Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Mobile
The first Angry Birds Epic gameplay trailer is suitably epic
Healing spells… fireballs… lightning bolts… Yup, the first gameplay trailer for Angry Birds Epic proves that the game is definitely a turn-based RPG.
The free-to-play Angry Birds Epic is available now as a “soft launch” game in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Other countries will follow with a full launch planned for later this year.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Angry Birds Epic
A new trailer explores the combat and narrative of Hyper Light Drifter
A new trailer for Hyper Light Drifter has been posted to the PlayStation Blog along with more details about the game’s combat system and narrative style.
On the topic of combat, developer Alex Preston had this to say about how enemies will attack The Drifter:
Creating intelligent and tactical scenarios with enemies is key, rather than stacking cannon fodder that waits gleefully in line to get their heads chopped off. Some enemies dodge projectiles, others deflect attacks, some (the poison wolves) attack you and vulnerable enemies as a pack. We even have enemies that command weaker types in order to gain an advantage. Each encounter should feel different, and remain challenging.
And for the narrative, Preston will attempt to tell the story of Hyper Light Drifter using no dialogue:
We are wary of endless blocks of text, poorly designed UI, and explicit handholding, which can often dilute a great experience. These leave a player frustrated, or worse, disinterested. Instead, we want players to uncover the rich mythology along with the Drifter in a more organic way, with a narrative that’s not explicit. We chose to recognize that players are smart.
Dialogue and quests are presented in storyboardlike sequences, which convey a specific mood without the use of text or voiceovers. This also allows us to keep the game as visually lush as possible and break past language barriers.
If you’re interested in one of the most interesting Kickstarter success stories of 2013, the remainder of the PlayStation Blog post is a recommended read. Hyper Light Drifter will be available for PC platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) by the end of the year with PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Ouya versions coming later.
Crazy Taxi: City Rush will collect fares on mobile platforms this year
Sega’s unforgettable Crazy Taxi franchise will return later this year… but not in the way you’d expect. Hardlight Studios, Sega’s premier mobile development team, has joined forces with Kenji Kanno, the developer of the original Crazy Taxi arcade cabinet, to create Crazy Taxi: City Rush, a new entry in the series developed exclusively for iOS and Android devices.
“I’m very excited to finally be able to share with you the first news of Crazy Taxi: City Rush,” Kanno said. “We are delivering a truly fun game that captures everything our fans love about the original and infusing it with several new features to create an even more fantastic and memorable experience.”
In City Rush, players will swipe to change lanes in an all-new city setting. Our first introduction to the game, courtesy of a handful of screenshots, can be viewed at the Sega Blog:
Crazy Taxi: City Rush will launch with a wide variety of adrenaline-fueled missions, wild challenges – and unique areas to unlock, explore, and master as you progress through the campaign. Customize your cab to increase its power and visual appeal with a wide variety of over-the-top upgrades. Take your friends for a ride and blaze a trail through the city, sidewalks, and alleyways for special rewards.
Sega has “soft launched” Crazy Taxi: City Rush in several regions across the globe as a free-to-play title with a worldwide launch scheduled for later this year. In the meantime, Sega is giving players a free ride in the original Crazy Taxi. For a limited time, The game is available as a free download on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.
Angry Birds Epic is a turn-based RPG… seriously
A few weeks ago, Rovio revealed Angry Birds Stella, a girl-powered spinoff to their popular mobile franchise. While we still don’t know what kind of game Stella will be, we now know that the developer is working on another Angry Birds game that is going to be “Epic.”
Angry Birds Epic will star the titular birds and their piggie antagonists in a turn-based RPG and “an extensive crafting system.” The game will “soft launch” this week on the iOS App Store in Australia and Canada. After that, it will expand to several other countries before officially launching on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 devices later this year.
