Hear yourself scream after watching the Alien: Isolation launch trailer

Posted on October 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

Today is a great day for space exploration, both real and fictional. In the real world, NASA is exploring the use of stasis tubes (better known as “torpor”) for a possible manned mission to Mars. And in the fictional realm, Sega has released the launch trailer for Alien: Isolation, their deep space survival horror game that is in stores tomorrow.

Developed by Creative Assembly, Alien: Isolation uses the same “lo-fi sci-fi” aesthetic seen in 1979’s Alien and sticks to a single Xenomorph instead of the hordes of alien monsters typically found in games based on the 1986 sequel, Aliens.

Alien: Isolation will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The first run of copies have been given a “Nostromo Edition” tag and will include a bonus mission that will allow players to take control Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and other characters from the original film.

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The Crew’s release date skids onto December 2

Posted on October 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Ubisoft has announced that The Crew, their open-world racer for the PC, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, will now be released on December 2. Previously scheduled for a November 11 launch, the publisher pushed the game back so they could conduct another closed beta sometime in November. This will be the fourth closed beta for The Crew after two separate tests on the PC and another exclusively for PS4/Xbox One players.

“We received a lot of valuable information from the recent PC and console betas,” Creative Director Julian Gerighty told Ubisoft’s UbiBlog. “We are now scrutinizing all of the player feedback so we can ensure that The Crew delivers the seamless open-world experience that meets everyone’s high expectations.”

According to Gerighty, feedback from the betas has resulted in several substantial changes to the game including “the option to fully remove the HUD so players can enjoy the scenery as they roam freely through a massive re-creation of the United States, to fine-tuning the collisions to be even more realistic and adding in new visual effects.” The Ubisoft Reflections developer has also tweaked police AI and improved the game’s voice chat after the first three rounds of player feedback.

There’s also a good chance that Ubisoft moved The Crew to ensure the game wasn’t overshadowed by the November 11 launch of Assassin’s Creed: Rogue and Assassin’s Creed: Unity, the company’s flagship titles for the Fall.

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Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will sneak onto Steam in December

Posted on October 6, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Konami has announced that Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be released for the PC (through Steam) on December 18. The port will be prettied up for its PC debut as Konami has confirmed Ground Zeroes on Steam will be 4K Compatible (4096×2160) and include “an increase in the number of simultaneous light sources, the number of models that can be displayed on-screen, and increased shadow resolution.”

For those who bypassed Ground Zeroes when it made its console debut this past Summer, the game will serve as a prologue to the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and features Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of Snake:

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes takes place in 1975 and sets in motion a series of events that culminate in the stunning plotlines of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Ground Zeroes centers on Big Boss – legendary hero and mercenary – as he infiltrates a sprawling secret prison base called Camp Omega in Cuba on a rescue mission. He soon finds himself alone behind enemy lines with a truly non-linear mission that showcases key advances to the series made possible by its use of Kojima Productions’ Fox Engine.

Once you complete Ground Zeroes (which you can do in about an hour), the long wait for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain begins. And The Phantom Pain is expected to be released sometime in 2015 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Weekly Warp-Up: First Week of October 2014 Edition

Posted on October 5, 2014 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…

The Warp Zoned staff was just full of opinions this week. Mike Ryan laid out his plan for how to fix Club Nintendo in an editorial titled Nintendo of America Needs To Fix Club Nintendo. And one of our UK lads took in the sights at EGX London 2014 and filed an Dan Hobbs EGX London 2014 Report talking about Batman: Arkham Knight, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, WWE 2K15, and many more.

With the calendar flipping over, the Warp Zoned staff also got together to discuss What We Played in September 2014 and The Games of October 2014 that we’re most looking forward to. Thanks to a pretty great pre-release demo, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS appeared in both discussions.

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

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Posted in News |

New Releases: Alien: Isolation, NBA 2K15, DriveClub, More

Posted on October 5, 2014 by John Scalzo

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After a relatively quiet September, the Fall gaming rush has begun to kick into high gear now that we’ve reached October.

Sega plans to take another crack at the Alien universe with the Creative Assembly-developed survival horror game Alien: Isolation (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One). Players will attempt to help Amanda Ripley search for her missing mother while she’s stalked by a singular Xenomorph. After nearly a dozen games starring the Colonial Marines, it’s definitely a new take (on an old idea) for the franchise.

Also new this week is…

  • NBA 2K15 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One), 2K’s latest basketball sim.
  • DriveClub (PS4), Evolution’s long-in-development racing game.
  • Skylanders: Trap Team (3DS, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One), the latest toy/game hybrid from Activision.
  • Project Spark (Xbox One), Microsoft’s game-building game.

Finally, Microsoft is reliving the Xbox One launch with newly expanded and updated versions of Dead Rising 3: Apocalypse Edition, Forza Motorsport 5: Game of the Year Edition, and Ryse: Son of Rome – Legendary Edition.

A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , ,

Insert Quarter: “Playing A Game” Versus “Grinding Through Content”

Posted on October 4, 2014 by John Scalzo

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Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.

In this installment, Kotaku’s Yannick LeJacq examines the difference between “playing a game” and “grinding through content” added by the developer to increase the hours required to reach the end in games like Dying Light and The Sims 4.

Earlier this week, Techland announced that its new zombie-killing adventure Dying Light will have “50+ hours of gameplay.” Some might considering this good news. I don’t—at least at face value.

Why? Because 50 hours is a long [*******] time to spend in any video game, and I don’t trust Techland enough as a developer to believe they know how to guide me through such a slog gracefully. I took me roughly half that time to play their last zombie game, Dead Island Riptide. I loved the first few hours, and couldn’t stand the rest.

You can read the rest at Kotaku.

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EGX 2014 Report: Assassin’s Creed Unity, Arkham Knight, The Order 1886, and More

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Dan Hobbs

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EGX London, formerly known as the Eurogamer Expo, finally gives UK players a chance to their hand at unreleased games after all the other big Summer shows: E3, PAX Prime, Gamescom, and TGS. It sits at the right time of year too! I always tend to get a bit down on games over the Summer when my consoles sit mostly unused.After playing a dozen of the biggest games scheduled to release over the next nine months, I’m excited to finally charge a DualShock 4 again.On top of that, talking to so many gamers in one place really gives you a nice vertical slice of where the industry sits at the moment. But first… the games!

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Posted in 3DS, Features, PC, Previews, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Daily Scoop: October 3, 2014 – Hyper Light Drifter

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Nicole Kline

The closed beta for Hyper Light Drifter Kickstarter backers started last night at midnight, and it is wonderful. It’s so deep and beautiful, and I’m really eager to get back to it as soon as I can!

For those of you not in the beta, don’t worry – I have some deals you can pick up and start playing right now. Steam has a great Daily Deal going on right now, which is the Ubi Arcade Pack. For $19.99, you get Child of Light, Valiant Hearts: The Great War, and Trials Fusion. Don’t want the bundle? Get them individually for $7.49, $7.49, and $9.99, respectively.

There’s a brand new Humble Weekly Bundle happening right now, too. Pay what you want for Crouching Pony Hidden Dragon, Gauge, Puddle, and The Mysterious Cities of Gold. Pay $5 or more to unlock Wooden Sen’Sey, Storm, and Poof. I want to get it just for Mysterious Cities of Gold!

Finally, time for t-shirts!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |