All Articles: Skylanders Imaginators
New Retail Releases: Nintendo Switch, Zelda Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, More
It seems like it really snuck up on us, but “Day One” for Nintendo Switch is less than five days away. Nintendo won’t have a ton of games available alongside the launch of their latest console, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (which is also coming to the Wii U this week) will surely keep most early adopters busy for quite a while.
However, a handful of other Switch titles will be available for those looking for a different kind of experience. Ubisoft and Activision will bring ports of Just Dance 2017 and Skylanders Imaginators to the Switch. Meanwhile, Nintendo themselves will also launch 1-2-Switch, a quirky multiplayer party game, and Konami will resurrect the Bomberman series with the SNES-inspired Super Bomberman R.
It’s rare to find new games for rival platforms during a new console’s launch period, but the Nintendo Switch will actually face some stiff competition on store shelves this week. Leading the way is Horizon: Zero Dawn, a visually-striking post-apocalyptic adventure from Guerrilla that’ll be released exclusively for the PS4.
Also available this week will be Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns (3DS), the latest farming sim from Marvelous; Torment: Tides of Numenera (PS4, Xbox One), a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment; The Walking Dead: A New Frontier (PS4, Xbox One), a Season Pass Disc that’ll grant access to every episode of the zombie-themed adventure; and Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 + Arcade Game Series, a retail re-release of the retro reboot.
You can find a complete list of this week’s new retail releases after the break. (more…)
No new Skylanders game in 2017, but multiple “Adventure Packs” coming
As part of their quarterly financial report yesterday, Activision executives confirmed that a new game in the Skylanders franchise won’t be released in 2017. However, fans should still expect plenty of new content to appear this year.
First and foremost, Skylanders Imaginators will make its Nintendo Switch debut on March 3. The “toys-to-life” franchise has been one of the few third party bright spots on the Wii U, so it’s good to see Activision continuing the tradition on the Switch. And with Imaginators in the spotlight for another year, COO Thomas Tippl confirmed that Activision plans to launch “multiple Adventure Packs, new characters, and new in-game content” for it throughout the year.
Tippl revealed that Netflix’s Skylanders Academy has also been well-received by fans. A second season will premiere on the streaming service sometime this year, and a third is already in the works.
Finally, Activision is working on a new mobile game set in the Skylanders universe, but that’s all we know at this point.
Nintendo Switch Presentation: More than 80 games in development including Minecraft, Street Fighter II, Bomberman, more
During Nintendo’s Switch Presentation, several developers took the stage (both live and virtually) to announce games that they have in development for the new console. More than 80 games were confirmed to be in the works, and we here at Warp Zoned compiled a list of the games announced during the presentation.
We caught a few that we’ve seen before:
- Dragon Quest X
- Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- NBA 2K18
- Project Sonic
A few that are currently available or coming soon to other consoles:
- Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
- Dragon Quest Heroes I & II
- Farming Simulator 17
- FIFA Soccer
- I Am Setsuna
- Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition
- Minecraft: Story Mode
- Rayman Legends
- Skylanders Imaginators
- Sonic Mania
- Street Fighter II
- Syberia 3
And a few brand new games that we should learn more about soon:
- Atlus’s Shin Megami Tensei V (Working Title)
- Frozenbyte’s Has-Been Heroes
- Konami’s Super Bomberman R
- Nintendo’s Snipperclips: Cut It Out Together
- Shin’in’s FAST RMX
- Square Enix’s Project Octopath Traveler (Working Title)
- Suda51’s untitled No More Heroes sequel
And I know there’s some I missed, so don’t forget to watch the video!
New Retail Releases: Battlefield 1, Civilization VI, Skylanders Imaginators, More
While the Call of Duty franchise continues to push further and further into the future, EA and DICE are taking the Battlefield franchise back to The Great War for Battlefield 1. The shooter will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week, and Microsoft is even offering a special Xbox One S + Battlefield 1 Bundle in two sizes… 500 GB and 1 TB.
Firaxis Games and 2K will return with a different sort of trip through time this week with Civilization VI. The strategy game will be released for the PC, and it’ll once again ask players to battle it out with famous world leaders and grow their civilization.
