Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Xbox 360
Xbox Store Today: Happy Dungeons, Telltale’s Batman Episode 1, Dead Island: Retro Revenge, more
It’s time to get happy… today’s Xbox Games Store update is now available.
And speaking of happiness, Toylogic is back with Happy Dungeons (Xbox One), a free-to-play sequel to Happy Wars. This time, the multiplayer action RPG takes the battle deep underground with a “witty, upbeat storyline that’s never short of a surprise.”
But if you feel that happiness is overrated, let Telltale help you challenge your angst with Batman: The Telltale Series. Episode 1: Realm of Shadows is now available to download for the Xbox One, and players will be able to take control of both Batman and Bruce Wayne as they try to clean up the streets of Gotham.
Deep Silver’s Dead Island: Retro Revenge is also available as a standalone download for the Xbox One. Previously exclusive to the Dead Island Definitive Collection, Retro Revenge is a side-scrolling beat ’em up through a zombie-infested California.
Finally this week, Introversion’s slammer simulator, Prison Architect, makes a break for the Xbox 360.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Prison Architect
Just Dance 2017 demo now available; Songs from DNCE, Silento, Shakira added to the game
Ubisoft will release Just Dance 2017 this October, but fans interested in a playable demo featuring Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” can download one for the PS4, Xbox One, or Wii U beginning today.
In addition to a new song from “The Biebs,” Ubisoft announced three more songs that’ll be included on Just Dance 2017’s soundtrack:
- DNCE – “Cake By The Ocean”
- Silento – “Watch Me (Whip/ Nae Nae)”
- Shakira (featuring Wyclef Jean) – “Hips Don’t Lie”
Just Dance 2017 will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, and Wii U this October. The game will also be released for Nintendo’s NX console next year.
Legendary and Square Enix will produce a live-action adaptation of Life Is Strange
Legendary Entertainment has been bitten hard by the video game adaptation bug. Warcraft opened in theaters earlier this Summer, and more recently, the studio signed a deal with The Pokemon Company to produce a movie based on Detective Pikachu.
Now, they’ve set their sights on Dontnod’s Life Is Strange.
Square Enix has announced they’re teaming up with Legendary Digital Studios and DJ2 Entertainment to produce a live-action webseries based on Life Is Strange. Like the game, the adaptation will follow teenage photographer Max Caulfield as she learns to deal with her newly-discovered time travel powers in the face of apocalyptic visions.
In other coincidentally recent Life Is Strange news, Square Enix and Dontnod re-released the game’s first episode as a free download last week.
“Life is Strange is one of those rare properties that combines incredibly developed characters and storylines with deeply engaging gameplay,” said Greg Siegel, the Senior Vice President of Development and Production for Legendary Digital Studios. “It lends itself perfectly to live-action imaginings. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Square Enix, Dontnod Entertainment, and DJ2 to bring the world of Arcadia Bay to life in an exciting new way.”
The search is currently on for a screenwriter, so hopefully we’ll learn more about Life Is Strange’s live-action adaptation soon.
Xbox Store Today: We Happy Few, Hyper Light Drifter, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1+2, more
Xbox One Game Preview fans will definitely want to pay attention to today’s Xbox Games Store update, which includes the official early release of Compulsion’s We Happy Few, a drug-fuelled trip through the 1960s in a retrofuturistic city in England.
Speaking of “retro,” Heart Machine unleashed their overhead action RPG Hyper Light Drifter on the Xbox One. The “Zeldalike” features a unique graphical style, along with “enemies [that] are vicious and numerous” and “hazards [that] will easily crush your frail body.” Slightly less retro is Activision’s Xbox One re-release of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, a pair of action RPGs that were originally released for the Xbox 360. Both games are available separately or in a two-game bundle.
Finally this week, Telltale continues Minecraft: Story Mode with the seventh episode, Access Denied. It’s available to download for both the Xbox One and Xbox 360.
You can find more information on all of these (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
1992 Dream Team and 2016 USA Basketball team will take the court in NBA 2K17
2K Games wants fans to go for the gold this Fall as they’ve announced plans to add the 2016 USA Basketball Men’s National Team that’ll compete in this Summer’s Olympics and the 1992 “Dream Team” to NBA 2K17:
Comprised of NBA Hall of Famers, including Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone and David Robinson, the 1992 “Dream Team” is universally considered one of, if not the greatest, team ever assembled in basketball history. Fans will be able to pit that roster against this year’s athletes on the USAB Men’s National Team, which includes NBA 2K17 cover athlete Paul George and Team 2K athletes Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, and Kyrie Irving.
