The Games of November 2013

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Warp Zoned Staff

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They’re finally here. Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One will be available on store shelves this month. Have you been saving your pennies to purchase a next-gen console on day one? Or did the fizzy fast food fairy gift you with a free one? But if you’re not ready to make the next-gen leap, remember, there’s still plenty of current-generation games coming this month (and beyond) to keep all of us busy for a long time. So what’s the staff of Warp Zoned looking forward to in the 11th month of 2013? Read on to find out…

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Posted in Features, Top Story |

Warpback: What We Played in October 2013

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Warp Zoned Staff

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While you probably spent last night gorging on candy and spooky movies, the month of October was a bit of a slow one for games. That’s because two new consoles are right around the corner. They’re getting closer and closer. You can almost feel them watching you. Waiting to report on your every movement to the men in dark suits and even darker sunglasses.

But enough about the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor, let’s take a look at what the Warp Zoned staff played in October 2013…

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Bethesda, Microsoft announce MInecraft: Skyrim Edition for Xbox 360

Posted on November 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Microsoft and Mojang have teamed up to announce their next Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition “Mash-Up.” Following on the heels of September’s “Mass Effect Edition,” Minecraft players can now look forward to Fus Ro Dahing their way through Skyrim with the “Skyrim Edition” add-on.

The Skyrim Pack will appropriate many elements from Bethesda’s ultra-popular Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when its released “soon.” The pack will include a Skyrim-themed texture set, 40 character skins, 20 selections from Skyrim’s score, and a pre-made world that recreates Whiterun, Riverwood, and Bleak Falls Barrow in Minecraft.

If you’re in attendance at this weekend’s Minecon in Orlando, you’ll get a chance to play Minecraft: Skyrim Edition for yourself. If not, head over to the Bethesda Blog for more details on the mash-up’s content and a look at the first screenshots.

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Soul Calibur II HD Online burns onto PSN, XBLA on November 20

Posted on November 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

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Namco Bandai has announced that Soul Calibur II HD Online will make its PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade debut on November 20. The acclaimed fighting game has been priced at $19.99 and, as the title states, will include online play and a high definition graphical upgrade.

Soul Calibur II HD Online will also feature two of the three console exclusive characters it was released with in 2003. Both downloadable editions of the game will include Heihachi (originally exclusive to the PS2 version) and Spawn (originally exclusive to the Xbox version). It’s unlikely the GameCube-exclusive character, Link, will ever make the jump to Soul Calibur II HD Online.

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Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z embraces the crazy and will arrive in stores on March 4, 2014

Posted on November 1, 2013 by John Scalzo

Tecmo Koei has announced that Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, the wild Ninja Gaiden spinoff centering on a cyborg ninja battling zombies, will be available in stores on March 4, 2014. In honor of the finalized release date, the publisher has uploaded a new trailer for the game that introduces us to Miss Monday, Yaiba’s handler, and Yaiba’s unique sense of humor:

Step into a stylized living comic book where stunning graphics depict a world gone mad overflowing with hordes of the undead. Only Yaiba’s drive for retribution and willingness to use any means necessary to get the job done can stop the countless waves of zombies in his path. Yaiba’s lust to kill is insatiable as he mercilessly slices through masses of enemies with his sword, or the array of weapons accessible via his cyborg arm. Miss Monday is Yaiba’s virtual escort and is vital to his survival. However, not even she is safe from his brash, unbridled sarcasm.

I’m definitely excited to play Yaiba next year, but it feels like this trailer hit every trope that Suda 51 parodied in last year’s Lollipop Chainsaw.

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Trio of new Wonderbook games will arrive on PS3 on November 12

Posted on October 31, 2013 by John Scalzo

Prepare to crack open the PS3’s Wonderbook peripheral again. Sony has announced that three new titles that use the magic book will be released on November 12. Here’s what you can expect from each title, courtesy of Sony:

The action-packed detective story Wonderbook: Diggs Nightcrawler, follows the journey of a loveable bookworm super-sleuth in his crime-busting quest to restore harmony to the film noir inspired world of Library City. Help Diggs in his pursuit for justice, and find out who really bumped Humpty from his wall in this intriguing tale.

PlayStation teamed up with BBC Worldwide to bring you Wonderbook: Walking with Dinosaurs, which sets giants like T. rex and Stegosaurus loose in your home.

Wonderbook’s launch title, Book of Spells, brought wizardry to life in your living room, allowing you to cast spells just like a student at Hogwarts. Now you can also try your hand at potion-making with Wonderbook: Book of Potions, the second Wonderbook title to result from Sony’s partnership with Pottermore from J.K. Rowling. You’ll brew magical potions from the Harry Potter stories, compete to win the elusive Golden Cauldron, and find out whether you really have what it takes to become a potions champion.

There will even be a new character, created by J.K. Rowling herself, especially for Book of Potions. In the story, you’ll meet Zygmunt Budge, one of the most accomplished Potioneers ever known — an eccentric, unstable, and vengeful wizard who left Hogwarts at the age of 14 as an act of protest. We had lots of fun bringing his character to life through a number of J.K. Rowling’s delightful stories, and hope you’ll have as much fun meeting him.

Walking With Dinosaurs will be the easiest Wonderbook title to obtain as it will be available both in stores (packaged with the Wonderbook peripheral) and downloadable through the PlayStation Store. Book of Potions will not be available on the PSN and can only be purchased in stores as part of a Wonderbook bundle. Finally, Diggs Nightcrawler will be released as a PSN exclusive. Got all that? Because that kind of complicated sales strategy isn’t complicated at all.

Trailers for Book of Potions and Walking With Dinosaurs can be found after the break.

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After parting ways with EA, Tiger Woods’ agent is talking with other game publishers

Posted on October 31, 2013 by John Scalzo

tigerwoodspgatour14-boxOn Tuesday, EA Sports revealed that their next PGA Tour golf game won’t feature Tiger Woods in the title or on the cover. Now, Tiger wants everyone to know that he’s in discussions to roar back with a new publisher and a new game.

Speaking to ESPN, Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg said: “We had an incredible run. Outside of [John] Madden, you would be hard pressed to find a sports figure that meant as much to a video game company as Tiger meant to EA. But times are changing and EA had to re-evaluate the partnership, and frankly so did we.”

According to Steinberg, this re-evaluation includes discusses with another publisher about creating a Tiger Woods-branded game. However, outside of EA, a relatively small number of golf games have been released in the last decade. But there have been a few. For example, all three consolemakers have their own humorous take on the sport (Sony’s Hot Shots Golf, Microsoft’s Powerstar Golf, and Nintendo’s Mario Golf) and Take-Two owns the rights to the acclaimed Links series, so perhaps there’s a new video game in Tiger’s future yet.

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Warp Zoned Rewind: Scariest Games

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Mike Ryan

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The newest entry in our Warp Zoned Rewind series, our look back at the seventh generation’s most memorable moments, brings the scares. Today, we’re talking about the games that left you teetering on the edge of your seat.

With the lights out and the sound turned up, your clammy palms grip the controller as your character stands just short of the end of a hallway. You pause for a moment, trying to gather the courage to force yourself forward, despite knowing full well that what waits around the corner is nothing short of pure horror. But you must press on, because it’s the only way to rid yourself of the evil that lurks. Plus, you get an Achievement for killing it! Yes, folks, in honor of Halloween, Warp Zoned brings you five of our favorite fright fests…

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