Batman: Arkham Knight pushed back three weeks to June 23

Posted on March 23, 2015 by John Scalzo

WB Games and Rocksteady Studios have announced Batman: Arkham Knight won’t make its previously announced June 2 release date. But fear not, the game has only been pushed back three weeks, and will be available worldwide for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 23. According to a statement by Rocksteady’s Sefton Hill, the delay is due to the fact the developer don’t want to make compromises with the final product:

“We’re a developer that hates to make any compromises, so we are sorry to say this means it’s going to be just a little bit longer until you can play the epic conclusion to the Arkham trilogy.”

To go along with the release date delay, WB Games has released a new gameplay trailer for Arkham Knight, “Officer Down,” that shows the Caped Crusader chasing down a lead on Scarecrow’s whereabouts.

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Microsoft wants us to “Hunt the Truth” ahead of Halo 5: Guardians with a Serial-like podcast

Posted on March 23, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Microsoft launched Hunt the Truth last night, an in-universe website that chronicles the life and times of Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117, better known as the Master Chief. But rather than publish a simple biography, war journalist “Benjamin Giraud” (played by Keegan-Michael Key of Key & Peele fame) has launched a Serial-esqe podcast to explore “the real Master Chief”:

What began as a high-profile hero story quickly turns into a full-blown investigation. Sources claim they know the “real Master Chief”: The boy, the soldier, the hero…the traitor? But who’s telling the truth?

New episodes will be posted every Sunday, but for now, you can get a glimpse of what’s to come with Episode 0, “Primer”:

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Weekly Warp-Up: The Great Kojima Caper Edition

Posted on March 22, 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…

Hideo Kojima has long maintained that every Metal Gear Solid game he works on will be his last one. But he might really mean it this time as the rumor mill is saying Kojima may leave Konami after Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is completed. It’s unknown whether Kojima is quitting or if he’s being pushed out, but neither side was very forthcoming in their Joint Statement on the matter.

Aside from Kojima’s employment status, the remainder of this week’s news cycle was dominated, once again, by NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat X. The game’s April 14 launch is almost upon us and NetherRealm used the growing excitement for it to flood the newswire with stories including a new Kombat Kast featuring Quitalities, the reveal of the full Kombat Pack, and the sideways confirmation of Liu Kang and Jax.

Oh, and I guess Nintendo’s move into Nintendo-branded mobile games thanks to their partnership with DeNA is a big deal. As is confirmation that the company is working on a new hardware platform, currently codenamed “NX.” But really, we don’t know enough about either initiative to begin speculating. Though Nintendo President Satoru Iwata did deliver a few more details on their mobile gaming plans.

The Warp Zoned staff has begun putting together our preview coverage of many of the titles that were on display at this year’s PAX East expo. Right now, that includes this year’s PAX East PAXpocalypse List of the best games at the show and a hands-on preview of The Behemoth’s Game 4. We also examined the recently-ended Kickstarter campaign for Mayfair’s Cones of Dunshire adaptation and looked into why it failed (Spoiler Alert: Mayfair might have been in over their head).

The rest of this week’s news can be found after the break.

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PS Store Flash Sale features dozens of games under $1 including Pac-Man CE DX+, Katamari Damacy, MK Arcade Kollection, more

Posted on March 22, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Are you looking to stock up on games this fine March morning? Then I suggest you amble over to the PlayStation Store, because Sony is currently running hosting a massive Flash Sale and dozens of games are available for under a dollar.

As with any sale of this kind, there’s a lot of forgotten titles to sift through, but there are also a few good games and a few outright classics. Games like Pac-Man Championship Edition DX+, Katamari Damacy, Twisted Metal: Black, Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, Dead Nation (both the PS3 original and the PS4-only Apocalypse Edition), Payday: The Heist, Mega Man X4, Mega Man X5, and many others.

The Flash Sale began Friday, but it doesn’t end until Monday at 2:00 PM (Eastern Time), so there’s still time to go bargain hunting. You can find the full list of deals after the break.

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New Releases: Bloodborne, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, Pillars of Eternity, More

Posted on March 22, 2015 by John Scalzo

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The next big PS4 exclusive, Bloodborne, will be available in stores this week. Developed by From Software, the makers of Dark Souls, Bloodborne takes place in a gothic city that’s in the grip of some kind of blood-based plague that breeds demonic monsters. A little more gruesome than the common cold, to say the least.

