Warp Zoned Presents
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Blizzard provides an updated look at Diablo Immortal at BlizzCon 2019
It might be hard to believe, but Blizzard executives didn’t include a single mention of Diablo Immortal during BlizzCon 2019’s Opening Ceremony.
OK, it might not be that hard to believe, as the RPG franchise’s upcoming mobile spinoff received a very rough reception in 2018. But with Diablo IV taking center stage this year, that gave Blizzard the chance to quietly update fans on Immortal’s progress with a new trailer.
There’s a lot to digest in this video clip, including the introduction of Ultimate Abilities and our first look at the Demon Hunter class, and Blizzard shared a few more details on their official website:
Last year’s demo revealed the Barbarian, Monk, and Wizard, playable in a streamlined dungeon experience. This year, attendees will also be able to take the Demon Hunter for a spin (or Strafe) through a slice of open-world gameplay through the town of Wortham and the outdoor zone of Ashwold Cemetary.
We’ve added a new base game mechanic: Ultimate Abilities. All classes gain charge for their chosen Ultimate by using basic attacks. Once this charge has been built up, players can choose to augment their basic attack for a short time in a face-meltingly powerful display of strength, guile, or raw magical potential.
We’re also sharing a first look at our equipment system, including the first batch of skill-altering Legendary items. Turn your Scorch’s burning fireball into an icy Frozen Orb, change up how Exploding Palm targets foes and dishes out damage, or transform deadly arrows into grenades when using Strafe.
Though it was first unveiled more than a year ago, Blizzard still isn’t ready to talk about a release date for Diablo Immortal, but we do that it’s “currently planned” for iPhone and Android devices.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Diablo Immortal
EA: Multiple unannounced games coming in 2020, next Battlefield scheduled for 2021, and Dragon Age 4 is in the works for 2022 (or later)
Executives from Electronic Arts had a lot to talk about yesterday during their latest quarterly financial report. So let’s dive right in…
CEO Andrew Wilson kicked things off by confirming that the next game in the Battlfield franchise is being prepped to launch sometime during the company’s 2022 Fiscal Year (which runs from April 1, 2021 – March 30, 2022) for the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett. In the meantime, developer DICE will spend 2020 creating updates and new content for Battlefield V:
Our Battlefield franchise and its community are also a major focus for us, and we’ll add new content and new ways to play Battlefield V in FY ’21. Targeting new innovation that will be enabled by next-gen platforms and a growing install base on the new consoles, our next Battlefield game is set for FY ’22.
With one of the company’s strongest developers taking an extra year to polish their next game, you might be wondering what EA has on tap for 2020. Thankfully, COO Blake Jorgensen used his portion of the presentation to fill in the gaps.
Jorgensen said that EA has multiple unannounced titles scheduled for release in 2020, including a pair of games from the publisher’s EA Partners program, and possibly at least one remaster (which would release alongside the already-announced Command & Conquer Remastered). He also talked quite a bit about Apex Legends, and confirmed that EA’s shooter will be coming to “new platforms and mobile” in the near future. While it’s possible he’s referencing the Switch in that quote, he’s more likely referring to the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett.
Looking further out, Jorgensen even mused about the status of Dragon Age 4. According to the executive, fans shouldn’t expect the next entry in BioWare’s acclaimed RPG franchise to arrive before EA’s 2023 Fiscal Year (which begins on April 1, 2022).
Finally, Andrew Wilson came back around to comment on the recent decision by the NCAA to allow college athletes to receive monetary compensation for their name or likeness. While many fans are hoping this means that EA will resume production on the NCAA Football franchise, Wilson would only say that the company is watching the situation closely:
With respect to NCAA Sports in general, yes, we have been in that business before as well. We saw the news today as did you, said by the NCAA Working Group. That news today was new to us. We’re still digesting it. We would anticipate that there is still a number of things that would have to happen over the coming years before we will be able to get back into that business, but certainly we’re watching closely.
EA’s next major releases, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Need For Speed Heat, will both be released in November.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Tagged Apex Legends, Battlefield V, Command & Conquer, Dragon Age 4
League of Legends will come to consoles and mobile devices in 2020 as League of Legends: Wild Rift
League of Legends helped kickstart the frenzy for free-to-play gaming after its launch in 2009. But for the past decade, Riot Games has kept it locked up tight on the PC… until now.
Earlier today, the developer announced League of Legends: Wild Rift, a new version of the 5v5 MOBA rebuilt and redesigned specifically for consoles and mobile devices. Wild Rift will feature a brand new map designed for “faster games and revamped controls,” and it’ll include roughly 40 Champions at launch (with more on the way):
Features
- Welcome to Wild Rift – Skillful outplays. Brilliant maneuvers. The occasional throw. League of Legends is coming to mobile and console!
- Real-Life Roaming – Keep your winstreak alive wherever you go. Jump into a match with your Wild Rift party in seconds, even when you’re away from your PC.
- The Rift, Rebuilt – Team up to take down the enemy Nexus on a new 5v5 map designed for new platforms, with faster games and revamped controls.
- Familiar Faces – Blast the bad guys with Lux’s laser or outplay the opposition with a pixel-perfect windwall. Champions play authentically to League, with slight changes for more thumb-friendly casting. League of Legends: Wild Rift will launch with around 40 Champions. More will follow over time.
Like the original game, Wild Rift will be available as a free-to-play download. As of right now, Riot expects to make the game available for Android and iOS devices by the end of 2020, with a console debut sometime after that (and no, they’re not ready to announce which consoles Wild Rift is in development for).
In the meantime, an Announcement Trailer for League of Legends: Wild Rift has been embedded above.
