Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: PSP
The 3rd Birthday Review: There Isn’t Even Any Cake
The Parasite Eve franchise got another addition to it with The 3rd Birthday for the PlayStation Portable. This third-person shooter reunites players with fan-favorite Aya Brea, whose tough demeanor has been replaced with scant clothing and helplessness. Changed is the title, and gone are the meatier parts of Parasite Eve‘s RPG elements, replaced instead with tactical action elements that feel jammed in like a square peg in a round hole. Repetitious gameplay and a convoluted plot, not to mention a complete deviation from the spirit of the series, make this birthday a forgettable one. (more…)
Posted in PSP, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged The 3rd Birthday
Michael Vick, Peyton Hillis fight for Madden NFL 12 cover
And then there were two.
The voting for the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete is down to the end and only Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis remain.
Hillis defeated the heavily favored Aaron Rodgers to reach the finals while Vick ended the cinderella dreams of Adrian Peterson. A Vick victory would give the formerly incarcerated quarterback his second Madden cover appearance while Hillis has run over some of the biggest names in pro football to reach the finals. I think it’s safe to say that few people picked either of these guys to make it this far.
Final round voting will continue from now until Monday, April 25. The winner will be announced on April 27th during ESPN 2’s “SportsNation.”
New Releases: Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, SOCOM 4, More
It’s finally here. All month long we’ve been building up to one of the biggest release weeks ever and it’s finally here.
Starting things off is Valve’s full-priced sequel to Portal, Portal 2. Coming to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, the game will include co-op play for the first time and a greatly expanded single-player campaign.
Next up is a franchise that needs no introduction, Mortal Kombat is back. The reboot takes the series back to the birth of the MK saga and gives PS3 and Xbox 360 owners their latest 2D fighter fix. And speaking of long-running franchises, Sony and developer Zipper Interactive are finally bring SOCOM to the PS3 for real with SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs.
Believe it or not, these three are just the beginning.
Sega is bringing High Voltage’s first person shooter Conduit 2 to the Wii. Square Enix is continuing to plug their huge franchises on the PSP with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection. And Ubisoft is rewinding the clock to bring Prince of Persia Trilogy to the PS3 in stunning high definition.
Your wallet weeps. Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
Posted in DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Mortal Kombat, Portal 2, SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs
Pokemon Black/White dominate sales chart
The NPD Group has revealed the list of bestselling games for March and the latest Pokemon game, Pokemon Black/White, has caught the top of the chart.
Pokemon White Version came out on top with Pokemon Black Version just behind it in the number two slot. According to Nintendo, both games combined to sell nearly 2.5 million copies (over 1.3 million for White and another 1.1 million for Black).
New releases were well represented among last months bestsellers with Homefront (#3) and Dragon Age II (#4) both taking up residence in the top five. The bottom half of the top ten was also almost completely made up of new releases including Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (#6), Crysis 2 (#7), MLB 11: The Show (#9) and Fight Night Champion (#10).
Hit the jump for a complete look at the NPD Group’s top ten for March. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops, Crysis 2, Dragon Age II, Fight Night Champion, Homefront, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, MLB 11: The Show, NBA 2K11, NPD, Pokemon Black/White
Final Fantasy V out on European PSN
We caught word a little more than a week ago that Final Fantasy V was being brought to the PSN with some additional cutscenes. It seems the European PlayStation Store has updated, bringing FFV to the PSOne Classics section.
First Vagrant Story, now this? Someone at SCE Europe must have a good connection at Square Enix. Maybe Sir Howard Stringer is a big fan of Ex-Death… Oh well, hopefully it just means we can expect it next week. If not, our PSPs can be occupied with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, coming out next Tuesday.
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Final Fantasy V
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together Review: Sing to Me of an Age of Classic RPGs
Square Enix has caught a lot of flak over the last few years for milking Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest dry, but they’ve lately begun to revisit their rarer classics, much to the elation of fans. One such title is Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. Originally developed at Quest, it is the spiritual predecessor to Final Fantasy Tactics and its progeny. This version of the game has re-imagined nearly every aspect of the original to produce the best possible presentation of a masterpiece. With its superbly delicious cornucopia of content, Tactics Ogre is like Thanksgiving for gamers. (more…)
Posted in PSP, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Madden NFL 12 blitzes stores on August 30
Rob Semsey, the Director of Public Relations at EA Sports, has tweeted that Madden NFL 12 will be released on August 30. Normally, the Madden series rushes stores during the middle of the month, but with this year’s labor problems between the NFL and the players union, perhaps the publisher wanted to give the development team at EA Tiburon a little more time before the season starts.
Semsey said the later release date was picked “to align closer to the start of the NFL regular season.”
Whatever the reason, the currently cover athelete-less Madden NFL 12 will be released for the PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360 whether the lockout is resolved or not.
Dungeon Hunter, Patapon 3 added to PlayStation Store
Sony’s massive “Spring Fever” sale may be over, but that doesn’t mean the consolemaker plans to stop adding awesome games to the PlayStation Store.
This week’s offerings include Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, the first ever multiplayer action RPG for the PS3; Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, the “ultimate puzzle RPG”; and a downloadable version of Assassin’s Creed. Best of all, Dungeon Hunter and Might & Magic have been discounted this week for PlayStation Plus members. Dungeon Hunter will be available to download for $9.74 (instead its regular $12.99 pricetag) while Might & Magic can be had for $11.99 ($3 off its $14.99 regular price).
The PSP Store also received one new game this week, Sony’s rhythm puzzler Patapon 3.
More information on all of these titles can be found after the break and a full listing of every new add-on to the PlayStation Store can be found at the PlayStation.Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PSP
Tagged Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, Patapon 3