Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
Fire Emblem Echoes will likely be the last game in the series to be released on the 3DS
After its splashy reveal last year, everyone assumed that the hybrid nature of the Nintendo Switch meant the 3DS was most likely on its way out. Further proof to that fact was delivered this week with the revelation that Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will probably be the last “mainline” game in the series to appear on the handheld.
Fire Emblem Series Producer Hitoshi Yamagami confirmed this end of an era in a recent chat with Japanese magazine Dengeki Nintendo (via Game Memo).
However, Yamagami is also looking towards the future of the Fire Emblem franchise, including a Switch-exclusive Fire Emblem game that’s set to launch sometime in 2018. Koei Tecmo and Omega Force are also hard at work on Fire Emblem Warriors, which will launch for the New 3DS and Switch this Fall.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will be available on May 19, and in case you missed it, Nintendo recently unveiled a few details about the game’s Season Pass.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia Season Pass will include $45 worth of DLC content
It’s taken more than 25 years for Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia to travel across the Pacific Ocean, but Nintendo has decided they also want to expand the strategy adventure with a wide array of post-launch downloadable content.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will released exclusively for the 3DS on May 19, and Nintendo will release the first DLC Pack on the same day. Additional Packs will arrive every week after that, and a Season Pass option (priced at $44.99) will be available for those who want to collect them all. However, players who aren’t interested in obtaining all five DLC Packs can purchase them separately.
Each DLC Pack for Fire Emblem Echoes will feature a variety of new content including new maps, new dungeons, new character classes, and a sweeping new story chapter that serves as a prologue to the main game:
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia – DLC Schedule
- DLC Pack #1: Fledgling Warriors Pack – Ideal for early- to mid-game adventurers, this pack includes a new dungeon (The Astral Temple) and two new maps, great for gaining more items, money and experience points. (May 19, $7.99)
- DLC Pack #2: Undaunted Heroes Pack – In addition to a new dungeon (The Inner Sanctum), this pack also includes two challenging new maps that stronger, more seasoned heroes will want to tackle. (May 25, $9.99)
- DLC Pack #3: Lost Altars Pack – The mysterious dungeons included in this pack hold the power to upgrade characters to exclusive classes that don’t appear in the main game. (May 25, $14.99)
- DLC Pack #4: Rise of the Deliverance Pack – Discover the previously untold history of Valentia in this prologue pack. Complete with new story content and additional voice acting that details the rise of the Deliverance in Zofia, this collection of challenging maps includes new support conversations between selected heroes, as well as the ability to take command of a character players won’t be able to control in the main game. (June 1, $12.99)
- DLC Pack #5 – More information about this final DLC pack will be revealed in the future. ($5.99)
In addition to this series of paid expansions, Nintendo plans to release several free updates for Fire Emblem Echoes. The first free update will also be available on May 19, and it’s a special gift that can be obtained from the Goddess Mila.
More information about all of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia’s DLC Packs can be found at the game’s official website.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Nintendo Download: NBA Playgrounds, Bonk’s Revenge, more
The classic arcade-style hoops of NBA Jam returns to the Nintendo eShop this week with NBA Playgrounds. Developed by Saber Interactive, NBA Playgrounds will be available to download this coming Tuesday, May 9. The Switch game will include dozens of NBA superstars, and offer “high-flying” two-on-two contests.
Also available as part of this week’s Nintendo Download, and available to purchase today, is Bonk’s Revenge on the Wii U. The side-scroller was originally released for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1991, and players will once again get the chance to headbutt their way through a prehistoric jungle.
Nintendo fans can learn more about both games (and the rest of this week’s new additions to the Nintendo eShop) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged NBA Playgrounds
The World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017 includes Halo, Pokemon Red/Blue, Street Fighter II, and Donkey Kong
The debate has ended for another year and the induction committee from the World Video Game Hall of Fame is ready to announce their Class of 2017. Drum roll, please…
This year’s first new addition to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games’s Hall of Fame is Donkey Kong. Nintendo’s first big hit became an arcade sensation in 1980, and also introduced the world to a mustachioed plumber named Mario. On the game’s selection, ICHEG Director Jon-Paul Dyson said, “[Donkey Kong’s] overarching narrative of love and its vibrant graphics brought the game to life in a way that few other games could in the early 1980s. It captured the hearts of a generation.”
