Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Wii U
Handicapping the 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame Finalists
We’re just a few days away from learning which games will be inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame this year. In 2015, Tetris, Super Mario Bros., Pong, Doom, World of Warcraft, and Pac-Man were selected as the inaugural class by the institution’s induction committee. The Hall’s Class of 2016 will be announced on Thursday, May 5, and five or six games are once again expected to rise above the other finalists.
But which of the 15 finalists will be honored this year? Using the Hall’s induction criteria as a guide, I can think we can determine the odds of which games will make it in and which will have to wait until next year. (more…)
Wii U owners can dig into Terraria beginning on June 28
After more than a year of waiting, Wii U owners will finally be able to get their hands on Terraria starting next month.
The Wii U Edition of Terraria will include all the same digging, building, exploration, and fighting that fans have come to expect from the game. But it’ll also include an option for touchscreen controls with the Wii U GamePad, along with four-player splitscreen multiplayer and online play for up to eight players. Other features found in Terraria’s Wii U Edition include:
- 14 different environments such as eerie dungeons, slippery ice wastes, wild jungles and more
- Hundreds of craftable weapons, armor and items
- More than 150 enemies ranging from zombies to armies of goblins
- Epic boss battles that test players’ combat skills
- Vast worlds of exploration that introduce new potions, magic, gear and more
According to publisher 505 Games and developer Re-Logic, Terraria will be available for the Wii U on June 28.
Splatoon’s Squid Sisters will get their own Amiibo figures on July 8
There’s no question that Splatoon‘s Squid Sisters, Callie and Marie, have become Nintendo’s newest stars. Obviously, the game’s fantastic online multiplayer modes struck a chord with Wii U fans in 2015, but the freshest MCs in the business stole the show every time they introduced new maps or hosted a Splatfest. And now, thanks to their popularity, Nintendo plans to immortalize the Squid Sisters in plastic with an Amiibo 2-Pack this Summer.
The Squid Sisters 2-Pack will be released on July 8, and it’ll be priced at $24.99. After tapping either of the Amiibo figures to the Wii U GamePad, Callie and Marie will bust out some “squidtastic dance moves” in a series of brand new music videos. More Splatoon figures will be available this Summer as Nintendo will also re-release the Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, and Inkling Squid Amiibo in new colors on July 8. The Inkling Boy and Inkling Girl will be sold individually for $12.99 apiece, or you can grab all three figures in a special 3-Pack for $34.99.
Believe it or not, Callie and Marie performed their first live show at the Niconico Tokaigi gaming event in Japan. You can get a glimpse of their mind-melting performance after the break. (more…)
Mighty No. 9 release date is “set in stone” for June 21
After a seemingly neverending series of delays, Keiji Inafune and his team at Comcept have announced that Mighty No. 9 has finally completed development and officially “gone gold.” The side-scrolling platformer, which Inafune designed as a spiritual successor to his long-running Mega Man series, will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on June 21. Portable versions for the 3DS and Vita will launch at a later date.
In addition to the release date announcement, Inafune also delivered a message for fans on Mighty No. 9’s Kickstarter page, where he once again apologized for the many delays and confirmed that its June 21 release date is “set in stone.”
Inafune’s complete statement has been reproduced after the break. (more…)
Super Meat Boy will finally come to the Wii U on May 12
It looks like Team Meat’s brutally difficult platformer, Super Meat Boy, will finally make it’s way to the Wii U eShop on May 12:
PSA: Super Meat Boy will be released on WiiU May 12th! Everyone thank @BlitWorks!!! Once again they did an amazing job!
— Team Meat (@SuperMeatBoy) April 29, 2016
To commemorate the launch, the developers got together to produce a new trailer, which has been embedded above. If you’ve never played Super Meat Boy before, this two-minute clip will certainly give you a taste of just how sadistic the game can be. And if you are thinking of picking it up, allow me to suggest playing with a Pro Controller. Smashing a Wii U GamePad in frustration would be an expensive mistake.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Meat Boy
Conan O’Brien lets it all hang out after playing Mario Kart 8 with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron
Neighbors 2 opens in theaters on May 20, so Seth Rogen and Zac Efron decided that challenging Conan O’Brien to a Mario Kart 8 tournament was the best way to promote their R-rated comedy sequel. Sadly, even after sharing his green tea keg and an e-cigarette, losing round after round of the family-friendly game lead to a very NSFW (and pretty funny) punishment for Conan.
I know Nintendo needs the money, but I’m actually a little shocked they said “Let’s-a go!” to this skit.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8
The PAXpocalypse List: The Best of PAX East 2016
Believe it or not, we’re not living in a post-apocalyptic hellscape (depending on your political affiliation, insert your own Trump/Hillary joke here). But you’d never know it if all you had to go by was the 2016 PAX East show floor, which was overrun by dozens of titles that took place after the collapse of society… and a lot of them were pretty good.
But what if some disaster did befall the world and force PAX East attendees to forever wander the halls of the Boston Convention and Exhibition, feasting on whatever mac and cheese bowls or turkey legs they may find? That’s where Warp Zoned’s PAXpocalypse List comes in, because these are the games we’d keep playing if we could never venture outside again… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged 20XX, Catlateral Damage, Cuphead, Flinthook, Graceful Explosion Machine, Inversus, Just Shapes and Beats, PAX East 2016, Pit People, Refactor, Streamline, Tooth and Tail, Tumblestone, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Nintendo Download: Xenoblade Chronicles, Mini Mario & Friends, Sega 3D Classics, more
It’s a big day for the Nintendo eShop and it’s an especially big day for Wii U owners who may have missed out on Xenoblade Chronicles. Originally released as a GameStop exclusive for the Wii in 2012, Xenoblade Chronicles is a JRPG from Monolith Soft that features mechs, mystical weapons, and malevolent gods… basically everything you could ever want from a JRPG. People went so crazy for Xenoblade Chronicles that a group of dedicated fans even embarked on a multi-year campaign to get Nintendo to release it in North America. Which of course lead directly to last year’s launch of Xenoblade Chronicles X.
But if you’re not in the market for a sprawling JRPG today, Nintendo has a few other games ready for release. First up is Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge, a free-to-play title now available for the Wii U and the 3DS. As the latest entry in the popular Mario vs Donkey Kong series players will have to tap any Amiibo figure they own to get the Minis marching… and some even have special powers. And speaking of free-to-play games, Bandai Namco is ready to release the full version of Lost Reavers (Wii U), their four-player cooperative treasure hunter.
Finally this week, Sega will bundle together nine games from their “3D Classics” line in the Sega 3D Classics Collection. Just some of the Genesis and Master System favorites included in the package are Sonic The Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Galaxy Force II, Thunder Blade, Fantasy Zone II, Fantasy Zone II W, Power Drift, Puyo Puyo 2, and Maze Walker.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Xenoblade Chronicles