Celeste, God of War, Spider-Man, Red Dead 2, Smash Ultimate will compete for “Video Game of the Year” at 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards

Posted on February 11, 2019 by John Scalzo

The SXSW Gaming Advisory Board has sifted through all of 2018’s biggest games and announced the nominees for this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards.

As you might have expected, Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, Insomniac’s Spider-Man, and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 claimed the most nominations. Each of the three games will compete in a total of nine categories, and all three are in the running for “Video Game of the Year.” Matt Thorson’s brutal platformer, Celeste, and Nintendo’s crossover fighter, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, were also nominated for the big prize.

The public will get the chance to vote for the winners in all categories at this year’s SXSW Gaming Awards, and the final winner in each category will be determined by a weighted total between public and advisory board votes. Voting is open now at SXSW Gaming’s official website, and will close on Sunday, February 17 at midnight (Eastern Time).

The SXSW Gaming Awards will be given out on March 16 and you can find the full list of nominees in all categories after the break.

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New Retail Releases: Crackdown 3, Far Cry: New Dawn, Metro Exodus, More

Posted on February 11, 2019 by John Scalzo

It’s time once again for some big new sequels as a few of gaming’s biggest franchises will receive new installments this week.

After several very long years in development, Microsoft will bring Crackdown 3 to the Xbox One this week (and it’ll also be available to download for Windows 10 PCs). Players will take control of Commander Jaxon, a superpowered Agent played by Terry Crews, and blast their way through a futuristic city to stop a ruthless criminal empire. There’s also the option to compete in Wrecking Zone, a multiplayer mode that asks teams of Agents to tear down the opposing team’s stronghold as fast as they can.

PS4 and Xbox One owners will also find a strange new future in Ubisoft’s Far Cry: New Dawn. Set within a post-apocalyptic world based on Far Cry 5’s Hoep County, New Dawn will pit players against highwaymen and their ruthless leaders, The Twins. Far Cry: New Dawn will also be available to download for the PC.

Yet another dystopian future is on display in 4A Games’s Metro Exodus for the PS4 and Xbox One this week. The third entry in the series based on Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novels will further explore the Russian Federation during the aftermath of a nuclear war. An Xbox One X 1TB + Metro Exodus Bundle will also be available on store shelves, and the game can also be purchased for the PC exclusively through the Epic Games Store.

Finally this week, Bandai Namco will release Jump Force, an anime-inspired crossover fighting game for the PS4 and Xbox One (and downloadable for the PC), and NIS America will release the adventure platformer The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince for the PS4 and Switch.

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

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Former Telltale devs found AdHoc Studio to create live-action narrative games

Posted on February 8, 2019 by John Scalzo

Variety is reporting that four former employees of Telltale Games have founded AdHoc Studio, a new development house dedicated to narrative gaming.

AdHoc Studio will be lead by CEO Michael Choung, who left Telltale in 2016. He’ll be joined by three other veterans from the studio, including Chief Technology Officer, Dennis Lenart, Chief Operating Officer Nick Herman, and Chief Creative Officer Pierre Shorette. Lenart and Herman were previously employed by Telltale as Creative Directors, while Shorette operated as the Director of Writing.

The quartet isn’t ready to announce their first game yet, but they plan to focus on an “interactive, live-action experience”:

AdHoc isn’t ready to discuss its first project or who it is partnering with just yet. However, the team is strongly hinting that its it will be an interactive, live-action experience. While full motion video games aren’t anything revolutionary, that segment has experienced a small renaissance thanks to Sam Barlow’s “Her Story,” CtrlMovie’s “Late Shift,” and Big Finish’s Tex Murphy revival, “Tesla Effect.”

Specifically citing the huge response to Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the AdHoc team believes the public is finally ready for this kind of interactive entertainment:

“It feels like we’re at the precipice of a big shift in how we consume media where the lines between film, television and games are starting to blur,” Shorette, AdHoc’s chief creative officer, says. “With streaming platforms in our homes and cell phones in our pockets we’re in this unique time where the barrier to entry to interaction is gone. So as a group of people whose expertise and experience has come from making Interactive Narrative that sits in that space between, we feel now is the perfect time to form a studio that focuses on creating content for a new space.”

Hopefully we’ll learn more about AdHoc Studio’s first project soon.

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Saber’s latest trailer for World War Z highlights Players Vs Players Vs Zombies combat

Posted on February 8, 2019 by John Scalzo

World War Z will have five unique multiplayer modes when it launches later this year for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And for the action game’s latest trailer, developer Saber Interactive wanted to give prospective players a taste of it’s PvPvZ (Players Vs Players Vs Zombies) combat:

While World War Z’s core four-player co-op pits you against relentless swarms of AI zombies, PvPvZ offers a completely unique experience, challenging you to outlive both the living and the dead across a variety of competitive modes designed for 4v4 combat. What separates PvP in World War Z from other multiplayer games is the zombie swarm, which storms the arena throughout the match, forcing players to battle both each other and the undead, allowing the tide of the fight to turn in an instant.

