as that one, and just as boring. And oh yeah – Shirley still has not learned how to use semicolons. Can someone please take away that guy’s computer already? (more…)

Posted in Etcetera, Reviews, Top Story |

IndieCade East 2014 After-Report: Day 3 – I’m Out of Cliches

indiecadeeast-header

Sunday was the third and final day of IndieCade East 2014 and, like all great events, it was bittersweet to see it end. There were plenty of great talks and workshops, another full day of Show & Tell games, and an amazing event called the GameSlam in which developers had three minutes to pitch their games quickly and succinctly. We spent most of our time at the GameSlam and checking out some of the talks before heading back home to Philadelphia. (more…)

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, Top Story |

IndieCade East 2014 After-Report: Day 2 – The Belly of the Beast

indiecadeeast-header

Day two of IndieCade 2014 was nonstop action and fun. There was an area sectioned off from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM for “Show & Tells,” where developers could show off unreleased games and conference-goers could playtest prototypes. There were dozens of amazing games to check out, and that’s just what we did. (more…)

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS4, Top Story |

IndieCade East 2014 After-Report: Day 1 – The Calm Before the Storm

indiecadeeast-header

This year’s IndieCade East was held at the Museum of Moving Image in New York City from Friday, February 14 to Sunday, February 16. There were dozens of games available to play – some were being showcased, while others were included in installments within the museum itself. There were also talks, including keynotes, and many of the game developers were on-hand to discuss their games… and check out what other people were making. It was an exciting weekend, and Warp Zoned was there to drink it all in. (more…)

Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Xbox One | Tagged

Outlast Review: House on Haunted Thrill

outlast-header

For a few years, I worked at a haunted house during the Halloween season. My job was, as one would expect, to scare the patrons. It was a great gig, and I have some fond memories of really freaking people out. But it wasn’t all about standing in a corner and jumping out at the most opportune time. There’s a real science behind the perfect scare. You need to be meticulous in your planning by first creating a sense of uneasiness, then instilling dread and fear, and finally, delivering the scare.

Horror games follow a similar process. For example, the dog jumping through the window in Resident Evil is one of the most famous video game scares. Things were already very spooky when you first stepped into that mansion. As you continued, fear crept in, as you knew that something was waiting for you around that corner. Then, when that zombified doberman finally crashes through the glass, it really hits you hard. Some of the better survival horror games follow this formula pretty religiously, creating some pretty intense experiences.

Outlast already has a pretty faithful following among the PC crowd. As a console-specific gamer (my PC can barely run The 7th Guest), I’ve only heard a few things about the game on various gaming forums. The sentiment was almost universal – this is one of the scariest games ever made. Now that I finally got a chance to play through the console version, I can say that I definitely agree with those sentiments. (more…)

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

Broken Age Review: A Point-And-Click Game For A New Era

brokenage-header

Since the introduction of crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, there have been a number of high-profile successes that have managed to capture the collective imagination of the public and skyrocket beyond their original goals. Double Fine Productions’ Broken Age is one such title, dwarfing its initial target of $400,000 by raising $3.3 million, one of the highest amounts ever raised for a game. The reason for the excitement was simple; industry veteran Tim Schafer, designer on classic point-and-click games such as LucasArts’ Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and co-designer on the incredibly funny Monkey Island series, was returning to the genre. But how does his latest endeavour stand up against these unforgettable games? (more…)

Posted in PC, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged

Beyond: Two Souls Review: Baby, I’m A Lost Cause

beyondtwosouls-header

Quantic Dream’s latest game, Beyond: Two Souls, seemed to hold a lot of promise. Directed by David Cage, starring Ellen Page and Willem Defoe, and with a science-fiction-ish plot, there was so much potential, and so much to like. But, in the end, the messy plot, lack of challenge, and mediocrity of the characters created a tepid and disappointing experience. (more…)

Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story | Tagged