The 2016 USA Basketball Men’s National Team will be included in the main game and available to everyone who purchases NBA 2K17, but the 1992 “Dream Team” will only be available as bonus content for fans who pre-order.
2K Games also confirmed that Mike Krzyzewski, Coach K to friends and fans, will appear on the sidelines coaching the 2016 USA Basketball Men’s National Team. Krzyzewski stepped into a motion capture booth for his NBA 2K debut and he’ll also appear in a revamped Tutorial Mode that focuses on “teaching fundamental basketball strategies including pick and roll execution, proper defensive positioning, ball movement, boxing out, court awareness, and more.”
NBA 2K17 will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on September 20. However, everyone who pre-orders will receive access to a special “Tip-Off Edition” that’ll be released on September 16.
Vince, Shane, and Stephanie McMahon will all appear as playable wrestlers in WWE 2K17
It’s a McMahon family reunion as Stephanie McMahon has revealed (via Twitter) that she’ll appear as a playable wrestler in WWE 2K17, alongside her brother, Shane, and father, Vince:
It's a family affair! Catch @VinceMcMahon, @shanemcmahon, and I in #WWE2K17! Check out @IGN for Roster Reveal info. pic.twitter.com/Boi89MaaMt
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) July 26, 2016
Vince most recently appeared in last year’s WWE 2K16, but this announcement marks the first time all three McMahons will be playable wrestlers in the same game since 2012’s WWE 13.
2K Games is teaming up with IGN to unveil a large chunk of WWE 2K17’s roster over the next five weeks. Dubbed the “Suplex City Census,” the second batch of playable wrestlers will be announced next Tuesday, August 2.
WWE 2K17 will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 11.
Overwatch climbs to the top of the NPD’s list of best-selling games for June 2016
June is typically a slow period for new game releases, but The NPD Group’s look at last month’s best-selling games proves just how slow it was. According to tracking firm, consumer spending on games was down 20% from last year, when Batman: Arkham Knight launched to strong reviews and even stronger sales.
To make matters worse, the only new release to crack the top ten were Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3) and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst (#5). But that means the path to the top of the list was clear for Overwatch, which rode a wave of support from fans to become June 2016’s best-selling game. Grand Theft Auto V (#2) and Doom (#4) rounded out the top five.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom in June, as NPD Analyst Liam Callahan told GamesIndustry.biz: “After 32 months since the launches of the PS4 and Xbox One, the combined cumulative hardware sales for these two consoles exceed the sales of [the PS3 and Xbox 360] by 40% at the same point in their lifecycles.”
However, the biggest news this month might be the new way that the NPD reports their monthly sales data. Provided a publisher supplies the numbers, the company has agreed to begin integrating digital sales into their monthly tally. Most publishers have already signed on, though Bethesda, Sony, and Mojang remain holdouts, and Blizzard has decided not to share sales data from Battle.net.
A complete look at last months top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Destiny, Doom (2016), Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Minecraft, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, NBA 2K16, NPD, Overwatch, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Life Is Strange’s first episode is now available to download for free
Dontnod Entertainment has announced that players who have yet to try out Life Is Strange can now download the first episode for free on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
In case you missed it last year, Life Is Strange follows Max Caulfield, a teenage photographer who finds out she can reverse time after saving her best friend from a school shooter. But that one act could have apocalyptic consequences for everyone in her small town…
“Although our team set out to create an award-winning narrative we still cannot believe the response we’ve had from players of Life is Strange” said Oskar Guilbert, the CEO of Dontnod Entertainment. “We’re really glad that Square Enix have decided to give the first episode away for free so more players can begin their journey and see why people have fallen in love with the game for themselves.”
Life Is Strange’s near-universal critical acclaim, highlighted in the new trailer embedded above, eventually lead to several year-end awards including a Peabody Award, the “Games For Change” trophy at The Game Awards, the “Audience Award” at the GDC Awards, and “Best Story” at the BAFTAs.