Warp Zoned Presents
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The Games of October 2014
The games go bump in the night this October and gamers will have more than a few chances to scare themselves silly this month. Between Alien: Isolation, The Evil Within, and Costume Quests 2, your All Hallows Eve can be a scary good time. What else is the Warp Zoned staff interested in during 2014’s tenth month? Read on to find out… (more…)
Warpback: What We Played in September 2014
Believe it or not, but Destiny didn’t dominate the gaming time of the Warp Zoned staff last month. Instead, there was much backlog playing along with preparation for some of October’s big new releases. Are we out of touch? Nah, most people would say that we play by our own rules… (more…)
Nintendo of America Needs To Fix Club Nintendo
Nintendo confuses me at times. On one hand, their studios are among the best. Nobody can deny that when an official Nintendo game is released, it will likely be a great title. On the other hand, some of their internal practices are questionable at best. Case in point: Nintendo of America’s handling of Club Nintendo. Many diehard fans (myself included) have been left scratching their heads at some of the Big N’s decisions. What started off as an amazing way to get Nintendo swag has devolved into a barren wasteland of repeating digital games and greeting cards.
That’s not to say it’s all bad. The digital offerings we get every month are appreciated (although I would like to have more third party Virtual Console titles), and they are reasonably priced. The limited-edition freebies, such as the Smash Bros. soundtrack and Hyrule Warriors DLC are a step in the right direction, but with Nintendo’s merchandising partners and deep pockets, one wonders why the physical rewards are near non-existent. Do they not feel physical rewards are economically viable? Are they just liquidating old inventory before bringing out a new wave of products? Did they run out of ideas, or do they just not care anymore? The truth is that we’ll never know why Nintendo is giving their North American fans the cold shoulder. We may never see an actual renaissance of Club Nintendo rewards, but here are a few ways Nintendo could fix Club Nintendo in the eyes of many gamers. (more…)
The Walking Dead Season 2: Amid the Ruins Review: The Dark Before the Dawn
In the television world, the finale is perhaps the most important episode of the season. It needs to be exciting and emotional. It needs to provide closure, while at the same time end on a cliffhanger and leave unanswered questions. How else could we remain interested in the show during that excruciating, seven-month wait until the next season? This rings true for the current season of The Walking Dead TV series. Rick and the gang are once again in a dire situation, and we don’t know what’s going to happen next. What happened to Beth? What do the residents of Terminus want? Will we riot if Daryl dies? See, now I’m getting anxious just talking about it. OK, back on track.
In order for the season finale to pack a punch, you need the prior episode to provide a good set up – which usually means a duller entry. This is not bad; it just slows down the momentum a bit. But it is necessary in order to make the finale that much stronger. A calm before the storm, if you will. Ergo, Season 2 of the The Walking Dead video game is no different from its television counterpart. As we draw ever closer to the conclusion of the season, we need to have the penultimate preparation episode – as we get ready for the end. Episode 4 follows this same mantra, giving us a notably slower episode, but still enjoyable in its own right. (more…)
Warp Zoned’s Fall 2014 Preview Presents the Video Game Fantasy League
It’s Over! Click Here to See the Winner!
With its spreadsheets, massive drafting guides, and heavy emphasis on statistics, your average Fantasy Football league is run more like a role-playing game than a sports contest. So as we were putting together our Fall gaming preview, we thought, why not combine the two? And thus was born… the Video Game Fantasy League.
Warp Zoned’s staff got together and “drafted” eight games from this Fall’s release schedule in hopes of creating the best-reviewed team of games. The rules are simple. Each staff member was required to draft a PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U game. The final two positions were reserved for a handheld game (3DS or Vita) and a Wild Card slot that could be filled with a game from any platform. Points are scored based on how well-reviewed each game is and points are locked in based on a game’s Metacritic average a month after a game has been released. Any game delayed into 2015 will receive a big fat zero.
Our draft, and the games we’re most looking forward to this Fall, looks a little something like this… (more…)
It Came From 19XX: Lethal Enforcers
The first time I encountered those twin blue and pink light guns, I was eight years old. The new school year had started, Sonic 2 was glued in the port of my shiny new Sega Genesis, and my parents and I were visiting some family friends. I honestly don’t remember who they were, but I would thank them if I could, because we somehow came home with their copy of Lethal Enforcers, complete with the famous Konami Justifiers. These oversized revolvers dwarfed the Nintendo Zapper both in size and coolness. Whether by gift or by accident, these half-remembered friends never saw the game again. (more…)
Metro Redux Review: A Great Return Journey
Recently, the trend of re-releasing old games as shiny, new PlayStation 4/Xbox One versions has become the standard operating procedure for many video game publishers. Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, The Last of Us Remastered, and Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition sit alongside titles like OlliOlli, Hotline Miami, and Escape Plan as games that straddle the console generations. With Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition and Grand Theft Auto V still to come later this year, it’s fair to say it’s not a short-term trend. This time, it’s Deep Silver’s turn to add to this big list of titles. However, give Deep Silver some credit, Metro Redux offers a lot of value with a significant amount of gameplay tweaks and graphical upgrades. (more…)
Kickstart This! The Indiegogo-What-Now? Edition
Like it says on the tin, Kickstart This! usually covers game projects currently seeking your funding and support on Kickstarter. However, there is a whole world of crowdfunding platforms out there, and so this month, we’re venturing into the uncharted waters of Indiegogo.
The main difference between the two platforms is that Indiegogo features Flexible Funding, which means a campaign doesn’t need to reach its goal in order to get your cash. Every dollar you pledge goes straight to the developers. While this means more people will most likely gain some form of funding, it also opens the crowdfunding platform up to what we in Scotland would term a “chancer.” In order to find an actual game project, I had to wade through endless endeavours of people trying to raise money to buy a game, build a gaming PC or open a YouTube channel. While the occasional ridiculous project makes it through Kickstarter’s quality control (like Zack Danger Brown’s creamy potato salad), Indiegogo has no filter, allowing someone to beg for a new pair of jeans in the gaming section.
But lurking amidst these vanity projects are some great games waiting for an adrenalin-esque cash injection to push them into full-steam development. First up is steampunk FPS Fabula Mortis, tower defence / FPS hybrid World of Undead, and medieval strategy title Nocturion. Following that is the colourful puzzler Panic Pump, and last but not least, God sim Crest
Let’s Indie-go-go-GO! (more…)