Warp Zoned Presents
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Zero Time Dilemma’s PS4 debut leads a packed announcement schedule from Aksys Games at Anime Expo 2017
The 2017 Anime Expo welcomed anime fans from around the globe to Los Angeles this weekend, and Aksys Games was there to announce a massive slate of upcoming games for release in 2017 and 2018.
The localization house started things off with confirmation that Zero Time Dilemma, the third game in the Zero Escape trilogy, will be released for the PS4 on August 18. The visual novel is currently available for the 3DS, Vita, and PC, but the PS4 re-release will be remastered with “impressive” high definition graphics. [Source]
Aksys is planning to bring several other visual novels to North America over the next year. During their Anime Expo panel, Aksys revealed a handful of such titles from Idea Factory including Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly, and Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk. Both Psychedelica games are tangentially connected by haunted locales, and both will launch for the Vita in 2018. [Source]
The publisher will also team up with Idea Factory to bring 7 Scarlet to the Vita in 2018. 7 Scarlet features a story involving a mysterious town, a missing university student, and a search for the truth. [Source]
More ghostly tales will be told in Creeping Terror, a horror exploration game that’ll launch for the PC and 3DS this Fall. Players will travel through a haunted house, an old tunnel, and a shadowy cavern in search of a monster in Creeping Terror. [Source]
Players will also be in search of monsters in SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter, a third-person shooter developed by D3 Publisher for the PS4. The goofy game follows five girls who attempt to save their school from a rampaging horde of zombies. [Source]
A different kind of “ghost” story is at the center of Jake Hunter Detective Story: Ghost of the Dusk. Developed by Arc System Works, Ghost of the Dusk is a hard-boiled detective story that’ll be released for the 3DS in North America in 2018. [Source]
Aksys announced plans to package together two games in the Code Realize franchise, Code Realize: Guardian of Rebirth and Code Realize: Future Blessings, as Code Realize: Bouquet of Rainbows. The bundle will be available for the PS4 next year. [Source]
Moving on (or rather, not moving on), the publisher will release Bad Apple Wars for the Vita on September 29. The visual novel takes place in a school (not surprising)… that’s located in Purgatory (whoa). Bad Apple Wars follows a battle for the soul of Purgatory between the Delinquent Team of Bad Apples and the Disciplinary Committee. [Source]
Under Night In-Birth, a 2D fighter from Arc System Works, will receive a major update this Fall with the release of Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st]. Set to be released for the PS3, PS4, and Vita, the Late[st] version of the game will include two new characters, Enkidu and Wagner, and a story-focused Chronicle Mode. [Source]
Finally, the craziest game on Aksys’s radar might be Drive Girls, which will be released for the Vita on August 11. In Drive Girls, players will control a team of superpowered girls who can turn into a fleet of speedy supercars. The girls will do battle with an invading alien force in a genre mashup that includes melee action and driving prowess. [Source]
That’s all for now, but new trailers for most of these games should be available online shortly.
Yacht Club continues to joke about Shovel Knight 64… and talks seriously about King Knight expansion
Developers from Yacht Club Games have joked about creating Shovel Knight 64 for a few years now. But the company’s “Pixel Artmancer,” Nick Wozniak, revealed that their fanciful daydreaming about a Shovel Knight sequel that uses the blocky polygonal style made famous by the N64 might be real during an E3 2017 interview with App Trigger:
App Trigger: I’ve seen a little bit of Yacht Club talking about working on more Shovel Knight, or more things besides Shovel Knight after all this is done. What would your personal preference be? If you could work on anything, what would it be?
Nick Wozniak: Anything? I think one of the things we want to work on in the far future is definitely like a Shovel Knight 64, a 3D platformer. We would all love that. We all love Mario 64 to pieces and would just love to be able to jump into that.
Of course, this wasn’t an official announcement for Shovel Knight 64. Wozniak said that Yacht Club doesn’t just want to be known as “the Shovel Knight company,” and that they’re currently hard at work on “something new.”
However, the developer is also putting the finishing touches on Shovel Knight’s King Knight expansion, and Wozniak also had a bit to say about the game’s final add-on:
App Trigger: [King Knight is] great. He’s the light-hearted guy. Even though you guys gave us choices at the beginning of Shovel Knight, your eye is drawn more toward King Knight, so I think that’s the one a lot of people start with.