You have to hand it to Rovio, they know how to tick all the franchise boxes. In addition to the original Angry Birds trilogy, they’ve produced several crossover games (Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Star Wars I & II), a multiplayer-only version (Angry Birds Friends), a totally different type of game starring the swine (Bad Piggies), and a kart racer (Angry Birds Go!). Hey, it worked for Nintendo…
[Source: Kotaku]
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Angry Birds Epic
First R.B.I. Baseball 14 screenshots bring back the 80s sports game… literally
Today, Yahoo! Sports published the first screenshots of MLB Advanced Media’s mysterious R.B.I. Baseball 14. The game franchise was incredibly popular in the late 80s and early 90s, and the reboot will respect that heritage with its graphics and gameplay style. R.B.I Baseball 14 sidesteps the heavy duty simulation aspects of 2K’s defunct MLB 2K series and Sony’s upcoming MLB 14: The Show to bring video game baseball back to a simpler time.
But don’t think this means that R.B.I. 14 won’t feature realistic baseball. All 30 MLB teams will be represented and 480 players will be included in the game. And the developers will use real-life game metrics compiled by MLB Advanced Media to create each player’s digital self. But all of these statistics will be in service to a game that doesn’t include online multiplayer (it includes local “couch play” only) and only offers three modes: Season, Postseason, and Exhibition. It’s just like the 80s, but many don’t see that as a bad thing.
“There are people out there who would want by a pixel-by-pixel recreation of a game from that era, and there are people who want something that has more control and has more than eight teams,” said Jamie Leece, MLB Advanced Media’s Vice President of Gaming. “If you take a step back and just play the game, what we’re seeing and hearing is: ‘You’re taking me back,’ ‘It feels like the old games,’ ‘It’s so much fun.'”
R.B.I. Baseball 14 will be available as a downloadable game for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile platforms in early April (lending credence to this earlier rumor). The game will also slide onto the PS4 and Xbox One “shortly after.”
The Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided Review: Strength In Numbers
Telltale’s Walking Dead games can be tough to review. The series is so heavily focused on story that it becomes increasingly difficult to write a review without giving away some of the finer plot details. In the Walking Dead universe, characters you’ve grown attached to are taken away in the blink of an eye, and if you know what will happen beforehand, the emotional impact is greatly lessened. In that regard, I’ve opted to provide a separate, spoiler-free review of The Walking Dead Season 2: A House Divided. That way, those of you who haven’t played the game can read on, knowing that nothing will be ruined. I promise to avoid any specific information or plot points throughout the rest of the review, so you can still feel confident in reading the entire review without learning too much.
Spoiler-Free Review: The game is amazing – go buy it right now!
OK, now that we have that out of the way, on with the review. (more…)
A Playing Card With Fangs: How Puzzle Games Use Characters to Get in Our Heads
An edited and updated version of this article is now available at Video Game Canon.
As video games begin to resemble film and television productions more and more with each passing generation, it’s interesting to observe that puzzle games remain a vibrant genre. Puzzle games burst onto the scene at the very beginning, back when gaming was nothing more than a handful of pixels projected onto an old television. While everyone in the “real world” was attempting to master a Rubik’s Cube in as few moves as possible, gamers were tackling the line destruction of Breakout and the line construction Tetris. However, without realizing it, the puzzle genre became just as story-driven as everything else the game industry produces today. (more…)
Rumor: R.B.I. Baseball 14 will be released for PS3, Xbox 360, mobile platforms in April
Back in January, Major League Baseball announced that the R.B.I. Baseball franchise would be coming out of retirement sometime this Spring. Since then, we’ve heard absolutely nothing about the game, but R.B.I. Baseball 14 is supposedly in development for “current and next generation consoles and smartphones and tablets” at MLB Advanced Media, the league’s in-house technology group.
Even though details about R.B.I. Baseball 14 are scarcer than a Mets playoff appearance, Darren Rovell, ESPN’s Sports Business Reporter, has tweeted that the game will be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile platforms on April 10:
MLBAM has set its release date for R.B.I. Baseball. PS3 & Xbox 360 hits April 10, same for iOS and Android versions.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) March 7, 2014
Can R.B.I. Baseball 14 make its April release date when its little more than a logo and a teaser website right now? I have my doubts, but I guess we’ll see.