Zen-Studios
Latest
Rhythm fighter Kickbeat listed for Wii U by German ratings board
Martial rhythm game Kickbeat may be ready to lay down some beats on Wii U, if a new listing on German classifier USK is accurate. Dev-pub Zen Studios hasn't announced the port of the original PS3 and Vita game, but it's plausible given the pinball specialist has paddled plenty of its catalog up the Wii U ramp. We've reached out to Zen for more info. Kickbeat is like a traditional rhythm game with notes to tap along to. except in its case the notes are hordes of ninja foes, and your taps punch and kick combos. If you're a PC player who believes German europopper Snap was wrong and that rhythm is in fact a fighter, you'll be pleased to learn that Kickbeat arrives on Steam today for $10. The Windows PC version comes with improved visuals, an expanded soundtrack, keyboard controls, and a host of tweaks guided by player feedback. Update: When approached, a Zen spokesperson told Joystiq, "Leave it to the ratings boards to spoil our surprises! I cannot officially confirm or deny that KickBeat will come to the Wii U, but Zen loves to have all games on all platforms so people can enjoy our games regardless of the device they choose to play on."
KickBeat brings the fight to Steam January 20
In KickBeat, players battle waves of enemies while timing button presses to the beat of a song. Today, Zen Studios has announced the game is being upgraded for Steam. KickBeat Steam Edition is an updated version of the PS3 and PS Vita cross-buy game. The PC port features enhanced visuals, an expanded soundtrack featuring six new tracks from Electronic Super Joy and adjustments to difficulty and player progression through the campaign based on player feedback from the initial release on PS3 and PS Vita. KickBeat Steam Edition also adds fully customizable keyboard controls and support for controllers, Steam achievements, Steam Trading Cards and cloud support. Kickbeat Steam Edition will be available for $10 on January 20.
Zen Pinball 2 delayed to Christmas Eve on PS4
Zen Pinball 2 for PS4, which was originally scheduled to launch today, has tilted for a one week delay. The platform will now launch on December 24 and those looking for a smooth import process of their tables from PS3 to PS4 should check out the post on the PlayStation Blog. There's some very detail-oriented stuff that folks importing will want to pay attention to. Those not worrying about next-gen importing issues can pick up the Doctor Strange table today on PS3 and Vita for $2.99. It will also be available on PS4 next week. For a list of the tables that are available for import, here's a list.
CastleStorm breaks into Wii U on December 26
CastleStorm has lined up its forces of knights and maidens to rush the Wii U eShop on December 26 in North America and Europe, for $10 and €10, respectively. The Wii U version is playable completely on the Gamepad alone. It's a castle-building and -destroying physics game with battles against dragons and giant creatures and all manner of medieval things. CastleStorm is already available on Steam, PSN and Xbox Live. The German ratings board listed CastleStorm for Wii U in August.
Zen Pinball 2 springs onto PS4 on December 17
Polished pinball series Zen Pinball 2 will make its way to PlayStation 4 on December 17, but that's not the best part. Developer Zen Studios also announced this morning that folks who already own PS3 or Vita versions of the tables coming to PS4 will be able to download the tables for free. The Zen Pinball platform is a free download anyway and it comes with the adorable Sorcerer's Lair table. The tables typically cost $3 apiece and the latest addition will be Marvel's Doctor Strange, with more Marvel and Star Wars-branded tables coming in 2014. The list of tables after the break (and in the video above) are the ones being transferred. From here on out it's all new content. We should also point out that Star Wars Pinball is currently free if you're a member of PlayStation Plus, so if you download it now, you'll have access to it on PS4 when the platform launches.
Humble Weekly bounces by 8 Pinball FX games, over 20 tables total
Are your flipper fingers getting rusty? Do you need a last-minute Thanksgiving present for Great Aunt Cheryl? Are Thanksgiving presents even a thing? Humble Bundle has those first two problems covered with the Zen Studios weekly sale, which includes more than 20 pinball tables spread across eight games. Pay what you want for the following Pinball FX2 games: Core Pack, Classic Pack, Earth Defense Table, Paranormal Table and Epic Quest Table. Pay $6 or more to also snag the Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles Pack, Star Wars Pack and Marvel Pinball Original Pack. All of the packs are available for PC via Steam. Payments for the Pinball FX weekly sale are split, however you choose, among Zen Studios, Humble Bundle and two charities, Watsi and American Red Cross. Humble is currently donating to the American Red Cross Typhoon Appeal to provide food, shelter and emotional support to people in the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan. Remember Humble Bundle also has the Humble Mobile Bundle 3 right now, which includes Android premieres of Ridiculous Fishing and Swordigo. And there's the new Humble Store, which hosts crazy daily deals on a broad swathe of indie games, today including the Giana Sisters Twisted Bundle, the Magicka Collection and one of our favorite brawlers of the year, Foul Play, among others.
