Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Mobile
RBI Baseball 15 will suit up for new-gen consoles, mobile devices, and PC this Spring
MLB Advanced Media has announced that the RBI Baseball franchise will get a sophomore season on consoles, mobile devices, and the PC. The retro-inspired RBI Baseball 15 will be available to download this Spring for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, as well as on iOS and Android devices.
Fans who picked up the first game were quite vocal about its many flaws, and MLB Advanced Media has promised to incorporate this feedback into the sequel. That means redone graphics, full stat tracking, customizable rosters, and several other new features:
- Ballparks: Completely redesigned authentic Major League ballparks for all 30 franchises, each crafted with detailed design characteristics fans will easily recognize.
- Full Rosters: Play with complete 25-man Major League rosters for all 30 teams, modifying your batting order or pitching rotation at any point. Set the active 25-man roster from each franchise’s 40-man roster.
- Stat Tracking: Track batting and pitching statistics in season mode for the first time ever, including viewable team, player and season league leaderboards.
- Online Play: Choose to play in online multiplayer mode in friendly and ranked games.
- Gameplay Settings: Pick your competition level with Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulty levels.
Even though RBI Baseball 15 is a download-only title, Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has signed on as the game’s “cover athlete.” MLB Advanced Media has also signed future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez to serve as a pitchman for the game.
Shadow of Mordor wins eight awards at 2015 DICE Awards but not Game of the Year
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor won eight awards during last night’s DICE Awards ceremony (out of nine nominations), but it was unable to snag the big prize. Instead, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences chose to award “Game of the Year” to BioWare’s Dragon Age: Inquisition.
But don’t feel too bad for Monolith Productions and their romp through the Lord of the Rings universe. Shadow of Mordor’s eight wins included “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction,” “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design,” “Outstanding Innovation in Gaming,” “Outstanding Achievement in Animation,” “Outstanding Achievement in Character,” “Outstanding Achievement in Story,” and “Outstanding Technical Achievement.”
The third game in the Dragon Age series was only able to walk away with a single other award: “Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year.”
Bungie’s Destiny (which took home four awards) and Blizzard’s Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (“Mobile Game of the Year” and “Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year”) were the only other multi-award winners last night. Though Nintendo’s pair of Smash Bros. games were awarded “Handheld Game of the Year” (Super Smash Bros. For 3DS) and “Fighting Game of the Year” (Super Smash Bros. For Wii U).
The complete list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Asher Vollmer’s Close Castles is on hold because it’s not very enjoyable
You might not know Asher Vollmer’s name, but you certainly know his work. Vollmer was one-third of Sirvo, the impromptu development team behind the mobile blockbuster Threes. More recently, Vollmer has been working on Close Castles, a real-time strategy game for the PS4 that he says is for people who hate real-time strategy games. But right now it looks like it’s not for anybody as Vollmer has confirmed (via Twitter) that the development of Close Castles is currently on hold.
Close Castles has been set aside for now because Vollmer believes that the game isn’t very enjoyable in its current state. The developer further states that he’s “designed [himself] into a corner” and that he’ll have to “overhaul the game” before he can release it to bring it up to his standards.
In the meantime, Vollmer has begun work on a brand new mobile game that he’s not ready to talk about yet. Hopefully we’ll learn more about it (and the future of Close Castles) soon.
Posted in Mobile, News, PS4
Tagged Close Castles
Kickstart This! Elventales, Threshold, Maestros of the Anthymn
After an extended Christmas break, Kickstart This! is back with a vengeance, sifting through the crowdfunding projects of early 2015 to find those few that stand out from the digital masses. And even better, Kickstarter has now dropped Amazon payments in favour of payment system Stripe, which means not only is it easier for developers to set up payments, but there are also fewer steps for players to make them. Everyone wins.
This week there is top-down RPG Elventales: A Path Foreseen, beautiful hand-painted 2D platformer Threshold, and finally, episodic fantasy adventure tale Maestros of the Anthymn.
