Most Recent: PC

Activision: No Diablo III in 2011, Call of Duty 8 will be awesome

Posted on May 10, 2011 by John Scalzo

Activision held their quarter financial call yesterday and laid out a few more details about their 2011 slate of games. The company’s executives stressed that any real information about these titles would have to wait for E3, they did reveal a few juicy tidbits of information.

First off, it looks like it’s unlikely that a new Blizzard game will be released in 2011. That means no Diablo III and definitely no StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Instead, the publisher’s COO, Thomas Tippl, said to expect both games in 2012: “[O]ur outlook at this time does not include a new game from Blizzard in 2011. Should Blizzard not release a major title this year, we would expect, for planning purposes, to launch a minimum of 2 Blizzard titles in 2012.”

Mike Morhaime, the CEO of Blizzard, was a tad more optimistic, saying the team wants to release Diablo III in 2011, but that they’re not ready to confirm an official release date yet: “The development team is working hard to try and launch Diablo III this year. But I want to be clear that we do not have an official release date or window yet. As always, we will not compromise the quality of the game in order to hit a window.”

While a 2011 release date is still a question mark, A Diablo III beta is being planned for the Summer.

One Activision title that does have a confirmed 2011 release date is the currently unannounced Call of Duty 8. The publisher still hasn’t shared any new information about the next entry in the mega-selling series, but Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, is pretty convinced it’ll be awesome: “By any measure, Call of Duty is one of the biggest entertainment franchises in the world and we expect this year’s game will set a new standard for this incredible franchise. The creative excellence and sheer scale of the game we are making and the unprecedented online universe that will accompany it will reset the bar for this genre, giving players a new level of immersion, connectivity, community and of course epic action. The game today has exceeded every internal milestone and we look forward to sharing this with you soon.”

Hirshberg also confirmed that a new James Bond game is in the works for 2011. But again, it looks like we’ll have to wait until E3 to learn more about it (and all of these titles).

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

Brink launch trailer is full of wall jumping

Posted on May 9, 2011 by John Scalzo

The continuing PlayStation Network outage means that Brink‘s multiplayer portions will be closed off to PS3 players, but that hasn’t stopped Bethesda from releasing an amazing launch trailer that shows off the game’s wild wall running and gorgeous gunplay.

Brink will be available in stores tomorrow for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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

Hydrophobia Prophecy out on Steam today with a flood of new features

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

The PlayStation Network version won’t be coming for some time due to obvious reasons, but Dark Energy Digital is proud to announce that the latest iteration of their water-obsessed odyssey, Hydrophobia Prophecy, is now available on Steam. Revealed back in April, this version is an absolute tidal wave of new content, including “upgraded graphics, brand new gameplay mechanics, exclusive new levels, a reworked back story, a dramatic new ending, recast voice acting and much, much more.” Also included is Darknet, an upgraded version of their Listening Post, which allows you to give direct feedback during any part of the game.

Dark Energy Digital has taken serious strides to augment the original Hydrophobia since it was released to mixed reviews. We at Warp Zoned wish them nothing but success with this overflowing vessel of content.

Posted in News, PC, PS3 | Tagged

Saints Row 3 character creator announced

Posted on May 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

Ninja? Pirate? Ninja-pirate? Naked ninja-pirate? The choice is yours…

First off, that’s the greatest opening to a press release in… well, pretty much ever. Secondly, ninjas and pirates are almost totally identified by what they wear, so there can never be a “naked ninja-pirate.” Although, I suppose if anyone could pull it off, Johnny Depp could.

All this talk of pirates and ninjas is because THQ has revealed the Saints Row Initiation Station, a standalone character creator that’ll be made available for free ahead of Saints Row: The Third‘s holiday release. But pirates and ninjas running around Steelport will seem relatively normal next to some of the other character ideas THQ has suggested:

  • Your favorite train wreck celebrity-turned reality TV star
  • Your least favorite overpaid prima donna professional athlete
  • A cape-wearing superhero (or villain)
  • Cowboys and Indians
  • A Dominatrix and her sex slave
  • Tag-team wrestling partners with sordid pasts

Players will be able to use the Initiation Station to create as many characters as they can come up with. These characters can then be uploaded and shared with all your closest friends. You can even download someone else’s character and change it to suit your own twisted imagination.

