Genesis, SNES cartridges compete in endurance competition

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Ryan Littlefield

Blistered Thumbs hosts the be-all, end-all competition to determine a winner from Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo cartridges in several bouts of toughness. RinryGameGame’s competition used copies of Joe Montana Sports Talk Football (I and II) for the Genesis and the Super Nintendo’s NHL Stanley Cup. Competition events range from being boiled alive to being completely encased in a bowl of Jello. Needless to say, the results are surprising.

Watch for yourselves, but first, consider this: can your PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or Wii games survive this?

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Jane McGonigal to keynote PAX East 2011

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Developer, visionary, and optimist Jane McGonigal will be kicking off this year’s PAX East in Boston with her keynote “to inspire gamers to create a better world,” no doubt inspired by her recent book Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. McGonigal is a games developer and researcher focusing on collective gaming and how our experience with the medium can help us solve our real life problems. Most gamers will recognize her as Community Lead on I Love Bees, the viral marketing alternate reality game for Halo 2. Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade said, “every gamer knows the kind of passion and dedication we bring to the games we love. The idea that we can take this and direct it outward to the real world is something we’ve always believed in. Jane’s message is something that will inspire and hopefully provoke us all toward greater action.”

I’ve been to the last three Penny Arcade Expos but never attended a keynote. As games are usually getting in the way of my motivation, this talk may get me to finally attend one. PAX East will take place in Boston Massachusetts from Friday March 11 to Sunday March 13, 2011. Be on the lookout for your favorite Warp Zoned writers running loose in the wild.

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We’re all playing entirely too much Call of Duty: Black Ops

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Activision has released another statistics graphic for Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer today and the numbers are starting to get a little astounding. In addition to the most popular weapons, perks, and killstreaks, we’ve apparently fought 161 World War II’s everyday since the game’s launch. I could go on and on about how crazy they are, but the full image is viewable above for your clicking pleasure. I recently got back to the game myself and it’s a pleasant surprise to see some of the network issues cleared up. If only some of Activision’s other studios were this dedicated…

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Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia getting “Classic Trilogy HD” (and 3D) remakes on PS3

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

It appears that the announcement of Tomb Raider Trilogy HD not even a month ago has indeed opened up the floodgates for third party publishers to re-release older games in high definition on PlayStation 3.

Ubisoft announced Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD and Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy HD today for Sony’s remake-friendly PS3 in the US. Both will be available on March 22, 2011 for $39.99 at retail or digitally on the PlayStation Store. The Splinter Cell compilation will include Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, and Chaos Theory while the Prince of Persia package will have The Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones. Both releases will consist of a single Blu-ray disc each.

In what seems like a move to one up Square Enix’s Tomb Raider collection, Ubisoft has confirmed these games will be playable in stereoscopic 3D. While the Splinter Cell treatment was just announced, and the Prince of Persia collection has been out in Europe for some time, it’s still great to get a firm release date, as well as the inclusion of 3D for Splinter Cell.

As with Tomb Raider, while I’m personally excited to try out these games in high def, I can only hope this means Square Enix will be comfortable revisiting some Final Fantasy titles and Konami will man-up and re-release the Metal Gear Solid games with Trophy support.

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Kevin Tancharoen talks Mortal Kombat: Rebirth

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Scalzo

Director Kevin Tancharoen recently sat down with Gamasutra and revealed that his awesome Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film caught the public’s attention by accident.

“I am not the most technically savvy YouTube person. What came out wasn’t the final product in my mind. I wasn’t done yet,” he told the industry blog. “It was still in its rough phase, but I couldn’t send a 2GB file over email, so my friend said I could create a private page on YouTube and sent it to him to review. It turns out it wasn’t that private.”

The interview also confirms that the web series will be spread out over nine episodes, instead of the previously announced ten, and that they will be between seven and ten minutes long (totalling a feature length running time of 63-90 minutes). All of the actors from Rebirth are currently in negotations to reprise their roles including Michael Jai White (Jax), Jeri Ryan (Sonya Blade) and Ian Anthony Dale (Scorpion).

Tancharoen is not alone in building the Rebirth universe as Mortal Kombat creator Ed Book is working very closely with the director. “We’re working together hand in hand, Tancharoen said. “I’ve got to admit, I had a little fanboy geek moment when I met him. I flashed back to when I was 12 or 13 and played the first game and was obsessed with it. He was very, very happy with the short. He knows it took liberties with the universe of Mortal Kombat, but was okay with that. It blows my mind.”

Filming on Mortal Kombat: Rebirth will begin in February with a “Spring” release planned on digital download services.

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Warp Zoned’s Guide to Gaming Videos on YouTube

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Scalzo

Do you want all of the latest game trailers the second they’re released? Then pull up a stool and take a gander through Warp Zoned’s Guide to Gaming Videos on YouTube. Below, you’ll find the official YouTube Channels for more than 100 publishers and developers. And they run the gamut from the big guys (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) all the way down to small indie developers (The Behemoth, Dejobaan Games, Halfbrick Studios).

So what are you waiting for? These videos aren’t going to watch themselves!

Press Start to Continue →

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New Wii exclusive Pandora’s Tower teased

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Over the weekend, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata announced Pandora’s Tower for the Wii during a financial briefing and this teaser site opened shortly after. Other than the logo you see above and some damn pleasant piano music, the site opens with a girl’s voice saying, “dying and becoming beautiful, or living though ugly. Which will make you happier?” (as nervously translated by Andriasang). The site lists a planned release date for the Spring.

I have no idea what this game is or what any of this means, but if you’ve got a Wii, you might want to keep an eye out for this one.

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Hydrophobia Pure half-off this week, downloading enters you in $4,500 sweepstakes

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Dark Energy Digital’s Hydrophobia Pure will be half-off for only 400 Microsoft Points this week from January 31st to February 6th as part of a water-themed Deal of the Week promotion for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. In addition, anyone over the age of 18 who downloads the game will be entered into a sweepstakes sponsored by the developer. First place will be either a $4,500 cruise for a U.S. resident, or a $3,000 beach vacation and $1,500 susceptible to prize taxes and fees for a U.K. resident. 5 additional winners will receive 4,000 Microsoft Points.

Dark Energy Digital sure have been pushing Hydrophobia after it was met with mixed reviews, first by releasing a ‘Pure’ version of the game and recently with their Listening Post to gather more fan feedback. A few of us at Warp Zoned are personally rooting for the team, hopefully they’ll knock it out the park with the next episode of the series.

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