Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: Wii
Skylanders: Trap Team introduces a new Portal on October 5
Toys For Bob, the original development team behind the Skylanders phenomenon, will return for the next game in the series… Skylanders: Trap Team. Trap Team will be available on October 5 for the PC, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, and, for the first time, the PS4 and Xbox One. A 3DS version of the game, which Activision is calling a “completely unique adventure,” will also be released on October 5.
Trap Team introduces a new gameplay mechanic to the Skylanders universe and requires a new Portal accessory for the game’s figures, the Traptanium Portal. With the Traptanium Portal, the Skylanders will turn into quasi-Ghostbusters and trap some of the game’s biggest baddies. After trapping them in the Portal using a Trap Master token, players can send the villains back into the game as reformed heroes.
In Skylanders: Trap Team, Kaos continues his ongoing quest to rule over Skylands. He has discovered the location of the legendary Cloudcracker Prison — a fortress built entirely out of the magical substance Traptanium and home to Skylands’ most nefarious baddies. In an attempt to build his own army of foes, Kaos blows up the prison, releasing the most wanted villains and blasting shards of Traptanium to Earth in the form of Traps. Now it’s up to Portal Masters to recapture all of the escaped villains using powerful Traptanium Traps and defeat Kaos before it’s too late! The new adventure delivers a diverse and dynamic story-driven gameplay experience, filled with adventure, combat, puzzles, mini-games, activities, platforming and drop-in/drop-out co-op play — all set within new compelling environments.
As you might expect, an entirely new line of Skylanders figures will be available alongside Trap Team’s October launch including a new series known as Trap Masters, new “Core Skylanders” characters, and reposed “fan-favorite Skylanders characters.” Your wallet will be sorry.
Thumbs-On Impressions: GelTabz Performance Thumb Gripz
While a fantastic piece of hardware, the DualShock 4 is not without its issues, the most pressing of which is the quality of the analog sticks. Many gamers have reported cases of the rubber peeling off the sticks. Sony even issued a statement that they are looking into the problem and offered to replace any damaged controllers as they are covered under the warranty. I have not experienced this problem with my DualShock 4, but I have had a different issue: the sticks are slippery as hell.
Sure, it could be my thumbs, but I don’t remember perspiring this much during a gaming session, let alone having overactive sweat glands on my fingers. The issue really comes into play when I’ve got the analog stick pressed for an extended period of time, like during the flying race levels in Lego Marvel Heroes or certain challenges in Rayman Legends. Or pretty much the entirety of Resogun. I’ve found myself losing a life or throwing myself off-course due to having to reposition my left thumb, which can be the difference between life and death, or getting a silver medal instead of a gold. (more…)
Disney has added Lightsabers to Disney Infinity
Almost from the day it was announced, fans have been begging Disney Interactive to add Star Wars characters to Disney Infinity. While we’re not there quite yet, the publisher has revealed that a Lightsaber, an elegant weapon for a more civilized age, can be found in the game. The specific steps you need to take to unlock the Lightsaber can be found at the Disney Infinity Wiki.
So if you’ve ever wanted to watch Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Jessie from Toy Story, Mr. Incredible, Dash, and Elastigirl from The Incredibles, The Lone Ranger, Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc., Rapunzel, Jack Skellington, Wreck-It Ralph, Jack Sparrow, Elsa from Frozen, and several others wield a Lightsaber, I recommend checking out the trailer above.
As for actual Star Wars characters, we’ll probably have to wait for Disney Infinity 2.
New Releases: Diablo III: Reaper of Souls, Deception IV, Witch and Hundred Knight, More
Are you ready to dive back into Sanctuary to do battle with pure evil? If not, you better get ready as Blizzard will release Diablo III: Reaper of Souls for the PC this week. A PS4 version is also in the works and will be available later this year. But if you’re a PlayStation gamer who wants a new dungeon-crawler now, NIS America plans to release The Witch and the Hundred Knight for the PS3 this week.
If dungeon-crawling RPGs aren’t you thing, this week also sees the release of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (PS3), the latest fighting game from Arc System Works, and Deception IV: Blood Ties, the latest game in the cultish trap-filled strategy series.
