Most Recent: PS3

The Order: 1886, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, Hand of Fate, more added to PS Store

Posted on February 18, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The Order: 1886, Ready At Dawn’s cinematic take on a centuries old battle between steampunk assassins and a pack of werewolves will finally make its PlayStation Store debut this Friday, February 20. Even with the explosive popularity of the steampunk subgenre in recent years, the PS4 game definitely has a unique look and might be one to check out.

Several other PS4 games were added to the PlayStation Store yesterday including Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, an enhanced re-release of the popular fighting game; Hand of Fate, an action RPG/deckbuilding game; and Trivial Pursuit Live!, a game show-like reimagining of the popular board game (it’s also available on the PS3).

On the Cross-Buy front, Q*Bert Rebooted brings the original arcade game and a “rebooted” sequel with hexagonal platforms to the PS3, PS4, and Vita.

More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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Sony abandons The Last Guardian trademark… again

Posted on February 17, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Believe it or not, Team Ico’s The Last Guardian has been in development for almost eight years now. The PS3 was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young platform when the game first entered production. But with that console’s end-of-life rapidly approaching, fans have long speculated (with an assist from Sony) that when the game is released, it’ll be for the PS4. However, there’s always the possibility that the game will be canceled outright, which is what makes today’s news so worrying.

In an update to The Last Guardian’s trademark status, the US Patent and Trademark Office has confirmed that the game’s trademark has been “abandoned” by Sony. Now, on the surface, this doesn’t mean much. Sony could have decided to change the game’s title (because, let’s face it, the “Last Guardian” name carries a lot of baggage) or the rumored PS3-to-PS4 conversion is taking longer than they thought and somebody forgot to file the proper paperwork. So this could be nothing. OR IT COULD BE EVERYTHING!

For now, I’m siding with nothing. Sony contacted GameSpot this morning and said that the trademark abandonment was an “administrative error” (so, the paperwork thing). It’s possible this is just marketing speak and Sony is too embarrassed to admit the game has been canceled (though, officially, they say it’s still in development), but remember that the publisher abandoned The Last Guardian’s trademark once before before reclaiming it a few days later.

Either way, it got us talking about The Last Guardian again, so… yay?

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WGA bestows Writers Guild Award on Last of Us: Left Behind for Outstanding Writing

Posted on February 15, 2015 by John Scalzo

wgaThe Writers Guild of America has announced the winners of this year’s Writers Guild Awards and Naughty Dog (and Neil Druckmann) has emerged victorious for a second year in a row. After taking home the statuette last year for The Last of Us, Naughty Dog and Druckmann were recognized this year for the writing in the game’s expansion, The Last of Us: Left Behind.

The Last of Us: Left Behind beat out three other games for this year’s Outstanding Achievement in Videogame Writing award including Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation and a pair of Assassin’s Creed titles (Assassin’s Creed: Freedom Cry and Assassin’s Creed: Unity).

Their 2015 win marks the fourth time a Naughty Dog-developed game has won the Writers Guild Award. In addition to Druckmann’s win last year, Amy Hennig was honored in 2012 for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and in 2010 for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

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Dying Light parkours to the top of the best-sellers list for January 2015

Posted on February 12, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Question… if only one major new title made its way to stores in January, should we be surprised when that game takes the top spot in the monthly sales rankings from the NPD Group? We probably shouldn’t be, and yet, I was still mildly surprised that Techland’s Dying Light was the best-selling game during 2015’s first four-week frame. It was followed by the two biggest titles from 2014… Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #2 and Grand Theft Auto V at #3.

Minecraft, coming in at #4, continues to rise even without the holiday shopping season to bolster its sales rank.

Every other title in the top ten seemed to land in roughly the same position it held in December. NBA 2K15 held onto the #5 spot while Super Smash Bros. For Wii U / Super Smash Bros. For 3DS dropped two places to #6. Far Cry 4 was lucky number seven once more while the #8 spot was taken by Madden NFL 15 (which dropped five spots from #3). The final two spots were once again held by Destiny (#9) and FIFA 15 (#10).

While the best-selling software list was relatively stable (and saw a 5% year-over-year increase in sales), the PS4 reigned supreme on the console charts after a one-month hiatus. This turn of events was most likely due to Microsoft’s temporary suspension of the Xbox One’s $50 discount (it was reinstated on January 18).