Nick Wozniak: He’s great. He’s the first guy you probably encounter, and he sets the tone of the rest of the game. You know what to expect, kind of, when you see King Knight. He’s a joke, even in his name. He’s not a king, he’s a knight who’s kingly, and that’s ridiculous and stupid and it sets the bar for your expectations of what the game is and what the knights are. His campaign is going to be a big departure from the very tragic story that Specter Knight was, but it will be interesting and focused on his journey to becoming King Knight. I’m not sure what the timeline is now, we’re still working through what it is, but it’ll be goofy.
Yacht Club has previously said they want to release the King Knight campaign before the end of the year, so it shouldn’t be too long before we can all be royals.
PS Store This Week: Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Valkyria Revolution, CoD Modern Warfare Remastered, more
It’s another big week for the PlayStation Store as a pair of highly-anticipated remakes are now available to download, along with a spinoff to Sega’s Valkyria strategy series, and more.
Leading the way this Friday is the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy for the PS4. Developed by Vicarious Visions, the compilation features rebuilt and remade versions of Crash’s first three adventures… Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. These three platformers helped put the PlayStation on the map, so it might be interesting to revisit them 20 years later.
Also available to download for the PS4 this week is the standalone edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered. Previously bundled with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s Legacy Edition,” the remaster includes the original single-player campaign, as well as most of the game’s multiplayer maps.
If you’re looking for something new, Sega has launched Valkyria Revolution for the PS4 and PS Vita. The latest Valkyria game is actually a spinoff to the strategy-centered series, and focuses on real-time combat for the first time.
Finally this week, developers from the United Kingdom have resurrected two franchises that have been out of the limelight for some time. Micro Machines: World Series will race onto the PS4 courtesy of Codemasters, while Frontier Developments and David Braben have brought back the Elite series with Elite: Dangerous.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
New Retail Releases: Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered, Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, Valkyria Revolution, More
This week’s New Retail Releases report is packed full of remakes, sequels, and spinoffs, which is perfect for the start to a likely lazy Summer…
Let’s start things off with Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, a compilation of the first three games in the series, now remade for the PS4. Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped helped put the original PlayStation on the map, and now’s a great time to play them again.
And Activision is striking back again this week with the upcoming standalone re-release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered on the PS4. You might already own it if you purchased the Legacy Edition of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare last year, but if not, here’s your chance.
Also available this week is a pair of spinoffs to two very Japanese franchises. First up is Sega, who will launch Valkyria Revolution on the PS4 and Xbox One, and add real-time combat to the franchise for the first time. Meanwhile, NIS America will deliver a side-story in the sprawling Danganronpa saga with Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls on the PS4.
NIS America will also bring RPG Maker Fes to the 3DS this week. Players won’t be required to have any programming skills, but they’ll be able to create (and share) their own RPG all the same.
Finally this week, two long-forgotten franchises will return to store shelves. Codemasters will zip around the house with the diminutive automobiles from Micro Machines World Series for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. And the famed Elite series will fly again thanks to Elite Dangerous: Legendary Edition on the PS4 and Xbox One.
You can read up on all of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
PS Store This Week: Nex Machina, Dead By Daylight, MXGP 3, more
Now that the 2017 E3 Expo is in the rearview mirror, we can look forward to a big new PlayStation Store update…
This week, Housemarque has teamed up with the legendary Eugene Jarvis to bring Nex Machina to the PS4. The twin-stick shooter takes place in a dystopian future where machines have taken over and mankind must fight back. Sounds like the perfect playground for the creator of Robotron 2084 and Smash TV.
Also available this week is Dead by Daylight, a multiplayer game for the PS4 where one players controls a deranged Killer, and four others attempt to escape their gruesome fate as the Survivors. It’ll be joined on Friday by Get Even, a first-person puzzler from Bandai Namco that plays with reality.
Finally, racing onto the PS4 this week is MXGP 3, the latest motorcycle racing sim from Milestone; and Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, a new expansion for Square Enix’s MMORPG.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Dead By Daylight, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Get Even, Nex Machina
New Retail Releases: Ever Oasis, Runbow Pocket, Dead By Daylight, More
Nintendo is back at the top of the New Retail Release report this week with another new game for their handheld, as well as a handful of new third party titles for their surging pair of systems.
