Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Dan Hobbs
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Review: A Solid Opener
The most jaw-dropping thing about Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is its brevity. Despite all its brilliant stealth setpieces and plotting, the Metal Gear franchise is best known for the cinematic leanings of its creator, Hideo Kojima. It came to a head during Metal Gear Solid 4, which reached amazing highs in gameplay, narrative, and fanboyish nostalgia, but was laced with overly long interstitials crammed with far too much exposition. (more…)
Thief Review: Criminally Mediocre
I’ve been a fan of the stealth genre since 1998, when I first played the greatest game ever: Metal Gear Solid. No hyperbole, of course. That’s not to say I don’t like other games in the genre, too: the entire Splinter Cell series is excellent and, more recently, Dishonored was hugely impressive. However, Thief was one I just never played. The loot-em-up is apparently the genesis of some stealth mechanics, such as light meters and sound cues, which were revolutionary achievements in the first person point of view. So, it should have been no surprise that I was incredibly intrigued by this new reimagining of Thief.
Sadly, if opportunity makes a thief, this reboot offers them up sparingly. (more…)
Uncharted 4 director Amy Hennig leaves Naughty Dog
Amy Hennig, the Creative Director and writer of the Uncharted franchise has departed developer Naughty Dog after ten years.
In a report coming from IGN, Sony Computer Entertainment has confirmed and verified Hennig’s departure from the the studio. Her final day was Monday, March 3. Unnamed sources within the studio claim that Hennig was “forced out” by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, the minds behind The Last of Us, and that Uncharted 4 on the PS4, which Hennig was in charge of until she left, is now under the control of the pair.
Sony issued a statement announcing Hennig’s departure: “We can confirm that Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog. Amy has made significant contributions to the game industry and we appreciate all she has done for Naughty Dog. The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted.”
Posted in News, PS3, PS4
Tagged Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Trials Fusion will be released on April 16
Ubisoft has just announced that the next entry in the beloved Trials series will be released on April 16.
Trials Fusion will be available to download on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam for $19.99. A $39.99 disc-based retail version, which will include the base game and a Season Pass, will also be made available for the next-generation consoles. The Season Pass will be available to purchase separately for $19.99, giving player access to new tracks, bike parts, rider gear, and other items in six packs that will release between now and April 2015. The packs will be available without the season pass, but without the savings of 30%.
If you’re new to the Trials series, here’s what Ubisoft and developer RedLynx had to say about some of the new features found in Trials Fusion:
Trials Fusion builds on the same maddeningly addictive physics-based gameplay as its predecessors while incorporating brand new features, including the FMX tricks system. Players will be able to create tracks that stretch both their imagination and skill, and put their friends to the ultimate Trials test by sharing online with the bustling Trials community, made possible by the fan-favorite Editor Mode.
You can watch the latest trailer for Trials Fusion above.
Nintendo’s Plan: Mario Kart 8 in May, DS games on Wii U, more third party development deals
In an investor’s briefing over night, Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata outlined the company’s plan to come back from an incredibly poor performance in 2013. Nintendo plans on improving the Wii U, nailing down a launch window for one of their biggest 2014 releases, and pushing their business into other areas. However, I don’t know if the Big N is heading in quite the right direction.
First off – and most importantly for those who already own a Wii U – Mario Kart 8 is finding its way to shelves this May. That’s not just a Japanese release date either; that is worldwide. This newest entry in the series introduces anti-gravity courses, allowing races to move to the walls and ceilings.
In other Wii U news, DS titles are coming to the system’s Virtual Console service. Iwata said that the firm had “overcome technical hurdles” to allow the portable games to work on the big screen. “The dual-screen Nintendo DS, one of which is a touch screen, has a very strong software lineup, and so we plan to add the Virtual Console titles from Nintendo DS software to the future Virtual Console lineup for Wii U,” confirmed the boss. No titles or launch dates have been offered up so far. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t Nintendo also bring DS titles to 3DS and not the other way around. Anyway…
The Wii U is going to get a “Quick Start” menu this Summer. Iwata stated that the 20-30 second boot time for the Wii U impairs the system’s simplicity of use. To solve this – because system firmware updates have not in the past – another firmware update will patch in a new, faster start-up menu that will enable instant game access.
The new boot-up sequence, which is featured in a video on Nintendo’s site, will immediately display a simple menu of recently played icons on the GamePad screen. Tap the game you wish to play, then select your Mii, and the system bypasses the slow main menu and directly loads the game.
Nintendo wasn’t done yet. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood Review: Let Me Get Out “Old Red”
With a new generation of games upon us, it’s important to think about what I want out of video games going forward. Games like Battlefield, FIFA, Call of Duty, and Madden have finally hit the threshold of how much I can take. Don’t get me wrong, they are all great games… except for, well, Call Of Duty: Ghosts. Max: The Curse of Brotherhood is a platformer, meaning it’s different enough to those games to to hold my interest. Sadly, it is not great enough to be a total must-own. (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged Max: The Curse of Brotherhood