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All Articles: PAX West 2016
Seen At PAX West 2016: Crashlands
Let me start out by saying that Crashlands is not my kind of game. Resource collection and building, even when accompanied by quests, just don’t draw me in. But St. Louis-based Butterscotch Shenanigans has done the unthinkable and gotten me to play a crafting game, largely thanks to Crashlands’ charming art style, delightful soundtrack, and witty dialogue. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, PC, Previews, Top Story
Tagged Crashlands, PAX West 2016
Pit People Hands-On Preview: Playing Co-Op Pit People at PAX West 2016
It’s no secret that we’re fans of The Behemoth here at Warp Zoned. So, of course, I made my way to their booth at PAX West as early as I possibly could. I was hoping to get a chance at their most recent game, Pit People, previously known as the very descriptive Game 4. I sat down with a buddy, grabbed my (surprisingly heavy) custom arcade stick, strapped on some headphones, and got down to cooperative business. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged PAX West 2016, Pit People
“Narrative and Creation are Sacrosanct” in MetaArcade’s Text Adventure Creation Tool @ PAX West 2016
PAX West 2016 was full of innovation, creativity, and, of course, fun. One of the best intersections of these three assets was at the MetaArcade booth, where they were demoing Tunnels & Trolls: Naked Doom.
“Wow, Nicole. What exactly is Tunnels & Trolls: Naked Doom?” you might be asking yourself right now. Let me start by explaining a little more about MetaArcade and their vision for the future of text adventures. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, Top Story
Tagged PAX West 2016
Just Shapes & Beats tentatively scheduled for January 2017 release
Berzerk Studios’ Just Shapes & Beats was in the Indie MEGABOOTH at PAX West, and I got a chance to get destroyed by that incredibly addictive game. You’re Shapes, and you’re trying to evade bullets and lasers and other Shapes, and you’re doing it all to the Beat of some amazing chiptunes – in this case, the beats were by Danimal Cannon. I had a chance to ask the developers a few questions while I was getting wrecked, and they said that the game could be coming out as soon as January 2017.
Wondering how the game plays? Think the frenetic, can-I-blink insanity of Super Hexagon, but as a bullet hell that is full of neon and the best chiptunes. That’s Just Shapes & Beats. If that sounds like it’s for you, then be on the lookout for this to be released in January on PC.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Just Shapes and Beats, PAX West 2016
Run the Jewels debuts “Panther Like A Panther” in Gears of War 4’s Horde 3.0 trailer
Horde Mode took the world by storm in 2009 after its debut in Gears of War 2, and The Coalition has big plans for the evolution of the co-operative survival mode in Gears of War 4. Officially known as Horde 3.0, the developer wants to give players the chance to deploy unique classes and buildable fortifications as they fight for survival against “50 Waves of Chaos.”
Here’s what they had to say about Horde 3.0 on the Xbox Wire:
In addition to ferocious new classes of enemies like the Swarm and the DeeBees, Horde 3.0 also introduces new innovations like a class-based system that lets you choose from five variations in roles – Soldier, Sniper, Scout, Heavy and Engineer – to play to your strengths and encourage teamwork. In addition, the new “Fabricator” is a deployable base of operations that allows players to build their defenses anywhere on the map and execute their defensive strategy with precision.
The Horde 3.0 trailer is also notable for its soundtrack, which features the debut of “Panther Like A Panther,” the first track from Run the Jewels’s upcoming album, Run the Jewels 3. The duo’s collaboration with The Coalition won’t end there either. Both Killer Mike and El-P will be available as playable characters in all of Gears of War 4’s multiplayer modes.
If you’re in Seattle for this weekend’s PAX West expo, you can try out Gears of War 4 (and Horde 3.0) at the Microsoft booth right now. The rest of us will have to wait until October 11, which is when Gears of War 4 will be available in stores for the PC and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Gears of War 4, PAX West 2016
Watch Jason Voorhees get 13 kills in Friday the 13th: The Game’s PAX West 2016 trailer
Triskaidekaphobiacs beware… Gun Media and Illfonic are back with a brand new trailer for Friday the 13th: The Game, which was unveiled yesterday at PAX West. Jason Voorhees doesn’t waste any time during the three-minute clip, as the slasher legend manages to deliver an impressive 13 kills during its running time. And yes, that means he averaged a kill roughly every 13 seconds.