Ever Oasis is a brand new action RPG from Koichi Ishii, the creator of the Mana series. Players will need to venture out into the desert and protect (and rebuild) the last safe oasis in the world. If you own a New 3DS, you’ll also be able to pick up 13AM’s Runbow Pocket: Deluxe Edition this week. The platform racer was originally released for the Wii U in 2015, and this new portable edition includes the base game and all the previously-released downloadable content.
Speaking of platformers, Nicalis will bring Cave Story+ to the Switch with upgraded high definition graphics, seven game modes, and 15 levels to explore.
Elsewhere in your local game store you’ll find Dead By Daylight, an asymmetrical horror simulator for the PS4 and Xbox One. One player will be able to take control of the Killer, while others will fight to live as Survivors. One… two… a copyright-adjacent boogeyman is coming for you…
A faster getaway would probably be available to the drivers in MXGP 3, the latest motorcycle racing game from Square Enix and Milestone. MXGP 3 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and players will be able to race through the complete 2016 season.
And speaking of Square Enix, the Japanese publisher will expand their MMORPG this week with the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood for the PC and PS4. The expansion will include a variety of new content including new Raids, new Jobs, and an increased Level Cap.
Another Japanese publisher, NIS America, will also release a new RPG this week. God Wars: Future Past is coming to the PS4 and Vita, and its a tactical RPG that combies traditional Japanese folklore with a unique art style based on watercolor and wood carving art.
Finally this week, a Retail Edition of Cities: Skylines will be available for the Xbox One exclusively through GameStop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Cities: Skylines, Dead By Daylight, Ever Oasis, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Runbow
Wipeout Omega Collection, Perception, Elder Scrolls Online Morrowind, more added to PS Store this week
The PlayStation Store is racing for the future with this week’s update…
First up is the Wipeout: Omega Collection, a new PS4 compilation featuring the last two games in the series. The futuristic racing franchise may have faded away in 2012, but Sony is hoping that fans will want to replay Wipeout HD, its Fury expansion, and Wipeout 2048 one more time with enhanced graphics and sound.
Also available to download this week is a different kind of racing game from Codemasters. The publisher has relaunched its off-road racing series with Dirt 4 for the PS4. Including more than 50 vehicles and an almost unlimited number of routes, Dirt 4 will keep fans busy for quite a while. And speaking of dedicated fans, Bethesda is returning to the island of Vvardenfell for new adventures in The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind for the PS4.
Finally this week, PS4 players will get the chance to download the Diablo-like Victor Vran and Perception, a first-person narrative adventure created by a team of developers who previously worked on BioShock and Dead Space. Telltale will also launch Guardians of the Galaxy – Episode 2: Under Pressure, the newest episode in their Marvel adaptation.
You can learn more about all of these games (and nearly a dozen other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Dirt 4, Guardians of the Galaxy, Perception, The Elder Scrolls Online, Victor Vran, WipEout Omega Collection
New Retail Releases: ESO Morrowind, Wipeout Omega Collection, Dirt 4, More
Gamers don’t have a “Summer Gaming Season” the way moviegoers do, but the first full week of June does include several interesting new releases…
Elder Scrolls fans will be able to return to Vvardenfell this week, as Bethesda will release The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players of the popular MMO will be joined in battle by a fearsome War Bear as they attempt to stop a meteor from hitting Vivec City.
Also this week, Sony will bring back the Wipeout franchise’s brand of futuristic racing with the Wipeout: Omega Collection. Set to be released for the PS4 on Tuesday, the Omega Collection includes a trio of enhanced remakes (Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD: Fury, and Wipeout 2048) and full PS4 Pro support. Sony is extremely proud of the remade graphics featured in the Omega Collection, and they’re boasting that players will be able to “read some of the small text on the ships for the first time.”
Finally this week, Codemasters will launch Dirt 4 on the PS4 and Xbox One. The off-road racing series returns with more than 50 vehicles and five locations that contain “millions” of routes.
The full list of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. And we’ll be back in a few days to look at the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged Dirt 4, The Elder Scrolls Online, WipEout Omega Collection