Castlestorm half-off this week on Xbox Live, Capcom gets deep cuts next week
Zen Studio's ballista, boulder and sheep flinging game, Castlestorm, is currently $4.99 (50 percent off) as part of Xbox Live's deals of the week. Included in this week's super serious savings are the Serious Sam series, also 75 percent off. Next week's deals are also worth putting some milk money aside for. Capcom's Devil May Cry, DmC, Lost Planet 3, Resident Evil Revelations and Resident Evil 4 are 33-50 percent off. That means Resident Evil 4 (the can't-miss entry in the series) is only $10. What are ya buyin'? Update: Well, looks like Castlestorm is only 50 percent off now. Hopefully you grabbed it earlier. Adjusted text.
Knights, vikings square off in CastleStorm on PSN, Vita in November
Angry vikings versus league of knights game CastleStorm will launch itself on PlayStation 3 and Vita on November 5 in North America, striking Europe on the following day. Priced at $9.99, the game is a cross buy title, meaning it'll be playable to owners of both systems at no extra charge. CastleStorm is also currently available on Xbox Live Arcade and Steam. It was also rated for Wii U, but has not been officially announced.
New Star Wars Pinball tables launch Oct. 15; Mac and Wii U delayed
On October 15, Zen Studios will issue three additional tables to Star Wars Pinball. PSN in North America gets the new "Balance of the Force" pack first on October 15, followed by a launch on PSN in Europe the following day as well as Xbox Live Arcade, Steam, Windows 8, iOS, Android and Kindle. Unfortunately, the Wii U and Mac versions have been delayed. Zen Studios says it'll make an announcement regarding those platforms "at a later time." The "Balance of the Force" includes three new locales based around series loud-breather Darth Vader, the planet of Endor from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and a Starfighter Assault table that pays homage to the series' iconic space battles.
Star Wars Pinball flips out on the 3DS eShop Sep. 19
Star Wars Pinball is coming to the 3DS eShop on September 19. The game will cost $6.99 in North America and €6.99 in Europe. The three tables included in the base game are based on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Developer Zen Studios has announced another three Star Wars Pinball tables are coming this fall. The 3DS version fully supports stereoscopic 3D, leaderboards, in-game challenges and an XP progression system where players can rank up, either by aligning themselves with the Galactic Empire or Rebel Alliance.
KickBeat heading to Vita, PS3 with Cross Buy support in September
Zen Studios' music-meets-fighting game KickBeat will launch on Vita and PS3 on September 3. The rhythm game will support PSN's Cross Buy feature, so players that pick up one copy will have access to both versions. KickBeat tasks players with defeating enemies using timed button-presses to the beat of licensed musical artists such as Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and Pendulum. The game also features a track generator, which allows players to turn their own music into KickBeat levels. %Gallery-195672%
CastleStorm rated for Wii U, PS3, Vita
CastleStorm may be approaching the gates of Wii U, PS3, and Vita after being listed for the three platforms by German ratings board USK. Zen Studios' eclectic fusion of Angry Birds and tower defense has already hurled itself at XBLA, Windows 8, and Steam this year. Zen didn't deny the Wii U port when asked by Nintendo Everything, telling the site it intends "to bring CastleStorm to as many platforms as possible." The Hungarian studio has plenty of experience with the newly listed systems, having sprung Marvel Pinball, Star Wars Pinball, and Zen Pinball 2 upon all three in recent years. Also, as evidenced by Marvel's Pinball's appearance on seven platforms to date, Zen is fond of the odd port or two.
CastleStorm lays siege to Steam today
Zen Studios, the group of flipper fanatics behind Star Wars Pinball and Pinball FX 2, unleashes its tower defense variant, CastleStorm, on Steam today. Available for $10, CastleStorm touts physics-based destruction alongside wave-based tower defense mechanics, owing its existence to "the fond childhood memory of building and destroying LEGO castles." In addition to the Steam news, Zen Studios announces the first DLC pack for CastleStorm will be out Wednesday, July 31. Dubbed From Outcast to Savior, the DLC pack – the first of two planned supplemental offerings – will simultaneously launch on Steam and Xbox Live Arcade for 240 MS Points ($3) and add a new Royal Guard faction, maps, Hero, weapons, Skirmish and Survival levels, Achievements and 20 additional battles to wage war through. Happy warmongering! %Gallery-194918%
Star Wars Pinball being loaded into the 3DS chute
Zen Studios is working to port Star Wars Pinball over to the 3DS, the development studio has told Nintendo Everything. More information on the upcoming port is coming "very soon," Zen Studios promises. Star Wars Pinball is the latest addition to Zen's lucrative virtual pinball business and includes a collection of three tables themed around The Empire Strikes Back film, The Clone Wars television show and iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett. Zen Studios has said that more Star Wars Pinball tables are currently in development.
