Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Mike Gutierrez
Jenova Chen of thatgamecompany gives details on Journey
Jenova Chen recently sat down with Sid Shuman of the PlayStation Blog to discuss the latest game from him and the folks at thatgamecompany, Journey. The two go into details about the unorthodox gameplay, multiplayer, and antagonist in this much anticipated PSN-exclusive title. Some especially interesting parts of the interview include Chen’s thoughts on the lazy work that goes into multiplayer games today, and how Journey is trying to socially stimulate players’ brains.
Previous titles from thatgamecompany include flOw and Flower, two of the most beloved downloadable games this generation. Journey seems to be shaping up nicely to live up to the accomplishments previously set by the development team.
Source: PlayStation Blog
LEGO Battles: Ninjago whirling to your DS in Spring 2011
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games announced today the newest project in their LEGO Battles series with LEGO Battles: Ninjago. The game will allow players to hone their skills in the hidden art of “Spinjitzu,” becoming tornadoes and vanquishing enemies. Keeping alive the recent karma trend in gaming, players will have a choice between good and evil single player modes. Add in Battle Mode challenges and multiplayer showdowns and you have a healthy heaping of family friendly content for your DS.
The game complements the new Ninjago lineup of products LEGO released today, which they will be adding to throughout the new year. No firm release date has been set for the game, but expect it to drop sometime this Spring.
Posted in DS, News
Tagged Lego Battles: Ninjago
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam Review: I Love the Smell of DLC in the Morning
Kicking off last year with the stellar Battlefield: Bad Company 2, EA closed it out by dropping the Vietnam expansion. Building upon already incredibly strong shooter mechanics, Vietnam reinforces the formula with another fantastic set of maps brought to life with the sights and sounds definitive of the era. (more…)
Pitch a perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K11, win $1 million
How do you usually get ready for the baseball season? Do you pick up a sports game, say the MLB 2K series? How would a million dollars sound to get you set for the season? 2K Sports is once again rewarding $1,000,000 to the first player to pitch a perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K11. Well, the award will go to first player to do so after MLB opening day, April 1, 2011. Players will have a little less than a month to prepare for the challenge following the March 8 release date of the game. The perfect pitch theme seems to have also translated into the cover art, as Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies is one of only 20 players in baseball history to pitch a perfect game (and one of the few to pitch multiple no-hitters in a single season).
Despite fierce competition in the genre from the MLB The Show series, you have to admit, this is a pretty tough offer to turn down.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Major League Baseball 2K11
Tomb Raider Trilogy HD announced for PS3
In the latest development of Sony’s campaign of re-releasing classics in high definition (with Trophies!), Square Enix has jumped on board to release Tomb Raider Trilogy, a collection containing Tomb Raider Anniversary, Legend, and Underworld. Also included in the package is a set of static themes, behind-the-scenes trailers of all three games, and Lara Croft and Thrall Viking avatars for use in PlayStation Home. Available on March 22 and priced at $39.99, it’s not a bad combination of games and extras to enjoy.
Personally, the most exciting part of this announcement is that Square Enix has finally hopped on the HD re-release bandwagon. Here’s hoping for a Final Fantasy X and XII collection. Or better yet, every Square game released on the PSOne on a single Blu Ray (that’s a lot of plats).
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Tomb Raider (1996)
Malcom McDowell joins Killzone 3, blows my brains to bits
If you plan on having an ongoing relationship with Warp Zoned, you should know I’m a die-hard fan of the Killzone series; I have the platinum trophy in Killzone 2, and had to be in the top 1% of worldwide weekly players to get it. Suffice to say, I’m utterly stunned at just how beyond epic the new story trailer is for Killzone 3. While many developers sadly use live action trailers with intensity and drama the final product never lives up to, Guerrila Games gives us an inside look at the political and military turmoil on Helghan, in the astounding visual fidelity the studio is famous for.
There seems to be a power struggle between the arms industry and the Helghast navy for control of the planet’s destiny. Malcolm McDowell voices Jorhan Stahl, CEO of Stahl Arms and Ray Winstone plays Admiral Orlock. Safe to say these guys aren’t the best of friends, and the actors have their work cut out for them in living up to Brian Cox’s performance of Scolar Visari, arguably the best portrayal of a dictator in gaming. Unfortunately Sev and Narville seem to have new voice actors, but with production values like these, it’s hard to imagine the story will be anything short of amazing.
I came.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Killzone 3
Sony CES 2011 Keynote: 3D, TV, and Qriocity, oh my!
Sir Howard Stringer, Kaz Hirai and the gang presented Sony’s unified strategy going forward in 2011, with bold claims that it will be the premier consumer electronics manufacturer in the US by 2013. As the title suggests, the highlights were 3D, Bravia televisions, and Qriocity, Sony’s video and music cloud-based service. The company is implementing 3D into every device imaginable, from TVs and PS3s (including Gran Turismo 5 and Uncharted 3 demos) to camcorders, Vaio laptops, and Ericsson Xperia smartphones. Consumers looking for a new TV will have many options with the Bravia line, including choices in 3D and/or Internet TV, the latter of which includes partnerships with Google and Time Warner. Qriocity also takes a multiple device approach, allowing you to sync your music library across multiple devices to take with you.
Notably absent from the keynote was any talk of the all but officially confirmed PSP Phone or PSP2. The PSP Phone is rumored to have the Xperia branding, but all that was shown was an extremely slim Android-running phone. Hopefully when these devices do get announced, they’ll carry some of the 3D, Internet, and Qriocity features we heard of tonight, provided Sony can maintain some pricing discipline.
Next Modern Warfare may be a prequel; Raven likely working on Call of Duty
An anonymous source who previously identified many Xbox-related rumors leaked that Infinity Ward’s next game will be a prequel to the original Modern Warfare, Call of Duty 4. The details were a lot of negatives – the game will not be called “Modern Warfare 3,” will not use a new engine, and will not be released this year. The alleged game focuses on Ghost and will revisit many of the areas of the first two Modern Warfare games, but through a different perspective. This seems to align with rumors from 2009 that Ghost would be getting his own spin-off game like the comic mini-series. If this rumor is true, Infinity Ward must have been hit pretty hard by its talent exodus to not be able to complete a game on its two year cycle, especially using older scenery with no new engine.
In a related matter, the rumors that Raven Software (the studio behind Singularity, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Wolfenstein) have been conscripted to the ever-growing roster of studios working on Call of Duty seems more likely. Their website currently lists a job for Lead FX Artist on “an established console-based, realistic, first-person military shooter.” Raven has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision for some time now, making the established “military shooter” an obvious reference.
[Source: ThisIsXbox]
Posted in News
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3