Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: DS
Natsume Championship Wrestling on VC this week
Back before every wrestling game had to have a WWE (or WCW or ECW or TNA) license to be successful, Natsume released Natsume Championship Wrestling during the Super NES-era and wrestling fans everywhere seemed to enjoy it. With WWE All-Stars scheduled for release next week, this new addition to the Virtual Console might be a good warm-up. It’s joined this week by the WiiWare release Arcade Essentials, “a collection of five classic arcade games.”
The DSiWare Shop will also receive two new titles this week: Shapo, a balancing puzzle game; and G.G. Series: D-Tank, a shooting game where players control a tank.
More information on all four games can be found after the break. (more…)
New Releases: 3DS, Crysis 2, Lego Star Wars III, More
The wait for Nintendo’s handheld is almost over as the Nintendo 3DS arrives in stores this week. Available in both Cosmo Black and the awesomely two-tone Aqua Blue, the system will be available on Sunday, March 27 along with a launch lineup of 18 titles.
However, if you prefer to do your gaming on a big screen, one of the biggest first person shooters of the year, Crysis 2, will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. More aliens can be had in the latest Lego Star Wars, which is also available this week. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will be coming to the 3DS, DS, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360.
Other new releases this week include Square Enix’s Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy (PSP), Sony’s Ratchet, Jak and Sly crossover PlayStation Move Heroes (PS3) and the medieval people management of The Sims Medieval (PC)
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Captain America, Thor games go 3D, get new trailers
Captain America and Thor will be hammering into movie theaters this summer in Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, but Sega is also giving gamers the chance to control these titans of the Marvel universe in two tie-in games as well.
Yesterday, the publisher announced that Thor: God of Thunder would be released for the DS, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 on May 3. They’ve also given a July 19th release date to Captain America: Super Soldier, which is also coming to the DS, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360. A 3DS version is planned for both titles, but it won’t be ready until each movie hits Blu-ray/DVD this Fall.
And speaking of 3D, Sega has also revealed that the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of both games will be playable in stereoscopic 3D. Because nothing says “duck!” like seeing Mjolnir or Cap’s Shield thrown directly at the screen.
Each game will support multiple 3D viewing options including anaglyph color mode using red and blue glasses for conventional displays, Side-by-Side & Top-Bottom modes for active shutter glasses and 3D televisions, and the higher resolution Frame Packing mode for HDMI 1.4 3D displays only on the PS3.
In celebration of the release date announcement, Sega has unveiled a new trailer for each game. Check them out after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Captain America: Super Soldier, Thor: God of Thunder
Preview Pack: Capcom’s Okamiden, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Super Street Fighter IV 3D
Many fans at PAX East were disappointed to find that the Chibiterasu special edition plushies sold out the first day. But what they weren’t disappointed about was the fact that Capcom’s 3DS lines were far shorter than those across the show floor at Nintendo. Mike Gutierrez and Nicole Kline got to check out Okamiden, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, Previews
Tagged Okamiden, PAX East 2011, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Street Fighter IV
The 2010-2011 Video Game Awards Season
Beginning with the Spike TV Video Game Awards in early December and culminating with last night’s BAFTA Games Awards, the 2010-2011 “video game awards season” has come to a close. And after four months of awards, acceptance speeches and arguments, we have a clearer picture of what really were the best games of the year.
The snobbier segments of the game community love to decry the Spike TV Video Game Awards as an embarrassment and not representative of the feelings of “real” gamers. Typically, the show’s world premiere trailers overshadow the actual awards themselves. But the event is spearheaded by Geoff Keighley of GameTrailers TV and the winners are voted on by a well-respected contingent of game journalists, so I guess it could be worse.
That said, this year’s Spike TV Video Game Awards “Game of the Year” was awarded to Rockstar’s epic western Red Dead Redemption. Keighley and company spread the love as the remaining major awards all went to other games: “Best PC Game” StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; “Best PS3 Game” God of War III; “Best Wii Game” Super Mario Galaxy 2; “Best Xbox 360 Game” Halo: Reach; “Best Handheld Game” God of War: Ghost of Sparta; and “Best Downloadable Game” Costume Quest.
If Spike TV’s annual awards attempt to reach the mainstream, Time Magazine‘s top ten is the polar opposite, reaching into corners of the gaming world that are often ignored. This year’s selections are no different, including Alan Wake being awarded the #1 spot with iOS phenomenon Angry Birds at #2. The rest of the list was pretty typical, but the lack of Alan Wake’s spiritual twin, Heavy Rain, was the baffling part. Also, Limbo received its first love of the year-end awards with a sixth-place selection. (more…)
Plants vs Zombies added to DSiWare Shop
PopCap Games has seemingly released Plants vs Zombies for every platform under the sun, but they found one they missed as the publisher has added the game to the DSiWare Shop today.
If the eternal struggle between brain-eaters and begonias doesn’t interest you, this week’s DSiWare update also includes Rabi Laby, a platformer where a woman and her pet rabbit venture to a magical land; and 5-In-1 Mahjong, a portable mahjong game.
The lone WiiWare release this week is Liight, a puzzle game that combines music and colors.
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in DS, News, Wii
Tagged Plants vs Zombies
New Releases: Homefront, Okamiden, Yakuza 4, More
The Spring thaw is doing more than raising the mercury in your thermometer, it’s also bringing more big games to stores.
This week, THQ’s Red Dawn-inspired war game, Homefront, will be released on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. In fact, Red Dawn director John Milius was heavily involved in the creator of Homefront’s storyline.
Other big name releases this week fall into a few well known franchises:
- Capcom will release Okamiden, pint-sized spinoff of Okami, for the DS
- Sega brings Kazuma Kiryu back to America (but keeps the game’s Japanese sensibilities intact) in Yakuza 4 (PS3).
- Andre Agassi serves up his first video game appearance in over 15 years in Top Spin 4 (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360).
- And finally, Sega will release Total War: Shogun 2 on the PC.
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Black Ops leads February sales, becomes bestselling game of all-time
After becoming the bestselling PS3 game, Call of Duty: Black Ops can now lay claim to just being the bestselling game, period.
According to the NPD Group, the Treyarch-developed game passed Wii Play in February to become the bestselling game of all-time. Exact sales figures weren’t released, but Wii Play is known to have sold over 13 million copies. So let’s call it 14 million. Of course, Wii Play is a Wii exclusive while the sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops have been split across the DS, PC, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.
Not surprisingly, Black Ops was also the top-selling game in February, where it was joined by newcomers Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Killzone 3, Bulletstorm and Mario Sports Mix. The full top ten (which is still littered with dance games), can be seen right here:
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PC)
2. Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Xbox 360, PS3)
3. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
4. NBA 2K11 (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, PS2, PC)
5. Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
6. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3)
7. Bulletstorm (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Killzone 3 (PS3)
9. Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii, DS, PSP)
10. Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
Posted in DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Bulletstorm, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Dead Space 2, Just Dance 2, Killzone 3, Mario Sports Mix, Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, NBA 2K11, NPD