All Articles: PAX East 2012

Spec Ops: The Line Interview: Crossing the Narrative Desert With Lead Writer Walt Williams

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Warp Zoned Staff

Spec Ops: The Line, which takes players on a military operation inside Dubai after a post-apocalyptic sandstorm, will be available on store shelves tomorrow. We recently had a chance to talk with Walt Williams, the game’s very verbose Lead Writer.

During our interview, we got him to open up about what inspired the team at Yager Development and how moral choices play into the narrative, as well as Dubai’s status as a “city that shouldn’t be” and how that made it the perfect place to set a game.

Take a walk into the eye of the storm with us after the break. (more…)

Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Sleeping Dogs: Taking It For a Walk With Producer Dan Sochan

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Warp Zoned Staff

Sleeping Dogs was playable at PAX East this year, and as we were playing, we got a chance to talk with Dan Sochan, a Producer at developer United Front Games. Sochan was friendly and informative, and gave us tidbits about the game as we took protagonist Wei Shen out and smashed some enemies into anything we could on the streets of Hong Kong. Read on for more about this amazing upcoming game. (more…)

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Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 Hands-On Preview: Resurrecting a Zombie in More Ways Than One

Posted on May 3, 2012 by John Scalzo

When the third episode of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness was canceled in 2010, I have to admit, I was a bit shocked. The first two games in the series provided plenty of RPG thrills and all the Penny Arcade-style humor I could ever ask for.

I was equally shocked when the RPG series was reborn under the slightly less laborious title, Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3. Now in the hands of Zeboyd Games, an indie development house known for their love of 16-bit RPGs, the game was playable for the first time at last month’s PAX East expo. And play it I did. (more…)

Posted in Mobile, PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Double Dragon: Neon Interview: Mixing It Up With Majesco’s Pete Rosky

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Warp Zoned Staff

A surefire way to build buzz for your retro-tinged throwback game is to announce that it’ll be playable on the PAX show floor just a few hours before the doors open. It worked for Duke Nukem Forever at PAX Prime 2010 and it worked for Double Dragon: Neon, which made its debut at this year’s PAX East.

After getting some hands-on time with the game, we were able to sit down with Pete Rosky, an Assistant Product Manager at Majesco, the game’s publisher. During our short chat, we talked about the genesis of the game, weapons, enemies, and a certain actress who everyone agrees is the boss. (more…)

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Double Dragon: Neon Hands-On Preview: WayForward Loves the 80s

Posted on April 23, 2012 by John Scalzo

Pretend it’s 1987 and you’re all hopped up on Nerds, Airheads, and Pop Rocks. The bright colors of the candy (and the sugar, always remember the sugar) has started to seep into your brain as you approach a new game in your favorite arcade: Double Dragon. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen. There are street punks and… a chick with a whip and… whoa, does that guy have a knife? Now I have the knife! As the candy does its thing, it’s now 2012 and the neon has disappeared from the world, but it remains in Double Dragon: Neon, a downloadable tribute to the original arcade game that’ll be available this Summer. (more…)

Posted in Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

My Golden Age of Gaming

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Melissa Niedringhaus

Once upon a time and long, LONG ago, I stood with my little brother, my face pressed against a glass case at Electronics Boutique, looking at all of the precious gray cartridges inside. We wanted Super Mario Bros. 3, but the gentleman behind the counter informed us that it was all sold out, and we walked out of the store in tears.

My young brain scrambled for an alternative, and once we arrived at the spot the car was parked, I reminded my mother that the local movie rental place had started renting video games, and begged her to take us there to see if THEY had the game. I informed her I was likely to die if I didn’t somehow get a copy THAT DAY, and I was certain she didn’t want to kill her eldest child. Clearly irritated, she started to tell me no, but my quivering lower lip must have changed her mind, because she told me to shut up and get in the car instead.

All of the copies of Super Mario Bros. 3 but one had been rented, and I held the remaining copy to my chest as though it was a life preserver and I was adrift in the ocean, surrounded by sharks. When we got home, I put it right in the NES and turned it on. I even let my little brother play a few levels when I was tired or frustrated. I think this was the point of no return for me, when I realized gaming was what I wanted to do in my spare time, and no other leisure activity would do. I was a gamer. (more…)

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Max Payne 3 Hands-On Preview: Noir Never Felt So Satisfying

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Rockstar’s adding another gem to their repertoire with the upcoming Max Payne 3, the latest installment in the well-known noir series. The Warp Zoned crew had a chance to play the game and discuss the new features with some Rockstar representatives at PAX East. This graduation to next-generation consoles has been beneficial to the franchise, breathing life back into Max and bringing him to new locales. A fresh storyline, intuitive gameplay features, and vibrant graphics make this a game you won’t want to miss. (more…)

Posted in PC, Previews, PS3, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Hands-On Preview: Tapping to Familiar Tunes

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Say what you will about Square Enix; they know the recipe for what their fans like. They know if they take equal parts cute and fun and mix in a sprinkle of nostalgia, they’ve got our money before we even know we’ve given it up. They’ve got a seemingly never-ending supply of resources in their library, with a huge list of popular franchises. So it’s no surprise that their new rhythm game for the 3DS, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy – still mocked for its ridiculous name – was a big hit at PAX East. (more…)

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