Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Xbox 360
BioWare releases new Cinematic Trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda; ME2 and ME3 added to Xbox One Backwards Compatibility
November 7th is N7 Day, a day BioWare sets aside to celebrate the Mass Effect franchise and the loyal fans that make up its vast community. This year, the developer is gearing up for the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda, so they’ve used N7 Day 2016 to unveil a brand new Cinematic Trailer for the game.
Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Spring 2017.
In other N7 Day news, Microsoft has added Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 to the Xbox One’s Backwards Compatibility list. So if you own either game for your Xbox 360, you can now play them on your Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Xbox Store Today: Super Dungeon Bros, Earth’s Dawn, Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst
It’s November… and that means that Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to pick up a handful of new games through the Games With Gold program.
This month’s Xbox One selection is Super Dungeon Bros, and its also newly available to download this week from the Xbox Games Store. Players will take control of the Super Dungeon Bros (Axl, Lars, Freddie, and Ozzie) in this co-op “dungeon brawler” as they battle the evil undead in search of epic loot. Also available to download today on the Xbox One is Earth’s Dawn, a side-scrolling brawler where players take on the alien invasion force in a game with a “hard-edged manga aesthetic.”
If you’re a fan 2D action, over on the Xbox 360 side of the Xbox Games Store, players will be able to download the vertically-scrolling shooter Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
New Retail Releases: CoD Infinite Warfare, Mario Party Star Rush, SteamWorld Collection, More
After the Battlefield franchise brought the fight all the way back to World War I, Activision decided to take the Call of Duty series even further into the future with this week’s release of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Developer Infinity Ward has fully embraced the science fiction genre this time around with lasers, robots, space battles, and a whole lot more.
This pivot to the future shouldn’t be that surprising as the Call of Duty franchise first broke through in a big way with the release of 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. PS4 and Xbox One owners will get a chance to relive that seminal entry in the entry if they purchase Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Legacy Edition, which includes access to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.
A different kind of war will take place this week in Mario Party: Star Rush for the 3DS. Nintendo’s series of Mario-themed board games has always provided plenty of multiplayer shenanigans, and Star Rush will likely be no different.
Finally this week, a handful of games that were previously only available as digital downloads will be released in special retail version this week. Image & Form will package together SteamWorld Dig and SteamWorld Heist in SteamWorld Collection for the PS4 and Wii U. 13AM Games will release a Runbow: Deluxe Edition for the Wii U. And Bandai Nacmo will bring Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 + Arcade Game Series to the Xbox One.
The full list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Just Dance 2017, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Batman Episode 3, more
While this week’s biggest new releases will be available on Friday, the digital shelves of the Xbox Games Store are still overflowing with new titles.
That list includes Just Dance 2017, the latest entry in Ubisoft’s ultra-popular dancing series, for the Xbox One. This time around, players will be able to dance along with more than 40 songs from artists like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Queen, and more.
And speaking of long-running franchises, Bandai Namco will add Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 to the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One. Players will develop their own warrior, and battle enemies to “restore the original story of the Dragon Ball series.”
Finally, a pair of episodic games will receive new chapters this week on the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Batman: The Telltale Series will reach the halfway point with Episode 3: New World Order. And The Odd Gentlemen will bring the King’s Quest reboot to a close with Chapter 5: The Good Knight.
More details on this trio of games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Just Dance 2017, King's Quest
Meet the Children of Arkham in a trailer for Episode 3 of Batman: The Telltale Series
Batman: The Telltale Series continues to roll on with today’s release of the next episode in the series, New World Order. In a new trailer for Episode 3, we’ve learned that the aftermath of the attack by the Children of Arkham has left Gotham City, and The Batman, shaken to the core. Meanwhile, Harvey Dent is going through his own identity crisis:
In Episode 3, Penguin’s brutal attack broadcast on live TV has left Gotham City reeling. As Bruce and Batman, you’ll dig deeper into the web of intrigue surrounding the newly revealed Children of Arkham. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the mysterious Selina Kyle reveals more of herself to Bruce. And in the aftermath of the attack, Bruce’s friend and Gotham’s new mayor, Harvey Dent, is a deeply changed man. Who can be trusted when the future of Bruce Wayne – and the Batman – could be determined by the flip of a coin?
Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 3: New World Order is now available to download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It’ll also be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile devices at a later date.
New Retail Releases: Titanfall 2, World of Final Fantasy, Skyrim Special Edition, More
EA and Respawn Entertainment will storm their way into stores this week with Titanfall 2 for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In addition to expanded multiplayer options, Titanfall 2 will include a single-player campaign for the first time. We can finally say it… Your Titanfall sequel is ready.