All of Jason’s kills in Friday the 13th: The Game were designed by Tom Savini, the same special effects wizard who supplied the gory makeup for Friday the 13th and Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. If it’s possible, his work on Friday the 13th: The Game looks to be even more brutal and splatter-tastic than the original films. Needless to say, if you’ve got an aversion to blood and gore, I would recommend you NOT watch this trailer.
Friday the 13th: The Game is expected to be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this October.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Friday the 13th, PAX West 2016
Firewatch will be available for the Xbox One on September 21
Ever since its release for the PC and PS4 back in February, people have been talking about Firewatch, a narrative-driven adventure from developer Campo Santo. Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Firewatch will make its way to the Xbox One on September 21, while also giving Campo Santo’s Sean Vanaman a chance to convince Xbox fans to to see what all the fuss is about on the Xbox Wire:
“What is Firewatch?” A great question that’s been asked many times over by folks that have come before. As I intimated above, Firewatch is a first person mystery set in the woods of Wyoming. You play as a man named Henry and you’ve escaped your messy life for some peaceful time alone in the woods. Except you’re not alone: you’re in constant contact with a woman named Delilah who works in a nearby tower and your time quickly stops being peaceful. I won’t spoil anything more than that but I’ll add that the group to came together to make Firewatch worked on games like the Bioshock series, Mark of the Ninja, Brutal Legend, and The Walking Dead Season One (if you’re mad about how that series ended, you can fill my personal emails with your complaints). Now, if the test-tube baby of all of those games sounds exciting to you, we think you’ll like Firewatch.
Campo Santo will expand Firewatch for its Xbox One debut, and the developer has revealed plans to include an optional “Firewatch Audio Tour” in the game that turns it into “turns it into one part Director’s Commentary, one part Game Dev Workshop, and wraps that all around a scavenger hunt.” A new Free Roam Mode will also let players discover additional secrets out in the woods.
You can learn even more about Firewatch from the brand new Announcement Trailer embedded above.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Firewatch, PAX West 2016
Classic Duke Nukem returns in Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour
Forget Captain America, Duke Nukem is the real “Man Out of Time.” Even though nineties nostalgia has seeped into every corner of our culture, Duke has felt like a relic from a bygone era for years now…
So it makes perfect sense that Gearbox has decided to bring him back for Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour.
Originally released in 1996, Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour will bring the classic shooter to the PS4 and Xbox One for the first time (a PC release is also planned). More than a simple remake, Gearbox plans to update Duke Nukem 3D’s visuals with True3D Rendering Mode, which will deliver the game “rendered at high fidelity and [a] blistering frame rate.” However, fans will also be able to toggle between the updated visuals and the original images with the press of a button.
Do you want some more? 20th Anniversary World Tour will also include eight all-new levels created by the original designers of Duke Nukem 3D, Allen Blum III and Richard “Levelord” Gray. This new episode will be accompanied by new music from original composer Lee Jackson, and additional vocal work from Duke himself, Jon St. John. The developers will also provide behind-the-scenes commentary that’ll be accessible in-game.
The second season of Ash vs Evil Dead will air on Starz this Fall, so at the very least, the developers will have a familiar place to “borrow” Duke’s new one-liners from.
“When I first moved out to Texas to join the Duke Nukem 3D development team in the mid-nineties, I could not possibly predict that we were all going to be part of the emergence of the 3D first-person video game genre that would ultimately impact the entire video game industry,” said Randy Pitchford, the President of Gearbox Software. “Making it possible for Allen, Richard, Lee, and Jon to all come back together 20 years later to bring a whole new episode to the classic game is just one of those rare and incredible things that I hope will bring joy and happiness to hardcore video game fans new and old.”
Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour will be priced at $19.99, and it’ll be available on October 11.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Duke Nukem 3D, PAX West 2016