Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Top Story
Warpback: What We Played in May 2014
An absolutely gorgeous month of May, among other things, kept the gaming time of the Warp Zoned staff to a minimum recently. But they still got in a little screen time before the insanity of the upcoming E3 Expo. So read on to see who was playing Watch Dogs, who was playing Mario Kart 8, and who was digging into their backlog. (more…)
Kickstart This! New Home Office Edition
Hello gamers and philanthropists, and welcome to Kickstart This! New Home Office Edition, which (as the title suggests) comes direct from my brand spanking new home office. I’m surrounded by unpacked boxes of books, games, and most importantly, Legos, but like the Death Star, it is armed and fully operational. With that in mind, let us turn our aim to the spectacle that is Kickstarter, and the handful of recent video game projects that have risen above the fold in vying for your affections, attentions, and well-earned remuneration.
First up is point-and-click adventure thriller The Mystery of Oak Island, followed by side-scrolling beat ’em up Rudo Resurrection. As if that was not enough, there is also FPS action horror A New Reckoning, and monster mayhem in Kaiju-A-Gogo.
Let’s rock and load! (more…)
Continue Countdown #4 – Xbox One Ditches Kinect, Halo 5, Sunset Overdrive, More
Nicole Kline dominated everyone in this episode of “Continue Countdown.” You’ll hear plenty of her big opinions as she, and the rest of the Warp Zoned staff, sat down to discuss Microsoft’s decision to unbundle the Kinect sensor from the Xbox One, Sunset Overdrive‘s less-than-impressive initial trailer, and Halo 5‘s delay.
From there we moved on to the possibility that Wolfenstein: The New Order could spark a resurgence in Doom-style first person shooters (consensus: maybe), what Naughty Dog is working on next (consensus: probably something brand new), and whether or not Dragon Quest X will appeal to an overseas audience (consensus: probably not). The home stretch of this week’s episode asked what we’d like to see from Darksiders III and Rockstar’s next-generation project.
Finally, the episode concluded with the echoing cries of “Why?” as the “Continue Countdown” crew talked about 3D Realms’ Bombshell.
9 Topics… 30 Minutes… And Go!
Posted in Etcetera, PC, Podcast, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Bombshell, Darksiders III, Dragon Quest X, Halo 5: Guardians, Sunset Overdrive, Wolfenstein: The New Order
R.B.I. Baseball 14 Review: Sit Me Down Coach, I’m Not Ready to Play…
Baseball video games were forever changed in 1988 when a trio of genre-defining titles were released for the NES just ahead of the World Series. That same year, Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers connected with one of the most famous postseason home runs of all time. While Gibson’s heroics are reexamined every October, most gamers have likely forgotten about Bases Loaded, Major League Baseball, and R.B.I. Baseball. But the developers at MLB Advanced Media didn’t forget. The league’s technology group drafted a partner, Behaviour Interactive, and recently released R.B.I. Baseball 14, a new take on the classic franchise. (more…)
Posted in PS3, Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged R.B.I. Baseball 14
Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW! Review: I Don’t Know Why I Bothered
I had a lot of fun with 2012’s Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage!? on the 3DS. It was a cute little game that was a lot like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, except with Adventure Time characters instead. WayForward returned with another game based in the Land of Ooo, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON’T KNOW!, last year. The game, the first for the PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360, is an overhead dungeon-crawler that lets you play as several different characters instead of just Finn and Jake. I was super excited to play as Lumpy Space Princess because, well, she’s LSP, and she’s the best. But even being able to play as my favorite character didn’t make the game any better. (more…)
10 Actors (and Actresses) We Think Could Play Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect Movie
BioWare’s Mass Effect series has proven so difficult to bring to the big screen that, according to Screen Rant, it turned screenwriter Mark Protosevich from ever attempting to tackle a video game adaptation again. Legendary Pictures producer Avi Arad has hinted the film could still be five years away. His boss, Legendary CEO Thomas Tull, explained to Ain’t It Cool last summer, “If you’ve played it and you know the universe, you know it is not uncomplicated. To try to hone that, to bring that down to a place that will translate into screen storytelling… we’re pretty close, closer than we’ve ever been. We’re committed to it, but it has to be great or we’re not going to do it. We’re treading on sacred ground. We’re not going to be the guys to screw up Commander Shepard.”
Yet, who could the filmmakers cast in such a highly respected role? They’ll need someone with Shepard’s rugged gravitas. Someone who can carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders. Someone who can sleep with half the universe.
While we wait ever-so-patiently for Legendary to pull its metaphorical finger out of its alien orifice, we thought we would scour the galaxy for an actor worthy of donning the N7 Armour. But just imagine for a moment that some bright producer within Legendary had an idea, an idea that blossomed into something unprecedented in the history of film: they film the same film twice. One version would include a male lead, while the other would place a woman (popularly known as “FemShep”) in charge of the Normandy. I’m not talking about a sci-fi version of Sliding Doors here. I want them to actually release two versions of the same film, and the audience can choose which gender of Shepard they wish to watch, just as they do in the game. How many fans would go see both?
This, I’m afraid, is likely the only way we will ever see a cinematic version of FemShep. Yet, if the producers set the casting directors to task in finding the right actress for the role, who would they choose? Bearing in mind that the character’s appearance is fully customisable, it could really be anyone, but taking the game’s FemShep alternate cover as a template, let’s also have a look and see which starlet could save the galaxy.
So here we go, two Sheps (and two films) for the price of one. (more…)
Here’s Why Nintendo Should Get Into the Movie Business
Nintendo is doomed! Doooooooommmmmmmed!
What? No. This is not going to be that kind of editorial. Per their latest financial report, Nintendo is sitting on a warchest of $10,997,600,854. Even though the company posted a major operating loss in their most recent financial quarter, they could still keep the lights on for 24 years just by dipping into their piggy bank. And while they might be conservative, they’re not as conservative as people like to think. Nintendo’s video game business was just an offshoot of their attempt to manufacture toys in the late 70s, which came after they tried operating a taxi service and running a hotel. (more…)
Continue Countdown #3 – CoD Advanced Warfare, MS @ E3 2014, Mario Kart 8, More
The film industry uses the opening of blockbuster season to signify the start of Summer. Meanwhile, the video game industry sets its seasonal clock by Activision and the announcement of the next Call of Duty game. This year’s entry stars Kevin Spacey and the staff of Warp Zoned took the time to debate his inclusion in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare in the latest episode of “Continue Countdown.”
After that, the trio of Editor-In-Chief John Scalzo, Staff Writer Mike Ryan, and special guest Adam Woolcott talked about the expunging of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and the unearthing of Atari’s E.T. landfill. Next, they examined Microsoft’s Xbox Originals film production plan and their possible E3 2014 announcements before turning to Nintendo and Fatal Frame 5‘s Japanese exclusivity, Mario Kart 8‘s free game deal, and Super Smash Bros. 4‘s Best Buy debut. Finally, we say goodbye to Bob “Mario Mario” Hoskins.
9 Topics… 30 Minutes… And Go!
Posted in Etcetera, PC, Podcast, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, E3 2014, Fatal Frame 5, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U