Let the adventure begin! (more…)
Here’s the launch trailer for Game of Thrones: The Lost Lords… because it launches today
The second episode of Telltale’s Game of Thrones adaptation, Game of Thrones: The Lost Lords, is all set to be released this week on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile platforms. So naturally, Telltale has released a brand new launch trailer for the game. In case you need to be caught up, here’s what players can expect from The Lost Lords:
House Forrester is in disarray. Their liege lord and his heir are dead, and Ironrath is occupied by Whitehill soldiers. The survival of the family depends upon those who are left.
Placed at King’s Landing, the epicenter of intrigue, Mira Forrester must weigh her loyalty to Margaery Tyrell against the needs of her family, while choosing how to play the political games of Tyrion Lannister. One misstep could spell doom for Mira and her entire family. To the far north, Gared Tuttle finds that the wall and its crows hold little love for a squire from the Wolfswood, but finds kinship in the bastard son of Ned Stark.
Gared must prove worthy of becoming a ranger in order to carry out the mission given him; one that is vital to the future of those he serves. To the east, Asher Forrester, the exiled son, is called back to Westeros to aid his family, but how can one man help when the Boltons rule the north with an iron fist? Meanwhile, an unexpected source of hope returns to the Forresters, but Ironrath is no place for the weak.
Telltale has planned a staggered release schedule for Game of Thrones: The Lost Lords. PC, PS3, and PS4 players will be able to play it beginning today while Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners will have to wait until tomorrow. Finally, Android and iOS will get a crack at The Lost Lords on Thursday.
Sony sells SOE to investment firm; New company hints at Xbox development
Columbus Nova, an investment management firm, has announced that they’ve acquired Sony Online Entertainment lock, stock, and barrel. The deal includes all of SOE’s development studios as well as the rights to their entire game portfolio including EverQuest, EverQuest II, PlanetSide 2, DC Universe Online, H1Z1, Landmark, and the upcoming EverQuest Next.
A new name comes with the new owners and SOE will be known as Daybreak Game Company from now on. A non-Sony owner also means that some of SOE’s biggest titles will make their way to the Xbox One and mobile platforms in the not-so-distant future.
“We are excited to join Columbus Nova’s impressive roster of companies. They have a proven track record in similar and related industries and we are eager to move forward to see how we can push the boundaries of online gaming,” said John Smedley, the President of Daybreak Game Company. “We will continue to focus on delivering exceptional games to players around the world, as well as bringing our portfolio to new platforms, fully embracing the multiplatform world in which we all live.”
According a post on the SOE Community Forum, it will “business as usual” for SOE as they transition to their new life under Daybreak Game Company. So things shouldn’t change too much for current players in the near-term.
Liam Neeson seeks his revenge in this Clash of Clans Super Bowl commercial
Laim Neeson is quite taken with Clash of Clans. The actor, who has made a career out of threatening people with his Irish baritone, starred in a Super Bowl XLIX commercial for the mobile game last night.
A description of what transpires in the 60-second spot won’t do it justice. You need to see it for yourself. Oh, and pray for BigBuffetBoy85, he’s going to need all the help he can get.
Sega to institute layoffs, early retirement program as company continues to struggle
Sega (which officially does business under the Sega Sammy Holdings name) has been dealing with financial difficulties for some time, but it looks like their latest round of problems will result in some big changes for the company.
Sega’s Board of Directors met this morning and hammered out a restructuring plan that they believe will help the company’s financial position in the future. Unfortunately, a key part of that plan will involve an unspecified number of layoffs and a voluntary early requirement program that the company will offer to 300 employees. Some of the layoffs will come from Sega of America, which will be moving from its current headquarters in San Francisco to a smaller facility somewhere in Southern California.
The restructuring, which is expected to be completed by the Summer, will also lead to a new focus on downloadable titles developed for smartphones and the PC. Sega is also heavily involved in big budget and mid-tier on consoles and the PC, but it’s currently unknown how this plan will affect the company’s internal development teams.