Warp Preview (and video of the complete demo)

One adorable surprise from PAX East 2011 was the independently developed puzzle-stealth title Warp. Being released under the EA Partners banner, Warp is currently being crafted by the Montreal-based team at Trapdoor Inc. Warp puts players in control of an imprisoned creature who, much to the surprise of his captors, can teleport short distances. Though scientists want to examine the creature, for presumably nefarious reasons (is there ever a good reason to?), the game's hero has no intention of staying put. Ordinarily I'd list some of the events from the demo that stood out, but for Warp, that seems unnecessary for two reasons: the demo was a short and sweet three minutes long and the entire thing can be viewed in the video below. The premise of the game is to help the powerful creature escape from the underwater laboratory. If a weapon-wielding human spots the creature and lands a shot, the little guy dies immediately. Rooms going toward the lab's exit give players various methods of approach. Players can warp through most walls, into objects (like barrels), and even enemies. Once warped into an object or enemy, flicking the analog stick begins the process of bursting the character out into the world. If it's a barrel, the burst sends a blast of exposive energy toward bad guys. Bursting out of an enemy reduces them into a pile of limbs and a pool of blood. Some elements that Warp producer Thomas Scott mentioned to me during the demo include the ability to toy with the enemies. If you warp into an object or enemy and begin to wiggle the stick, other on-screen characters may grow suspicious of their strange mannerisms and sounds. Raise enough suspicion and you can trick one enemy into attacking another (just remember to warp out before the bullets start flying!) or lead enemies to investigate an explosive barrel (why do bad guys love ordering those things, anyway?).

Warp your way to safety in the upcoming downloadable title from Trapdoor Inc.

According to Scott, players can approach the game in a number of ways: as a bloodthirsty creature looking to decimate every life in the underwater lab or as a stealthy soul looking for a quiet way out. Warp was fun--for the admittedly short time I had with it. It also drew a crowd, with a number of attendees lining up behind be for a next go-round after seeing it in action. The concept shows promise and apparently EA agrees, having recently confirmed the title would see a "summer 2011" downloadable release on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Xav de Matos

Xav de Matos was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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March 18, 2011 2:45 PM

Comment on Warp Preview (and video of the complete demo), by Xav de Matos.
- one random winner
  
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  March 18, 2011 2:55 PM
  
  That video is totally the wrong one, unless it's about ninja/samurai.
  - XAVdeMATOS
    
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    March 18, 2011 3:01 PM
    
    That was odd. I've seemed to have fixed it. I think that means I won the internet!
  - DaCellaFella
    
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    March 18, 2011 3:10 PM
    
    well,. that samurai dude was totally "warping" the life out of those ninjas.
    - XAVdeMATOS
      
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      March 18, 2011 3:38 PM
      
      Yeah. That would be cool; however, Warp itself... which is actually the video now, it pretty cool too.
      - Shadowdane
        
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        March 19, 2011 7:20 AM
        
        Yah this looks pretty fun
- cookblaze
  
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  March 19, 2011 7:37 AM
  
  Looks really cool. I love these download only games.
- mrwolf710
  
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  March 19, 2011 9:22 AM
  
  That looks fun and puzzzly.
- tehwalrus
  
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  March 20, 2011 11:26 AM
  
  I was finding the art style too close to splosion man right up until that first human got bursted - the cross between cartoonish hero and 'realistic' gore is amusing, I'll be getting this