Weekly Warp-Up: Play Me Off Johnny

Posted on February 20, 2011 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…

In case you missed it, we’re giving away a download code for the Xbox Live Arcade version of Super Meat Boy. A winner will be chosen tomorrow, so now’s your last chance to win one of the best XBLA games of 2010.

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It wasn’t too surprising when Activision announced that they’re retiring the plastic instruments for 2011. So instead of an encore, we delivered A Eulogy For Guitar Hero and talked a little about how the series should change if it ever comes back. We also discuss the demise of the Hero franchise in Episode 4 of the Warp Zoned Podcast, along with a disturbing amount of Poke-love.

With the Hero franchise unplugged for the time being, Activision’s got their plate full with a bevy of licensed titles including a Spider-Man game scheduled for release this Fall. The company is also likely producing a game based on next year’s The Amazing Spider-Man film and we speculated on what that game might look like.

And speaking of speculation, we examined the State of the Video Game Magazine as of 2011 and discovered that the magazine may not be as dead as we all thought it was.

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

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Posted in News |

Medal of Honor sequel confirmed

Posted on February 19, 2011 by John Scalzo

Danger Close’s Medal of Honor was released to very polarizing reivews last year. Some loved it for it’s authenticity while others hated it as a pale imitation of other modern first person shooters. But even with the mixed reviews, the game was a huge blockbuster, ultimately selling over five million copies on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

So, naturally, EA is planning a sequel. Executive Producer Greg Goodrich confirmed the development of Medal of Honor 2 on the game’s official blog and thanked the community for their reaction to the game’s storyline:

As you all know, our goal was to tell the story of today’s soldier and to do so with the utmost respect and reverence. We’ve received many letters, emails and messages from active servicemen and women from around the world, along with veterans and their families, with appreciation for our recent depiction of their community. I can’t tell you how important this is to everyone here at Danger Close Games. You are the heartbeat of this team and this franchise and we are privileged and honored to tell your story. Medal of Honor has always been fueled by the passion of our fans and the commitment and sacrifice shown by the men and women of our armed services.

No other details were revealed, but Goodrich did say “We can’t wait to tell you more about it.”

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

First look at Felicia Day in Dragon Age: Redemption

Posted on February 19, 2011 by John Scalzo

Dragon Age II will be released on March 8th and BioWare plans to follow up the RPG sequel with a webseries titled Dragon Age: Redemption. The webisodes will star The Guild creator Felicia Day as an elf assassin named Tallis.

BioWare has released a teaser trailer for Redemption showcasing Day’s ninja-like moves, which you can watch above. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a feeling Redemption will quickly gain a reputation as “Felicia Day: Warrior Princess.”

Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

New Releases: Killzone 3, Bulletstorm, De Blob 2, More

Posted on February 19, 2011 by John Scalzo

Two pairs of heavyweights in their respective genres go head-to-head in this week’s new releases.

First up, we have the launch two major first person shooters… Sony’s continued fight against the Helghast in Killzone 3 (PS3) versus Epic Games’ latest fragfest, Bulletstorm (PC, PS3, Xbox 360). Don’t forget, the Xbox 360 version of Bulletstorm comes in an “Epic Edition” that inlcudes a few in-game goodies and access to the Gears of War 3 beta.

The next fight is a little less high profile (and both games come from the same publisher), but in a battle between handheld RPGs… Atlus is bringing Radiant Historia to the DS and also bringing Ys I & II Chronicles to the PSP.

Standing alone is THQ’s De Blob 2 (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360), which would probably be a unique title at any time of the year.

