Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: PS4
Beamdog will bring Interplay’s classic D&D RPGs to consoles this Fall
A few months ago, publisher Skybound Games and developer Beamdog announced plans to bring Interplay’s classic range of RPGs based on Dungeons & Dragons to consoles for the first time. Today, we learned a bit more about how they plan to release those games this Fall.
The two companies will kick things off on September 24, with the launch of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition and Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Both RPGs will be available to download individually for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. They’ll also be packaged together as a retail compilation (The Baldur’s Gate Pack) on all three platforms. The Tales of the Sword Coast and Siege of Dragonspear expansions will be included with the first game, as will the Throne of Bhaal expansion with the sequel.
Planescape: Torment – Enhanced Edition and Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition will also be available to download for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One that same day. Though they’re not part of the same franchise, both games will be collected together in a retail release, and Icewind Dale will come packaged with both of its expansions (Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster) whether you buy the disc or a digital download.
Finally, a Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition will make its PS4, Switch, and Xbox One debut on December 3. Containing the original game and all ten of its expansions, players will be able to explore the city of Neverwinter in co-op and online multiplayer.
The developer has added a number of new features to each Enhanced Edition, including “support for high-resolution widescreen displays, optimized controls for console controllers, new standalone content, new characters and classes, new voice sets, expanded character creation options, improved multiplayer functionality, redesigns of the UI and UX, bug fixes, balance changes, and more.”
A trailer offering up some new gameplay footage of each Enhanced Edition has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment
THQ Nordic will unveil Darksiders 4 at E3 2019
The Electronic Software Association has posted the descriptions for this year’s series of E3 Coliseum panel talks at the E3 Expo. Naturally, much of the descriptions are hidden behind “To Be Announced” text, but a few surprises did manage to squeak through.
Darksiders fans will want to tune in on June 13 when Geoff Keighley, E3 Coliseum’s Producer, sits down with the game’s developers and helps them unveil the next game in the franchise. The currently-untitled Darksiders 4 will presumably turn its focus on the only member of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse yet to receive his own game, Strife:
Darksiders: Action Adventure Evolved
A discussion about the inception of the Darksiders universe and where it’s headed next. This panel will coincide with the E3 2019 unveil of a brand new Darksiders game that takes the franchise in a fresh direction. This is a panel discussion about the art and business of creating and maintaining an action adventure franchise rich in-game and corporate lore.
The most recent game in the series, Darksiders III, launched last November, and it was developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ Nordic.
Activision confirms Call of Duty 2019 will launch on October 25 and that it’ll be known as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
With Infinity Ward at the helm, it was widely expected that Call of Duty 2019 would eventually be revealed as a new entry in the Modern Warfare series. Well, today is that day… but with a twist.
Activision has officially announced that the next Call of Duty game is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and it’ll be available on October 25. This new Modern Warfare is a reboot for the sub-series, but things might get confusing as it mostly shares a title with 2016’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (which was itself a redo of 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare).
OK, it’s probably not that confusing. And rebooted games do have a history of recycling the original title (say hello to Tomb Raider, Doom, God of War, and many others). But Activision and Infinity Ward want to redefine what Modern Warfare means to fans with an immersive new Campaign that, according to the Activision Games Blog, “shines a light on the changing nature of modern war”:
The new Modern Warfare delivers an emotionally charged and intense campaign that shines a light on the changing nature of modern war. Expect a single-player experience that is edgy, culturally relevant, and thought-provoking.
Players will fight alongside a diverse cast of international special forces and freedom fighters working within the grey area of their rules of engagement, in a number of heart-pounding covert operations set throughout iconic European cities and into the volatile expanses of the Middle East.
Missions include close-quarter, stealth operations and long-range combat that puts tactical decision-making to the ultimate test.
Fans of the franchise will also be pleased to hear that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will feature a brand new engine (which supports “the latest advancements in visual engineering”) and offer full cross-play between platforms in online multiplayer and co-op modes. Activision and Infinity Ward are also eliminating the traditional Season Pass to focus on “free maps and content” and “post-launch events” for all players.
