One Release Date to Rule Them All… Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is out October 7

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Dan Hobbs

As someone who knows little-to-nothing about The Lord of the Rings, beyond faint memories of the books as an eight-year-old, I still think Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor looks pretty sweet. Warner Bros. Games just sent over a new “Story Trailer,” along with a whole bucketful of information about the upcoming third-person action-adventure.

WB Games has confirmed that the Monolith Productions- developed game will be released on October 7 and players who pre-order Shadow of Mordor will get access to the “Dark Ranger Exclusive Bonus Pack.” The pack will provide exclusive content and challenges for early adopters including:

  • Dark Ranger Character Skin – Begin your own quest for vengeance with a new Dark Ranger character skin that embodies Talion’s darker side.
  • “Test of Power” Challenge Mode – Face Sauron’s Captains and defeat them to earn powerful Runes and gain a head start in the game
  • Access to Exclusive Leaderboards for “Test of Power” Challenge Mode – Test your speed, skill and strategy and measure yourself against your friends on the leaderboards in this challenge mode

And in case you haven’t upgraded to a next-generation console yet, don’t worry, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

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

Amazon unveils Fire TV, a set-top box for games and video

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Dan Hobbs

amazonfiretvAmazon has entered another product market with the announcement of the Fire TV, an Android-powered set-top box that streams audio and video, and plays games. The Fire TV is available now for $99.

According to Amazon, the Fire TV is designed purely to outpace it’s competitors. The 0.7-inch-thick box features a quad-core CPU with 2 GB of RAM, a Qualcomm Adreno 320 GPU, and a dual-band wireless radio with two antennas for 1080p streaming. Long story short, as far as tech specs go, it trounces the Roku 3 and Apple TV with ease.

The gaming aspect of the box is geared more towards non-traditional gamers, people who may already tap about on a smartphone or tablet. To get into the game, players will have to purchase an Xbox-like add-on controller that retails for $39.99. The controller also comes with 1,000 Amazon coins, a digital currency used for buying games from the Fire store. If a game supports it, players can choose to use their smartphone, tablet, or Fire TV Remote instead.

Amazon’s in-house development team, Amazon Games, plans to build exclusive games for the device. Sev Zero, a third-person shooter/tower defense hybrid, is one such title and everyone who purchases the Fire TV Controller will receive it for free. Amazon hopes that by the end of next month “thousands” of games will be available from developers and publishers like 2K Games, Disney, Double Fine Productions, Electronic Arts, Sega, Telltale Games, and Ubisoft. Third party titles like Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Gameloft’s Asphalt 8: Airborne are already available for the device.

Amazon has pegged the average cost of a Fire TV game at $1.85, with prices starting at $0.99. Free-to-play titles will be available as well. But what else can the Fire TV do?

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Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

XBL Store Today: Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition

Posted on April 2, 2014 by John Scalzo

The Bat is back as WB Games has added Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition to the Xbox Live Arcade today. The previously handheld-only title makes the leap to home consoles complete with a high definition makeover and other deluxe features such as “new maps, enemy encounters, difficulty levels, and batsuits.”

The Deluxe Edition of Arkham Origins Blackgate has been priced at $19.99:

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition ($19.99)
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – Deluxe Edition amplifies the 2.5D game with new maps, enemy encounters, difficulty levels, batsuits, and enhanced visuals. A companion game to Batman: Arkham Origins, players can continue the storyline of the console version and discover more details of the Dark Knight’s past. Featuring stealth gameplay, free-flow combat, and Batman’s famed arsenal of gadgets, the genuine Arkham experience is reproduced in a deep, action packed side-scrolling adventure.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

April 1st tweets tease Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2

Posted on April 2, 2014 by John Scalzo

blooddragoniii-teaseEven though yesterday was the scoundrel’s holiday known as April Fool’s Day, some game publishers will occasionally make real announcements about real games. Such was the case last year, when Ubisoft revealed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, a downloadable spinoff to Far Cry 3 that was heavily inspired by the 1980s “VHS Era” of direct-to-video schlock. And they might have done it again.

Yesterday, horror director Jason Eisener posted a photo to Instagram of his brand new Blood Dragon soundtrack album. In the background of the picture was a television monitor, and upon this television monitor was an image that included a logo for something known as “Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2.”

Is it all a prank? Or is it another elaborate low-rent marketing stunt? Later in the day, Dean Evans, the Creative Director behind Blood Dragon, posted a similar image to Twitter and included the hashtag “#vietnamwar2”:

Talk of a Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon sequel began almost as soon as the first game was released when Michael Biehn, the voice of Rex Power Colt, discussed the possibility of a sequel less than a week after the game’s release. And Ubisoft has been touting a surprise game reveal for next week’s PAX East convention, so perhaps the only fool is the one who doesn’t believe that Blood Dragon III: Vietnam War 2 is real.

