Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Top Story
Anomaly Defenders Review: Back to Basics
The original Anomaly: Warzone Earth took a fresh, new approach in the ubiquitous tower defense genre by flipping the traditional roles around, having you play as the creeps fighting against the towers. The fun, challenging gameplay led to a sequel (aptly named Anomaly 2), which introduced the very cool creeps vs. towers multiplayer. Well, those darn alien towers are back in a third installment, Anomaly Defenders, except this time, you are the darn aliens. (more…)
The Walking Dead Season 2: In Harm’s Way Review: Villainous
Playing through the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead game, it became quickly apparent that danger was everywhere. I always had to be on my guard, watching my back, and stepping on eggshells. Normally menial tasks such as searching through an abandoned pharmacy or walking across a parking lot had become frightening life-or-death battles for survival. Knock a bottle off a counter or make a wrong turn, and you’ll almost certainly meet a ghastly end. If you wanted to survive, you had to avoid walkers at all costs, as these were truly terrifying enemies.
But while still a constant threat, the zombies in The Walking Dead weren’t much more than obstacles – dangerous obstacles, mind you – but a hindrance nonetheless. You knew what you had to do to survive the mindless ghouls. All that changed in The Walking Dead Season 2, where we were introduced to Carver, one of the most fascinating characters in the series. You hated him, but at the same time you understood his plight. He was trying to bring his group together no matter what. While at first we don’t think he’s all that bad, he dispels those thoughts, and quickly becomes one of the greatest villains in the Walking Dead universe. It’s because of this character that In Harm’s Way is not only the best episode of this second season, but perhaps the best episode of the entire series. (more…)
The Games of July 2014
There’s not a lot going on gaming-wise in July, which gives us all a chance to do what we do best: catch up on our backlogs. For those of us who are into what’s coming out, it’s almost all re-releases: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee – New N Tasty, and The Last of Us Remastered are on our list. Not that we’re complaining – they’re some great games to replay! Read on to get the full details on what the Warp Zoned crew is going to get down to in the hot month of July. (more…)
Warpback: What We Played in June 2014
Here at Warp Zoned, we really enjoyed E3, so much so that we recorded a whole podcast about it. It really invigorated us to get gaming, and we played a ton this month. Some of us played some new games, like Mario Kart 8 and Shovel Knight, but mostly we just kept digging away at our backlogs (Get it? Digging? Shovel?). We laughed, we cried, we played some online multiplayer, and most of all, we documented it all so you could hear about it. Read on to find out what the Warp Zoned crew played in June. (more…)
Kickstart This! It’s Just Not Cricket Edition
That’s right, it’s time for football (or soccer, for the average American reader and editor). World Cup fever has landed and is now in full swing like the Rio Carnival. It has been a tournament of surprises, with the current World Cup champions knocked out by the second game, along with perennial contenders England (but I’m Scottish, so the less said about Luis Suarez’s two beautiful goals, the better).
There are a number of great Kickstarter campaigns in full force as well, and instead of placing bets on goals scored or corners won, perhaps think about donating some of that cash to these fine projects. We have the amazingly named Catlateral Damage, top-down 2D action-adventure Midora, and 2D puzzle-platformer For My Brother. On top of that, there is also a side-scrolling space shooter known as Temporus, the stealth ninja mastery of Twin Souls, and the 8-bit existential journey of Glitch.
Let’s go for the goal! (more…)
Moon Chronicles Episode 1: One Small Step Review: Good Moon Rising
A lot of first-person shooter games were released during this past generation. Hell, it’s more than just a lot. It was an outright epidemic. It seems like someone released a new FPS every week. But what’s odd about this phenomenon is that a good majority of these genre titles only came out for consoles. The handheld systems were all but forgotten. Sure, there were a few exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, first-person shooters avoided the handheld systems like a red barrel (because as you know, it’s never good to stand next to a red barrel). Aside from the Call of Duty games, there weren’t a whole lot of options for those of us who liked their FPSs on the go.
Enter Moon, a title for the original Nintendo DS. Throwing caution to the wind, the developers at Renegade Kid felt that the popular system would be a perfect fit for their mature, story-driven first-person shooter. And it paid off. Moon released to positive reviews, with many praising the game’s graphics, framerate, and moody atmosphere. And although many clamored for a sequel, the rights for the title were held by Mastiff Games, and the Moon IP was stuck, stranded in suspended animation. Until now. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged Moon Chronicles
Watch Dogs Review: A Bit Ruff
Watch Dogs was unveiled in 2012 at Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference to the adoration of the entire industry. Over the past year, the Internet hype machine went into full effect, fueled by Ubisoft themselves and the fervor of online commenting communities. After that initial reveal, conjecture naturally sprung up around the web. Would the game look that good? Would the open world really be that open? With Ubisoft sending out trailer after trailer, Watch Dogs was labelled as a coming-of-age party for the next generation in terms of graphics and gameplay.
But the hype train is a bad one to catch, and it has not helped Watch Dogs, making it feel far less than it should be after the initial reveal. After experiencing much of the game’s content, what you end up with is a title that is actually still quite fun to play, but oddly uncompelling. (more…)
7 Games You Missed At E3 2014
One of the major problems with the Electronic Entertainment Expo is the fact that it’s too big. So big, in fact, that it hurts, even though the show seems to get more and more exciting every year. However, at the same time, publishers are showing fewer games. I’ve also heard anecdotal evidence that the show floor is so quiet that you can get cell signal. And after the rush of pre-E3 announcements this year, it could be said that the expo itself is all bark and no bite.
Correct or not, there is still a lot of bark during the second week of June every year, so much, in fact, that dozens and dozens of games get lost in all the noise. Here are seven of them. (more…)