Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Meet the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025: Quake, GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi
- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
- Breakout, Ripoff, Genre: How Fiction Outgrows Originality – Uncanny Magazine (2025)
- ‘I Could Make “Fart Fart Boobie Fart: The Game” and Maybe It Would Eventually Get Taken Down’ – Devs Reveal Why the Consoles Are Drowning in ‘Eslop’ – IGN (2025)
Monthly Archives: April 2015
Take a gander at the new Guitar Hero Live controller
I guess this morning’s announcement of Guitar Hero Live was just the opening act as Activision has now given us an even better look at the game’s brand new guitar controller.
Owing to the more realistic tone and first-person viewpoint, Guitar Hero Live’s guitar controller will use a simple two-tone color scheme. The new button setup will be included on the neck while the familiar Strum Bar and Whammy Bar will be part of the body. A Hero Power button will activate one of several Hero Powers, though a simple tilt of the guitar will also do that. Finally, GHTV button will launch GHTV Mode. More images can be found at the official Guitar Hero website.
Guitar Hero Live will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U this Fall.
Daily Scoop: April 14, 2015 – Another new Humble Bundle
It’s another day full of amazing sales, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
The Midweek Madness deal at Steam is the Metro Redux Bundle, which is on sale for $24.99. You can also get the games separately, if you just need one or the other – both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux are just $12.49. The Daily Deal is Sniper Elite 3, which is on sale for $19.99. You can also pick up the season pass for $11.99.
There’s a brand new Humble Bundle today – the Humble Origins Bundle 2. Pay what you want for Dragon Age: Origins, Peggle, Dead Space 2, Medal of Honor Allied Assault War Chest, and Command & Conquer Generals and Zero Hour. Beat the average to unlock Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, Dragon Age II, Bejeweled 3, and Mass Effect 2. What a great bundle!
There are lots of t-shirts today as well! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop
Sega adds to 3D Classics line with Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2, Gunstar Heroes
Sega has announced they’ll be expanding their 3D Classics line this Fall with the release of three new titles. All three games will be priced at $5.99 apiece (€4.99 in Europe and £4.49 in the UK).
3D Streets of Rage 2 will lead things off in July, followed by 3D Gunstar Heroes in August, and 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in September. Like the previous games in the series, all three will come equipped with “stunning 3D visuals [that have been] optimized for the 3DS.” Brand new modes and features will also be included in each title.
Two other 3D Classics will close out the most recent wave of releases including this Thursday’s 3D Fantasy Zone II and May 14’s 3D Thunder Blade.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2
Bloodborne, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Cities: Skylines all sell one million copies
While the weather outside was frightful, gamers across the globe responded by purchasing a trio of games in droves this Winter. In fact, each game has sold more than one million copies worldwide.
Sony Computer Entertainment announced that Bloodborne has sold more than one million copies worldwide since its March 24. According to the PlayStation Blog, From Software is also hard at work on patch 1.03 to “to reduce certain load times” and add in a few “performance optimizations.” They’ll also remove that bug that makes the game easier after you’ve been playing for more than 12 hours.
According to Capcom, they’ve shipped one million copies of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate to stores across Europe and North America, so they haven’t crossed the seven figure sales figure just yet. But the publisher still plans to celebrate by releasing a free Monster Hunter theme for the 3DS in May.
Finally, Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order have sold one million copies of their city-builder, Cities: Skylines, since March 10. The game has been heartily embraced by sim fans who felt letdown by SimCity, but it looks like its begun to reach gamers of all stripes. I think this Facebook post (which includes a cameo appearance from Dr. Evil) says it all.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4
Tagged Bloodborne, Cities: Skylines, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Join the Pony Express in today’s playable Google Doodle
Thanks to its ubiquity in pop culture, the Pony Express looms large over the landscape of the American West. And yet, the mail delivery service was only in operation for a scant 18 months.
Never one to let a meaningful anniversary pass by, today’s Google Doodle celebrates the company’s first successful delivery, which occurred 155 years ago today. Best of all, the Pony Express Doodle is a playable side-scrolling game that tasks riders with delivering 100 pieces of mail along a three-town route. But be on the lookout for cacti, avalanches, and bandits as you complete your rounds:
The notion of triumph through adversity is so inspirational. So when William H.Russell, Alexander Majors & William B Waddell founded the Pony Express on April 3rd, 1860, they set in motion a wonderful yet daunting method of communication. What a concept–riders with letters on horseback racing from California to Missouri and vice versa to deliver mail on time! True to their word, the first mail arrived on April 14th. The Pony Express felt like a great game concept to us at Google. We’ve made time-based games in the past so our new idea was simple. Collect letters, avoid obstacles and aim for the ultimate 100 letter delivery! We know everyone is busy these days but the Pony Express needs YOU. And ultimately, whatever happens in life, what’s more important than earning trust and respect from a horse?
It’s a pretty great timewaster and I know I’m going to spend all day trying to top my high score of 59.
Guitar Hero Live brings back franchise as a first-person live-action experience this Fall
Back in February, unnamed insiders said that Activision would relaunch the Guitar Hero franchise this year with “more realistic” graphics. That report has turned out to be accurate… but in the absolute strangest way possible. The next game in the series, Guitar Hero Live, will launch this Fall as a first-person, live-action experience that attempts to put players on stage for real. Shred that perfect solo and the crowd will cheer wildly for you. But if you screw up, you’ll be begging for the fenced-in stage from The Blues Brothers. That’s if your bandmates don’t kill you first.
Guitar Hero Live will also include a constantly changing catalog of songs in GHTV Mode, which overlays a note track on top of hundreds of different music videos. You can get a glimpse at how both modes will work by viewing the game’s debut trailer, which has been embedded above.
Unfortunately, your old guitars will no longer work in Guitar Hero Live. Activision is throwing out the old design and creating a new design featuring two rows of three buttons each. According to Activision, “beginners can feel like a rock star by mastering play with just the bottom three buttons.” Meanwhile, veterans will take on the new challenge of “creating complex chord-like shapes and finger combinations.”
Guitar Hero Live’s tracklist is still being finalized, but a wide variety of bands and singers will make the cut including The Black Keys, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark, Jr., Green Day, Ed Sheeran, The War on Drugs, The Killers, Skrillex, The Rolling Stones, The Lumineers, Carrie Underwood, and Pierce the Veil and Blitz Kids. More will be announced as we get closer to launch.
Guitar Hero Live is in development for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U at FreeStyleGames, the same team behind DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2. Somehow, Guitar Hero Live will also be playable on mobile devices and tablets, but details on that version of the game will be announced at a later date.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness announced by Square Enix
Square Enix is officially bringing back the Star Ocean series as Famitsu (via Kotaku) has revealed Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is in development for the PS3 and PS4. Tri-Ace, who has been behind every Star Ocean game, will also be in the developer’s chair for Integrity and Faithlessness. An American release has yet to be announced, but I think it’s only a matter of time.
Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness is the fifth game in the series, but it’ll actually take place between Star Ocean: The Second Story and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. A Square Enix countdown site for the game is expected to expire tomorrow, but for now, we have an English translation of the prologue:
Do the depths of space forbid peace for mankind…
Centuries after leaving Earth, after a multitude of trials, with the creation and spread of the Galactic Federation, humanity was on the verge of unified order and peace.
But the embers of conflict have begun to burn again.
Over 6,000 light years from Earth, on the unsettled planet, Faicreed.
Just as so many times before, the waves of history begin from a remote planet.
Before today’s announcement, the Star Ocean series had laid dormant since 2009, which is when Star Ocean: The Last Hope was released for the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4
Tagged Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness
Knight Squad Hands-On Preview: (Gauntlet + Bomberman) x Knights = Awesome
Cramming eight people around the television set in my living room for a night of gaming seems like the worst idea of all time. For one, I’ve only got enough couch space for about four-and-a-half people, so an unlucky few would be regulated to the floor. I guess they could ask my beast of a dog to share her floor pillow, but she’s a drooler and a licker. That’s bad, though most of my sympathies would lie with the poor sucker who has to wedge himself in the fireplace. But you know what, having a full complement of players for Knight Squad might make it worth it. (more…)
Posted in PC, Previews, Top Story, Xbox One
Tagged Knight Squad, PAX East 2015