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The Games of April 2018
After the end of a long Winter, things usually start bursting to life in April thanks to the fresh Spring air. This adage used to apply to the game release calendar too, but only a handful of new games will make their way to store shelves in April 2018. And an even smaller handful of titles will rise above the rest.
Nintendo will launch their latest experiment, the cardboard-powered Nintendo Labo kits, for the Switch this month. They’ll be joined by a new beginning for Kratos in Sony Santa Monica’s God of War, and the end for Kazuma Kiryu in Sega’s Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.
You can find out why the Warp Zoned staff is looking forward to these games, and view the release schedule for all of this month’s new games, after the break. (more…)
Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, Switch, Top Story, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged God of War 4, Nintendo Labo: Robot Kit, Nintendo Labo: Variety Kit, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Penny-Punching Princess, Minit, Impact Winter, more coming to PS Store this week
You gotta be quick if you want to stay on top of this week’s PlayStation Store update.
Leading the way is Minit, a Zelda-like adventure for the PS4 that players have to complete sixty seconds at a time. Also available to download now is NIS America’s Penny-Punching Princess, an isometric brawler for the PS Vita with a retro-styled look.
Retro gaming fans might also be intrigued by The King of Fighters ’97: Global Match, a PS4 and PS Vita remake of the popular one-on-one fighter. KOF 97 will be available this Thursday, as will Impact Winter, a new PS4 game from Bandai Namco that asks players to survive for as long as they can.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Penny-Punching Princess
Chasm will come to the PC, PS4, and Vita this Summer
After more than five years in development, developer Bit Kid is finally ready to release Chasm on the PC, PS4, and Vita this Summer. If you’re unfamiliar with Chasm, it’s a MetroidVania that asks players to take control of a young knight on his first adventure. Together, you’ll explore a procedurally-generated world stitched together from a batch of pre-built rooms:
Welcome to Chasm, an action-adventure game in which you play a new recruit undertaking your first mission for the Guildean Kingdom. Thrilled to prove your worth as a knight, you track strange rumors that a mine vital to the Kingdom has been shut down. But what you discover in the mining town is worse than you imagined: The townspeople have begun to disappear, kidnapped by supernatural creatures emerging from the depths.
Honor-bound to solve the mystery and restore peace to the Kingdom, you embark upon an epic adventure, with deadly battles against cunning monsters, exploration of ancient catacombs and castles, and powerful new equipment hidden at every turn. Though the overall story is the same for all players, your hero’s journey will be unique: each of the rooms has been hand-designed, and behind the scenes Chasm stitches these rooms together into a one-of-a-kind world map that will be your own.
Bit-Kid’s James Petruzzi talked a bit more about Chasm’s development process on the PlayStation Blog, and a new trailer for the distinctly retro-styled game has been embedded above.
MLB The Show 18, Far Cry 5, The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2, more coming to PS Store this week
A fairly decent-sized batch of new games will be available to download through the PlayStation Store this week.
With Opening Day less than 24 hours away, Sony has launched MLB The Show 18 exclusively for the PS4. Developer Sony San Diego has added a huge number of new Legends to the the baseball sim, as well as an expanded Road to the Show mode, and a revamped Hitting Engine. There aren’t any Major League teams in Montana, and that’s probably just as well, because PS4 players will also be able to win back the fictional Hope County from a doomsday cult in Ubisoft’s Far Cry 5 this week.
JRPG fans will find multiple new games on the PlayStation Store this week including The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 from NIS America and Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings (the finale of the Mysterious saga) from Bandai Namco. Things with wheels are also represented in this week’s update thanks to the launch of THQ Nordic’s MX Vs ATV: All Out and Atari’s RollerCoaster Tycoon: Joyride. And I’m not sure if it has wheels, but Llamasoft brings the tube shooter back to the PS4 in Tempest 4000.
Finally, Telltale will bring Batman: The Enemy Within to a close with Episode 5: Same Stitch.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
World Video Game Hall of Fame announces finalists for Class of 2018
Curators at the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and the Strong Museum have announced the finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018. Eight games will get their first chance to be inducted into gaming’s inner circle, including Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King’s Quest, Metroid, Ms. Pac-Man, and Spacewar!.
Two other games, Final Fantasy VII and Tomb Raider, were previously in the finalist pool for the Class of 2017. They’ll get another chance this year alongside John Madden Football and Minecraft, which were previously on the ballot in 2016.
