The Video Game Canon – Tetris

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at how moms helped Tetris become the gaming gargantuan it is today. Here’s a teaser…

In 1989, most mothers believed that video games were a childhood distraction that eventually would be brushed aside as their offspring grew into responsible adults. But something happened along the way that prevented this. Perhaps the Nintendo Entertainment System, the most popular console of its day, was just that much better than previous attempts to bring video games into the living room. But I have a different theory. I believe it was Tetris.

Tetris brought mothers and their children together to play video games for the first time. And then something magical happened. Instead of jerkily moonwalking Mario into a pit or being the most unrad racer on the planet, the mothers were good at Tetris. They were so good that brother and sister soon had to compete with mom for control of the television. And mom wasn’t going to be finished until she made the castle take off into the stratosphere.

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Posted in Features, PC, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon | Tagged

Latest Horizon: Zero Dawn trailer offers a look at Aloy’s allies and enemies

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

We’re just a month-and-a-half away from the launch of Horizon: Zero Dawn, and developer Guerrilla Games is back with yet another look at the game’s story. We’re still no closer to figuring out the circumstances behind the mixture of primative humans and high technology found in Aloy’s world, but it does introduce us to some the other people that’ll populate it.

In this gameplay trailer, we meet the “Masked Men,” the mysterious force seemingly behind the techno-organic animals that roam the land, along with a few of Aloy’s friends and neighbors.

Horizon: Zero Dawn will be released exclusively for the PS4 on February 28.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Earthlock: Festival of Magic will be released for PS4 on January 27

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Snowcastle Games originally released Earthlock: Festival of Magic for the PC and Xbox One last year. Yesterday the Norwegian developer took over the PlayStation Blog and confirmed that their RPG will also be released for the PS4 on January 27.

Lead Artist Fredrik Dahl also shared a few secrets about how Snowcastle tried to “honor and exceed” old-school RPGs with Earthlock:

Strategy is key to survival, not the grind.

“In the traditional turn-based RPG, I don’t think it’s a big secret that there’s a lot of grinding going on — to level up in order to beat a boss, for example. We’ve tried to limit that by focusing more on a tactical experience. Usually you can get through the bosses in Earthlock by choosing the right strategy, getting your talent board set up, and having the right character pairings. Getting wiped out is more often than not a case of having the wrong party setup.”

Earthlock: Festival of Magic is also in development for the Wii U, but it’s currently unknown when, or even if, it’ll reach Nintendo’s console.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone, Fatal Fury, more added to PS Store

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

It’s the first PlayStation Store update of the year… so let’s kick things off with a big dance party!

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone, the Virtual Diva’s latest starring role, is now available to download for the PS4. According to Sega, Future Tone is the biggest game in the series (if you download both expansion pack), and it’s amped up speed and energy will provide fans with the most intense rhythm game experience yet.

Also new this week is Fatal Fury, a PS4 recreation of the classic arcade game from 1991. As one of SNK’s earliest games, Fatal Fury helped lay the groundwork for the dozens of fighting games the developer would produce over the next two-and-a-half decades. Fatal Fury will be available to download through the PlayStation Store beginning tomorrow, January 12.

More information on all of this week’s new additions to the PlayStation Store can be found after the break.

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Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita |

You should watch this great Shovel Knight speedrun race from Awesome Games Done Quick 2017

Posted on January 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Awesome Games Done Quick is hosting their first speedrunning marathon of the year this week, and some of the best players from all across the world have descended on the Washington D.C. area to play through a huge number of games as fast as they can. In addition to putting on an excellent show, the AGDQ2017 participants are also raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

It’s a pretty fun week of gaming, and for further proof, just look at this year’s Shovel Knight race. Not only is it an extremely competitive contest, but you can watch two experts masterfully pick apart the new side-scrolling classic. The two players going head-to-head are “Smaugy” and “Munchakoopas,” and they provide a great match featuring plenty of platforming acrobatics, multiple lead changes, and an amazing photo finish.

Yacht Club Games will release the next expansion for Shovel Knight, Specter of Torment, sometime this year.

Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

The Games of January 2017

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Warp Zoned Staff

We’re all super tired from the holidays, and have tons to play in our backlog! So there’s not much that interests us this month of January. That’s not true… quite a few of us are into Double Dragon IV! Read on to see which one of us plan to pick that up when it releases.

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Posted in Features, Top Story |

Daily Scoop: January 10, 2017 – Undertale is 50% off at Steam

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Nicole Kline

I really wanted to sit back and get some video gaming in last night, but I was so exhausted from MAGFest that I just passed out! I have a little more energy today, so hopefully tonight I’ll be able to do some laundry and play literally anything at all. Oh, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D returns tonight. I’m so excited!

Anyway, let’s talk about all the awesome games that are for sale! Over at Humble, there’s the brand new Overwhelmingly Positive Bundle. Pay what you want for Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Epic Battle Fantasy 4, and Pony Island. Beat the average to unlock Day of the Tentacle Remastered and Deadbolt, as well as more games they’ll announce later. Pay $10 or more to unlock VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action and N++.

The Midweek Madness at Steam is Undertale, which is on sale for $4.99. The Daily Deal is Banished, which is just $6.80.

Not many shirts today, but the ones I found are great. Hit the jump to check them out!

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Posted in Daily Scoop |

Thunder Lotus’s Sundered will be released in July 2017

Posted on January 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Thunder Lotus Games has announced that Sundered, their upcoming MetroidVania-style side-scroller, will be released for the PC and PS4 in July 2017. The developer also confirmed plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign on Monday, January 16, to help with development costs and to gather feedback from their fans.

Sundered will include a procedurally-generated world map and random monster placement to encourage replayability. And like Thunder Lotus’s last game, Jotun, it’ll feature hand-drawn art for both the characters and the environments.

In case you missed it, you can get a sneak peek at Sundered’s visuals by viewing its Announcement Trailer, which was first revealed by Thunder Lotus last September.

Posted in News, PC, PS4 | Tagged