Players brave enough to battle the swarm in multiplayer will be able to choose from these options when creating a match:

World War Z’s Multiplayer Modes

  • Scavenge Raid: Players race to secure resources across the map to win.
  • Vaccine Hunt: Players must pick up and hold an objective to earn points for the team.
  • Swarm Deathmatch: Two teams go head to head in a bitter fight to the end.
  • Swarm Domination: Capture zones to earn points and win a team victory.
  • King of the Hill: Capture a single hill, then control it to earn victory points.

World War Z’s PvPvZ Trailer has been embedded above.

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Kickstart This! Warp

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Andrew Rainnie

Every now and then you find a project on Kickstarter that is just so batshit insane and creative that you want to rob your child’s trust fund to guarantee that this beautiful, bizarre baby of a game gets made. And if we were ever going to write about a game like that on Warp Zoned, I’m thrilled that it’s called Warp.

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Creator of The Bridge and Tumblestone will publish Almost There on February 19

Posted on February 7, 2019 by John Scalzo

The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild, the developer behind 2013’s The Bridge and 2016’s Tumblestone, is getting into the publishing game. Earlier this morning, they announced plans to bring platformer Almost There to the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in a few weeks.

Almost There was developed in Bangladesh by Bony Yousuf, and its minimalist design and hardcore sensibilities were clearly inspired by N++ and Super Meat Boy. Like those classics of the genre, players will need to dodge spikes, saws, lasers, and missiles as they struggle to reach the exit in each level:

Sprint between saw blades while dodging homing missiles. Duck under lasers while the floor crumbles beneath you. Almost There was designed specifically for fans of the hardcore platforming genre… you’ve been warned.

Almost There will be available to download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 19, with a Switch launch scheduled for two days later on February 21. The first trailer has been embedded above

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Skybound Games will bring classic Interplay RPGs to consoles in 2019

Posted on February 7, 2019 by John Scalzo

Skybound Games has announced they’ll be teaming up with Beamdog to bring Interplay’s classic range of RPGs to “console platforms” in 2019.

The two companies will join forces to finally give console owners the chance to play remastered “Enhanced Editions” of Baldur’s Gate (1998), Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000), Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear (2016), Icewind Dale (2000), Planescape: Torment (1999), and Neverwinter Nights (2002).

“These games are iconic, including Baldur’s Gate, which has really set the standard for Dungeons & Dragons computer roleplaying games,” said Ian Howe, the CEO of Skybound Games. “We’re excited to bring Beamdog’s incredible slate to new platforms for both the dedicated fan and those who will soon discover these adventures for the first time. As longtime fans of Baldur’s Gate and Dungeons & Dragons it’s fantastic to partner with Beamdog as the newest member of the Skybound family.”

Specific “console platforms” for these ports will be announced at a later date, but in the meantime, Skybound Games has promised to bring a selection of these games to PAX East 2019 this March.

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Assassin’s Creed III Remastered will come to the PC, PS4, Xbox One on March 29

Posted on February 6, 2019 by John Scalzo

Ubisoft will continue to remaster the earlier entries in the Assassin’s Creed franchise this Spring with the release of Assassin’s Creed III Remastered on March 29.

The compilation will include a graphically-enhanced remaster of the original Assassin’s Creed III, as well as the Tyranny of King Washington expansion, and the handheld spinoff Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation:

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered – Players will embody Connor, a master Assassin born of the beauty and brutality of 18th-century America. As a bloody revolution draws near, your tribe is threatened by a powerful group seeking to crush the American Revolution and control the thirteen colonies. Shocked into action by the devastation of your village, you pledge your life to the cause of freedom and embark on a decades-long quest to achieve it.

Assassin’s Creed III: Tyranny of King Washington – Explore an alternate history where one of America’s greatest heroes, George Washington, succumbs to the temptation of infinite power. The new King is born and his reign leaves no one untouched. Players must return freedom to the land by dethroning the tyrant our hero once called a friend.

Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Remastered – Follow Aveline’s story as she battles Spanish forces in the American south to win freedom for her land and people. A woman of conviction, Aveline fights for freedom in 18th-century New Orleans, a city on the brink of a rebellion as the Spanish Empire imposes its new rule. Embark on an epic journey that will take her from the crowded streets of New Orleans to voodoo-haunted swamps and ancient Mayan ruins.

If you own the Season Pass for Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, you’ll receive Assassin’s Creed III Remastered for free. And everyone else will be able to purchase it as a standalone game for $39.99 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Assassin’s Creed III Remastered will feature 4K and HDR support on the PC, PS4 Pro, and Xbox One X, along with “higher resolution textures, a new graphics engine, and several other graphical enhancements” on all platforms. A new Comparison Trailer that contrasts the visuals from the original release with the upcoming Remastered version has been embedded above.

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