“Every design decision has been made with our players in mind,” said Patrick Kelly, the Creative Director of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. “With the launch of Modern Warfare, we’re taking steps to unite the community. First, we plan for Modern Warfare to be played together across PC and console through cross-play support. Second, we’re eliminating the traditional season pass, so that we can deliver more free maps and content as well as post-launch events to all players. This is just the beginning… there’s much more to come.”
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The seriously-minded first trailer has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Ghostbusters Remastered is coming to PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One this year
Dan Aykroyd spent decades trying to produce a third movie in the Ghostbusters franchise, but that dream ended in 2014 with the tragic death of Harold Ramis, Aykroyd’s writing partner on Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II. The comedian also anchored the original foursome on-screen with his brilliantly deadpan portrayal of Dr. Egon Spengler.
Aside from the cartoon series (which actually treated the films as fictional recreations of the “Real” story) and the 2016 reboot, Aykroyd came closest with 2009’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game, a collaboration with Atari that allowed him to bring back most of the characters from the film franchise for a new story set two years after Ghostbusters II. He even rounded up Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, and Annie Potts to provide their voices for the game.
Fast forward to today, and Saber Interactive has announced they will re-release Ghostbusters: The Video Game in celebration of the film franchise’s 35th anniversary as Ghostbusters Remastered for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One:
As the new rookie on the Ghostbusters crew, you’ll team up with your favorite characters from the films, reunited by the voices of Aykroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray, and Ernie Hudson as Stantz, Spengler, Venkman, and Zeddemore, alongside Annie Potts, Brian Doyle-Murray, William Atherton and Max Von Sydow. Manhattan is overrun once more by ghosts, demons and other paranormal creatures unleashed by a mysterious force, and only the Ghostbusters can drive this evil back to whatever dimension it crawled from and save the Big Apple.
Hunt, fight and trap a variety of new and familiar ghouls and phantasms, all remastered in HD resolution. Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered equips you with cool gadgets and upgradeable weapons to play with in huge boss fights and destructible environments. Scan and analyze targets with the P.K.E. Meter and Paragoggles, then strap on your Proton Pack to wear ghosts down with the blast stream before wrangling them with the capture stream.
Ghostbusters Remastered will be released sometime this year, and the first trailer has been embedded above.
Square Enix’s Avengers Project will make its public debut at E3 2019
It’s been more than two years since Marvel and Square Enix first announced their ambitious Avengers Project. Unlike the rapidly expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (eight films have opened since the announcement, including the saga’s temporary finale, Avengers: Endgame), we haven’t learned much of anything about the game as neither the comics giant nor its developers (which include Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal) have felt the need to publicly discuss it in all that time.
Today, Marvel finally broke the silence and confirmed (via Twitter) that The Avengers Project will make its public debut ahead of this year’s E3 Expo. Representatives from Square Enix will reveal the game for the first time during their Square Enix Live presentation on June 10th.
Interestingly, the tweet also referred to the game’s title as Marvel’s Avengers:
Tune into Square Enix Live E3 2019 for the worldwide reveal of "Marvel’s Avengers"! ?️ The event begins June 10th at 6pm PT: https://t.co/SCYMbJYt8j #SquareEnixE3 #Reassemble #PlayAvengers pic.twitter.com/2fWM6ekUue
— The Avengers (@Avengers) May 29, 2019
The Avengers Project (or Marvel’s Avengers, if you prefer) is believed to be in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game doesn’t currently have a launch date, but Square Enix has said they plan to release multiple games before the end of the year.
Konami unveils full game lineup for Contra Anniversary Collection
We still aren’t sure when Konami plans to release the Contra Anniversary Collection, but we now know which games made the cut. As revealed on IGN, the compilation will include the first seven games in the series, as well as three regional variants.
Contra on the NES was a completely different game from its earlier arcade incarnation, but the version released in Japan for the Famicom was just as unique, adding between-level cutscenes and updated visuals. Konami will include all three versions as part of the Contra Anniversary Collection.