This year’s class also includes Halo: Combat Evolved, Bungie’s groundbreaking first person shooter and the game that put Microsoft’s Xbox on the map. Curator Shannon Symonds said, “[Halo] boasted one of the strongest multiplayer experiences of its time and created a legion of hardcore fans that refer to themselves as the ‘Halo Nation.’ ”
Hot off the heels of the launch of Pokemon Go, the Hall of Fame also chose to induct Pokemon Red and Blue, the first pair of games released in the far-reaching RPG franchise. The universal appeal of the franchise was a major factor in its selection, as Symonds added: “Pokemon Red and Blue launched a franchise that has taken the world by storm, vaulting many of its characters, such as Pikachu, into popular, mainstream culture. Nearly two decades after its inception and with the introduction of Pokemon Go, ‘Poke-mania’ shows little sign of fading.”
Finally, Capcom’s Street Fighter II: The World Warrior became the first one-on-one fighting game to be added to the Hall of Fame as the final member of the Class of 2017. ICHEG Assistant Director Jeremy Saucier believes that Street Fighter II’s social component fueled its popularity, adding, “This communal style of game play reinvigorated the arcade industry in the 1990s and helped give birth to a generation of fighting games.”
Congratulations to all of this year’s inductees.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame chose to deny entry to eight other finalists this year including Final Fantasy VII, Microsoft Windows Solitaire, Mortal Kombat, Myst, Portal, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Wii Sports. But they’ll get another shot. Nominations are already being accepted for the Class of 2018.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Donkey Kong, Halo: Combat Evolved, Street Fighter II, World Video Game Hall of Fame
Prey, Gnog, World to the West, more added to PlayStation Store
The month of May has belonged to Bethesda Softworks for a last few years, and it doesn’t look like they’re letting go anytime soon.
The publisher will bring Prey to the PS4 this week, and it’ll be available to download through the PlayStation Store on Friday, May 5. The first person shooter isn’t connected to Human Head’s Prey, but it does feature the same themes of malevolent aliens and human experimentation. Also available to download this Friday is World to the West, Rain Games’s followup to the well-received Teslagrad.
If you’re looking for something to play today, KO_OP has launched their “tactile 3D puzzle” Gnog for the PS4. It’s also compatible with PlayStation VR, so you can really get a feel for the game’s scary heads.
Finally today, Alex Rose Games will bring their “masocore” platformer Super Rude Bear Resurrection to the PS4. Players will die often as they rush through the game’s many stages, but luckily, “your previous bodies stack up and you can jump on them, push them around and use them as shields.”
On that happy note, you can find a complete rundown of all of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Prey (2017), World to the West
Can you smell the plot description The Rock is cooking up for the Rampage movie…
Rampage is the beloved arcade classic about giant monsters destroying city after city as they crisscross the globe, though we haven’t seen a new entry in the franchise since 2006’s Rampage: Total Destruction. That’ll all change in a year from now, when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returns to the big screen as the star of a Rampage film adaptation.
Brad Peyton, who previously teamed with Johnson on San Andreas will direct Rampage, and filming began earlier this week in Georgia. But rather than issue a bland press release, Warner Bros. let Johnson deliver a plot description to fans through his Instagram account.
It sounds absolutely bonkers (just like the game) and it looks like the special effects will be handled by WETA (The Lord of the Rings, King Kong). Also, you don’t see the phrase “I will not lick them” in enough plot descriptions:
Goin’ primal.
Good to finally have boots on the ground here in Georgia for production of #RAMPAGE.
I head up an anti poaching unit out of Rwanda. My best friend is a rare albino gorilla named, George. Very bad people infect George, an alligator and a wolf with a serum. All three animals grow at an unprecedented rate. Their size, speed, agility and violent aggression is off the charts. They go on a deadly rampage and want to destroy the world.
George not happy. Me not happy. When animals like you, they lick you. When they don’t like you, they kill you. I will hunt down the bad people who did this to my best friend. And when I find them, I will not lick them.
We have the best VFX monster making team (WETA) on the planet. Our actors and crew have been working very hard to raise the monster genre bar.
