Microsoft’s Phil Spencer talks about the company’s E3 2014 plans (and beyond)

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Microsoft’s Phil Spencer spent some of his Sunday answering questions on Twitter and the Head of the Xbox Division revealed quite a bit about the company’s future plans. Looking forward to this year’s E3 Expo, Spencer had this to say…

Spencer also told his followers that Fable Anniversary is most likely not in development for the Xbox One and that Microsoft and Mojang are getting close to a Minecraft: Xbox One Edition announcement, but they’re not there yet. Minecraft might be one of the last digital games Microsoft has a direct hand in as the company is currently moving away from publishing third-party digital games. This is due to the fact they would prefer to focus on “opportunities with IP we own that we’ve neglected.” However, he didn’t elaborate on which properties he was referring to.

And in case you were hoping for an Xbox-branded handheld to be revealed at this year’s E3 Expo, you might want to know that it’s probably out of the question. However, development on games for Windows Phones and Windows 8 tablets will continue, possibly with controller support in the future.

Finally, one thing Spencer didn’t talk about was Halo 5, stating “I can’t talk about anything related to a 343i IP.” Hopefully, we’ll learn more about that one at this year’s E3 Expo.

Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , ,

Weekly Warp-Up: Getting Hot Edition

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…

After a brutal Winter, it finally feels like the weather is ready to turn warm again. PAX East is in our rearview mirror and the E3 Expo is in front of us. So yes, Summer is definitely on its way.

To recognize this movement of the clock, the Warp Zoned staff took the time to think back on What We Played in April 2014 as well as looking forward to The Games of May 2014. And speaking of games released in May, Nicole Kline reviewed Cipher Prime’s Intake. If it’s not already your go-to iPad game, it soon will be.

Looking further out, Andrew Rainnie filed another edition of his Kickstart This! column. If you want to help out some of next Summer’s big hits, we suggest you in on the ground floor with them now.

More big news from the week that was (including Kevin Spacey in Call of Duty!) can be found after the break.

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Posted in News |

New Releases: Borderlands 2 Vita Bundle, Bound By Flame, MLB 14: The Show PS4, More

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This week’s new release report once again focuses on games that have found new homes. Games like…

  • Borderlands 2. Gearbox’s insane shooter is now available on the Vita thanks to the Borderlands 2 Vita Bundle. A standalone version of the Vita port will be available next week.
  • God of War Collection. The God of War and God of War II compilation has also been shrunk down to Vita size.
  • MLB 14: The Show. Sony’s baseball simulation has made the next-generation leap to the PS4.

But there’s still a trio of NEW new releases this week as well. Bound By Flame, a medieval action RPG from Spiders Studio will be released this week for the PC, PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360. It will be joined by Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure, the first new Tex Murphy game in over 15 years, and Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi, a visual novel-style RPG for the PS3.

Naturally, a bunch of new games will be added to the PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop, Xbox Live Store, and Steam throughout the week. We’ll talk more about those games soon.

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

The Games of May 2014

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May is an interesting month for game releases – there’s not much coming out, but there are quite a few heavy hitters, including Transistor, Watch Dogs, and, of course, Mario Kart 8. Read on to find out what the Warp Zoned staff is most excited about for this month!

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Posted in Features, Top Story |

Daily Scoop: May 2, 2014 – Friday at last!

We made it through another week, everyone! Woo! I would love to go home and play video games all weekend, but unfortunately, I’ve been putting off my homework, so I’ll be handcuffed to my laptop for the evening, writing JavaScript. Yay!

I’m sure you’re here to hear about deals, so let’s talk about them! Over at Steam, the Weekend Deal is Shadowrun Returns for $5.09. That’s a great price, so if you’ve been waiting for a price drop, now’s your chance! The Daily Deal is Empire: Total War for $3.74.

The Humble Store is running some cheap deals as well. Stealth Bastard Deluxe is $2.49, Nekro is $14.99, and Scourge: Outbreak – Ambrosia Bundle is $2.24. Scoop ’em up!

I’ve got a few t-shirts for you to end your Friday on a high note…

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Star Wars Journeys storybooks to be released for mobile devices by Disney

Disney and Lucasfilm have decided they want to start getting kids more into Star Wars at a younger age – at least, that’s what Variety said about the first interactive storybook, Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace, that was released yesterday. The app is only available on Apple devices so far, and the current plan is that there will be one released for each Star Wars movie up until Star Wars: Episode VII comes out. The interactive storybooks are going to cost a whopping $6.99 each. Yikes.

According to Variety, “The first, Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace, is broken up into three parts, including a story mode that immerses readers into the film’s plot with custom-designed art and a unique viewing experience that enables users to swipe to reveal areas of a scene and unlock new chapters.” There will also be databases and games in each app as well, to get kids more involved in the universe of Star Wars.

Star Wars Journeys: The Phantom Menace is available now on iTunes.

Posted in Mobile, News |

Techland’s Hellraid delayed to 2015 as development moves to next-gen consoles

Hellraid will miss another release date as developer Techland has confirmed the “first person slasher” won’t be released this year as originally planned. But the team, who also created Dead Island and Call of Juarez, has a good excuse: Hellraid is making the jump to next-generation consoles. Originally set for a PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 release, Hellraid is now in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

The horsepower of the next-generation systems will allow Techland to add a variety of under-the-hood additions to Hellraid including “a physics-based lighting system, more detailed locations and character models, complex animations, advanced particle effects, and state-of-the-art AI systems.” While players will be unable to see these enhancements, they will directly affect the game’s combat system, which is also undergoing an upgrade. According to the developer, combat in Hellraid will feature a “class-free” skills system for endless customization, multiple different weapon types, magical spells, and “diverse fighting styles.” A crafting component will add even more weapons to the player’s arsenal.

Finally, Techland will use the additional development to implement three different gameplay modes in Hellraid. A standard Story Campaign, playable by up to four players, will be the main draw. But the game will also include a score-based Mission Mode and a wave-based survival challenge known as Arena Mode.

The full version of Hellraid will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in 2015 but an Early Access edition will be available through Steam this Fall.

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

Warpback: What We Played in April 2014

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April was a crazy month for Warp Zoned! We went to PAX East and the East Coast Game Conference, played a ton of games, and caught up on our backlogs. Read on to find out all the games we played last month!

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Posted in Features, Top Story |