Oh yeah, Saints Row 3 is going to awesome. Or at least awesomely bizarre.

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

New Releases: Brink, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, MX vs ATV Alive, More

Posted on May 7, 2011 by John Scalzo

After moving up its launch date up week, Bethesda and Splash Damage are ready to release their parkour-inspired shooter Brink on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

If you’d rather travel by sea, then you should know that Disney and Lego Captain Jack Sparrow will release Lego Pirates of the Caribbean on every current system (3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360) this week. Perhaps wall running and boating aren’t for you. Then you’d be well to know that THQ is bringing their latest off-road racing title, MX vs ATV Alive, to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this week.

Moving on from the “ways to get around” theme, Sega has Virtua Tennis 4 set to be released on the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 while Deep Silver is bringing Duke Nukem: Critical Mass to the DS. Let’s hope it doesn’t take forever for our next helping of Duke.

Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged , , , ,

Brink boasts 100 quadrillion unique characters

Posted on May 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

Like our Weekly Warp-Up, that is definitely not a typo.

With Brink‘s release just a few days away, the Bethesda Blog has posted some interesting numbers relating to Splash Damage’s parkour shooter. It seems, that when counting all possible variations, there are over 100 quadrillion (that’s a 100 followed by 15 zeroes) unique characters. That deserves a low whistle.

Here are some more stats, courtesy of Bethesda:

  • Voice Packs: 8
  • Number of ways to die: 45
  • Individual weapon sounds: 4,500
  • Lines of Dialogue: 26,000
  • Minutes of Music: 60
  • Weapon attachment combinations –
    Not counting for Resistance variations or pre-order content:     4,963
  • Unique Security Characters
    • Not counting minor tint variations or body types): 4,530,240
    • Not counting minor tint variations but including body types: 13,590,720
    • Including minor tint variations, but not body types: 15,775,119,360,000,000
    • Including minor tint variations and body types: 47,325,358,080,000,000
  • Unique Resistance Characters
    • Not counting minor tint variations or body types: 4,530,240
    • Not counting minor tint variations but including body types: 13,590,720
    • Including minor tint variations, but not body types: 18,307,441,152,000,000
    • Including minor tint variations and body types: 54,922,323,456,000,000
  • Total Unique Characters: 102,247,681,536,000,000

Brink will be in stores for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on May 10.

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

The Balcony is Closed: Whatever Happened to the Licensed Game?

Posted on May 6, 2011 by John Scalzo

In case there was any doubt, Thor and his mighty hammer have officially opened the 2011 Summer movie season today. What will follow is four months of blockbusters that will be heavy on action and even heavier on reviews comparing their visuals to video games. But as Hollywood and Redmond trade ideas back and forth, the once great institution that is the licensed game has gone by the wayside.

Okay, “once great institution” might be the nostalgia talking, but licensed games were always plentiful, even if they weren’t always good games. We all know the story of Atari practically bankrupting themselves to produce the woefully bad E.T. game for the Atari 2600. And Acclaim’s history of low review scores (and eventual bankruptcy) could be attributed to the company’s string of licensed games.

But titles like GoldenEye and The Chronicles of Riddick prove that a licensed game doesn’t have to be a cheaply made cash-in. They can be classics. Yet their number is decreasing, even as gamemakers have embraced the trappings of Hollywood during the development process. (more…)

Posted in DS, Features, PC, PS3, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360 |

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations to star Altair, Ezio, Desmond

Posted on May 5, 2011 by John Scalzo

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Revelations reveal is fully unlocked and we finally get a glimpse of what we’ve expected all along: Altair and Ezio, together at last!

Game Informer has also revealed that the game will grace the cover of its June issue. We’ll get the full scoop in a few days, but the Game Informer teaser has already surely got Assassin’s Creed fans on the edge of their seats:

You’ll learn how each of the franchise’s major characters — Altaïr, Ezio, and Desmond — play a part in the story, and how you’ll control each of the three as playable characters. Uncover a brand new part of the world as Ezio travels abroad for the first time to explore the wonders of Constantinople at the height of the Ottoman Empire. Learn about all the new features that set Revelations apart, from a brand new weapon and tool that changes the way you’ll fight and traverse the world, to extensive details on the newly customizable multiplayer game. And what exactly is going on with Desmond after the end of Brotherhood?

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will be available this November.

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