Fortnite relaunches with a new map and new features as Fortnite: Chapter 2
Fortnite blipped out of existence on Sunday, as Epic Games closed out Season X of the battle royale shooter with a barrage of missiles that sucked players (and the entire game world) into a black hole. But this fiery end also gave players the chance at a new beginning, and Fortnite returned this morning after a 36-hour maintenance period as Fortnite: Chapter 2.
The world of Fortnite has changed in Chpater 2, thanks to a new map with 13 new locations to explore (including a power plant and a dam), and new features to play with.
Players interested in getting wet and wild in Chapter 2 can go fishing, pilot a motoboat, or swim for shore. Teams can also interact like never before as players can carry fallen teammates to safety, celebrate with a group high five, or get healthy with the new Bandage Bazooka. But players looking to cause a little mayhem will also get their shot in Fortnite: Chapter 2. Hiding places (like haystacks) now dot the map and Epic Games remembered their 90s-era roots with the addition of exploding barrels and gas tanks.
Fortnite: Chapter 2 is now available to download for the PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and mobile devices. A trailer showcasing many of the new features and locales has been embedded above.
Bandai Namco will bring Pac-Man Party Royale to Apple Arcade before the end of the year
Bandai Namco has announced that the Pac is coming back later this year. Today, the publisher confirmed that they’ll launch Pac-Man Party Royale for iOS devices before the end of the year.
As you might expect, the multiplayer muncher will be available as part of Apple’s Apple Arcade subscription service:
Players will be able to challenge their friends in this brand-new Pac-Man experience, mixing the instant fun of retro arcade fun and modern multiplayer gameplay. In Pac-Man Party Roayle, four players will battle to determine who’s the best Pac-Man left chomping at the end of the stage.
The rules are simple, players eat pellets to gain speed or munch on the Super Pellet that will turn them into an unstoppable chomping machine, eating foes and friends alike. Eaten players will turn into ghosts, but they can come back to life by catching other players. The most famous video game bug of all time will also make its way to the new game, so beware of the 256 Glitch! If a winner isn’t crowned within a certain time, the maze will start to collapse until there is only one Pac-Man left!
It’s unknown if Pac-Man Party Royale will eventually make its way to other platforms, but Bandai Namco did promise that the game will expand after its release with “more mazes and game modes.”
Batman Day comes to Fortnite for the next two weeks
Today is Batman Day, DC’s annual celebration of the Caped Crusader and everything that makes him one of the great comics characters of all time. So naturally, they decided to team up with Fortnite for a special “Fortnite X Batman” crossover.
Beginning today an running through Sunday, October 6, the event will give players access to some of Batman’s most famous gadgets (the Batman Grapnel Gun and an Explosive Batarang), as well as a pair of costumes (the Batman Comic Book Outfit and The Dark Knight Movie Outfit). A Catwoman costume will also be available.
According to Epic’s official website, part of Gotham City will also be recreated on the map:
A Rift Zone has brought Gotham City to Fortnite. Of course, it wouldn’t be Gotham City if villainy didn’t come along with it. This POI lets you be the hero the citizens of Gotham City need by giving you your own Batman cape and the power of Glider Redeploy!
More details about the Fortnite X Batman crossover can be found on the Patch Notes page.
Dodge Roll launches Exit the Gungeon as timed-exclusive for Apple Arcade… so here’s a Launch Trailer
Apple launched their Apple Arcade subscription service earlier this week, and among the dozens of new games from high profile publishers and developers is Exit the Gungeon, a sequel/spinoff to Enter the Gungeon from Dodge Roll Games and Singlecore Games.
Unlike Enter the Gungeon, Exit the Gungeon is a side-scrolling shooter that tasks players with escaping from the titular catacomb after the past has been erased. Yikes. Thankfully, players will be equipped with plenty of ammo to make this less of a problem, as you can see from the Launch Trailer embedded above.
Exit the Gungeon is currently available to download for iOS devices through the Apple Arcade, but according to the developer (via Reddit), it will eventually make its way to other platforms. Dodge Roll is also planning to release multiple free updates for Exit the Gungeon, so the game it is today won’t be the game it is eventually.
Hopefully we’ll learn more about Exit the Gungeon’s update schedule soon. But in the meantime, you might be interested to know that even though the side-scrolling shooter is “just” a mobile game, it has full controller support on Apple Arcade.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Exit the Gungeon
Exit the Gungeon is a side-scrolling spinoff of Enter the Gungeon… and it’s coming to iOS devices
Apple has signed up a few high-profile developers to deliver content for their upcoming Apple Arcade subscription service, and today they locked up another one as Dodge Roll Games has announced that Exit the Gungeon will be available to download for Mac, Apple TV, and iOS devices soon.
Exit the Gungeon is a side-scrolling spinoff of Enter the Gungeon that eschews the overhead dungeon crawling of its predecessor and embraces a new focus on vertical combat as the world’s first “dungeon climber”:
Exit the Gungeon is a bullet hell dungeon climber immediately following the adventures of the misfit “Gungeoneers” and their journey for personal absolution in Enter the Gungeon.
Spoilers: The Gungeon has become a paradox and is collapsing. Armed with an ever-changing weapon, an insatiable need to loot, and a signature trusty dodge roll, each of our heroes must ascend and escape via their own unique route of increasingly perilous elevators. Battle against the last and most bitter of the Gundead at a frantic pace, slowing down just long enough to chat with some familiar faces… and a few new ones. Shifting rooms, enemies, bosses, bizarre weapons, and items all combine to ensure that no two attempts to finish Exit the Gungeon play out the same.
Devolver Digital will publish Exit the Gungeon, which will be co-developed by Singlecore Games. Presumably, it’ll make it’s way to other platforms after some period of exclusivity on Apple Arcade.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC
Tagged Exit the Gungeon