Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: PC
EarthNight dives onto the PC, PS4, and Switch on December 3
EarthNight is currently available to download for iOS devices through Apple’s Apple Arcade subscription service, but Cleaversoft’s hand-drawn platformer is also coming to the PC and consoles… and now we know when.
In EarthNight, dragons have captured the planet and forced the human race to take refuge on a series of massive space stations. Thankfully, a pair of heroes has emerged to take the Earth back while racing across the backs of these no-longer-mythological creatures:
Ever since dragons overtook Earth, mankind has lived in exile on space colonies orbiting the planet. Despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, the unlikely duo — a sword-wielding freelance photographer and a young student blessed with ethereal superpowers — take it upon themselves to reclaim their home by skydiving through Earth’s atmosphere and striking back against the monsters below.
The two heroes approach their dragon-slaying mission with drastically different tactics. Stanley’s powerful legs allow him to make both high jumps and long leaps, while Sydney favors agility by making use of an air dash and double jump ability. Both heroes wield their bespoke skills to overcome hostile environments and push towards the vulnerable heads of their scaled serpentine foes.
EarthNight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Switch on December 3. A new trailer showcasing the game’s hand-drawn visuals and procedurally-generated dragons has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch
Tagged EarthNight
505 Games will publish Death Stranding for PC in Summer 2020
Is Death Stranding still coming to the PC? Hideo Kojima’s bizarre new game was originally announced back in 2016 for the PC and the PS4, however, any talk of a PC launch has seemed to trail off in the intervening three years. All we really know for sure is that the game will be released for the PS4 on November 8.
But that all changed this morning as the acclaimed developer confirmed that Death Stranding is on track to make its PC debut in the “Early Summer” of 2020. Publishing duties for the game’s PC release will be handled by 505 Games, and they said that “additional details” would be announced at a later date.
In the meantime, everyone seems very excited that Death Stranding is officially in the works for the PC.
“We are so thankful to all of you who have been supporting Death Stranding so far,” said Kojima. “We have been listening to feedback from our community and are excited to bring Death Stranding to PC in early summer of next year.”
“We are extremely excited and honored to be working with the supremely talented team at Kojima Productions and to bring Death Stranding to PC gamers around the world,” said Raffi Galante, the CEO of 505 Games. “Death Stranding will take gamers through a completely original experience that will delight PC gamers everywhere.”
505 Games also confirmed that Kojima’s offer to include Conan O’Brien in Death Stranding wasn’t a joke. The comedian has indeed been added to the game’s talented roster, which also includes Mads Mikkelsen, Lea Seydoux, Guillermo Del Toro, Geoff Keighley, and Norman Reedus.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Death Stranding
EA unveils first gameplay footage from Command & Conquer Remastered
While Blizzard’s Warcraft franchise gets all the press nowadays, Westwood’s Command & Conquer also helped usher in the dawn of the real-time strategy genre back in 1995, and fans will get another chance to relive the GDI-Nod conflict in the upcoming Command & Conquer Remastered.
Currently in development at Petroglyph Games and Lemon Sky Studios, publisher Electronic Arts released the first Gameplay Trailer for Command & Conquer Remastered earlier this week, and confirmed the re-release will retain the original 2D visual style. More details about this decision can be found at EA’s official website for Command & Conquer:
We’re ready to share the Remaster has been developed in the classic 2D visual style, unlocking our ability to stay as authentic as possible to the original games. Below we’d like to provide more details on how we’re approaching these visuals, and why we felt the 2D style was the best fit for the project.
As you may remember from one of the first posts, our plan is to remaster (not remake) the classic games. Creatively, this means our guiding light has always been to remain authentic to the original feel, and we’re constantly on the lookout for ways to achieve that goal. When we recovered the source code to C&C Tiberian Dawn and C&C Red Alert, this gave us a viable avenue to accurately match the core gameplay, feel, and signature look of the legacy titles. We felt the 2D style was the best way to bring all these elements together, and ultimately achieve the authenticity we were looking for.
Command & Conquer Remastered will also feature a graphical toggle that allows players to switch between the new remastered high definition visuals and the original game’s mid-90s aesthetic.
EA isn’t ready to announce a release date for Command & Conquer Remastered, but you can discuss the game’s progress with the developers at the Command & Conquer subreddit.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Command & Conquer
Ubisoft delays Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six: Quarantine, and Watch Dogs Legion
Ubisoft had previously announced plans to release storybook adventure Gods & Monsters, co-op shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Quarantine, and the massive Watch Dogs Legion during the first three months of 2020, but that packed release schedule underwent a shakeup this afternoon.