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PS Store Today: MLB 14: The Show, Mercenary Kings, Batman Blackgate, more

Posted on April 1, 2014 by John Scalzo

batmanarkhamasylumanimatedIt’s another big week for the PlayStation Store as Sony has added almost ten games to their digital storefront.

PlayStation 4 owners will want to check out Mercenary Kings. The 2D shooter has been described as Borderlands meets Metal Slug and it has been inducted into the Instant Game Collection for PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you’re not a Plus subscriber, Mercenary Kings will set you back $19.99.

Over on the PS3, WB Games has re-released the formerly Vita-exclusive Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate as a “Deluxe Edition” on the PS3. The Batman side-scroller will be joined by another game that makes use of the 2D plane, BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, the latest fighter from Arc System Works. And just in time for Opening Day, PS3 owners will also be able to download MLB 14: The Show today. MLB 14 is also available for the Vita, but it isn’t a Cross-Buy title. Speaking of the Vita, action RPG Ragnarok Odyssey Ace was added to the PS Store by XSEED. Like MLB 14, a PS3 version is also available.

Rounding out this week’s new releases is Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs The Soulless Army, a PS2 Classic from Atlus’ long-running RPG series, and Jimmie Johnson’s Anything With An Engine, a kart racer starring NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson.

More details on all of these titles can be found after the break. And a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog.

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Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita | Tagged , , ,

The Games of April 2014

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Warp Zoned Staff

gamesofapril2014-header

April is finally upon us, and with it, hopefully some better weather! But that doesn’t matter for the Warp Zoned crew – that is, unless we’re playing our handhelds outside. It’s also nearly time for PAX East, which has us pretty excited! Read on to find out what else we’re looking forward to now that Spring has sprung.

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Posted in Features, Top Story |

Daily Scoop: April 1, 2014 – Yeah, we get it, April Fool’s Day

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Nicole Kline

There are tons of jokes flying around today, and I’ll admit it, some of them are a little funny. I will be seriously disappointed if Fez II is a joke, though. I have been craving that game even more since I re-started Fez on my Vita. Please, Phil Fish, don’t play games with my heart!

Let’s see, what’s up with deals today? It’s the last day you can get the Ludosity Bundle at Indie Royale, and the second-to-last day to get the Humble Weekly Sale, which celebrates open source. There’s also a brand new Humble Bundle: PC and Android 9. Pay what you want for Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror, Bridge Constructor, Type:Rider, and Ravensword: Shadowlands. Pay more than the average for Kingdom Rush and Knights of Pen & Paper: +1 Edition.

Steam has some new deals as well. The Midweek Madness is 75% off Dead Island, marking it down to $4.99. The Daily Deal is 50% off Defiance, putting that down to $4.99 as well. Scoop ’em up!

The bad news is, there are just two shirts today…

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Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

4/1: Blizzard is NOT working on Happy Reaper, Blizzard Outcasts, StarCraft II: Herald of Stars

Posted on April 1, 2014 by John Scalzo

Blizzard has got a trio of April Fool’s Day pranks for your perusal.

Flappy Bird was a pretty big target this year and Blizzard used the prankster’s holiday as an excuse to create Happy Reaper, a Flappy Bird-like game starring the “Reaper of Souls” from Diablo III. You can read all about it at Blizzard’s blog, as well as try out “an exclusive first look” of Happy Reaper at the game’s official website.

Moving on, Blizzard also wanted to share their not-in-development new fighting game, Blizzard Outcasts: Vengeance of the Vanquished:

They’ve felt the cold steel of your blade so often, the pain it brings has become a comfort to them. They’ve watched their masterful schemes brought to ruin time and time again, and yet “surrender” remains the one line they refuse to cross. The luck they’ve had would make any good man bad, but still they keep going, unwavering, undeterred. They’re not your traditional heroes. They are survivors. They are fighters. They are Outcasts!

You can read all about the Outcasts at Blizzard’s blog and the official website (which is stocked with imaginary “screenshots” and “features”). A “teaser trailer” is also available above.

Finally, Blizzard announced (not really) the third, and final, entry in the StarCraft II saga, StarCraft II: Herald of the Stars. The absolutely insane announcement on Blizzard’s blog is full of choice nuggets like “Herald of the Stars […] can be played backwards, forwards, with any mission in any order, or not played at all, while still delivering the exact same life-affirming storyline” and “A dance editor? Yes. Sure! A dance editor!”

Now I really want to play a Blizzard-themed dance game.

Posted in News, PC |