New Releases: LBX Little Battlers Experience, Dungeon Travelers 2, Madden 16 Bundle, More

Posted on August 16, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Just three new releases will be available on store shelves this week before we ask if you’re ready for some football.

This week’s biggest new game is also, in many ways, its smallest. LBX: Little Battlers Experience was developed by Level-5 and will be published by Nintendo for the 3DS. Based on the popular manga and anime series also created by Level-5, LBX: Little Battlers Experience follows a group of kids who create tiny palm-sized robots that do battle in slightly less-tiny arenas.

Also available this week is Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library & The Monster Seal, a turn-based RPG for the Vita from Atlus. Taking place entirely in a first-person view, players will delve deep into a series of dungeons to battle “monster girls.” Meanwhile, Helldivers: Super Earth Ultimate Edition is a disc-based release of the popular PS4 twin-stick shooter. The “Super Earth Ultimate Edition” will include download codes for the PS3 and Vita versions of the game as well as all 11 expansion packs, the Bonus Weapons pack, and other extra content.

Finally, the Xbox One-exclusive Madden NFL 16 1TB System Bundle will give brand new Xbox One owners the chance to play EA’s yearly football simulation a week earlier than everybody else and a year-long subscription to EA Access. I suppose current Xbox One owners could also partake in this deal, but they’d have to purchase a second Xbox One system to do it…

Actually, I think Microsoft would be completely OK with that.

Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Vita, Xbox One | Tagged ,

English adaptation of 1998’s Metal Gear Solid Audio Drama released

Posted on August 15, 2015 by Josh Griffiths

Hey everyone, I made a thing. In addition to being a multi-talented writer here at Warp Zoned, I’m also a connoisseur of the arts. Does that sound good, or is it too pretentious? Either way, I think I’ve outdone myself.

Introducing the first English adaptation of the Metal Gear Audio Drama, which I produced.

In 1998, longtime Metal Gear military adviser Motosada Mori wrote an audio drama for Japanese radio simply called Metal Gear Solid. Konami, together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, eventually released the 12 episodes of the show across two CDs. However, the series never left Japan, presumably because we Americans haven’t listened to a radio play after everyone thought War of the Worlds was a real alien invasion.

Actually, there’s some debate as to whether or not that happened, but you get the point.

Despite its name, the Metal Gear Solid audio drama wasn’t an adaptation of the original PSone game, but instead a series of totally original stories. You see, Mori was interested in becoming a writer, so he wrote the radio play to break into the business, and he used the Metal Gear franchise because that’s what he’d been working on and it was popular. He came up with his own plot, three loosely connected adventures actually, and all featuring new Metal Gear stories. As far as I can ascertain, Kojima himself had nothing to do with this series. In fact I can’t even find any evidence of him ever mentioning it.

A lot of care was put into translating the Metal Gear Audio Drama into English. Editing a translation provided by MetalGearSolid.net and mixing the episodes together took several weeks. And my voice actors, many of whom are Metal Gear fans, worked just as long to make sure they got every line right.

The series features the sterling voices of Kristyn Mass (Meryl Silverburgh), Stig Syntangen (Captain), Yui Hisiashi, Jimmy Cooper (Colonel Campbell), Terrance Nicholson, and Cliff Thompson (Solid Snake), as well as many more. Popular YouTuber and Metal Gear fanatic YongYea is also among the ranks of the performers. I even brought on composer Yui Hisaishi to create a brand new music track, which you can hear throughout the series, and briefly in the Animated Showcase Trailer.

You can listen to the series on YouTube for the subtitled version, or you can download individual episodes from Soundcloud. A new episode will be available every Friday for the next few months.

Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro |

Treyarch wants to show you that CoD: Black Ops III is all about momentum in new trailer

Posted on August 14, 2015 by John Scalzo

It’s time to start running!

Treyarch has a released a new video tutorial for Call of Duty: Black Ops III that delves deep into the game’s movement system. Developers David Vonderhaar and Dan Bunting talk about unlimited sprinting, thrust jumping, and wall running as they discuss the ways that momentum can be used to your advantage in the game.

Are you ready to try it out yourself? You won’t have to wait long. The Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta test begins next week for players who’ve pre-ordered the game on the PS4. And don’t forget, the game will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on November 6.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged

Xbox Store Today: The Bridge, Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings, Commander Cherry’s Puzzled Journey

Posted on August 14, 2015 by John Scalzo

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“M.C. Escher meets Isaac Newton” is how developer The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild describes their puzzle platformer The Bridge. After debuting on the PC in 2013, the game eventually worked its way over to the Xbox 360 later that year. Now, its available for the Xbox One (through the Xbox Games Store) and its sure to please fans of puzzle platformers everywhere.

Also available today is Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings, a comical baseball sim that actually offers “a deep baseball simulation with accurate physics and comprehensive statistics tracking.”

Finally, Commander Cherry’s Puzzled Journey is a Kinect-powered puzzle platformer that asks players to contort their bodies to create platforms for the titular Commander Cherry.

More information about all of these games is available after the break.

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Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4 will hit Steam on September 18

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Josh Griffiths

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Crickey mates! Throw some prawn on the barbie and come on down to the Outback, another Ty the Tasmanian Tiger game is in the works!

