Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Retro
New Retail Releases: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Dragon Quest Heroes II, More
Spring has sprung, flowers are in bloom, and a huge batch of new releases will be sprouting on the shelves at your local game store this week.
Nintendo Switch owners have the biggest reasons to celebrate this week as Nintendo will bring Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to the console, while Sega will release Puyo Puyo Tetris. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe includes all of the downloadable content from Mario Kart 8’s original release, as well as several new racers, a brand new Battle Mode, and improved graphics. Meanwhile, Puyo Puyo Tetris mashes together the two puzzle game franchises to create a multiplayer title that features nearly a dozen different ways to play.
Also available this week is a pair of terrifying new titles, including Red Barrels’s first-person horror compilation, Outlast Trinity (which contains Outlast, its expansion, and the brand new Outlast II) for the PS4 and Xbox One. Bandai Namco will also release their creepy puzzle platformer, Little Nightmares, for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Elsewhere on store shelves, fans of big swords and big guns will be able to get your fix with the Square Enix/Koei Tecmo collaboration, Dragon Quest Heroes II (PS4), and CI Games’s shooter sequel, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 (PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
Finally this week, the Syberia franchise comes in from the cold with Syberia 3, which will launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
You can find a complete list of this week’s new retail releases after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Dragon Quest Heroes II, Little Nightmares, Mario Kart 8, Outlast, Outlast 2, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, Syberia 3
The Video Game Canon: Final Fantasy VII
Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look back at Final Fantasy VII and Square’s desire to bring cinematic storytelling to the early days of Sony’s PlayStation. Here’s a teaser…
Since the beginning, every new console cycle has existed as its own separate era that video game players speak of with as much reverence as comic fans who use “Golden Age” and “Silver Age” as a shorthand to represent the different decades of comic production. Ralph Baer’s Odyssey (1st Generation) directly lead to Nolan Bushnell’s Atari 2600 (2nd Generation). Atari’s machine gave way to the rise of Nintendo’s NES (3rd Generation), which in turn lead to the “16-Bit Wars” of the Super NES and the Genesis (4th Generation).
Up to this point, Square had only released three Final Fantasy games in America: 1990’s Final Fantasy, 1991’s Final Fantasy II (released in Japan as Final Fantasy IV), and 1994’s Final Fantasy III (released in Japan as Final Fantasy VI). Even though the remaining three games had yet to make their way across the Pacific, the publisher was determined to unify the franchise’s numbering across all regions with the next sequel. But they still had to find the right home for their game.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Posted in Features, PC, PS4, Retro, Top Story, Video Game Canon
Tagged Final Fantasy VII
Nintendo smashed sales records in March 2017… but Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the top-selling game
Nintendo told us all about their record-setting sales month last week, but the NPD Group made it official today when they revealed their retail report on the video game industry for March 2017.
NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “March 2017 will go down in history books as the month Nintendo broke records.The Nintendo Switch had the biggest hardware launch for a Nintendo platform and the second biggest launch for any video game platform since 1995, the time NPD began tracking this category.”
However, even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild managed to sell more than 900,000 copies, it wasn’t able to secure the #1 spot. Instead, Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the best-selling game last month, likely due to Nintendo’s unwillingness to share their digital sales figures with the NPD Group. Other strong sellers on the Switch included 1-2 Switch (#13) and Super Bomberman R (#17).
Big debuts weren’t limited to Nintendo’s Switch, and it was a banner month for several new releases last month, as Mass Effect: Andromeda (#3), Horizon: Zero Dawn (#4), and Nier: Automata (#9) also smashed expectations. Combined with impressive Switch hardware sales, these games helped the industry record more than $1.36 billion in total sales for the month, a 24% year-on-year increase over March 2016.
The complete list of best-selling games from March 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged 1-2-Switch, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, FIFA 17, For Honor, Grand Theft Auto V, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix, Lego Worlds, Madden NFL 17, Mass Effect: Andromeda, MLB The Show 17, NBA 2K17, Nier: Automata, NPD, Overwatch, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Super Bomberman R, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Nintendo Download: Wonder Boy The Dragon’s Trap, Rayman 3, Rayman Advance, more
Nintendo’s Switch continues to be a home for interesting retro-themed titles, as two more are now available to purchase through the Nintendo eShop.
Developed by Lizardcube, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is a remake of 1989’s Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, and the side-scrolling platformer has been updated with a hand-drawn visual style and a re-orchestrated soundtrack for its Switch debut. Also available to download this week is Fatal Fury, a re-release of one of SNK’s earliest fighting games.
Nintendo’s other platforms will receive a handful of new downloadable titles this week, including Urban Trial Freestyle 2 for the 3DS. Developed by Teyon, the stunt racer asks players to “pull off insane stunts on top of skyscrapers, speed down busy highways, and take intense rides through the suburbs.” There’s even a few new games available for the Wii U this week, including Virtual Console re-releases of Rayman Advance and Rayman 3.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment campaign update dated for 3DS and Wii U
Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight fans will soon be able to play the Specter of Torment campaign on the Wii U and 3DS.
