Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Previews
Portal 2 Interview: Valve Talks New Characters, 2 Campaigns, and… *Spoiler Deleted*
Valve had another one of their awesome theatre-style booths at this year’s PAX East. Outside, they had demos of Portal 2 running and were giving out t-shirts; inside, they were giving fans insight into two new characters in the single-player part of the game and giving me more spoilers than I wanted to see. But as faithful journalists, News Editor Mike Gutierrez and I were determined to bring the information back home and deliver it to our readers. Afterwards, we were able to interview one of the game’s writers, Erik Wolpaw, who left me wishing April 19th was tomorrow. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2011, Portal 2
Preview Pack: Capcom’s Okamiden, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Super Street Fighter IV 3D
Many fans at PAX East were disappointed to find that the Chibiterasu special edition plushies sold out the first day. But what they weren’t disappointed about was the fact that Capcom’s 3DS lines were far shorter than those across the show floor at Nintendo. Mike Gutierrez and Nicole Kline got to check out Okamiden, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, Previews
Tagged Okamiden, PAX East 2011, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Street Fighter IV
Bastion Hands-On Preview: Narrating Gaming’s Future
Bastion is the first title from Supergiant Games, a small studio consisting of about “six dudes”. The game is poised to be the next downloadable smash hit with its endearing art style, familiar mechanics, and novel use of narration. The team has gone from the big developer culture of EA to a more independent setting, and so far the response from fans has been sensational. We got to play the demo of Bastion and talk with Creative Director Greg Kasavin at this year’s PAX East. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, Xbox 360
Tagged Bastion, PAX East 2011
Brink Hands-On Preview: Bringing the Customizable Fun
Brink was playable at PAX East this weekend, and it was fun. Not that I’m surprised – I’ve been kind of keeping myself out of the loop for this one on purpose because everything I hear is more of what I want, and that makes me want to remain spoiler-free. But being in the media makes it impossible to do that, and I was excited to get some hands-on time with the game. Brink is being developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda, and focuses on the acrobatic parkour style that’s becoming more common in games (see also Mirror’s Edge). There are two factions, the Resistance and Security, who are vying for control of a city called the Ark. The Ark is a floating city, built to house 5,000 people – but now, Earth has been flooded, and tens of thousands more fight to take control of the city, which is now on the “brink” (see what they did there?) of a civil war. (more…)
Interview: Augmenting Deus Ex: Human Revolution With Game Director Jean-Francois Dugas
One of the more high profile developers we got to interview at PAX East 2011 was Jean-Francois Dugas, Game Director on Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Eidos Montreal hopes the upcoming sequel will establish the franchise as a dominant force in gaming, but it’s been a long journey for Dugas and his team in their attempt to accomplish that. Throughout the interview we talk about the challenges of reviving an older franchise, their unique relationship with their Japanese publisher, Warren Spector’s feedback, and influences from movies to anime to Metal Gear to… Professor Layton? (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Deus Ex: Human Revolution, PAX East 2011
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars Hands-On Preview: I Have a Familiar Feeling About This
It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost five years since the release of Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. After LucasArts and developer TT Games retold both trilogies in Lego form, most gamers assumed that the Star Wars story was over. But after forays in Gotham City and Hogwarts, TT Games is back with a third Lego Star Wars game, this time based on “The Clone Wars” cartoon. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Yakuza 4 Hands-On Preview: Kazuma Returns, And He’s Brought Friends
Much to the shock of Yakuza fans, Sega has handled Yakuza 4 with a surprising amount of competence. Compared to Yakuza 3, where they engaged in almost a year’s worth of “will we bring the game over, or won’t we?” nonsense, they quickly announced a Western release of the sequel. Instead of getting weird, and cutting out the sort of content that worked just fine in the PlayStation 2 games, they announced the game would be localized without any silly “cultural cuts.” Instead of releasing the game on the same day as a long-awaited sequel in a popular franchise, they found a date where it could release in relative peace. It’s almost like they replaced the entire Yakuza team at Sega USA with smart people, and started to show the series some respect. Then, they released the demo… (more…)
Killzone 3 Beta Impressions: Hit Me Baby, One More Time!!!
Killzone 2‘s multiplayer confused many casual shooter fans with its weighty movement and gun handling, but offered a treasure trove of depth and strategy for players who wanted a little more from their online experiences. This time around Guerilla Games strove to make the game more accessible to the console demographic while expanding on the strength of the last iteration. Killzone 3‘s multiplayer represents a culmination of compromise and innovation, showing off the characteristic production values and quality that no other developer can really claim. (more…)
Posted in Previews, PS3
Tagged Killzone 3