XBLA Today: BattleBlock Theater, Capcom Arcade Cabinet: 1985-II Pack

Posted on April 3, 2013 by John Scalzo

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The Behemoth is not the first company to come to mind when you hear the words “prolific developer.” Since The Behemoth was founded in 2003, they’ve only released two games (although, to be fair, they’ve ported those two games to every platform that’ll take them). But even with just a pair of titles to their name, they’ve built up a reputation for quirky platformers that continues with their third game, BattleBlock Theater, which is available today on the Xbox Live Arcade.

Priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), BattleBlock Theater is a bizarre tale of talking cats, magic hats, and a cursed theater that expects a “killer” performance from its captive performers:

Shipwrecked. Captured. Betrayed. Forced to perform for an audience of cats? Wait, what?? You’ve just unlocked the door to BattleBlock Theater! There’s no turning back once you’ve started on your quest to free your imprisoned friends from evil technological cats! Immerse yourself in this mind bending tale of treachery as you battle your way through hundreds of levels in order to discover the puzzling truth behind BattleBlock Theater.

Also available this week is the latest Capcom Arcade Cabinet update. The “1985-II Pack” includes Commando, The Speed Rumbler, and Savage Bees and has been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Square Enix Los Angeles hit with layoffs

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Bret Morace

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Square Enix’s offices in Los Angeles have been hit by a new round of layoffs. According to the company, these layoffs are due to “corporate restructuring.”

Reilly Brennan, Senior Director of Public Relations, wrote in a statement to Polygon: “We can confirm that Square Enix’s Los Angeles office has eliminated a number of positions as part of the corporate restructuring announced last week. This is an unfortunate situation and we are offering assistance and severance packages to any employees affected by this, we want to thank them for their hard work and sincerely wish them well in the future.”

A Joystiq post broke down the affected positions: “Half of marketing has been cut, which is estimated at 10 people. Public relations, which we understand is approximately seven people, will stick around until late June (post E3), after that only three or four will remain. One source notes “close to around 20″ were let go in accounting, IT and events, with another five to 10 people who left community and support last week.”

These layoffs come after Square Enix announced an “extraordinary loss” for its fiscal year ending March 31. Our thoughts at Warp Zoned go out to all those affected by the layoffs.

Posted in News |

PSN Today: Defiance, GTA Vice City Stories, GTA Liberty City Stories, More

Posted on April 2, 2013 by John Scalzo

psnlogoToday’s PlayStation Store update has good timing. Not only is it available before the sun goes down on the east coast, but two new additions to the store sync up nicely with today’s Grand Theft Auto V cover art reveal.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories are two forgotten PS2 classics (especially since they began life as PSP games), but today they’re officially PS2 Classics as Sony has added the pair to the PlayStation Store.

They’re joined by Trion Worlds’ multiplayer shooter Defiance, PSN shooter Ion Assault HD, and the Capcom Arcade Cabinet: 1985-2 Pack (which includes Commando, The Speed Rumbler, and Savage Bees).

More details on all of these games can be found after the break and a complete listing of this week’s new game add-ons can be found, as always, at the PlayStation Blog.

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Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

North American services ending for Dungeon Fighter Online

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Jeffrey Davis

dungeonfighteronline-logoSad news today for the warriors of Arad, as Nexon has announced that North American services will be coming to an end for Dungeon Fighter Online. Seriously, it really is coming to an end – and that’s despite some of Nexon’s related announcements having April 1 timestamps.

In a statement posted to the game’s North American regional website, Nexon America CEO Min Kim said that the company simply “has not attracted enough player interest to properly service” Dungeon Fighter Online for the region. He continued, “Internally, we struggled deeply with the popularity of DFO in North America as the title is immensely popular overseas. For more than three years, we went through many milestones and several pushes before we came to this very difficult decision.”

Kim noted that the Nexon team has “worked hard in hopes of building a strong community through new content updates, service fixes, and events. We tirelessly battled hackers and farmers. We even had the honor of presenting the game to you at E3 and PAX. However, Dungeon Fighter Online was not able to grow beyond its very special and proud core following [in the North American marketplace].”

Nexon America will begin drawing its services for the game to an end over the next seven weeks, with the game’s item mall closing up shop on April 11. All remaining services will be terminated on June 13. Players who are in good standing with Nexon America’s services for the game will receive compensation for all permanent and duration-based items, along with that for any purchased consumables, based on dollar amount purchases for the previous six months from today’s announcement. Furthermore, special deals will be available to all recently active Dungeon Fighter Online players in other Nexon-serviced games, also based on similar criteria for both DFO and their new game of choice within the Nexon catalog.

A complete FAQ sheet has been posted to give players some additional information regarding the announcement.

Posted in News, PC |

Watch Dogs PAX East Impressions: Hack the Planet, or Maybe Just Chicago

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Nicole Kline

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Ubisoft didn’t have Watch Dogs playable on the show floor at PAX East, but the game still had an enormous presence. The publisher showed a special behind-closed-doors presentation of the game, which included a special Watch Dogs lanyard as a giveaway (and if you were wearing it on the show floor, you may have gotten a surprise visit from a Frag Doll with a free t-shirt). I would have much preferred being able to play the game myself, but what I saw on the screen was a somewhat impressive, if disappointingly short, display of the capabilities of main character Aiden Pearce.

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Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Daily Scoop: April 2, 2013 – No deals

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Nicole Kline

Well, we survived April Fool’s Day! And without a scratch. I spent the evening playing more BioShock Infinite and then headed to my boyfriend Anthony’s to hang out and watch “Futurama.” It’s an exciting life I lead, for certain.

No deals today! Sorry, folks. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any sweet t-shirts! Because there are!

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’s Title Update 9 will be released on April 5

Posted on April 2, 2013 by John Scalzo

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4J Studios has revealed that Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition‘s Title Update 9, which includes “The End,” has passed certification and will be available this Friday, April 5:

A disc-based, retail version of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, which will also include Title Update 9, will be available in stores on April 30.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Doritos Crash Course 2 is free-to-play and coming soon

Posted on April 2, 2013 by John Scalzo

doritoscrashcourse2-box-largeDoritos Crash Course was an advergame that mixed a Wipeout-like obstacle course with constant advertising for Doritos brand chips (I mean, it’s right there in the title). Yet, it was also beloved by the Xbox Live community and is one of the most popular Xbox Live Arcade games of all time.

So the announcement of a sequel, Doritos Crash Course 2, is enough to make me celebrate with a Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell and some Cool Ranch Doritos for dessert! On second thought, I think I’ll just stick with the game as its actually fun and WON’T cause horrible intestinal pain.

According to Microsoft, Doritos Crash Course 2 is “coming soon” and will appear on the XBLA as a free-to-play title. Players (and their Avatars) will be able to run and jump through four new locations and challenge their friends’ best times with downloadable ghosts.

If you’d prefer to skip the whole free-to-play thing, Doritos Crash Course 2 players will be able to buy “coins” that they can use to unlock new courses, power-ups and vanity items.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged