New Releases: Rare Replay, Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight

Posted on August 2, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Only two new games will be available in stores this week… but they’re both so massive that players who are interested in purchasing them will be busy for a very long time.

First up is Rare Replay for the Xbox One. This compilation brings together 30 games from Rare’s three-decade history and offers 10,000 Gamerscore for truly dedicated Achievement hunters. Additional bonuses include a Challenge Mode and 60 minutes of behind-the-scenes interviews and footage. If you were a fan of Battletoads, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, R.C. Pro Am, Killer Instinct Gold, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark, and many others… welcome home.

Also available this week is Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight, an RPG for the 3DS from Atlus. Though it should be noted that Atlus actually looks at The Fafnir Knight as two games in a single package. In addition to being an enhanced remake of Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Laggard, The Fafnir Knight also includes a brand new “Untold” Story Mode that explores the relationship between the titular hero and Princess Arianna as the battle through the ruins of Ginnungagap and the Yggdrasil Labyrinth.

If neither of these games tickles your fancy, don’t worry, a large of downloadable titles will be added to the digital storefronts later this week.

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

Kickstart This! Soul Keepers, XO, The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Andrew Rainnie

It’s been a hair over three years since we published the first edition of Kickstart This! here at Warp Zoned. In anticipation of the July 30th anniversary, we got in contact with many of the developers behind the campaigns we highlighted in these last three years. We figured now was a good time to find out what happened to the successful developers and if the failed campaigns were able evolve into something else (or were simply never meant to be). So look out for a wide array of features and articles coming in August.

But before that birthday bash, let us turn our attentions to three fantastic new games vying for your cash. This time we have haunting action RPG Soul Keepers, space RTS XO, and lastly, the quirky Toronto-based The Wizards of Trinity Bellwoods.

Let’s keep those hipsters at bay! Um, that will make more sense later

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Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, Top Story |

GameStop: Comcept or Deep Silver told us Mighty No. 9 will not be released in 2015

Posted on July 31, 2015 by John Scalzo

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Last week, we told you that most retailers had removed Mighty No. 9‘s previously-announced release date of September 15, 2015 from their online storefronts. Today, GameStop revealed to Game Informer that their corporate policy states this type of release date change is only made at the request of the developer or publisher. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that Mighty No. 9 will be released for any of its planned platforms (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One) by the end of the year. Mighty No. 9 is also in development for the 3DS and Vita, but its tentative “late 2015” release date has probably been erased as well.

Game Informer attempted to contact both Deep Silver and Comcept for comment, but the publication was unsuccessful. Publisher Deep Silver refused to comment, while developer Comcept didn’t reply to the request at all.

While it’s just speculation on my part (and Game Informer’s, for that matter), I believe Comcept is staying quiet about Mighty No. 9’s delay because the crowdfunding campaign for their next game, Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, is currently in its final hours. With just under three days to go, the game has only secured funding for 60% of its $800,000 target, and a delay to their high profile spiritual successor to the Mega Man franchise can only hurt the public’s confidence in the developer.

At this pace, it probably won’t reach its goal, but Comcept recently signed a publishing agreement with Fuze and will complete the game regardless.

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

Xbox Store Today: Magic Duels: Origins, Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist

Posted on July 31, 2015 by John Scalzo

xboxgamesstore-logoFans of collectible card games will be very pleased with today Xbox Games Store update as two very different CCGs are now available for the Xbox One.

First up is Magic Duels: Origins, a free-to-play CCG from Stainless Games and Wizards of the Coast. Origins, not surprisingly, attempts to recreate Magic: The Gathering’s new Origins campaign for Xbox One owners. Players will be able to duel against actual people in an online mosde or battle “thousands of AI opponents” in Battle Mode.

Also available this week is Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist, Konami’s latest digital rendering of the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise and its companion CCG. Legacy of the Duelist players will be able to compete against other players online while they “relive past dueling glory against Yu-Gi-Oh! characters from the past and present.”

More information on both games can be found after the break.

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Posted in News, Xbox One |

Square Enix officially announces a US release for Final Fantasy Explorers

Posted on July 31, 2015 by John Scalzo

US gamers first got wind of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Explorers a little over a year ago, when the publisher filed a trademark application for the title. Available in Japan since last December, Square Enix announced yesterday that the game will make its North American debut in early 2016.

Final Fantasy Explorers is an action RPG for the 3DS that will give one-to-four players the chance to find the Grand Crystal and push back the hordes of monsters overtaking the land:

The world is on the brink of war over its reserves of crystals, the planet’s chief source of power. Players must band together to form an elite squad of Explorers on an island rich in crystals, braving hordes of monsters in hopes of conquering a newly discovered Grand Crystal – every Explorer’s dream.

Final Fantasy Explorers focuses on cooperative play with friends and utilizes a refined party system allowing Explorers to master over 20 new and familiar jobs—including Knight, Monk, Black Mage and White Mage—to defeat the realm’s mightiest monsters and even recruit them for battle. Players will have the ability to call upon the powers of eidolons like Ifrit and Bahamut, as well as transform into other legendary characters from the Final Fantasy series via the Trance feature.

Final Fantasy Explorers will be released on January 26, 2016.

Posted in 3DS, News | Tagged

“Dramatic changes” will be coming to the combat in Final Fantasy VII remake

Posted on July 31, 2015 by John Scalzo

finalfantasyvii-boxWe received hints of this at E3, but Square Enix isn’t planning to just give Final Fantasy VII a graphical makeover and call it a day. Speaking to Official PlayStation Magazine UK (via GamesRadar), Tetsuya Nomura said that “dramatic changes” will be made to the publisher’s most beloved RPG during development of the remake:

[G]ame director Tetsuya Nomura said that the team will be making “dramatic changes” to the game’s fights. “And of course, that being said we want to clarify: We’re not going to be changing it into a shooter or something like that. We are going to be bringing dramatic changes, but we want to make sure it’s still recognizable.”

If you are concerned about the game’s graphics, Nomura has suggested looking to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, because that’s what he’s going to do:

Nomura stated that the team will be looking to the movie – which Nomura also directed – for visual references and inspiration, but that he and his team “don’t intend on utilising the 3D models of Advent Children as is because, well, it’s a different technology, and it’s actually been almost ten years since Advent Children was first released.”

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy VII remake is likely still many years away and will launch “first” on the PS4. It’s widely assumed the remake will eventually be released for the PC and/or the Xbox One sometime afterwards.

Posted in News, PS4 | Tagged

Nintendo UK will send you random packages in the mail… let’s hope they skip the Bob-Ombs

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Holly Scalzo

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Have you ever noticed all the ads for companies that offer a monthly (or weekly) subscription for a box of random goodies? If you watch TV regularly, you must have seen at least one of these commercials. They have them for makeup and beauty care products, dog treats/items, snacks, video games, razors, tea, candy, toys/collectibles, books, baby samples, and even multiple places that will send you recipes plus all the ingredients you need to cook that meal. There’s probably even a bunch that I don’t know about. Or don’t want to know about. It’s possibly a little out of control, but people love getting packages and random surprises, so I can see the appeal.

Now Nintendo UK is throwing its hat into the monthly subscription box ring. As an alternative to the popular Loot Crate, which sends out nerdy toys, collectibles, and clothes, Nintendo is set to launch their own box — the “N-Box” (which should really look into maybe having a different name) — which will offer Nintendo items and merchandise featuring iconic characters.

MCV is reporting that the N-Box “will feature toys, clothes and other merchandise inspired by and branded with Nintendo icons such as Mario, Zelda and Pokemon” and that the boxes “are expected to be available individually, with gamers also able to subscribe to a three-, six- or 12-month plan.”

The N-Box is expected to debut pretty soon, and for now will only be available for UK consumers. Yet another reason to be jealous of the UK.

Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News, Wii U |

Electronic Arts CEO reiterates that next Battlefield game will launch in Fall 2016

Posted on July 30, 2015 by John Scalzo

EAlogoElectronic Arts delivered their quarterly financial report today, and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson had a bit to say about the next Battlefield game.

Wilson, who never referred to the game as “Battlefield 5,” and instead only used “a new Battlefield experience” in his remarks, stated once again that it would be released in Fall 2016. This same game was previously mentioned in EA’s October 2014 financial report, and while its possible that it’s some kind of spinoff, that seems unlikely. Especially since developers at DICE confirmed the existence of the game to The New York Times all the way back in 2013.

But speaking of financial figures, Electronic Arts had a pretty good quarter. Executives from the company confirmed that EA recorded $693 million in sales this past Spring, which was well above their expected revenue of $640 million.

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