Skylanders fans will get the chance to try out a new entry in the franchise, as Activision will bring Skylanders Imaginators to the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One this week. For the first time, players will be able to design their own Skylanders characters with the brand new Imaginators system.
In what has become a regular occurrence in the New Retail Releases report, another batch of games will get the re-release treatment this week. WB Games will swoop down to save the day in Batman: Return to Arkham, a PS4 and Xbox One compilation featuring Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. The publisher will also package together Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 in Lego Harry Potter Collection, exclusively for the PS4. WayForward will give 3DS owners another chance to pick up Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, this time in a new Retail Edition. Finally, Harmonix will release the Rivals expansion for Rock Band 4 this week, and launch a special Rock Band 4 + Rivals Expansion pack for the PS4 and Xbox One.
A complete look at this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Zelda: Breath of the Wild named E3 2016’s “Best of Show” by Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards has handed out their annual “Best of E3” honors for this year’s show, and unsurprisingly, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was named “Best of Show.” The massive open-air game also took home awards for “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.”
Even though Battlefield 1 secured the most nominations, only one other game was able to collect more than a single award, and that was Civilization VI, which was named “Best PC Game” and “Best Strategy Game.” This year’s “Special Commendation for Graphics” went to Sony’s God of War reboot.
All told, 13 games (and the PlayStation VR headset, which won for “Best Hardware”) were honored this year by the Game Critics Awards. The full list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Battlefield 1 blows away the competition with five nominations from Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2016
The Game Critics Awards has announced their annual Best of E3 nominations, and DICE’s Battlefield 1 has asserted its greatness with five nominations, including one for “Best of Show.” Battlefield 1’s other nominations include “Best Console Game,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” and “Best Online Multiplayer.”
Five other games will compete with the historical shooter for top honors including Dishonored 2, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Sea of Thieves, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Titanfall 2. With four nominations apiece, Dishonored 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn will surely provide some stiff competition for Battlefield 1.
The Game Critics Awards will announce the winners for Best of E3 2016 next Tuesday, July 5. A complete list of this year nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Remasters of first three Crash Bandicoot games announced; Skylanders Imaginators appearance confirmed
Sony answered a call made by many fans tonight, as during their 2016 E3 Press Conference they announced the first three PlayStation games in the Crash Bandicoot franchise (Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, and Crash Bandicoot: Warped) are getting fully remastered for the PS4. Unfortunately, no release date or footage was shown for the upcoming games, but gamers of all ages are understandably excited nonetheless.
Additionally, Crash will make an appearance this year in Skylanders Imaginators on the PS4 and PS3. Check out a trailer for his debut in the sixth Skylanders game above.
Skylanders Imaginators will let players create their own Skylanders when it launches in October
The sixth Skylanders game is a secret no more as Activision announced that Skylanders Imaginators will be available this October. Developed by Toys For Bob, Skylanders Imaginators will finally give players the opportunity to create their very own Skylanders characters.
“Since we launched the very first Skylanders game, we have received countless letters and drawings from kids all over the world sharing their vision for their own Skylanders. No matter how in touch with our ‘inner kids’ we might think we are as adults, nothing comes close to the endless creativity that springs from the mind of an inspired kid,” said Eric Hirshberg, the CEO of Activision Publishing. “We’ve turned this year’s game into the ultimate blank canvas for kids’ imaginations so they can create and play their own Skylanders.”
According to Activision, the creation tool in Skylanders Imaginators will include a huge number of customizable options, such as appearance, powers, abilities, names, catchphrases, musical themes, and more. But every hero needs a mentor, and Skylanders Imaginators has that covered too. Nearly three dozen Senseis, sorted into 10 “Battle Classes,” will offer guidance and training for your Skylanders creation, as well as “unlocking super-cool Imaginator weapons, providing access to special areas in the game, as well as bestowing Secret Techniques.” But if you’d rather stick with the heroes you know and love, Skylanders Imaginators will also be compatible with all previously-released Skylanders figures.
Skylanders Imaginators is in development for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It’s scheduled to be released on October 16, but you can check out the debut trailer right now.