Heroes of the Storm open beta begins May 19, just ahead of official launch on June 2

Posted on April 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Blizzard has announced that Heroes of the Storm, their take on the MOBA genre, will officially launch on June 2. But first, the game’s closed beta will open up to everyone on May 19. Also, don’t call it a MOBA. Blizzard prefers to refer to their 5v5 free-to-play game as a “Team Brawler.”

When it launches, Heroes of the Storm will offer 30 playable Heroes and seven Battlegrounds, each with their own “unique challenges.” Each Hero can be customized with a variety of Skins or an optional Mount, though Blizzard plans to add many more Heroes to the game in the near future.

“With its focus on team play and fast-paced fun, Heroes of the Storm is a fresh take on a very popular genre,” said Mike Morhaime, the CEO and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve built Heroes of the Storm in a way that makes it accessible to new players, but also challenging enough for veterans who really want to put their skills to the test. We can’t wait to see what Heroes brings to the co-op and competitive scenes once the Nexus opens up to everyone.”

Heroes of the Storm will launch with three gameplay modes including Cooperative (five players take on five AI opponents), Quick Match (player versus player), and Ranked Mode for individuals or teams. A Practice Mode will also be available for new players.

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Life Is Strange: Episode 3 will be released in May

Posted on April 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Dontnod Entertainment wants to assure everyone that they’ll be able to jump back into the story of Life Is Strange very soon. According to a new post on Twitter, players will be able to continue experiencing the adventures of Max and Chloe in Episode 3 in May:

Life Is Strange Episode 3 will be subtitled Chaos Theory and it’ll be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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

BREAKING NEWS! Microsoft will announce “new exclusive IP” at E3 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

xboxone-logoLet’s face it, the four-day barrage of E3 announcements doesn’t hold much surprise anymore. The actual announcements themselves are usually pretty surprising, but the event’s formulaic nature ensures that no matter how much everyone laments the death of non-franchise titles, dozens will be announced at and around the expo this year and every year into the future. Yesterday, while replying to questioners on his Twitter feed, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer confirmed that at least one such original property for the Xbox One will make its debut at this year’s E3 Expo:

Spencer also played the part of “good marketer” and began beating the “this is our best year ever” drum…

Microsoft has a tremendously varied state of games in development for this year including Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Forza Motorsport 6, and Fable Legends. The publisher will also release original properties from Remedy (Quantum Break) and Platinum Games (Scalebound) in 2016. And those are just some of the games we know to be in development. So Microsoft will definitely have a crowded E3 Press Conference this year even before any new announcements are made. Just like they do every year.

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Weekly Warp-Up: The Video Game Rhythm Wars Begin Again

Posted on April 19, 2015 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…

It finally happened… the Video Game Rhythm Wars begin again. After Harmonix announced Rock Band 4 in March, the whole world began waiting for Activision to announce a new Guitar Hero game (and not just because rumors told us an announcement was definitely coming). This week, that wish became reality as the publisher revealed Guitar Hero Live and its brand-new six-button guitar controller. Harmonix, meanwhile, doubled down on familiarity by announcing Rock Band 4 would be compatible with older Rock Band/Guitar Hero instruments.

But with another big marketing campaign to look forward to, I’ve realized that I am just tired of a lot it. I’ve got Hype Fatigue, so please let me explain Why I’m Exhausted With Viral Marketing, Elaborate Advertising Campaigns, and Countdowns.

That said, nothing makes me happier than learning about an upcoming game that is ridiculously fun. So if you like fun, I highly recommend reading up on Knight Squad in this Hands-On Preview.

What else happened this week in the video game industry? Read on to find out…

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Hype Fatigue: Why I’m Exhausted With Viral Marketing, Elaborate Advertising Campaigns, and Countdowns

Posted on April 17, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The machinations of video game marketers absolutely baffle me. Obviously, “video game marketing” is an incredibly broad term that encompasses hundreds of different campaigns a year, all run by different people, and all carried out with different expectations. Whipsawing between a seemingly neverending series of hype events and viral campaigns has started to make my head spin. Following hashtags and decoding secret messages has become de rigueur if you want to come up with all the latest game news. Last week, three publishers launched three very different viral campaigns that made me long for the days of the simple press release/trailer combo platter. But maybe they aren’t to blame, as video game marketing has been growing increasingly insane for years now.

