Weekly Warp-Up: Post PAX East 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…

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We’re still sifting through all the awesomeness we saw at the second annual PAX East show, but in a special edition of our podcast, Mike Gutierrez, Nicole Kline, and Ryan Littlefield recorded from PAX East to talk about the games they saw, the games they played, their favorite games, and – well – GAMES!!

We got a chance to sit down with Deus Ex: Human Revolution‘s Game Director Jean-Francois Dugas for an in-depth interview. He talked about the development process, the influences on the team and Warren Specter’s thoughts on the game. We visited Bethesda and took their booth to the Brink with a hands-on preview. We also invaded the Capcom booth and played a lot of Okamiden, Super Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. Finally, we played Bastion Supergiant Games’ action RPG and talked to studio head Greg Kasavin.

Back home from PAX East, we examined the winners and losers during the 2010-2011 Video Game Awards Season. It was a good year to be Rockstar and you’ll be surprised to see who came out on top of the Alan Wake/Heavy Rain showdown.

Hit the jump for the rest of the Weekly Warp-Up.

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Posted in News |

New Releases: 3DS, Crysis 2, Lego Star Wars III, More

The wait for Nintendo’s handheld is almost over as the Nintendo 3DS arrives in stores this week. Available in both Cosmo Black and the awesomely two-tone Aqua Blue, the system will be available on Sunday, March 27 along with a launch lineup of 18 titles.

However, if you prefer to do your gaming on a big screen, one of the biggest first person shooters of the year, Crysis 2, will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. More aliens can be had in the latest Lego Star Wars, which is also available this week. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will be coming to the 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360.

Other new releases this week include Square Enix’s Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy (PSP), Sony’s Ratchet, Jak and Sly crossover PlayStation Move Heroes (PS3) and the medieval people management of The Sims Medieval (PC)

The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

All NGP games will be released simultaneously as digital downloads

Sony’s commitment to releasing full-sized PSP games on the PlayStation Store has been a bit hit and miss over the handheld’s life. It’s likely one of the key reasons why the PSP Go has been dead in the water for some time now. But that will all change with their Next Generation Portable.

Andrew House, the President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has told MCV that all retail games released for the NGP will be available day-and-date on the PlayStation Store:

House: One thing we learnt from PSP, is that we want to have simultaneous delivery in digital and physical for NGP. Just to clarify that, all games that appear physically will be made available digitally.

House went on to say that not all digital games would receive a retail release, as digital-only games allow for more “risky experiments”:

House: Not necessarily all games have to be made available physically. And having the option of a digital-only method affords more creative risk-taking, and that’s because you don’t-have that in-built risk of physical inventory.

Well done Sony, well done.

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MotorStorm Apocalypse indefinitely delayed

After similar delays in Japan and Europe, Sony has indefinitely delayed the April 12th release of MotorStorm Apocalypse in North America. No new release date was announced, but Sony has promised to keep us posted.

The game’s delay appears to be directly tied to the recent earthquake in Japan, which has affected the release dates of other games as well.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Captain America, Thor games go 3D, get new trailers

Captain America and Thor will be hammering into movie theaters this summer in Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, but Sega is also giving gamers the chance to control these titans of the Marvel universe in two tie-in games as well.

Yesterday, the publisher announced that Thor: God of Thunder would be released for the DS, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 on May 3. They’ve also given a July 19th release date to Captain America: Super Soldier, which is also coming to the DS, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. A 3DS version is planned for both titles, but it won’t be ready until each movie hits Blu-ray/DVD this Fall.

And speaking of 3D, Sega has also revealed that the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of both games will be playable in stereoscopic 3D. Because nothing says “duck!” like seeing Mjolnir or Cap’s Shield thrown directly at the screen.

Each game will support multiple 3D viewing options including anaglyph color mode using red and blue glasses for conventional displays, Side-by-Side & Top-Bottom modes for active shutter glasses and 3D televisions, and the higher resolution Frame Packing mode for HDMI 1.4 3D displays only on the PS3.

In celebration of the release date announcement, Sega has unveiled a new trailer for each game. Check them out after the break.

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Raiden lights up this Mortal Kombat gameplay trailer

NetherRealm Studios has released over a dozen videos for Mortal Kombat since announcing the game at last year’s E3 expo, but the classic carnage never seems to get old. The subject of the latest video is the thunder god, Raiden, and he has added plenty of light to the new Nighttime Courtyard arena.

As every regular reader of Warp Zoned knows by now, Mortal Kombat will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 19.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Peter Molyneux has Fable’s future planned

Peter Molyneux was honored at the BAFTA Games Awards on Wednesday as the latest winner of the Academy Fellowship, BAFTA’s lifetime achievement award. He joins such luminaries as Will Wright and Shigeru Miyamoto. But like those other gentlemen, Molyneux is not done developing games, and according to CVG, he has very definite ideas about what he wants to do next:

“I have a very clear idea where Fable will go in the future. Trying to be diplomatic, I think that whatever we do next with Fable, we should just amaze people with the quality.”

“If we go on, we’re not just going to make another Fable, we’re going to make something that stands head and shoulders up with anybody else out there – the best of the best – in terms of its technology, its drama and its storytelling.”

Molyneux deftly tiptoes around making any concrete pronouncements about Fable IV (or even admitting the game exists), but as you can see, he’s certainly thinking about it.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Warp Zoned Podcast: Episode 6

It’s Friday, and it’s time for Warp Zoned Podcast Episode VI: The Queen of Blades! In this special edition of our podcast, Mike Gutierrez, Nicole Kline, and Ryan Littlefield record straight from their hotel room at PAX East once the show has ended. They’ll talk about the games they saw, the games they played, their favorite games, and – well – GAMES!! They’ll also talk about the awesomeness that is the Penny Arcade Expo, as well as what they love about Dungeons and Dragons and how it feels to buy new dice. Oh, and yes, they are STILL playing Pokemon. Do you even have to ask?

Download Episode 6 Now

And be sure to check back in two weeks for Episode 7!

Posted in Podcast, Top Story | Tagged