Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
Final Fantasy VII, Tomb Raider, Spacewar!, and John Madden Football are the newest inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame
Earlier this morning, The Strong Museum and the International Center for the History of Electronic Games announced this year’s inductees to the World Video Gamed Hall of Fame. The Class of 2018 includes Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix’s beloved RPG; Tomb Raider, Eidos Interactive’s introduction to Lara Croft; John Madden Football, EA Sports’s first football simulation; and Spacewar!, an early game created by the Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT in 1962.
“Spacewar! was not a commercial game, but it helped to launch the multi-billion-dollar video game industry,” said Jon-Paul Dyson, the Director of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games. “It also spurred computer users of all types to think about creative new uses for computers and helped turn the computer into the most powerful plaything ever created.”
“John Madden Football’s action-oriented gameplay has changed the way we play and consume sports video games… and even the way actual sports games are broadcast,” said Jeremy Saucier, The Strong’s Assistant Vice President for Interpretation and Electronic Games. “It’s yearly, updated release of the game has modeled the path to success for franchises in other sports such as soccer, hockey, baseball, and basketball.”
“The Guinness Book of World Records cites Lara Croft as the ‘Most Recognizable Female in a Video Game’ of all time,” said Curator Shannon Symonds. “The character is not without controversy for her early status as a sex symbol, but she’s evolved with the franchise to become the epitome of a strong female hero.”
“Final Fantasy VII is widely acclaimed as the game that broke Japanese role-playing games into mainstream popularity across the globe,” Symonds added. “In addition to its technical achievements, it also introduced the world to memorable characters… such as protagonist Cloud and villain Sephiroth… who have appeared in other game franchises and myriad media.”
Eight other games were finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, including Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King’s Quest, Metroid, Minecraft, and Ms. Pac-Man. I’m sure they’ll all get a chance next year, as Nominations for the Class of 2019 are already open.
Posted in News, PC, Retro
Tagged Final Fantasy VII, Tomb Raider (1996), World Video Game Hall of Fame
The Games of May 2018
Game publishers are launching just a handful of “new” games this month, but Switch owners should be pleased with a slew of big re-releases from Nintendo, Capcom, and Nicalis.
You might not agree with all our choices, but the next four weeks are going to be great if you’re looking forward to Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Ikaruga, and many others. It’s almost a shame that Dark Souls Remastered‘s Switch launch was pushed out to the Summer, but at least PC, PS4, and Xbox One players will get to stay on theme.
You can find out exactly why the Warp Zoned staff is looking forward to these games, and view the release schedule for all of this month’s new games, after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, PC, PS4, Switch, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged Hyrule Warriors, Ikaruga, Just Shapes and Beats, Mega Man Legacy Collection, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2
Capcom partners with iam8bit to re-release Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X cartridges
It looks like Capcom has a few more “Mega” surprises for 2018…
The publisher announced today that they’re teaming up with iam8bit to release 30th Anniversary Classic Cartridges for Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X. Each cartridge will be fully playable on the NES (MM2) or Super NES (MMX), and each will be limited to a very small print run of just 8,500 cartridges.
Both 30th Anniversary Classic Cartridges will be produced in two distinct colors… Opaque Light Blue (limited to 7,500) and Glow-In-The-Dark Blue (limited to 1,000) for Mega Man 2… and Opaque White (limited to 7,500) and Glow-In-The-Dark Blue (limited to 1,000) for Mega Man X. To make it more fun, iam8bit has said collectors won’t know which color they’re getting until they open the box. The games will also come packaged in a foldout box with “Foil, Gloss, and Embossments,” and include a Premium Instruction Booklet, and other “Retro Pack-In Surprises.”
The 30th Anniversary Classic Cartridges for Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X are now available to order from iam8bit (for $100 apiece), and shipping is expected to begin in late September.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Mega Man 2, Mega Man X
Jotun, Light Fall, Saturday Morning RPG, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
Nintendo has once again updated the Nintendo eShop, and more than a dozen new Switch titles will once again be added to the digital storefront over the next seven days.
Leading the way this week is Jotun: Valhalla Edition. The isometric action game from Thunder Lotus Games includes hand-drawn graphics and five “epic” boss fights against giant Norse elementals known as Jotuns. Jotun: Valhalla Edition will be available to download beginning tomorrow.
Light Fall is a puzzle platformer from Bishop Games where players will control a magical box known as a Shadow Core, and it’s available to download today. Also launching today is Saturday Morning RPG, a turn-based RPG that was inspired by 80s pop culture.
Bandai Namco will also bring the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy to the Switch, and players will be able to purchase each title in the anime-inspired series individually or they can pick up the entire trilogy in a discounted bundle.