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Posted in 3DS, Mobile, Opinions, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , ,

EA has unveiled first Star Wars: Battlefront trailer and details

Posted on April 17, 2015 by John Scalzo

Are you still reeling from yesterday’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer? Prepare yourself for even more tears of nerdy joy as Electronic Arts and DICE pulled back the curtain on the first Star Wars: Battlefront trailer today.

Taking place on Endor, gamers were greeted to an exciting mix of ground and vehicle combat as speederbikes buzzed between trees, Rebel troops did battle with Stormtroopers, and a squadron of Y-Wings performed a bombing run on a massive AT-AT. It’s an amazing display of “Game Engine Footage” (no gameplay just yet), which segues into a quick spin around the galaxy for visits to Hoth, Tatooine, and the never-before-seen Sullust. The trailer also gave us fleeting glimpses of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and the Millennium Falcon… all three of which will be playable in the game.

Star Wars: Battlefront won’t feature a campaign mode, but will instead focus on a variety of 40-person multiplayer battles set during the Original Trilogy. However, a single-player Mission Mode will be included that will also offer the opportunity for local or online co-op play with a second player. Whichever way you play, gamers will be able to seamlessly switch between first-person and third-person views as they fight on the ground or in the air.

“Like so many others around the world, everyone at DICE is a tremendous fan of the Star Wars universe,” said Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir, the Senior Producer of Star Wars: Battlefront. “To be working on a Star Wars project and knowing we are helping to represent the universe we love to our generation and a legion of new Star Wars fans is truly an honor. Thanks to the access and knowledge shared with us by Lucasfilm, and the passion and talent of our team, we plan to deliver an amazing game that puts you right in the middle of the Star Wars battles you always imagined playing.”

As expected, Star Wars: Battlefront will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 17. Players who pre-order the game will receive early access to the Battle of Jakku expansion, which takes place after Return of the Jedi. “The pivotal moment when the New Republic confronted key Imperial holdouts on a remote desert planet in the Outer Rim” will be available to all as a free download on December 8. But players who pre-order the game will get it a week earlier on December 1.

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

Daily Scoop: April 17, 2015 – Come see us at Philly GamesCon!

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Nicole Kline

Anthony Amato and I have been hard at work on our card game since the Kickstarter campaign ended, and everything’s been super busy! That extends to this weekend, when we’ll be spending some time at Philly GamesCon. Stop by, say hi, and try out Kobolds and RESISTOR_!

The Humble Mobile Bundle 11 is full of Android exclusives and has a few days left. You can pay what you want for Bounden, Auro, and Avernum: Escape from the Pit. Beat the average to unlock 80 Days, Kingdom Rush Origins Premium Edition, Riddick: The Merc Files, Oh My Giraffe, and Skullpogo.

There’s a brand new Daily Deal over at Steam today. You can nab Eador: Masters of the Broken World for $2.99. You can also pick up the Allied Forces DLC for just an extra $0.59.

Finally, let’s get to today’s t-shirts.

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Ultra Street Fighter IV will be released for PS4 on May 26

Posted on April 17, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Capcom and Sony Computer Entertainment have announced (via the PlayStation Blog) that Ultra Street Fighter IV will be released for the PS4 on May 26.

Sony’s Gio Corsi reconfirmed that the new-generation version of Ultra Street Fighter IV will include all of the previously released downloadable content as well as a fix for the input lag that plagued the PS3 version. The consolemaker is also touting the PS4 edition as “the ultimate version on any platform,” so I wouldn’t expect any kind of Super Mega Hyper Extra-Ultra Edition to launch ahead of Street Fighter V next year.

Speaking of Street Fighter V, it’s still on track for a Spring 2016 release, exclusively on the PS4 and PC.

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