We here at Warp Zoned spent July sweating and gaming, as all good little geeks do in the summer! Most of us spent the time digging into our backlogs and catching up on old games (and sometimes even older games). Read on to see what we’ve been playing for the last 31 days!
John Scalzo
Editor-In-Chief
My backlog actually went untouched this month. Instead, I spent my time playing Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-slick Precipice of Darkness 4. I didn’t like it as much as the previous game (and I’m still unsure of what happened at the end), but the final dungeon was pretty fantastic and I’m glad that the episodic saga of the Startling Developments Detective Agency was finally able to come to a close. I also got my hands on the console version of Painkiller: Hell & Damnation. The Doom-like first person shooter looks decidedly low-tech next to modern day shooters, but I’m enjoying my demon-killing days.
Finally, I availed myself of some of the free downloads Apple offered to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the App Store. I don’t care that it’s crass commercialism at its finest, Angry Birds Star Wars is a great game.
Nicole Kline
Senior Editor
July saw me politely digging into my backlog, first by re-visiting Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, and then by starting Saints Row: The Third. I was also still playing Borderlands 2, where my boyfriend and I are taking our Psychos through all of the DLC. But then a copy of Dragon’s Crown appeared on my (digital) doorstep, and so the last week has been absolutely nothing but playing that. It’s been a blast! My review went up yesterday, so be sure to check it out to determine whether or not you want to buy it next week (spoiler alert: you probably do).
Andrew Rainnie
UK Correspondent
I’m struggling to remember the month of July, which has disappeared amidst the placenta of the Royal Baby and the haze of Britain’s hottest heatwave.
However, I did hide in the shade and play some games. The highlight was High Moon’s Deadpool, which I chuckled along with immensely as Deadpool swore and killed many bad guys. I also died a lot in Ubisoft’s ZombiU, which I am sorry to report defeated me, and was ejected in favour of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which is filling the gap until Mario Kart 8 arrives. It reminds me a lot of Diddy Kong Racing, which in my mind was on of the most underrated kart racing games on the Nintendo 64.
What else have I been playing? I made a couple of purchases on the Wii U’s eShop, including Super Metroid and, more recently, EarthBound. I love playing them on the Wii U GamePad screen in bed just before I go to sleep. I’m not a big handheld gaming fan, but the smaller screen works for these old games.
Last but not least, I finally took the plunge into Lara Croft’s pants to play the new iteration of Tomb Raider. Which is awesome. Seriously, I can’t believe this did not sell [Ed. Note: It sold several million copies and Square Enix still complained of poor sales]. It takes the action and set-pieces of the Uncharted franchise and rolls them into a ball on a mysterious island. The storyline is a bit rougher around the edges, but it has me on tenderhooks nonetheless, and the inclusion of rope arrows and fire arrows add a better puzzle element. Do you hear me, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics? I want a sequel! And (SPOILER WARNING!) you better resurrect Grim, who had the best line in the game after one of the henchmen tries to cut his throat. “That’s nothing, pal!” he boasts. “I grew up in Glasgow!” As did I, Grim, as did I.
Mike Ryan
Staff Writer
Well, with the slow releases of July, I was able to dive into some of my backlog. I renewed my PlayStation Plus account, and spent some time with both Shank 2 and Scott Pilgrim vs The World, both of which are a blast. In fact, I am listening to the latter’s soundtrack as I type this. I also continued my unhealthy obsession with Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
I took a trip to my local thrift store and picked up a copy of Mega Man 8, which I’m also having some fun with. It’s rather easy in comparison, but still enjoyable enough. Plus, the terrible voice acting is hilarious.
What did you play in July?
