Weekly Warp-Up: All About Nintendo… Again

Posted on April 21, 2013 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…

When it comes to video game news, this week was all about Nintendo… again. We started things off with a look at the Wii U’s launch and it’s similarities to the Wii launch and the GameCube launch in The Wii U: It’s All Just A Little Bit of History Repeating. Then Nintendo themselves picked up the ball and ran off an impressive string of announcements during their latest Nintendo Direct presentation including EarthBound on the Wii U Virtual Console, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2 for the 3DS, and release dates for Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Pikmin 3, and Game & Wario.

In non-Nintendo news, we sat down for an Interview with Switchblade Monkeys and posted a Hands-On Preview of their first game, Secret Ponchos.

More news from the week that was can be found after the break.

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Posted in News |

New Releases: Lego City Undercover 3DS, Dead Island: Riptide, Star Trek, More

Posted on April 21, 2013 by John Scalzo

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April is almost over and there’s plenty of new games scheduled to be released this week, including…

Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, a 3DS prequel to Lego City Undercover that’s available in stores and the 3DS eShop today.

Available Tuesday is Deep Silver’s latest tale of zombies in paradise, Dead Island: Riptide (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). Also available is Star Trek (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), Namco Bandai’s video game prequel to next month’s Star Trek Into Darkness, and Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3, Xbox 360), Capcom’s standalone expansion to last year’s Dragon’s Dogma.

Finally, this week sees the release of Puzzler World 2013, a 3DS puzzle game collection; Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams, a PC side-scroller; and StarDrive, a new 4X strategy game for the PC.

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

Rumor: Until Dawn adds DualShock controller support

Posted on April 20, 2013 by John Scalzo

untildawn-box-1000Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead reboot isn’t the only “cabin in the woods” a group of unlucky teens will be exploring this year as the PS3-exclusive Until Dawn is still on track for a 2013 release. After the game was announced last year, developer Supermassive revealed that the game was designed for use with the PlayStation Move controller and that the motion control peripheral was required for Until Dawn. PS3 owners requested DualShock supprt, but a PlayStation Blog post from October reconfirmed that the Move was the only planned input option for the game.

Fast forward to today and the reveal of the game’s official boxart on Amazon. The banner along the top states that the game is “PlayStation Move Compatible” instead of “PlayStation Move Required,” implying that DualShock support will ultimately be included in the game.

So we should all celebrate, right? Not so fast. Until Dawn’s profile page on PlayStation.com shows a “PlayStation Move Required” banner along the top, but it also features a tiny picture of the new boxart that includes the “PlayStation Move Compatible” wording. We’ve contacted Sony and will update this story with the official word once we hear it.

At this point, those of us who want to play Until Dawn with a DualShock controller are still in limbo. Much like the limbo that trapped Bruce Campbell within the woods in Evil Dead II. And that turned out OK, he got a chainsaw hand out of the deal…

Of course, he had to cut off his possessed hand at the wrist first.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Gears of War: Judgment – Call to Arms Pack will be available on April 23

Posted on April 19, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Microsoft, Epic Games, and People Can Fly are gearing up to release the first paid expansion to Gears of War: Judgment next week.

If you’re the proud owner of a VIP Season Pass, you’ll be able to download the Call to Arms Map Pack on Tuesday, April 23. If you haven’t taken the Season Pass plunge, all players will be able to download the DLC a week later on April 30 for 1000 Microsoft Points ($12.50). The pack will include three new multiplayer maps, a brand-new mode called “Master At Arms,” six armor and gun skins, and 10 new Achievements worth 250 Gamerscore. Here’s a quick rundown of all three new maps:

“Terminal” – The speed and ferocity of the Locust invasion took Halvo Bay completely by surprise. Residents scrambled to evacuate by every means possible, and COG forces were called in to maintain order as martial law was enforced. However, the Locust showed no mercy, and gave no quarter; they swept through train terminals like this one to take advantage of the close quarters and sheer number of defenseless humans trapped within its walls. Sometimes, COG forces could hold the line long enough for a final evacuation, but too many lost their lives in defense of the people and the land they loved.

“Blood Drive” – As casualties started to mount, the staff at Halvo Memorial quickly began what would become the largest triage effort in the history of Sera. Their “Give Blood Today” campaign inspired a global blood drive in support of COG forces and wounded civilians. Sadly, Halvo fell quickly, and the hospital became a battlefront instead of a sanctuary. The seed of hope was planted, however, and government-run Memorial hospitals across the country mobilized to keep the effort alive until Jacinto Memorial was the last standing bastion of hope for the people of Sera.