Also available this week is World of Final Fantasy, a new “chibi” RPG from Square Enix that celebrates the grand history of the Final Fantasy franchise. Designed primarily for a younger audience, PS4 and Vita players will still need to save the world from an evil mastermind. Thankfully, they’ll be aided by dozens of heroes from previous games in the series.
If you’d rather skip all the fighting and just dance, Ubisoft has you covered with the launch of Just Dance 2017 on the PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Just Dance 2017 includes dozens of songs, and the new Just Dance Machine mode, which will throw an assortment of different dance styles at players.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition will make its PC, PS4, and Xbox One debut this week, as Bethesda plans to relaunch their epic RPG on a new generation of platforms. And Telltale will bring together Minecraft: Story Mode – The Complete Adventure on a single disc for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Finally this week, one of my favorite puzzlers of the year, Tumblestone, will receive a retail release on the PS4 and Wii U.
A complete list of this week’s new retail releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Just Dance 2017, Minecraft: Story Mode, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, TitanFall 2, Tumblestone, World of Final Fantasy
Voice actor strike reveals unannounced games like Lego Marvel 2, Brothers in Arms, more
SAG-AFTRA, a union representing voice actors and stunt performers, authorized a strike against game developers that began this morning. As part of the process, the union has published a list of projects that members are no longer allowed to work on, and it includes several unannounced games.
It wasn’t much of a shock to learn that EA Sports is already hard at work on Madden NFL 18 and NHL 18, but listings for Lego Marvel 2 and Brothers in Arms were a bit more surprising (though not unexpected). While WB Games has yet to make any noise about a new Lego Marvel game, Gearbox confirmed the existence of a fourth Brothers in Arms game last year.
A large number of mobile games also make up a large part of the list, as well as a few games that are denoted only by codenames. For example, Take-Two is working on something called “Alligator,” while EA is developing games under monikers as diverse as “Odin,” “Fearless,” “Scorpion,” and “Timbits.” We may never know what these codenames refer to (they may even belong to games that have already been released), but one of the union’s major demands is for developers to be more transparent during the hiring process and to use a game’s actual title when contracting with vocal/stunt performers.
Finally, several highly-anticipated 2017 titles will be affected by the strike including Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, Injustice 2, and Crash Bandicoot Remastered. So hopefully the two sides can reach an equitable agreement soon.
UPDATE: A representative from WB Games has informed us that the inclusion of “Lego Marvel 2” in the SAG-AFTRA strike list is actually a reference to Lego Avengers, which was released earlier this year. However, Lego Avengers was announced in January 2015, several weeks before the union’s deadline for projects that must be part of the picket line.
I’m not sure why it was included on the list (it’s possible the union goofed), but the official line from WB Games is that “Lego Marvel 2” is definitely not a reference to “Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2” or any other unannounced game. That said, I’d be very surprised if WB Games isn’t working on another Lego Marvel game, and we’ll likely hear more about “Lego Marvel 2” in the future.
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Brothers in Arms 4, Crash Bandicoot, Injustice 2, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, Madden NFL 18, NHL 18
Voice actors represented by SAG-AFTRA union go on strike against game developers
Negotiations between game developers and the voice actors and stunt performers represented by the SAG-AFTRA union began in February 2015, but after more than 18 months of discussions, the two sides appear no closer to an agreement. Because of the impasse, and to protest against a contract they believe is decades out of date, the members of the union went on strike this morning.
“SAG-AFTRA has gone to the negotiations table with serious concerns affecting voiceover and stunt performers,” said Ray Rodriguez, the Chief Contracts Officer for SAG-AFTRA. “It’s time for video game employers to take our concerns seriously and negotiate a modern contract based on actor safety, industry precedent and best practices.”
This strike won’t affect all developers, and currently only applies to games that went into production after February 17, 2015 at Activision, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, Take-Two Interactive, and WB Games. However, the strike also extends to several independent vocal production studios that do a lot of contract work with the big publishers.
The game developers are offering an immediate 9% salary hike for all performers, and “additional compensation” depending on the number of recording sessions. However, the union’s demands for better working conditions went unmentioned in a statement from the Chief Negotiator for the game developers.
The SAG-AFTRA union plans to push the game developers for a better deal over the next few weeks, and their first order of business is encouraging all members to join a picket line in front of EA’s headquarters this Monday, October 24.