Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Mike Gutierrez
Devil May Cry on its way to the big screen
Screen Gems, the same studio who developed the Resident Evil films, picked up the license to adapt another Capcom franchise to movies: Devil May Cry. Kyle Ward, who wrote the upcoming Fiasco Heights for Universal, has been hired to pen the script. Screen Gems hopes to develop the property as another film franchise, much like Resident Evil. The movie will (obviously) revolve around Dante, who avenges his mother’s death by killing demons.
The Devil May Cry series has been knowing for pioneering the contemporary style of the hack and slash genre since the PlayStation 2. The Resident Evil films weren’t so bad, so hopefully the film won’t disappoint die hard fans as much as the proposed Ninja Theory reboot of the franchise has.
Posted in Etcetera, News
Tagged Devil May Cry
Skullgirls tearing up PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer
If you’re a self-proclaimed “geeka” down with The Mary Sue site Senior Editor Nicole Kline mentioned in today’s Daily Scoop (or just a fan of arcade titles), you might want to keep an eye out on a new PSN/XBLA downloadable game. Autumn Games and Reverge Labs today announced Skullgirls, a 2D fighter with a brilliant comic-esque, “Dark Deco” art style. Players choose from eight deadly chicks to take on a series of opponents in order to claim the Skull Heart and become known as the Skullgirl (misleading title, there can be only one!). With contributions by comic artist Alex Ahad and tournament champion Mike Z Zaimont, the game has a variety of single and multiplayer modes, and even includes YouTube and Facebook support to allowing you to instantly upload your exploits and claim bragging rights.
The game certainly looks insane, with some great features to boot. Skullgirls will be available this summer on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and you can expect some more details soon (or you can check it out on the PAX East show floor).
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2011, Skullgirls
1 in 3 US/UK adults are ‘mobile phone gamers’
Information Solutions Group, on behalf of PopCap Games, announced today the findings of a survey exploring the tremendous shift towards mobile phones in the video game industry. According to the study, 33.6% of all adults in the United States and United Kingdom constitute ‘mobile phone gamers,’ having played a game on their phone at least once in the last month. Probably the most staggering finding is that this demographic considers their mobile phone as their primary gaming device, “leapfrogging video game consoles and personal computers in less than two years.” Of course, a lot of people who play games on their mobile phones probably weren’t your typical gamer to begin with, so the traditional manufacturers probably don’t have too much to worry about. Also of note is that 52% of respondents have played a game on their mobile phone at least once.
The study concludes that not only is mobile phone gaming prolific, it’s growing at an astonishing rate – the numbers have gone up dramatically since the last study they did in 2009. Still, I’m sure most of us continue to prefer their DS or PSP, despite the Xperia Play coming out next month blurring the lines between a mobile phone and traditional gaming handheld. You can view the full findings of the survey here.
Vagrant Story joining Square Enix’s PSOne Classics tomorrow
If you’ve been watching Warp Zoned over the last week or so, you’ve probably seen me geek out about all the awesome content Square Enix has been bringing to the PlayStation Store. Xenogears made the transition last week, Parasite Eve got an ESRB rating to do the same, and Tactics Ogre got a digital PSN release for the PSP. Now, they’re re-releasing another legendary title from the same team behind Tactics Ogre. Vagrant Story, which is estimated to take place some time after Final Fantasy Tactics and thousands of years after Final Fantasy XII, is finally coming to the US PlayStation Store as a PSOne Classic. Already released on the European PlayStation Store a few months ago, Vagrant Story is an action RPG/dungeon crawler, noted for its beautiful music and heavy focus on weapon customization. Highly immersive, it’s also known as one of the harder Square games from the golden age of PlayStation RPG’s.
While Vagrant Story may be less of a surprise than Parasite Eve or Xenogears, this is certainly an exciting time for classic RPG fans. Anyone wanna take bets on the next one? I’ll be hoping for Dragon Quest VII. Let us know in the comments which classic Square Enix game you’d like to see next.
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Vagrant Story
Announcement announcement: Valve to show off Steam’s Big Picture Mode at GDC this week
As we like to say in our Weekly Warp Up, “no, that’s not a typo.” Valve has circulated a press release teasing Steam Big Picture Mode, a way to enjoy Steam’s ever-increasing features from any TV or computer display in the house via your PC or Mac. “Controller support” and “navigation designed for television interaction” have been vaguely mentioned, but the company has promised more info to be released at GDC throughout the week. Stay tuned in to Warp Zoned for whatever the heck this thing ends up being.
Gaikai offering public demos of Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, and more
Cloud computing and game streaming sure have come a long way, and today Gaikai is offering public demos of the service for some of the hottest titles out. Going to their official website can give you access to the Mass Effect 2 demo via pop up, provided your connection is fast enough and you have the latest Flash and Java updates (more info here). It seems to be all EA titles available now, as you can check out The Sims 3 and Spore on the service at the links provided. Completing the survey here unlocks access to the Dead Space 2 demo. Oh, and Second Life is currently running as well. It’s recommended you access the service via a wired connection.
Streaming game services like Gaikai and OnLive have been touted by some as the future of the industry, a kind of no-console utopia. The service is currently in beta to select members, and they plan to start embedding demos of games onto news sites like the one you’re currently visiting right now.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Dead Space 2, Mass Effect 2, The Sims 3
Sony announces Rochard for PSN, first Recoil Games title
It took a while to get off the ground, but Recoil Games has officially announced their first title, Rochard, published by Sony Online Entertainment, exclusively for the PlayStation Network. Recoil was founded a few years ago by members of Remedy Entertainment, the developers of Alan Wake and the Max Payne series. Rochard will be a side scrolling puzzle/platformer focusing on space miner John Rochard as he attempts to find his missing friends and dispatch space pirates at an excavation site where an alien structure was discovered. Instead of focusing on space marines, Rochard is just an everyday miner who needs to use his tools to overcome challenges, injecting sarcastic humor whenever he can.
The good folks at Recoil are at GDC this week, so hopefully more info on the game will surface soon. Rochard is scheduled for a Spring release on the PlayStation Store.
Killzone 3 Review: Next Generation Gaming
Almost two years to the day after their last game set the PlayStation 3 on fire, Guerilla Games returns to the universe of their sci-fi franchise with Killzone 3. Despite its gritty realism, brutal encounters, and unparalleled production values, Killzone 2 suffered a lot of criticism from mainstream shooter fans who called for more conventional gameplay and were tired of the grey and monochromatic settings. The production values are still unmatched, but Guerilla went above and beyond accommodating the concerns of the wider console demographic, for better or for worse. While the final product departs significantly from its predecessor, Killzone 3 still manages to honor its spirit by once again raising the bar for first person shooters and pushing the boundaries of the imagination. (more…)
Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged Killzone 3