Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
Cartridge-based Retro VGS console has been rebranded as the Coleco Chameleon
After their disastrous Indiegogo campaign ended in November, the team behind the Retro VGS has found a new partner to help bring their cartridge-based console to market: Coleco. Yes, the company behind the mostly forgotten Colecovision is getting back into the console game with the newly rebranded Coleco Chameleon.
Just like when it was known as the Retro VGS, every game released for the Coleco Chameleon will be manufactured in a cartridge format that is “long-lasting” and “durable.” Players will be able to choose from compilations of older classics, along with new titles likeThe Adventures of Tiny Knight, GunLord, and Read Only Memories that are developed using an 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit style.
Mike Kennedy, the President of Retro VGS, said: “The Coleco Chameleon is a love-letter to all the classic cartridge based gaming systems that came before it and we love the fact it will succeed Coleco’s successful Telstar and Colecovision product lines. It will take gamers and their families back to a simpler time where games were all about great gameplay and fun factor.”
Even with the name change, the Coleco Chameleon is still on track to launch in 2016. And attendees of the 2016 New York Toy Fair will get a chance to try it out at the Coleco booth.
Brett Ratner is making a movie about Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov’s life
Alexey Pajitnov’s creation of Tetris is going to get the Social Network treatment courtesy of Brett Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment.
According to Tracking Board, the film will portray Pajitnov’s early days at the Soviet Academy of Sciences and his programming work with Dmitry Pavlovsky and Vadim Gerasimov. The film will also focus on the court case that eventually awarded a publishing license for the game to Nintendo. The Tracking Board article even hints at the possibility of some international intrigue as the court case is said to have “threatened to destabilize relationships between governments.”
RatPac Entertainment is currently seeking a screenwriter for the film.
Metroid: The Sky Calls is a fan film that calls back to 60s/70s sci-fi like Alien and 2001
A good fan film will often result in a lot of nodding as you think to yourself, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Someone gets it!” While it’s definitely not how a major Hollywood studio would adapt Metroid today, I think Metroid: The Sky Calls might produce a few approving nods.
Produced by Rainfall Films, and starring Jessica Chobot as Samus Aran, Metroid: The Sky Calls harkens back to the science fiction from the 60s and 70s that inspired the creation of the franchise in the first place. Combining the psychedelic visuals of 2001: A Space Odyssey with the loneliness and isolation of Alien and Solaris, the short film is both very familiar and like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Nintendo partnered with John Woo to develop a movie based on the Metroid series back in 2004. Sometime in the years that followed, the deal fell through and no movie was produced. But if they ever try again, I’d like to think that Nintendo would find some inspiration in Metroid: The Sky Calls.
Latest Super Mario Bros. speedrun shaves 0.063 seconds off the world record
There’s a new champion in town as the Super Mario Bros. speed record has fallen once again. Last June, “Blubbler” posted a time of four minutes and 57.69 seconds, nearly a half second than the previous best time. But earlier this week, “Blubbler” was dethroned by “Darbian,” who managed to beat Super Mario Bros. in four minutes and 57.627 seconds.
That’s a difference of just 0.063 seconds!
A press conference of sorts was delivered by “Darbian” after his run on Reddit. If you’re interested in speedruns and the people who do them, it’s well worth a read. If you can believe it, “Darbian” admits he made a few mistakes in his run, so it’s possible the world record may fall again in the near future.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
Witness this 8-Bit Cinema adaptation of Mad Max: Fury Road
You don’t have to think Mad Max: Fury Road is the greatest movie of all time to enjoy this 8-Bit Cinema adaptation of George Miller’s latest masterpiece… but it certainly helps. Though the question is kind of pointless as Mad Max: Fury Road is definitely the greatest movie of all time.
The 8-Bit Cinema adaptation turns Fury Road into a side-scrolling beat ’em up, but it’s so indescribably awesome that you just have to watch it yourself. How does one even attempt to describe the guitar-playing Doof Warrior to someone? See? Aren’t you intrigued now? So go watch it already and then follow it up with your first (or fifth) viewing of Mad Max: Fury Road.
So shiny! So chrome!
Watch the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses performance from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert right here
Nintendo’s promotional push for The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes began last night with an appearance by the Symphony of the Goddesses orchestra on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. In addition to performing music from the upcoming 3DS title, the orchestra ripped through a medley of music from the entire series including The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword.
The producers even transformed Colbert’s famous “stained glass” ceiling into a fresco depicting Link and Zelda over the years. “Rejoice, nerds! This is the music that awaits you in heaven,” Colbert added when a video of the performance was uploaded to YouTube.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes will be released for the 3DS on October 23.
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Stephen Colbert will welcome The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses to The Late Show on October 13
Get ready to program your DVRs, the orchestra behind The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses will be appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert next week. Scheduled to appear alongside Sarah Silverman and Elijah Wood on Tuesday, October 13, the musical troupe will promote the upcoming release of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes with a medley of songs from the game.
You know what… I betcha Elijah Wood and Sarah Silverman would both work really well as Link and Zelda if a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda ever gets produced.
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Here’s the first trailer for The Gamechangers, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of GTA
Embedded above is the first trailer for The Gamechangers, a made-for-TV movie that’s set to depict Rockstar’s rise and the development of Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as Sam Houser, the movie will also showcase the developer’s legal battle with the dreaded, and now disbarred, Jack Thompson (played here by Bill Paxton). Scheduled to air in the UK on BBC Two on September 15, the film’s plot description seems to play a bit fast and loose with the truth:
[T]he game’s violent gameplay leads to fierce opposition: from parents worried about its impact on children; from politicians, fearful of its influence; and, above all, from campaigners fighting to prevent the game being played by minors.
At the vanguard of this crusade is the formidable Christian lawyer Jack Thompson, a man determined to do whatever he can to stop the relentless rise of the game and its influence on children. The Gamechangers tells the story of how British game designers pushed boundaries into uncharted territory, of how those fighting GTA became consumed by a battle which overwhelmed their lives, and how the subsequent fallout threatened to bring down leading players on both sides.
While I suppose that all of that is technically accurate, it gives Thompson a much bigger role than he had in the real-life tale. However, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the film ends with Harry Potter yelling “Game over, man!” at Hudson after his courtroom defeat.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City