As always, let’s have some fun. Let’s shoot. #PrimalDNA #George #Lizzy #Ralph #RAMPAGE
Rampage will open in theaters on April 20, 2018.
Nintendo offers up a few details about Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s first DLC expansion
With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continuing to burn up sales charts around the world, Nintendo is also hard at work on two downloadable expansions for the massive open world adventure. Late last night, the consolemaker revealed more information about the first of these add-ons, The Master Trials, which will be available this Summer.
The expansion will add a handful of new features to the game, including a horde mode (“Trial of the Sword”), a more challenging Hard Mode, a new map tracker (“Hero’s Path Mode”), costumes and equipment inspired by earlier games in the series (including the snazzy “Tingle’s Outfit” seen above), and more:
New Features in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The Master Trials
Trial of the Sword: By accessing this location, players can challenge the new Trial of the Sword (previously known as “Cave of Trials Challenge”), where enemies appear one after another. Link starts without any armor or weapons, and if he defeats all of the enemies in the room he can proceed to the next area. Trial of the Sword will include around 45 total rooms for players to complete. When Link clears all of the trials, the true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state.Hard Mode: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is already considered one of the most thrilling games in The Legend of Zelda series, and fans looking for a challenge are in for a treat with the new Hard Mode. In Hard Mode, the “ranks” of enemies in the game are increased (i.e. Red Bokoblins change to Blue), and players might even encounter higher-ranking enemies they wouldn’t find through normal play. Enemies will also slowly recover health in battle, forcing you to defeat them more quickly. They will also more easily spot Link as he approaches them, making these enemies tougher to sneak up on. In addition, floating planks held aloft by balloons will be scattered around Hyrule. By successfully reaching these planks, players can battle enemies and collect treasure.
Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet.
Travel Medallion: There will be a new treasure chest somewhere in the game world which contains the Travel Medallion. With the Travel Medallion, players can create a temporary new travel point on the map where they are currently standing. Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time.
Korok Mask: By finding the new Korok Mask, players will have a much easier time finding Korok locations in the game. When equipped, the mask will shake, indicating that a Korok is hidden somewhere nearby.
New Equipment: Eight new pieces of equipment inspired by previous characters and games in the series will be added to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild after downloading the first DLC pack. Once discovered by the player, they will yield equipment themed after fan-favorite games and characters such as Midna, Tingle, Phantom, and Majora’s Mask.
Nintendo has bundled together both expansions to Breath of the Wild as the Expansion Pass, which is now available through the Nintendo eShop for $19.99 on the Switch and the Wii U. Unfortunately, there’s no way for players to purchase each expansion separately.
We’ll learn more about the untitled second expansion, which will be available this Fall, at a later date.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Grand Theft Auto IV: Nine Years Later
The highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV hit store shelves on April 29, 2008.
I was a sophomore in high school, and I remember it quite well. My mother totally disapproved, so if I wanted to play violent games, I’d have to ask my dad or grandfather to purchase them for me. In the months leading up to Grand Theft Auto IV’s release, I practically drooled over the latest news coverage and store ads (especially the Special Edition with its neat duffel bag, art book, soundtrack CD, and safe deposit box). I never did get the Special Edition, but my dad did purchase Grand Theft Auto IV for me.
My mother had relocated for work, so I had moved in with my father and grandfather in order to finish out the school year. A few months prior, my dad had made the jump from PlayStation 2 to Xbox 360. So on most days, I’d spend the evenings holed up in my grandfather’s basement, with an extra large bag of Peanut M&M’s in my lap, a bottle of Coke at my feet, and a bulky white Xbox 360 controller nestled between my slender teenaged hands. I’d sift through my dad’s video games, randomly popping in anything that appeared interesting, playing until either my dad came home from the NIH Power Plant, or my grandfather yelled down the stairs for me to turn off the TV and go to bed.
But on that Tuesday in April, my dad came home with a surprise… he’d purchased Grand Theft Auto IV! I finished my dinner, grabbed my go-to gaming snacks, and headed for the basement. I’ll never forget those opening scenes of Niko Bellic stepping off of the Platypus, waiting for his cousin Roman to arrive and indoctrinate him into the American way of life. (more…)