“Boneyard” – The concept of traditional memorial services had to be suspended due to the constant stream and alarming volume of casualties as Sera fell victim to the Locust Horde. Memorial grounds quickly became boneyards. Unmarked holes became grave sites and mausoleums were filled with the nameless remains of the fallen, their skeletons piled into heaps. Tread lightly, you never know what, or who, you’re walking on, and one day you’re bound to join them.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Daily Scoop: April 19, 2013 – The cake is… not a lie?

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Nicole Kline

Well, at least, that’s what this Amazon.co.uk page is telling me. You mean I can make my very own Portal cake? I am envisioning all kinds of hilarious birthday party ideas right now!

Sadly, there are no good deals up today. Oh, but, you CAN pre-order Monaco over at Steam right now at a discount. You should definitely scoop that up!

There are a few good t-shirts, though, so you should hit the jump and check those out!

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

XBLA Today: God Mode

Posted on April 19, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Are you ready for a third-person shooter where you attempt to challenge the gods themselves? Actually, you’ve probably played one recently as several games use that jumping off point. But Microsoft has another one for you today as God Mode has been added to the Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Developer by Old School Games and published by Atlus, God Mode promises a “full-priced boxed title” experience on the XBLA:

Do you like running? How about gunning? What if special abilities are thrown into the mix? Upgradable weapons? Let’s say there’re dozens of on-screen enemies to unleash this firepower on, and as your reward for dispatching them you get experience and gold to collect that can be used for character customization and new equipment–all the while playing alongside friends in 4-player cooperative play! If you like the sound of all this, then you’ll love God Mode.

Retro shooter action and RPG elements are combined in this new downloadable third-person shooter. God Mode combines non-linear gameplay, fast and frantic shooting, hordes of on-screen enemies, a fully functional online coop mode, and features visuals and gameplay that rival that of a full-priced boxed title. Matches rarely–if ever–play out the same, as dozens of in-game modifiers can significantly alter the gameplay on the fly. Characters are fully customizable, both in appearance and equipment, which continually evolve. Gold and experience are constantly accrued and used to unlock new and satisfying weaponry and unique powerful abilities, both of which can be further upgraded.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Shinji Mikami’s Zwei is actually the very creepy The Evil Within

Posted on April 19, 2013 by John Scalzo

theevilwithin-logoShinji Mikami has a vision for his next game and it has nothing to do with cartoony superheroes or quirky brawlers or futuristic supersoldiers. Instead, it is a vision of pure, unrelenting terror. Mikami’s next game is a survival horror game that will be known as The Evil Within. It’ll be released for the PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and “next-generation consoles” sometime in 2014.

“We’re incredibly proud to announce The Evil Within,” said Mikami. “My team and I are committed to creating an exciting new franchise, providing fans the perfect blend of horror and action.”

IGN will publish an exclusive preview of the game on Monday, but for now, take a look at the game’s live-action announcement trailer. It is just dripping with surreal scenery and is something that only the father of the Resident Evil series could create. The Evil Within was previously codenamed “Zwei” (the German word for “two”) and it’s not hard to connect the two titles with the demonic child imagery throughout the trailer including the bloody “birth” of a woman with four arms.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to turn on all the lights in my house (and yes, I realize it’s daytime).

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Rumor: Whore of the Orient development is on hold

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Alex Foote

teambondi-logoStaff from Team Bondi, the development team behind LA Noire, have once again suffered layoffs. And, according to unconfirmed reports, the development of their upcoming open world title, Whore of the Orient, has been put on hold.

After the release of LA Noire, Team Bondi went into administration, and the studio suffered a huge number of layoffs. The remaining staff members were hired by KMM (the production company behind Happy Feet), and started development on Whore of the Orient, a detective thriller set in the 1930s.

Whore of the Orient was announced in 2011, and Brendan McNamara (studio boss at Team Bondi), went on record and said the game was “one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century.” It was rumored that Warner Bros. was on board as publisher, but a KMM spokesman said they’re still in the process of finding a publisher. Rockstar Games was responsible for publishing LA Noire, but relationships were torn between the two teams shortly after its release.

In light of these unconfirmed lay-offs, it seems production has stopped on the title, but the studio apparently still remains open. Obviously, we hope this isn’t true and production of Whore of the Orient continues soon.

[Source: MCV Pacific]

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