After disappointing sales of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, the publisher decided today to devote more development time to all three titles. Each one will now be released sometime during Ubisoft’s next fiscal year, which falls between April 1st of 2020 and March 31st of 2021.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot released this statement about the delay:
In this overall context, we have decided to postpone the releases of Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six: Quarantine, and Watch Dogs Legion until [April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021]. While each of these games already has a strong identity and high potential, we want our teams to have more development time to ensure that their respective innovations are perfectly implemented so as to deliver optimal experiences for players.
Ubisoft also said that they plan to release two additional “AAA” games during their next fiscal year, though the titles went unnamed. We know that the company is currently hard at work on Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Skull & Bones, but neither has a confirmed release date as of right now.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Watch Dogs Legion
Darksiders Genesis gets a release date for PC/Google Stadia (December 9) and consoles (February 14)
THQ Nordic and Airship Syndicate have announced that Darksiders Genesis, their top-down spinoff set within the Darksiders universe, will be released for the PC and Google Stadia on December 9.
In addition to a release date for Darksiders Genesis, we also got a new trailer that teases Strife’s confrontation with Malgros the Defiler (it’s actually an expanded version of the original Announcement Trailer). The video clip definitely has a great Jabba’s Palace vibe, and even slyly hints at the game’s co-op gameplay:
Darksiders Genesis features the debut of the fourth and final horsemen – Strife – who can battle alongside his brother and fellow horsemen WAR in the first ever Darksiders two-player co-op mode. Solo players will be able to alternate between Strife and War on the fly, taking advantage of Strife’s ranged and War’s melee style attacks. Both characters can build up a special attack meter that, when activated, temporarily turns them into a colossal creature that leaves epic destruction in its wake.
Darksiders Genesis is also in development for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and the the Diablo-like game will make its console debut on February 14, 2020.
Bethesda’s Doom 64 re-release gets a new trailer
Doom 64 debuted as the official third entry in the FPS franchise for the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 1997, but id Software (and now Bethesda) has kept it locked in a vault ever since. Thankfully, that all changes next Spring when the game returns in a new re-release for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
While that wait might feel like an eternity, Bethesda did unveil a brand new trailer for Doom 64 today, and it’s been embedded above. The publisher also reconfirmed that fans who pre-order Doom Eternal will receive a free download code for Doom 64 as part of that game’s Rip and Tear Pack, which also includes the DOOT Revenant Player Skin, the Throwback Shotgun Weapon Skin, and the Cultist Base Master Level.
Doom 64 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on March 20, 2020. Doom Eternal will arrive on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on the same day, and on the Switch at a later date.
NBA 2K20 is the best-selling game from September 2019
It long ago become an annual tradition, but the latest entry in 2K’s NBA 2K franchise absolutely dominated the sales charts in September. According to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter), NBA 2K20 was not only the best-selling game from last month, but it also currently sits atop the list as the best-selling game for all of 2019 (dethroning Mortal Kombat 11).
But it’ll face some stiff competition throughout the rest of the year as a big batch of new releases took over the Top 10 including Borderlands 3 (#2), FIFA 20 (#3), The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (#4), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (#6), Code Vein (#8), and NHL 20 (#9). Microsoft’s Gears 5, which was also available to download through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, managed to make its way onto the list at #7.
However, the most surprising addition to this month’s list might be EA’s Plants Vs Zombies: Battle For Neighborville, which is currently only available as an Early Access download on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. We can expect it’s profile to rise next month as the game will make its retail debut on store shelves tomorrow.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from last month after the break. (more…)
Kickstart This! Naima’s Melody, Real Arcade Bike, and Fallen Angel
Kickstarter has been trending for all the wrong reasons recently, and that’s because the company’s interim CEO, Aziz Hasan, fired two employees who had been at the forefront of trying to unionise the crowdfunding platform’s workforce. Of course, Hasan claims that’s not why Clarissa Redwine and Taylor Moore were fired.
Legal action is now being taken by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) on behalf of Kickstarter United, the unofficial union at the heart of the matter. And Redwine directly challenged the reasoning behind her firing (given as “performance issues”) on Twitter.
Redwine is clearly a class act, because she cuts through the BS and tells people to keep supporting creators, because that is what Kickstarter is all about, and it does it far better than any other platform. Many creators and backers are taking the time to pause and reflect on whether the platform is still the right fit for them. But we’re going to follow Clarissa Redwine’s request and continue to support creators on the crowdfunding platform, while keeping a watchful eye on how the company continues to operate.
So let’s check out some games. This edition sees us humming along to Naima’s Melody, tearing up tarmac on our Real Arcade Bike, and chilling with the devil in Fallen Angel. (more…)