Warp Zoned Presents
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Doom, Doom II, and Doom 3 now available for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One
Well this is a nice surprise.
Bethesda kicked off this year’s QuakeCon by announcing that Doom (1993), Doom II: Hell On Earth, and Doom 3 are all now available to download for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Mobile players can also now download the first two games in the series through the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store for the first time.
Doom (1993) and Doom II: Hell On Earth will feature splitscreen deathmatch and co-op on consoles, while all three games will come complete with their expansion packs on all platforms:
Doom (1993)
First released in 1993, Doom introduced millions of gamers to the fast-paced, white-knuckle, demon-slaying action the franchise is known for. The game also includes the expansion, Episode IV: Thy Flesh Consumed, and the console versions will allow players to duke it out in split-screen four-player deathmatch, as well as split-screen co-op.Doom II: Hell On Earth
This beloved sequel to the groundbreaking Doom gave players the brutal Super Shotgun to bear against deadlier demons, and the infamous boss, the Icon of Sin. The re-release of Doom II includes The Master Levels for Doom II, and the console versions will allow users to play split-screen four-player deathmatch, as well as split-screen co-op.Doom 3
In this critically acclaimed action-horror re-telling of the original Doom, players must battle their way through a demon-infested facility before entering the abyss to battle Hell’s mightiest warrior… and put an end to the invasion. Doom 3 also includes the Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Missions expansion packs.
Fingers crossed that Doom 64 is next up for a re-release, but it’s complicated development history means I’m not getting my hopes up.
Super Mario Maker 2 builds its way to the top of June 2019’s list of best-selling games
It was only available on store shelves for a handful days during the month, but Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker 2 has been crowned the best-selling game of June 2019 by The NPD Group.
According to the analyst firm’s rankings (as posted by NPD’s Mat Piscatella on Twitter), Super Mario Maker 2 fended off a challenge by fellow new release Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled (which took the #2 spot) to come out on top, as well as surging sales from Mortal Kombat 11 (#3), Grand Theft Auto V (#4), and Minecraft (#5). No other new release managed to break into the Top 20, but more mainstays filled out the rest of the list, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (#6), Mario Kart 8 (#9), Red Dead Redemption 2 (#12), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#13).
However, without a robust new release slate, overall sales for the gaming industry dropped slightly in June 2019 versus a year ago. According to NPD, total sales of hardware, software, and accessories reached $959 million last month, a 13% decline from June 2018.
Unsurprisingly, the Switch was the best-selling hardware platform last month, and that’s unlikely to change throughout the year as the launch of the Switch Lite approaches and as gamers continue to save their pennies for the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from June 2019 after the break. (more…)
Doom: Annihilation will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 1
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has announced they’ll release Doom: Annihilation on Blu-ray and DVD on October 1… just in time for the spooky season.
Doom: Annihilation is a Direct-To-Video reboot for the film franchise, and it won’t have any connection to 2005’s Doom (which, believe it or not, starred The Rock before he became one of the biggest movie stars in the world). Nor is it based on id Software’s excellent Doom 2016 or it’s upcoming sequel, Doom Eternal. However, it is rated R (for “bloody violence and language throughout”), and it has portals to Hell, a bunch of nasty demons, and a platoon of space marines to serve as gory cannon fodder:
Based on the popular original video game, Doom: Annihilation is an explosive, terrifying thrill ride. On the darkest moon of Mars, scientists have found an ancient portal which allows teleportation throughout the universe. Considered to be mankind’s greatest discovery, it’s actually a gateway from Hell, unleashing a swarm of demons looking to steal the souls of everyone who gets in their way. It’s up to Lieutenant Joan Dark and an elite unit of Marines to destroy an ever-growing horde of bloodsucking and soul-stealing beasts and prevent them from taking over planet Earth.
Doom: Annihilation probably won’t be a cinematic masterpiece, but there’s surely worse ways to fill time on a dreary October day.
Activision will reveal Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s “Multiplayer Universe” on August 1
Activision and Infinity Ward have announced that fans will get their first glimpse at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s brand new “Multiplayer Universe” on August 1. Fans are encouraged to tune in to Call of Duty’s official Twitch channel for the full reveal:
As players enlist in the heart-racing Modern Warfare story, multiplayer continues the experience as players head online into the ultimate playground for the global balance of power. Featuring unified progression across modes, Modern Warfare seeks to unite the community with plans to support cross-play across platforms and the removal of the traditional season pass in order to deliver a greater mix of more free maps, content, and community events post-launch.