Also available this week is Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, an enhanced re-release of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel for the PS4 and Xbox One. In addition to prettier visuals, the Handsome Collection also includes all available downloadable content for both games.

Portable players will be able to pick up Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin this week. The game will be released for both the 3DS and Vita and its the latest game based on the Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu television series. This time the ninjas have to do battle with the memory-stealing Ronin.

Finally, PC players will be able to choose from two new retail releases this week. There’s Pillars of Eternity is a classic RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Paradox Interactive that asks players to “embrace adventure as you delve into a realm of wonder, nostalgia, and the excitement.” And Etherium is a real-time strategy game set in a far-flung future “where three factions battle it out for a mysterious and rare resource known as Etherium.”

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Kojima says he is “100% involved” with MGS5, but doesn’t confront rumor of split with Konami

Posted on March 21, 2015 by John Scalzo

hideokojimaopmukKonami and Hideo Kojima issued a joint statement yesterday in the hopes of quieting down rumors that the developer will leave the company after the completion of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Unfortunately, what wasn’t said by either side has overshadowed any firefighting they attempted to do.

In the statement, Kojima said that he is “100% involved” in the development of The Phantom Pain and that his goal is “to make it the greatest game [he’s] directed to date.” However, Kojima did not address rumors that he is leaving Konami and no mention was made of Silent Hills, his upcoming collaboration with director Guillermo Del Toro.

Konami reiterated Kojima’s stance and said he will “remain involved [with The Phantom Pain] throughout.” Like Kojima, the publisher did not go into details on what the developer’s future with the company will be. A few weeks ago, Kojima said he considers The Phantom Pain the “final” Metal Gear game and that he won’t design any future entries in the series. The developer has made this claim before, but it looks like Konami believes him this time as the publisher officially announced an untitled new game in the franchise that won’t have Kojima at the helm. A hiring push to find people to fill out the new Metal Gear team has already begun.

Whatever happens, both parties agree that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will launch as scheduled on September 1. The full text of their joint statement can be found after the break.

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Kombat Pack confirms Liu Kang and Jax are koming to Mortal Kombat X too

Posted on March 21, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Tonight’s trailer for the Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pack confirmed that Jason Voorhees, The Predator, Tanya, and Tremor will be joining the game after release as downloadable add-on characters. But the accompanying press release revealed that two other unannounced fighters, Liu Kang and Jax, will also be part of the main game.

Liu Kang’s involvement in the game is assured thanks to NetherRealm’s inclusion of a Klassic Liu Kang Skin as part of Klassic Pack #1. Jax will also receive a Klassic Skin (in Klassic Pack #2), but his bonus costume in the Predator/Prey Pack is the one that’ll get people talking. The Predator needs a nemesis and he’ll get one in the form of Dillon, the character played by Carl Weathers in Predator. Weathers will reprise his role as Dillon for the special Predator-Themed Jax Skin.

The complete contents of the Kombat Pack can be found after the break and mark your calendars, Mortal Kombat X is just a few short weeks away. PC, PS4, and Xbox One owners will be able to play it on April 14 while PS3 and Xbox 360 players will have to wait until the Summer.

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NetherRealm officially unveils Kombat Pack with Jason, The Predator, Tanya, and Tremor

Posted on March 20, 2015 by John Scalzo

After this morning’s Predator leak, NetherRealm Studios has decided to just roll with it and announce all four characters that will be added to Mortal Kombat X as part of the Kombat Pack Season Pass. In addition to Jason Voorhees and The Predator, the Kombat Pack will also give players access to two “Klassic Kombatants”: Tanya and Tremor.

Tanya made her first appearance in Mortal Kombat 4 and would later go on to appear in Deception and Armageddon. Clad in yellow, Tanya is often depicted as a rival to Jade (the Mileena to her Kitana, if you will).

Meanwhile, Tremor is a Black Dragon that has never appeared as a selectable character in any Mortal Kombat game. However, he was momentarily playable in the Challenge Tower of 2012’s Vita port of Mortal Kombat. Prior to that, his only appearance was in Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, a beat ’em up spinoff released back in the PlayStation days. But a loyal fan following has finally made his big league call-up a reality.

The Kombat Pack is priced at $29.99, but it’s also included in every Mortal Kombat X special edition. Each character will also be available separately for those who aren’t interested in all four.

Mortal Kombat X will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on April 14 with a PS3/Xbox 360 port to follow in the Summer.

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