Ty the Tasmanian Tiger was just one of many in the large stable of PS2-era 3D platformers… and the bane of editors everywhere for it’s alliteration. Ty 3: Night of the Quinkan was the last in the series, released way back in 2005 for the PS2 and Xbox. Now, more than an entire console generation later, the franchise is coming back with Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 4. And it’s set to be released exclusively for the PC (via Steam… sorry console owners. In addition to moving platforms, the new game will shift planes and take place entirely in 2D… sorry 3D platformer fans.

Perhaps the weirdest bit of news, besides the fact that this fourth game exists at all, is that it’s coming out in only a few weeks on September 18. It’s rare for a game to be formally announced this close to its release date, but we’re going to have to give Krome Studios the benefit of the doubt.

If Ty 4 is a success, Krome hopes to bring the three earlier entries in the series to Steam as well. Hopefully, fans of the franchise can make that happen. But first, I’m going to go ahead and write a few million apology notes to everyone in Australia.

Posted in News, PC |

Black Holmes is the next game from the developer of Hatoful Boyfriend

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Josh Griffiths

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Hatoful Boyfriend, a pigeon dating sim, is a real game that exists. It is also genuinely regarded as a pretty good game by contributors to the Metacritic average. And despite being a game about dating pigeons, it eventually even found its way to the PS4 and Vita.

You know a developer has to be good when they make a game about the mating habit of teenage pigeons and people legitimately love it.

That developer, Moa Hato, recently announced Black Holmes, his next romance game… minus the pigeons this time. Black Holmes was revealed through its own new website, which is all in Japanese. However, Warp Zoned’s highly skilled team of translators, lead by Goog L. Tran-Slate (it’s French), were able to gather some facts about the game.

It’s not clear where the name “Black” Holmes comes from, but the star of the game is indeed a detective named Holmes. Rather than Sherlock, the main character is Noah Holmes, and he “loves the crime bad conduct detective.” Don’t we all?

The site doesn’t have much to offer besides that, a few pictures, and the briefest of plot summaries:

1889, London.

Dazzling light prosperity and civilization has brought dropped a well-colored shadow on society, Malicious people in stagnation had undergone a deepening.

Human history and criminal history just like coins of both sides. Crime In response to the evolution of civilization also will increase the diversity.

This is a detective that has been fascinated with the art serving crime that gave birth of humanity, He committed the crime lord of the story.

Judging by the artwork available, Black Holmes will likely have a manga feel to it. We also know it’ll be another visual novel, like Hatoful Boyfriend, and may be released episodically.

As a big fan of visual novels and Sherlock Holmes, this kind of game seems right up my alley. Look forward to more information about the game when we can get our hands on it… and when Goog L. Tran-Slate can be bothered to do his job.

Posted in News, PC |

Nintendo will add “Rainmaker” to Splatoon’s Ranked Battle Mode on August 14

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Splatoon is getting a “Capture the Flag” mode as Nintendo has announced that the “Rainmaker” match type will be available to play in Ranked Battle Mode beginning tomorrow night (August 14) at 10:00 PM (Eastern Time). Writing on the Squid Research Lab blog, here’s what Nintendo had to say about the new mode:

Introducing…. Rainmaker! In Rainmaker, both teams compete to snag the, uhhh, Rainmaker. Once you’ve got it, the goal is to carry it into the other team’s base!

How’s it work, you ask? As soon as the battle begins, grab onto that Rainmaker! It’s guarded by a shield, though, so you’ll need to bust it out first. Once you snag it, head for the other team’s base. And be quick about it!

If you run out of time or get splatted, the Rainmaker will be dropped and its shield will also reactivate. The Rainmaker is crazy heavy, so you can’t Super Jump while carrying it. Hopefully your teammates will watch your back!

The Rainmaker doesn’t just sit there and look pretty. It can also shoot ink like an Inkzooka and has an extra-powerful charge shot too. It’s also booby-trapped, so if you don’t make it to the other team’s base in time, it’ll blow up in your face.

A batch of new screenshots from the Rainmaker match type are also available at the Squid Research Lab blog.

Posted in News, Wii U | Tagged

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Charts… Lego Jurassic World is best-selling game of July ’15

Posted on August 13, 2015 by John Scalzo

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July is not typically a very strong month for new game releases, and only a single new title was able to crack the NPD Group’s recounting of the ten best-selling games of the month. But it was Lego Jurassic World, a June release, that sits at the top of the sales food chain this month.

Debuting at #3 in the NPD’s June report, Lego Jurassic World likely got a boost from the tremendous box office support for the film. After nearly nine weeks in theaters, the film has earned more than $636 million. Only Titanic ($658 million) and Avatar ($760 million) have made more money at the domestic box office.

While it’s unlikely that Lego Jurassic World will reach those heights, the game is another hit for WB Games, which had yet another big month in July. Batman: Arkham Knight (#2) and Mortal Kombat X (#8) once again both landed in the top ten.

The only new release to break into the top ten last month was EA’s Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. Before McIlroy, Tiger Woods had been PGA Tour’s pitchman for more than 15 years. As great as Tiger used to be, it looks like EA doesn’t need him to sell their golf game.

Finally this month, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that overall sales of all game-related items (hardware, software, and accessories) is roughly even with July 2014. Both July 2014 and July 2015 produced around $184 million in total sales.

The complete top ten for July 2015 can be found after the break.

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