The World Video Game Hall of Fame will announce the inductees for the Class of 2018 on Thursday, May 3, at 10:30 AM. But this year, fans will get a vote in the first-ever Player’s Choice ballot. According to the rules, “the three games that receive the most public votes will form one “Player’s Choice” ballot, which will join the 27 other ballots submitted by members of the International Selection Advisory Committee, a supporting group composed of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.” Fans can make their voice heard through the Player’s Choice ballot once a day until April 4th. So vote early and vote often!
And if, for some reason, you’re unfamiliar with this year’s finalists, the World Video Game Hall of Fame has put together a helpful cheat sheet that can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Retro, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy VII, Minecraft, Ms. Pac-Man, Tomb Raider (1996), World Video Game Hall of Fame
New Retail Releases: Far Cry 5, MLB The Show 18, The Alliance Alive, More
A nonet of new releases will be available to purchase from your favorite gaming establishment this week…
Ubisoft is leading the way this week with the launch of Far Cry 5, the latest game in their open-world shooter franchise. This time, players will have to infiltrate a doomsday cult and rescue the citizens of Hope County, Montana from the violent followers of “The Father.” As you might expect, Far Cry 5 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Far Cry 5 includes a nice variety of vehicles, and racing fans will get to explore an even bigger garage in THQ Nordic’s MX Vs ATV: All Out for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. MX Vs ATV: All Out will include several different race types (Supercross, Nationals, Opencross, Waypoint, Tag, and more), as well as stunt tracks, and online multiplayer.
Baseball fans will also get the chance to play ball this week with Sony’s annual entry in the MLB The Show series, MLB The Show 18, for the PS4.
If you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path, a big batch of JRPGs will also make their way to North America this week. Atlus will launch The Alliance Alive for the 3DS; Koei Tecmo’s Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings closes out the “Mysterious” saga on the PS4 and Switch; NIS America will release The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 for the PS4; and Aksys will pull double duty with Code Realize: Bouquet of Flowers for the PS4 and Code Realize: Future Blessings for the Vita.
Finally this week, WB Games and NetherRealm Studios will launch the Injustice 2: Legendary Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One. The Legendary Edition will package together the original game, as well as every extra character from the Fighter Packs, and exclusive new content.
That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
A Way Out, Ni No Kuni II, Attack On Titan 2, more coming to PS Store this week
It’s time for another PlayStation Store update, and this week, a decent-sized handful of highly-anticipated new games will be available to download from the digital storefront…
Leading the way this week is A Way Out, a co-op prison break for the PS4 from Electronic Arts and Hazelight. A Way Out was directed by Josef Fares, the same developer who shepherded the creation of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons in 2013.
A pair of sequels will also be available to download for the PS4 this week. Bandai Namco will once again team with animators from Studio Ghibli for Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. And Koei Tecmo will return to the world of Attack On Titan with Attack On Titan 2.
Finally this week, MLB Advanced Media will step up to the plate with RBI Baseball 18 for the PS4, and Ubisoft will give 2014’s Assassin’s Creed: Rogue a second chance on the PS4 with a Remastered re-release.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged A Way Out, Assassin's Creed: Rogue, Attack On Titan 2, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, RBI Baseball 18
New Retail Releases: Sea of Thieves, Ni No Kuni II, Detective Pikachu, More
Game publishers love to launch highly-anticipated new games just before the end of a financial quarter, so we’ve got a bounty of new games to choose from in this week’s New Retail Releases report.
Leading the way is Sea of Thieves, a multiplayer pirate simulation for the Xbox One from Microsoft and Rare. But if you’d rather explore a different kind of world, Bandai Namco and Level-5 will bring Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, an RPG sequel created in conjunction with animators from Studio Ghibli, to the PS4. Even players who are still attached to their 3DS handhelds will have new options this week with Nintendo’s launch of Detective Pikachu.
Several multiplatform titles will also make their way onto store shelves this week including Hazelight’s co-op prison break sim, A Way Out (PS4, Xbox One); MLB Advanced Media’s retro-styled baseball game, RBI Baseball 18 (PS4, Xbox One); and Koei Tecmo’s second adaptation of the Attack On Titan anime, Attack On Titan 2 (PS4, Switch, Xbox One).
Finally this week, THQ Nordic will bring back Titan Quest in an upgraded new re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Badland Games will make Velocity 2X: Critical Mass Edition available on retail shelves for the PS4 and Vita.
That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Switch, Vita, Xbox One
Tagged A Way Out, Attack On Titan 2, Detective Pikachu, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, RBI Baseball 18, Sea of Thieves