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

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

Warp Zoned Podcast: Episode 4

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Warp Zoned Staff

They’re back! Mike Gutierriez, Nicole Kline, and Ryan Littlefield return for another podcast. In Episode IV: A New Hope, they go into detail about what games they’re playing, one of which happens to be the same game. You’ll also get to hear all about their awesome trip to New York City, where they visited both Nintendo World (and played a lot of Pokemon there) and the Sony Style Store. They also discuss the recent cuts at Activision, the downfall of those games with plastic instruments, and how it’s never good for anyone to lose their job. They wrap it up with upcoming new releases, and point out that these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

Download Episode 4 Now

And be sure to check back in two weeks for Episode 5!

Posted in Podcast, Top Story |

Bizarre Creations says “goodbye” to its fans

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Episode 4 of the Warp Zoned podcast is scheduled to go up shortly, and one of the topics we deal with is the unfortunate closure of development studios, particularly the ones going on right now at Activision. Eamon Urtone, the company’s creative director, has been especially saddened by the closure of Bizarre Creations and has made the excellent farewell video featured above. Strangely, the video seems to only include footage from titles this generation, despite acknowledging the studio has been around since 1994, but it’s still a great tribute nonetheless. As you’ll gather from our podcast, as difficult as studios folding can be, the only thing you can really do is say:

“Goodbye.”

Yes, in the voice of the AOL guy. Or Bobby Kotick.

Posted in News |

Infamous 2 dated June 7, Hero Edition detailed

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

In a year with a new LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, Resistance, and MotorStorm, it can be easy to forget about the sequel in Sony’s other new IP this generation, Infamous 2. Now’s the time to start remembering because it’s coming soon. The PlayStation Blog announced the June 7 release date for the game (almost two years exactly since the first one (and a day before my birthday, thank you very much)), and even got into the inevitable premium retail option – the Infamous 2 Hero Edition.

For a picture of Ben Franklin, this package gets you the game, a replica of Cole’s messenger bag, the first issue of the DC comic, an 8.5″ figureine of Cole, the game’s soundtrack, and a super voucher including a player skin of the first game’s antagonist Kesller (!), a 24K Amp to melee with, and powers for electrocution grenades and lightning hook. Ironically, all the items in the super voucher are being divided up among retailers as pre-order bonuses, so if you get the Hero Edition you might want to get it from a non-participating retailer for a few bucks cheaper, or just give your extra code to a friend.

It’s almost hard to believe it’s been two years since the release of Infamous. This might be a good time to head back to Empire City to get hyped for the new one.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

January 2011 NPD report: We all just got served

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

I always considered sales to be the lowest possible form of gaming conversation, but with NPD eliminating numbers from their public reports, it’s more like a pure representation of what the popular trends are in gaming.

And that trend is dance. Four games in the software top ten for January were dance games: Just Dance 2 (#2), Zumba Fitness (#5), Dance Central (#8), and Michael Jackson: The Experience (#9). While peripheral rocking may be on the way out, the music genre as a whole is alive and well, in fact you could argue that the dance games of today are the new band games of yesteryear, grossing exorbitant revenue and achieving a massive base. However, it signals that our medium of interactive entertainment is being taken over by genres we would not traditionally call video games and titles that simply don’t appeal to us. As the Japanese say, “it can’t be helped,” and I guess it’s a good thing overall if cores games are still financially healthy.

And indeed they are. Dead Space 2 (#3), Little Big Planet 2 (#4), and DC Universe Online (#10) made their debut in the top ten the same month as launching. Michael Jordan’s tongue-lashing exploits in NBA 2K11 (#6) returned, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (#7) snuck around and Call of Duty: Black Ops claimed the top spot, nearly three months after launch. This figure is augmented as all platforms are combined into one figure, so I can’t comment on how much that Nintendo DS port contributed.

Also absent are console figures, but that didn’t stop Microsoft from their customary spin installment. While both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are performing better than this time last year, Microsoft revealed 381,000 units sold, proclaiming the 360 as “the leading game console in 2011,” a statement which is pretentious after only January, unsubstantiated without any regional qualifier, and probably wrong considering the Nintendo DS is very much a game console, regardless of what Aaron Greenberg wishes you believed.

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