If you’re looking for the full top ten from January 2015 in list form, you can find it after the break. (more…)

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PS Store Today: Evolve, Super Stardust Ultra, Minutes, more

Posted on February 10, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Evolve (PS4) roars onto the PlayStation Store today as Turtle Rock’s “4v1” shooter asks players to choose a side between four human Hunters and one massive Monster. It’s joined this week by Super Stardust Ultra, a space shooter with a big history on PlayStation platforms; Minutes, “a twisted form of bullet hell” (also Cross-Buy on the Vita); and Unmechanical: Extended, a puzzle platformer staring an adorable robot (also Cross-Buy on the PS3).

Speaking of the PS3, it’s now home to the multiplayer medieval brawler Chivalry: Medieval Warfare as well as the “cross-dimensional” space shooter Hyper Void.

Finally, the Vita will receive the fantasy platformer AeternoBlade, and the monkey rhythm game Jungle Rumble: Freedom, Happiness, and Bananas.

More information on all of these games can be found after the break. And, as always, a complete list of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)

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Did You Hear? Video Game Release Calendar Update #1

Posted on February 10, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Don’t Forget! Warp Zoned’s complete calendar of release dates for 2015, 2016, and beyond can be found right here: Video Game Release Calendar.

Welcome to Warp Zoned’s first “Video Game Release Calendar Update.” We’ve collected all the latest announcements and date changes from the last six weeks and added them to one of the most accurate game release calendars out there.

The month of March is filling out particularly well…

  • It starts with the March 5 launch of Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, Nintendo’s first 3DS and Wii U Cross-Buy game.
  • And then there’s the March 6 release of Zombie Army Trilogy (PC, PS4, Xbox One) and its supernatural WWII shenanigans.
  • A week later is the March 10 launch of the PC version of Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, which now features eye-tracking technology for camera control.
  • A day after that, on March 11, the “Metroidvania” Ori and the Blind Forest will be available for the PC and Xbox One.
  • Finally, the Borderlands: The Handsome Collection closes out the month with a March 24 release on the PS4 and Xbox One.

The Spring and early Summer is also beginning to fill up with the announcement that Xenoblade Chronicles 3D will be available for the New 3DS XL on April 10. Nintendo will follow their massive action RPG with the puzzle-RPG styling of Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (3DS) in May, which will launch alongside Splatoon, a shooter for the Wii U. And in June, we’ll get the chance to try out The Elder Scrolls Online on the PS4 and Xbox One (on June 9) and Lego Jurassic World (which will be released for every system under the sun).

Speaking of Lego adaptations, Lego Avengers will be available this Fall. As will Skylanders 5, which is currently in development for unannounced platforms.

And lastly, Blizzard has said that Overwatch (PC) and StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (PC) will likely launch in 2016 after each receives a beta test in 2015.

The complete list of updated release dates can be found after the break. (more…)

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The future of the Killzone franchise will be revealed “Soon”

Posted on February 10, 2015 by John Scalzo

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It looks like Sony and Guerrilla Games are getting ready to announce the next entry in the Killzone series. Today, an image of a Helghast soldier and the word “Soon” were posted to the franchise’s official Twitter account:

It’s been a little over two years since we last saw a new entry in the Killzone series. Sony and Guerrilla released Killzone: Shadow Fall as a PS4 launch title. But 2013 also saw the release of the Vita-exclusive Killzone: Mercenary, and its possible that this image might portend a sequel to that game. According to Polygon, Mercenary used a “V and parallel bars” symbol to represent currency. The same symbol that’s seen in the eyes of the Helghast soldier above.

How soon is “Soon”? Hopefully we’ll find out… um, soon.

Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita |

Alien: Isolation bursts ahead of the field with six nominations at 2015 BAFTA Awards

Posted on February 10, 2015 by John Scalzo

baftagameThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominees for the 2015 BAFTA Games Awards and the British-born Alien: Isolation leads the way with six nominations. Creative Assembly’s sequel to the 1979 film is up for “Best Game” as well as “British Game,” “Audio Achievement,” “Music,” Game Design,” and “Game Innovation.”

It will be competing for the top prize against some of last year’s most-honored titles including Bungie’s Destiny, BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, Nintendo’s Mario Kart 8, Monolith’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordorm, and ustwo’s Monument Valley.

Monument Valley’s presence in the “Best Game” category is rather fitting as it lead all other games with five nominations. Far Cry 4, which is not competing for “Best Game,” also managed to score five nominations. 80 Days, Destiny, Mario Kart 8, and Shadow of Mordor all took up residence on the next level with four nominations apiece.

The winners of the 2015 BAFTA Games Awards will revealed on March 12. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)

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