Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: PS4
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout Free Trial will be available on January 17-24
It’s easy to assume that Fortnite owes quite a bit of its massive popularity to the fact that it’s free to download on all platforms. And now it looks like Activision will attempt to entice gamers to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with a similar trick later this week.
The “Blackout Free Trial” will open up Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s battle royale mode to all PC, PS4, and Xbox One owners beginning on January 17th. The gratis game will be available for one week and will shut down on January 24th.
A new trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout Free Trial has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Pinkerton Detective Agency wants Rockstar Games to pay up for using name in Red Dead Redemption 2
Quick, let’s do some free association. If I say the name “Pinkerton,” what do you think of? If you’re in your 30s or 40s, your mind probably instantly went to Weezer’s 1996 album of the same name. But fans of Red Dead Redemption 2 might also be reminded of Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross, two Pinkerton Detectives that are constantly hounding the Van Der Linde Gang.
The Pinkerton Detective Agency was an actual private police force in the late 1800s and early 1900s, though they continue to operate as a security company to this day. In their heyday, Pinkerton Detectives were often hired by industrialists to stomp on unions and used extreme measures when hunting outlaws. According to The Verge, the current incarnation of the Pinkerton Detective Agency (which is owned by a Swedish company) has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Rockstar over the use of their name, and they’re seeking a royalty payment for all sales since the game’s October launch.
Rockstar has responded by suing Pinkerton, claiming their use of the name is accurate to the historical record. The publisher also cites a variety of media that has referenced Pinkerton agents over the years including Deadwood, Titanic, and the video game BioShock: Infinite (which was published by Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company).
While Rockstar’s legal fight with Pinkerton has just started, the detective agency has a pretty steep hill to climb. As Rockstar’s suit shows, using trademarks in a work of fiction is a common practice, and it rarely results in any kind of penalty for the publisher.
On top of that, Rockstar is no stranger to these types of legal proceedings and how to win them. Just ask Lindsay Lohan.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Red Dead Redemption 2
New Retail Releases: Ace Combat 7, Travis Strikes Again, Onimusha Warlords
Game publishers are once again going with quality over quantity with this week’s new retail releases.
Bandai Namco is leading things off with Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, which will be available in stores for the PS4 and Xbox One. The seventh entry in the dogfighting franchise will offer players “highly detailed aircraft and photorealistic scenery,” as well as virtual reality support through PlayStation VR.
Also set to launch this week is the long-awaited return of Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again. This minigame-focused spinoff will be available exclusively for the Switch, and fans who purchase the Retail Edition will receive a Season Pass that includes access to all future downloadable content.
Finally this week, Capcom is partying like its 2001 and bring an enhanced re-release of Onimusha: Warlords to the PS4 and Xbox One (it’ll also be available as a digital download for the Switch). This new version of the game features updated visuals (and a new 16:9 widescreen mode), improved controls, and an Easy Mode.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at all the new additions coming to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in News, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Again
God of War and Spider-Man lead the way as 2019 DICE Awards nominees announced
I have a feeling it’s going to become a familiar refrain this awards season, but the DICE Awards have announced this year’s nominations, and Sony’s God of War and Spider-Man are leading the way. Both games will be competing for the “Game of the Year” award against Subset Games’s Into the Breach, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2, and Lucas Pope’s Return of the Obra Dinn.
All told, God of War nabbed 12 total nominations while Spider-Man secured 11 nominations (and both are up for many of the same awards including “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Game Design,” and “Game Direction”).
The winners in all categories will be announced during the DICE Awards ceremony (which will take place during the DICE Summit) on February 13. A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged God of War 4, Red Dead Redemption 2, Return of the Obra Dinn, Spider-Man
Sneak up on this Launch Trailer for Hitman HD Enhanced Collection
In case you missed it, IO Interactive brought 2006’s Hitman: Blood Money and 2012’s Hitman: Absolution to the PS4 and Xbox One today as part of the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection. The developer also unveiled a new Launch Trailer for the compilation, which has been embedded above.
IO Interactive has remastered both games for their next-generation debut with enhanced visuals (4K Resolution and 60FPS) and updated control options.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Hitman: Absolution, Hitman: Blood Money
Warp Zoned’s 2018 Golden Pixel Awards: Our Favorite Games From Last Year
2018 was an absolutely astounding year for video games, and while we might not have gotten the chance to play everything we wanted, the Warp Zoned staff was definitely able to add a big batch of new games to our “Favorites” pile.
This year’s selection of standout titles offered something for everybody… Insomniac’s Spider-Man let us soar above Manhattan as the webslinger like never before… The mountainous milieu of Matt Thorson’s Celeste challenged our thumbs and our hearts… Capcom’s Mega Man 11 brought the Blue Bomber back for the first time in almost a decade… And those three games were just the tip of the iceberg.
The Golden Pixel Awards aren’t the “Best Games” from 2018, but these are the titles we plan to return to again and again in 2019 (and beyond). We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. (more…)
Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Alphabear 2, Celeste, Dead Cells, Just Shapes and Beats, Katamari Damacy, Mega Man 11, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, Octopath Traveler, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Spider-Man, Starlink: Battle For Atlas, Tetris Effect
Nominees for the 2019 Writers Guild Award for Videogame Writing have been announced
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for this year’s “Writers Guild Award for Videogame Writing.”
Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Telltale’s Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 5: Same Stitch, Sony’s God of War, Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, and Insomniac’s Spider-Man will all be competing for the honor, and the winner will be revealed on February 17.
The complete list of nominated writers can be found after the break. (more…)
New Retail Releases: New Super Mario Bros. U, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Tales of Vesperia, More
2019 promises to be a big year for video games (and possibly the last hurrah for the PS4 and Xbox One), and it looks like we’re starting things off with a trio of major re-releases.
Nintendo leads things off with a Switch re-release of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, which originally launched for the Wii U in 2012. This new version will include new playable characters (Toadette and Nabbit), as well as the New Super Luigi U expansion.
The 3DS will also receive a classic Nintendo re-release this week in the form of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey. The RPG relaunches the 2009 game with Amiibo support and the brand new “Bowser Jr.’s Journey” adventure.
The last re-release of the week comes from Bandai Namco, who will bring Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition to the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One (the game will also be available to download for the PC). The Definitive Edition will include the original game, as well as “beautifully remastered HD graphics, new musitc tracks, exciting minigames, bosses, and a collection of previously unreleased costume DLC.”
Finally this week, you might have missed it, but Nintendo snuck Fitness Boxing onto the Switch last week. Fitness Boxing features a wide variety of boxing-based rhythmic exercises and personalized workout options for everyone interested in getting a jump on their New Year’s Resolutions.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at the new additions coming to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Switch, Xbox One
Tagged Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, New Super Mario Bros. U, Tales of Vesperia