Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Previews
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Hands-On Preview: We’re Not on Gran Pulse Anymore
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII was quietly available to play on the show floor at PAX Prime 2013. There wasn’t a crowd around it – I didn’t even have to make an appointment or wait in a line to try it. The people who were playing it were completely engrossed, but it was a – not surprisingly – small number. With the linearity of the first Final Fantasy XIII, many fans were put off of the “Fabula Nova Crystallis” series (comprised of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Type-0, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV, and Final Fantasy Agito). XIII-2 brought in a time travel element that changed a few things about how the first game worked, but not enough to reclaim fans. Lightning Returns, while it still continues to feel like a game in the XIII world, has taken some steps to make it stand out – and also has Lightning in it, which is a major added bonus. (more…)
Posted in Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, PAX Prime 2013
Transistor PAX Prime 2013 Impressions: The Impossible Elegance of Supergiant Games
Any fan of the hit indie game Bastion already knows the name Supergiant Games, and is probably already following their latest work of art, Transistor. In fact, Warp Zoned’s very own John Scalzo played Transistor at PAX East, and he had nothing but wonderful things to say about it. I played it at PAX Prime, after the game had been announced for the PlayStation 4, and I was ecstatic at the gameplay (and at getting my hands on a DualShock 4). I loved Transistor so much that I went straight home from Seattle and immediately began playing Bastion, from start to finish, over the course of three days. All it did was make me wish it was 2014 already so I could play the rest of Transistor. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, PS4, Top Story
Tagged PAX Prime 2013, Transistor
Pokemon X/Y Hands-On Preview: The 3DS Game You’ve Been Waiting For
Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are the first “main series” Pokemon games to be rendered completely in 3D, which is something fans of the series have been waiting for since the 3DS system itself was announced. Because of this, there’s a lot of excitement about the new titles, and a lot of healthy skepticism. Pokemon Black and White (and Black 2 and White 2) didn’t really do a whole lot that was innovative, but it seems that X and Y are going places the series never has before. Nintendo has added in a lot of extra features – some obviously just there for the adorability factor – that are going to make players happy, especially players who want to interact more with their Pokemon. And I got all of that just from playing a seven-minute demo at PAX Prime 2013 – which was the first time Nintendo showed off the new game in America. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Previews, Top Story
Tagged PAX Prime 2013, Pokemon X/Y
Borderlands 2: T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest Preview: I Hope You Like Boss Battles
I finally got a chance to get back to PAX Prime this year after a two-year hiatus from what may always be my favorite gaming expo. And, unsurprisingly, the first thing I got to play on the show floor at PAX Prime was the new Headhunters Pack for Borderlands 2, T.K. Baha’s Bloody Harvest. This new series of smaller DLCs are heavily focused on boss fights, and that was immediately clear in what we got to play. We also got to spend some time with Josh Jeffcoat, the Game Designer on the Headhunters Pack. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Borderlands 2, PAX Prime 2013
Interview: Dakko Dakko’s Dan Croucher Discusses Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails
Hidden amongst the big games announced during Nintendo’s E3 2013 Nintendo Direct video presentation were some gorgeous looking indie titles. One that really shone bright during its brief showing was Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails, a top-down, on-rails (but not in that way) shooter/platformer hybrid. It is currently being developed by Welsh studio Dakko Dakko, best known for their previous PSN Mini hit Floating Cloud God Saves the Pilgrims. Scram Kitty’s Producer, Dan Croucher, was kind enough to answer some questions about tax breaks, octopus hats, and favourite gaming titles. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, Previews, Top Story, Wii U
Tagged Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails
Riding Penny Arcade 4’s Demon Train With Zeboyd Games: An Interview
Zeboyd Games resurrected the Rain-Slick series last year with Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3, and the team, Designer/Programmer/Writer Robert Boyd and Artist Bill Stiernberg, couldn’t be happier about the response they received. With the release of Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 just a few days away, we sit down with the developers to chat about where they’ve come from, where they’re going, and what it’s like to punch a demon train in the face. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2013, Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4
Beatbuddy Hands-On Preview: A New Approach to Rhythm Gaming
Beatbuddy is a super adorable side-scrolling rhythm game made by a small German company named Threaks. It was on the show floor at PAX East, and after seeing their adorable plushy mascot on backpacks all over the expo floor, I needed to find out what this game was all about. Not only do they have a great little fellow to promote their game, they’ve also got fantastic gameplay to back it up. I was more than happy with Beatbuddy, and I was ready to stand there and play it for another hour, if they’d let me. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, Top Story
Tagged Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians, PAX East 2013
Anomaly 2 Beta Impressions: Creeps Vs. Towers Multiplayer… Fight!
The original Anomaly: Warzone Earth was a crazy fun twist on the ubiquitous tower defense genre, placing you as the creeps fighting against the towers. So it is very exciting to learn that Polish developer 11 Bit Studios is putting the final touches on a sequel, aptly named Anomaly 2, highlighted by what should be its killer feature: creeps versus towers multiplayer. Oh, yeah, you read that right. (more…)