Pinball FX 2 gets Captain America table on Steam
Zen Studios launched DLC for Pinball FX 2 on Steam this week in the form of a Captain America-themed table. The table is available now for $2.99. The game launched on Steam in May, and is available as a free download with six different table packs priced at $9.99 each. Captain America joins Epic Quest, Paranormal, Civil War and Fantastic Four as the other $2.99 tables available on Steam.
CastleStorm smashes into Steam on July 29
CastleStorm, the Angry Birds-meets-MOBA arcade game by Zen Studios, will fling itself onto your PC, if you hand over $10 across Steam, on or after July 29. Zen Studios, best known for the Zen Pinball and Pinball FX series, built itself a nice little gem with the game, which is currently available on Xbox LIve Arcade for 800 MSP ($10). The PC version includes the story-driven campaign, along with local and online co-op/muliplayer. It also includes keyboard and mouse support "with fully customizable controls," as well as fancy graphical settings like anti-aliasing.%Gallery-162749%
Star Wars Pinball cloned on Wii U July 11
Star Wars Pinball is about to enter a galaxy not so far away: the Nintendo eShop on Wii U. The game will hit Nintendo's platform on July 11, and features tables based on The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and The Clone Wars. Unfortunately, the Force won't be enough to grab the game – it'll cost you $10 (or €10). Also, since this is a Star Wars re-release, you should know that all of the lightsabers have been replaced with walkie-talkies.
Daily iPhone App: Marvel Pinball is a great app hindered by a bad model
Zen Studios is very well known for their pinball titles, which all feature great graphics, well-made themes, and excellent pinball table mechanics. Just today, Zen has brought their very popular Marvel Pinball game to iOS, and you can now download the app itself for 99 cents. Unfortunately, that price is a strange one -- all it will get you is one Avengers-based table, which is interesting enough, with its various Avengers-style pinballs that you can send out into battle as you play for points against Loki. But there are 14 other tables to play with, and all of them need an in-app purchase of $1.99 each. That's it -- there's no way to earn or unlock tables from within the game itself, which is a missed opportunity at the very least. Charging users 99 cents to download the app for one table in this case just seems like charging for a free trial, unfortunately, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the app goes free very soon anyway. The good news is that the pinball mechanics are great, and Zen Studios obviously knows how to make a great pinball-based video game (I especially like the "free look" mode, which allows you to browse around a table just by tilting your device from side to side). But the pricing model here is very flawed and uninviting. If you're a pinball fan, you might think about downloading the app for the Avengers table, and then maybe buying one or two that you like (each table has a trailer and a features list, though you can't play on them to even try them out before you spend the money). For everyone else, Zen Studios has done a big misstep here by hiding their great content behind an awkward pay wall. They should have considered a better way to do this.
Star Wars Pinball standalone version hits PSN next week
The Star Wars-themed pinball tables that found their way to Zen Studios' myriad pinball games last February will be released as a standalone product for PlayStation 3 and Vita next week. Star Wars Pinball will include the Star Wars Episode V, Boba Fett and Clone Wars tables previously seen in Zen Pinball 2, et al. Players can choose to contribute their high scores to either the Galactic Empire or Rebel Alliance, with the game's interface changing dynamically depending on the global balance of power. The game will be Cross-Buy enabled at $9.99/€9.99, though anyone who already owns these tables in Zen Pinball 2 can download the new solo app for free. Likewise, anyone that purchases Star Wars Pinball will unlock the equivalent tables in Zen Pinball 2.
Pinball FX 2 flips onto Steam May 10 with Windows 7 support
Pinball FX 2 rides the Steam ramp on May 10. The XBLA and Windows 8 game arrives next week as a free download, with six packs available at launch for $9.99 each. The sextet includes Star Wars Pinball, Marvel Pinball, Marvel Pinball: Vengeance and Virtue, Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles, Pinball FX2 Core Collection, and Zen Classics. The Steam version brings Windows 7 support to the pinball platform. As Zen Studios VP Mel Kirk tells us, the Steam version is compatible with Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and even good old Windows XP.