In Europe, Konami swapped out the Contra name and launched the franchise under the Probotector banner, replacing Bill and Lance with robotic doppelgangers known as RD008 and RC011. Contra III: The Alien Wars is probably the high watermark for the franchise, and it made its European debut as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. Two years later, Contra: Hard Corps was released across the pond in a much easier version known simply as Probotector. All four games will be included in the Contra Anniversary Collection.
Rounding out the compilation is the arcade-only Super Contra (and it’s NES adaptation, Super C), as well as the portable Operation C:
Games Included in Contra Anniversary Collection
- Contra (Arcade – North America)
- Contra (NES – North America)
- Contra (Famicom – Japan)
- Super Contra (Arcade – North America)
- Super C (NES – North America)
- Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES – North America)
- Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (Super NES – Europe)
- Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Genesis – North America)
- Probotector (Sega Mega Drive – Europe)
- Operation C (Game Boy – North America)
Like the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Konami will add six Japanese variants to their Contra compilation through a free update. These variants include Contra (Arcade), Super Contra (Arcade), Super C (Famicom), Contra III: The Alien Wars (Super NES), Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Mega Drive), and Operation C (Game Boy).
The Contra Anniversary Collection will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One sometime this Summer.
Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling game on all platforms in April 2019
The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella has given us a look (via Twitter) at the best-selling games from April 2019.
Unsurprisingly, Mortal Kombat 11 KOed the competition as the top game during the period. And according to Piscatella, NetherRealm’s fighter also became the first game to sit atop the charts as the best-selling individual game on the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in the same the month.
Not far behind was Sony’s Days Gone. The post-apocalyptic action game was developed by Sony Bend, and while it might have been overshadowed by some of the other titles in the consolemaker’s catalog, it landed in the #2 spot for April.
The remainder of April’s best-selling games chart is made up of a lot of titles we’ve seen before, including recent releases MLB 19: The Show (#3), Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 (#4), Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (#7), and perennial mainstays Grand Theft Auto V (#6) and Minecraft (#14).
You can find a full list of best-selling games from April 2019 after the break. (more…)
Sony offers up more details on their plan for the PlayStation 5
Sony has been quietly talking up the PlayStation 5 a lot this Spring, and now they’ve offered up even more details about the next-generation platform during their most recent Investor Relations Day.
The PS5 is known internally as the “PlayStation Next Gen,” and it’s expected to deliver lightning-fast loading times on PS4 titles. Using Spider-Man as an example, Sony showed that players on the PlayStation Next Gen could be ready to play in just 0.83 seconds, versus 8.1 seconds on a PS4 Pro. This comparison is important as the PlayStation Next Gen will include full backwards compatibility with the PS4.
Sony isn’t ready to discuss when the PlayStation Next Gen will be released, or how much it’ll cost, or what its launch lineup will look like, but the consolemaker did confirm that the platform will include an “All New CPU and GPU,” as well as support for Ray Tracing and visuals up to 8K Resolution, a Blu-ray Drive, a Solid State Drive, and 3D Audio.
However, this next-generation console doesn’t mean that the PS4 is going away anytime soon. According to Sony, the PS4 will “remain the engine of engagement and profitability for the next three years.” They also reconfirmed that Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II, Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding, and Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima will all be released for the PS4. That said, the report doesn’t rule out a cross-generational PS5 re-release for all of these games (though neither does it confirm one).
While Sony has no plans to give up the Blu-ray disc format or full-game downloads, the consolemaker is hoping for an increased focus on PlayStation Now streaming with their next-generation console. Currently, PlayStation Now is sitting at 700,000 subscribers, but Sony projects that the service’s subscriber base will increase to more than five million after the launch of the PlayStation Next Gen.
You can view Sony’s entire presentation about the future of the PlayStation platform within the consolemaker’s Investor Relations Day report.
Posted in News, PS4, PS5
Tagged Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part II