Finally this week, Nintendo fans will be able to download 10-Yard Fight, an early football experience from the 80s arcade era, on May 2.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Aqua Moto Racing Utopia, A Robot Named Fight, Agatha Knife, and more) after the break. (more…)
Far Cry 5 and Sea of Thieves sail to the top of March 2018’s list of best-selling games
The number of high-profile new releases has slowed to a trickle in April, and that’s probably because game publishers threw open the tap in March. Not surprisingly, gamer scooped up these new titles by the armful, with Ubisoft’s Far Cry 5, Microsoft’s Sea of Thieves, Sony’s MLB The Show 18, and Nintendo’s Kirby Star Allies taking the top four spots in The NPD Group’s monthly tally of best-selling games.
The venerable Grand Theft Auto V remains in the top five, but other new releases, including Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (#8) and A Way Out (#15), managed to break into the NPD’s top twenty.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, overall sales for the industry were down by 11% in March, however, “first quarter 2018 spending across the four categories [software, hardware, game cards, and accessories] was up by 15% year-on-year to $3.4 billion with growth in all areas.”
You can find the full list of The NPD Group’s best-selling titles for March 2018 after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged A Way Out, Assassin's Creed Origins, Call of Duty: WWII, Dragon Ball FighterZ, EA Sports UFC 3, Far Cry 5, FIFA 18, Grand Theft Auto V, Kirby Star Allies, Mario Kart 8, MLB The Show 18, Monster Hunter: World, NBA 2K18, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, NPD, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Sea of Thieves, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Home Run Derby VR, The Swords of Ditto, Cosmic Star Heroine, more coming to PS Store this week
Home runs and heroes headline this week’s PlayStation Store update…
First up, MLB Advanced Media is putting a bat in your hands in Home Run Derby VR. The PSVR-powered game will give players the chance to live out their diamond dreams on baseball’s biggest stage in “the most immersive and authentic” home run derby game ever made.
Also available to download this week is The Swords of Ditto, an overhead action RPG for the PS4 from Devolver Digital and Onebitbeyond. With its roguelike mechanics, players will throw an entire legion of heroes against the game’s enemies to create “a heroic legacy” that binds them together.
Finally this week, Zeboyd Games will finally bring Cosmic Star Heroine to the PS Vita. It’s Cross-Buy compatible, so if you already own the game on the PS4, you’ll receive the Vita version for free.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Cosmic Star Heroine, Home Run Derby VR
New Retail Releases: Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, South Park: Fractured But Whole, More
It’s another slow week for the employees at your local game store, but a handful of new releases will make their way to retail shops this week…
First up is Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, a PS4 adaptation of the hit animated show. Previously available to download through the PlayStation Store, the developer has promised that players will explore the insane multiverse of Rick & Morty with a PlayStation VR headset and “solve puzzles, step through portals into strange dimensions, get yelled at by Rick, fight aliens, drink detergent,” and “press buttons.”
And speaking of animation for adults… South Park: The Fractured But Whole launched last year for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, but Switch owners will finally get a chance to purchase the superhero RPG from Ubisoft. Switch owners will also be able to buy Red Hook’s ultra-challenging RPG, Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition this week.
Continuing the “For Adults” theme, PQube will release Gal*Gun 2 this week for the PS4 and Switch. The shooter sequel asks players to help a pack of possessed teenagers by shooting them with a “love gun.” Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly, another Japanese oddity from Aksys Games, will be available for the Vita this week.
Elsewhere on store shelves, Big Ben will bring a pair of extreme racing games to the Switch (Aqua Moto Racing Utopia and Snow Moto Racing Freedom), and they’ll be joined by Max: The Curse of Brotherhood from Flashbulb Games.
Finally this week, the GameStop-exclusive mystery game The Invisible Hours will make its Xbox One debut.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at all the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita
Tagged Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Death Road to Canada, Wild Guns Reloaded, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
UPDATE: Death Road to Canada‘s publisher, Ukiyo Publishing, has delayed the game until further notice after the recent terrorist attack in Toronto… “We feel it would be deeply inappropriate to launch the game at such a time,” said Paul Hann, Managing Director of Ukiyo Publishing. “We would like to express our deepest condolences to everyone affected by the tragic events in Toronto.”
ORIGINAL STORY: It looks like another big batch of Switch games will be added to the Nintendo eShop over the next seven days. Here’s what we can look forward to this week…
Ubisoft will bring South Park: The Fractured But Whole to the Switch on Tuesday, April 24. This time out, the boys are skewering superhero movies, and players will be able to “create [their] own superhero, build up [their] notoriety and use [their] superpowers to save South Park.” Also next week, Rocketcat Games will bring Death Road to Canada, their procedurally-generated post-apocalyptic adventure game, to the Switch on Wednesday.
But if you’re looking for something to download today, Natsume has re-released Wild Guns, a cult classic originally available for the Super NES, as Wild Guns Reloaded. This version of the game will include new characters and modes, as well local multiplayer support for up to four players.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Real Bout Fatal Fury Special, Gal*Gun 2, and more) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch
Tagged South Park: The Fractured But Whole