In the meantime, the publisher has unveiled one piece of Modern Warfare’s new online muliplayer experience, the 2v2 Gunfight Mode, on their Activision Games Blog. Gunfight is a made scramble that features 40-second rounds which take place on a series of “custom-made [and] confined” maps. A duo is victorious after securing six wins, and Activision has described the mode as very similar to “a fighting game with armaments and set in the Call of Duty universe.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 25.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Blazing Chrome’s Launch Trailer includes one last blast of the game’s Contra-inspired visuals
The Arcade Crew and JoyMasher have finally put all the finishing touches on Blazing Chrome, and the two companies launched the side-scrolling shooter for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One earlier today. They also delivered a retro-tastic Launch Trailer for the game, which was inspired by Contra and Metal Slug, that includes a very era-appropriate live-action intro:
The Arcade Crew has released a fittingly retro gameplay trailer celebrating humanity’s uprising to properly introduce the resistance’s two leading warriors; Marva, a resilient soldier who’s here to chew bubblegum while kicking ass, and Doyle, a robot who’s had a deadly change of heart.
With a varied arsenal of distinctive weapons, badass pilotable mechs and vehicles, and unlockable characters to help curb the AI army’s ruthless oppression, Blazing Chrome plays the way you remember classic action games feeling. JoyMasher’s modern refinements to that satisfying shoot-em-up playstyle will make scrapping hordes of mechanized foes and skyscraper-sized bosses feel as comfortable as getting back on that hoverbike you haven’t rode in years.
Blazing Chrome is now available to download, but it’ll also be available this Fall as a physical release from Limited Run Games for the PS4 and Switch.
Level-5’s Hino Yoshihiro confirms that multiple Ni No Kuni games are currently in development
Hino Yoshihiro, the President of Level-5, recently sat down for an interview with Japanese newspaper Nikkei, and he had a few things to say about the future of the Ni No Kuni franchise.
Yoshihiro told the newspaper that he wants to release multiple new games in the series after the animated film adaptation, which will be released in Japan in August. The developer will start this ambitious plan right away with the launch of a Remastered version of Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for the PC, PS4, and Switch in September.
After that, Yoshihiro said he would like to take “a new approach” with future installments in the franchise (all but confirming Ni No Kuni 3), while also adding that Ni No Kuni games will also continue to be associated with smartphones.
Aside from Wrath of the White Witch Remastered, nothing is known about most of the new Ni No Kuni games in development, and it’s possible it could be a very long time before we learn more.
Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2019 bestows “Best of Show” on Final Fantasy VII Remake
Final Fantasy VII is more than 20 years old, but Square Enix’s radically reimagined Final Fantasy VII Remake received top marks at E3 2019 from the Game Critics Awards’s judging panel. The game, which will launch next Spring, took home the coveted “Best of Show” award, and it was also honored as “Best RPG” and “Best Console Game.”
The judging panel spread the rest of the awards around, and Bethesda’s Doom Eternal was the only other game to collect multiple wins (“Best PC Game” and “Best Action Game”). The wide range of other winners included Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds (“Best Original Game”), Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs Legion (“Best Action/Adventure Game”), Nintendo Luigi’s Mansion 3 (“Best Family/Social Game”), among others.
While Sony and Microsoft kept fairly quiet about the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett, Microsoft still managed to lock down “Best Hardware/Peripheral” with the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. And CD Projekt Red took home yet another “Special Commendation for Graphics” thanks to Cyberpunk 2077.
The full list of winners from the Game Critics Awards’s Best of E3 2019 Awards can be found after the break. (more…)
Sony Pictures is producing a live-action television series based on Final Fantasy XIV
Sony Pictures has announced they are currently hard at work on a live-action Final Fantasy television series. There’s no word yet on when the show will debut, or what platform it’ll appear on, but I have to imagine it’ll take some time for the producers to procure a substantial enough wig budget.
That’s more or less a joke, but it’s also a bit staggering to even think about what Sony Pictures is attempting here. As a franchise that stretches back more than three decades (and across dozens of games), there is a lot of Final Fantasy lore to mine for a live-action adaptation. According to the announcement, the show will be partly based on Final Fantasy XIV, telling “an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea” and featuring a starring role for Cid.
Like most entries in the franchise, the Final Fantasy television series will “explore the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict.” Viewers will also be introduced to magitek, beastmen, airships, and chocobos in future episodes.
Sony Pictures has partnered with Square Enix to develop the Final Fantasy television series, so we know the creators of the franchise will have some say in how its live-action debut plays out. Hivemind’s Jason Brown, Sean Daniel, and Dinesh Shamdasani (the same team behind the Netflix-bound adaptation of The Witcher) will executive produce the show, while Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton have been hired as writers.
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS4
Tagged Final Fantasy XIV