Specter of Torment won’t be released as a standalone download on either platform, but the campaign will be available to download as a free update on April 21 (on the Wii U) and April 25 (on the 3DS):
Darkness looms! Specter of Torment will arrive as a free update to Shovel Knight on the North American eShop
Wii U-April 21st
3DS-April 25th pic.twitter.com/rMyq4vD397— Yacht Club Games (@YachtClubGames) April 19, 2017
Yacht Club Games previously broke ground on Shovel Knight’s Specter of Torment campaign for Nintendo’s Switch (March 3) and the PC (April 5). It’ll also be available later this month for the PS4 and Xbox One (as a standalone download), and the PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Vita (as a free update to Shovel Knight).
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight
PS Store Today: Full Throttle Remastered, Flinthook, Guardians of the Galaxy, more
The PlayStation Store is flying a retro-themed flag once again this week, and we start things off with Full Throttle Remastered, which is now available to download for the PS4 and Vita as a Cross-Buy purchase.
Originally released in 1995, and developed by Tim Schafer, Full Throttle is a point-and-click adventure where players get mixed up in the high octane world of “Motorcycles, Mayhem, and Murder.” The Remastered version of the game includes full Trophy support, optional high resolution artwork, and a commentary track with the game’s creators.
Also availabe to download this week is another blast from the mid 90s… The Disney Afternoon Collection for the PS4. All six games in The Disney Afternoon Collection (Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers, Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers 2, Darkwing Duck, DuckTales, DuckTales 2, and TaleSpin) were originally released for the NES, and this new compilation includes Boss Rush and Time Attack modes, retro-themed graphical filters, and Trophy support.
The third game in this week’s retro parade is Flinthook, a prodcedurally-generated side-scroller from Tribute Games. Available to download for the PS4, Flinthook stars a space pirate who loves his handy grappling hook and stealing booty from rival pirates.
Goichi “Suda51” Suda is no stranger to a wild and wacky adventure, and that’s true of The Silver Case, which can be downloaded for the PS4 this week. The remastered re-release of Suda’s visual novel (which was never-before-available in North America) includes an “intricate story” and remade high definition visuals.
Finally this week, Telltale Games will kick off their Guardians of the Galaxy series with Episode 1 – Tangled Up In Blue. The Nova Corps has tasked the Guardians with stopping Thanos… and that goes about as well as you’d expect. It’s available to download now for the PS4, and all five episodes in the series will be released by the end of the year.
You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Flinthook, Full Throttle, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Disney Afternoon Collection
Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy available for mobile devices on July 20; 3DS launch coming this Fall
Level-5 has announced that the next game in the Professor Layton series, Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy, will be available to download for iOS and Android devices on July 20. The game is also in development for the 3DS, and launch on Nintendo’s handheld this Fall.
Previously known as Lady Layton: The Millionaire Ariadne’s Conspiracy, the latest game in the series will feature smaller bite-size puzzles that players must solve to uncover the details of a larger mystery.
“This is the seventh entry in the Professor Layton series and we are excited that Katrielle Layton is taking center stage in this new iteration of the game,” said Akihiro Hino, the of CEO Level-5. “Professor Layton fans will enjoy the mystery and fantasy adventure play that they have come to love and appreciate throughout the series.”
A Japanese-language trailer for Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News
Tagged Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy
NBA 2K17 predicts a Cavs-Warriors rematch (and a Warriors win) in 2017 NBA Finals
The 2017 NBA Playoffs kicked off late last week, and 2K’s NBA 2K17 was there to provide a simulation of this year’s bracket.
If you’ll recall, last year, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They eventually lost the series in Game 7, and LeBron James was able to hoist his third NBA Championship.
But if NBA 2K17’s simulation comes to pass, this year’s NBA Finals will end in a rematch that once again goes the distance… and this time the Warriors will emerge victorious in Game 7.
So how do we get from here to there? According to the simulation, the Warriors will easily roll over their opponents in the first three rounds with wins over the Portland Trail Blazers (4-0), Los Angeles Clippers (4-1), and Houston Rockets (4-1). The Cavaliers will have a tougher time to reach the Finals, ultimately pushing past the Indiana Pacers in five games, the Toronto Raptors in six games, and the Washington Wizards in seven games. Cleveland’s more brutal schedule might be the reason behind their eventual defeat in the Finals.
In the real world, the Warriors and the Cavaliers are both doing their part to accurately reflect the action in NBA 2K17s crystal ball, as each team won their first playoff game this weekend. But we’ll have to wait until June 1st, and the start of the 2017 NBA Playoffs, to see if the game’s full simulation is on the mark.