And if you’re looking for more games, a few more new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, The Witch and the Hundred Knight
Harold Ramis, the man who gave the world Ghostbusters, has died
This is only tangentially related to video games, but it would be a huge disservice for Warp Zoned to ignore today’s passing of one of the greatest comedic minds of the 1980s and 1990s: Harold Ramis. Ramis died this morning due to complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that affects the blood vessels. He was 69.
Ramis is best known to film fans for his appearance in 1984’s Ghostbusters as Dr. Egon Spengler. He also co-wrote the film and reprised the role in 1989’s Ghostbusters II. In 2009, he and writing partner Dan Aykroyd would team up again to resurrect the paranormal scientists in Atari’s Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Once again slipping into the character’s signature deadpan delivery, Ramis provided vocals for Egon in the game.
In addition to the Ghostbusters franchise, Ramis was responsible for more than a few movies you may have heard of. He wrote and starred in Stripes, wrote National Lampoon’s Animal House, directed National Lampoon’s Vacation, and wrote and directed Caddyshack and Groundhog Day. If you took a regular Twinkie and said that it represented the career of your average writer/director/actor, Harold Ramis’ Twinkie would be 35 feet long and weigh approximately 600 pounds. In other words, that’s a big Twinkie.
Our thoughts go out to the Ramis family.
The Last of Us, GTA5 lead 2014 BAFTA nominees
The nominees for the 2014 BAFTA Awards have been announced and… drumroll please… The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto V both racked up a ton of nominations.
Both games will be competing for the coveted “Best Game” award against Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Tearaway, Super Mario 3D World, and Papers Please. Due to its British origins, GTA5 is also competing in the “British Game” category against Tearaway, The Room Two, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Gunpoint, and DMC: Devil May Cry.
In addition to “Best Game,” The Last of Us was nominated for nine awards including “Artistic Achievement,” “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Original Music,” “Story,” “Action and Adventure,” and “Multiplayer.” Two “Performer” nominations (one each for Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson) round out the game’s honors. As for GTA5, it received seven additional nominations including “Audio Achievement,” “Game Design,” “Game Innovation,” “Story,” “Action and Adventure,” “Multiplayer,” and “Performer” (for Steven Ogg as Trevor Phillips).
The 2014 BAFTA Awards will be awarded on Wednesday, March 12. The complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Grand Theft Auto V, Papers Please, Super Mario 3D World, Tearaway, The Last of Us
Disney Infinity 2 in the works after Infinity 1 sells a ton
Disney Interactive had a 38% revenue growth (to $403 million) and a 600% quarterly operating income growth (to $55 million from $9 million), according to their quarterly earnings call, which took place last week. Chairman and CEO Bob Iger attributed the success primarily to Disney Infinity. Hopefully this means that last week’s rumor about layoffs was just that: a rumor.
But wait – there’s more great news. Iger confirmed that there would be additional entries in the Disney Infinity series, saying, “On the interactive front, there will be new iterations of [Disney] Infinity.” The executive also said that Disney Interactive would explore more mobile possibilities – could Infinity be coming to mobile platforms as well?
The company plans to focus more on licensing their iconic characters (for example, their deal with EA for two Star Wars games) instead of publishing when it comes to console – with the exception of Infinity. Iger also said they are “tracking what we are seeing in the industry” and “moving off of some of the more traditional platforms into mobile-to-mobile space, mostly for social games and for other casual games.”
With how much I see little kids stealing their parents’ phones to play Minecraft and other games, putting more Disney games on mobile would be sheer genius.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Disney Infinity, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes
Skylanders 4 is in development and set for release this year
Activision is incredibly proud of the financial success of the Skylanders series. Since its debut in 2011, the publisher has released three titles in the franchise (Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, Skylanders Giants, Skylanders: Swap Force) and it appears a fourth is on the way. Toys For Bob, the developer behind Spyro’s Adventure and Giants, will take the reins on the currently untitled Skylanders 4 after allowing Vicarious Visions to handle Swap Force.
This news comes courtesy of a recently released infographic by Activision (click it to see a larger version), which also touts the franchise’s massive revenue stream of more than $2 billion. A release date for Skylanders 4 (or any other information, for that matter) is currently unknown, but an October release seems likely.
Also, allow me to also speculate that Skylanders 4 will likely appear on every platform imaginable including the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.