Warp Zoned Presents
Author: Mike Gutierrez
Monolith Soft hiring en masse for an upcoming Wii U project
We’ve all been so excited about the third party developers supporting the Wii U that sometimes we forget about Nintendo’s own first party studios. One would hope the best of the best would be gearing up to work on the new platform, and it seems that Monolith Soft is doing just that.
The once Xenogears, then Xenosaga, now Xenoblade developer is accepting applications for nearly every position under the sun, from 3D artists to 2D artists, planners, and even office staff. Monolith Soft got some pretty nice visuals out of the Wii on its last project, it will be interesting to see what they can do with the Wii U.
Any other studios or franchises you’d like to see on the Wii U? If Nintendo got a license for Shining Force from Sega and had their own Camelot Software Planning (the original developers) make it, I would literally throw my PS3 out the window.
Team Fortress 2 goes free to play
Valve has been at the forefront when it comes to experimental pricing in the digital age of game consumption. They’ve also taken bold steps towards the “games as services” model. Now that ideal becomes more of a reality.
Team Fortress 2, one of the iconic Valve franchises, has now gone free to play. Robin Walker, who worked on the game way back when it was just a Quake mod, sat down with Develop to discuss the reasons for the move. Getting more people on Steam is one, as is learning more about consumer habits. But Walker also cites the fact that in multiplayer games, the more people actually playing it creates more value for each consumer.
Anyone yet to try out Team Fortress 2 should do so promptly, and be sure to read the full interview with Robin Walker.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Team Fortress 2
BioShock Infinite and Uncharted 3 lead Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2011 nominees
Game Critics Awards have announced the nominees for E3 2011 and while none of them are surprising, it does give a glimpse of what the biggest games are going to be in the coming year.
BioShock Infinite and Uncharted 3 lead the pack with four nominations a piece, while fan favorites like Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City sit among the next tier with three nominations each. As far as publishers go, Electronic Arts and Sony Computer Entertainment lead the industry with a commendable fourteen nominations each, while the Xbox 360 holds the most nominations on a platform, with a whopping 55 total. Ironically, the PlayStation Vita debuted with seven, while the well-established Wii only garnered two, down twelve from last year’s awards.
For the full list of nominees as well as more interesting fact breakdowns, head over to the official site here.
Posted in 3DS, DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Batman: Arkham City, Battlefield 3, BioShock Infinite, E3 2011, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition bundle strikes June 28 with first map pack
If you haven’t already picked up a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops, now’s your chance. Starting June 28, retailers will be selling the Black Ops Limited Edition, bundling the first DLC map pack, First Strike, in with the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. Arguably, that’s a $75 value for just $59.99, but in light of other deals I can’t really say it’s a steal.
In any case, the Black Ops DLC support marches on, as the Annihilation pack will be hitting Xbox Live Marketplace on June 28. And be sure to look out for yours truly on the PSN for the Double XP weekend beginning July 1.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops
Dragon Quest X may go HD on Wii U
Many long-time fans were disappointed to learn that neither Dragon Quest IX nor Dragon Quest X would be heading to the PlayStation 3. Given what Level-5 did for the series on the PS2, one could only salivate at the idea of a HD Dragon Quest. However, that dream just might become a reality.
Andriasang reports that Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada faced a good deal of harsh questions today, such as if Dragon Quest Collection will actually sell, given it features un-updated ports of the Famicom (NES) and Super Famicom (SNES) versions of the games. Wada responded yes, since they’re being left untouched to celebrate the series’ 25th anniversary. But another question came up, asking to know the logic of releasing DQX, a flagship title, on the Wii, a console past its prime.
Wada responded by stressing the importance of considering releasing the game on both the Wii and the upcoming Wii U. He also disclosed that Square Enix is already investigating their technical options when it comes to Nintendo’s HD platform.
Warp Zoned Podcast Producer Ryan Littlefield and I were discussing the potential uses for the Wii U’s controller for RPGs specifically, and I’m thinking the map system in DQVIII could make a great move here. While your favorite podcast personalities remain speculating, we can expect to learn more details about Dragon Quest X later this year.
Posted in News, Wii, Wii U
Tagged Dragon Quest X, Dragon Warrior, Dragon Warrior II, Dragon Warrior III
Binary Domain story trailer nails that movie feel
Sega released a story trailer for its upcoming Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 shooter Binary Domain. While the game still looks like the generic The Terminator/The Matrix-inspired “man vs. machine” story, Sega still did a great job of putting together a trailer you would expect to see in the theater. Binary Domain should release on 360 and PS3 in early 2012.
Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Binary Domain
Alien Zombies arrive and Killzone 3 expands in PlayStation Store 6/21 update
The PlayStation Store had one of its sparser updates last night, but managed to bring a couple gems to the people. The E-Rated Alien Zombie Mega Death debuted, coming chock full of adventure levels and survival modes. Killzone 3‘s From the Ashes pack also arrived, bringing a nice mix of new wave and old school multiplayer maps to the game. Finally, all you early adopters can check out a 3D demo of Virtua Tennis 4 in all its PlayStation Move compatibility.
For the full list of updates, head over to the PlayStation Blog.
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Killzone 3, Virtua Tennis 4
Killzone 3 “From the Ashes” DLC includes remastered Tharsis Depot & Radec Academy
The third map pack for Killzone 3 will release on the PlayStation Store on June 21 for $4.99. For the price of admission, you get four maps, two of which are remastered from Killzone 2. One is Tharsis Depot, while the other is Radec Academy, whose changes you can see in the video above. Anyone who spent a decent amount of time with Killzone 2’s multiplayer probably lost a lot of hours in Radec Academy, so it’ll be great to see how the new one stacks up. You can head over to the PlayStation Blog for three additional trailers showcasing these retro maps.
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Killzone 2, Killzone 3