Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Author: John Scalzo
Nintendo Download: Minecraft: Story Mode, Jackbox Party Pack, Sky Ride, more
This week’s Nintendo Download is here… and it’s party time.
After dropping The Jackbox Party Pack 3 on the Switch closer to the console’s launch, Jackbox Games is back with both of its predecessors… The Jackbox Party Pack and The Jackbox Party Pack 2. Each Pack includes five party games, and some will offer thrills and entertainment for up to 100 players.
Speaking of parties, Switch owners will also be able to hook up with Jesse and friends on Tuesday, August 22, in Minecraft: Story Mode – The Complete Adventure. The bundle will include all eight episodes from the game’s first season.
Finally, Switch owners will also get the chance to download Sky Ride, a 3D shooter that defies gravity; and Magician Lord, a side-scrolling beat ’em up and one of the first games ever released for the NeoGeo.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a pair of new 3DS games) after the break. (more…)
Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite’s “Full Story Trailer” promises a colorful and chaotic crossover
With a week to go before Gamescom opens its door in Germany, Capcom has released the “Full Story Trailer” for Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite. With appearances from Iron Man, Captain America, Ghost Rider, Mega Man, and many others, it looks like fans will get to experience a colorful and chaotic crossover next month:
Ultron Sigma has obtained two Infinity Stones and fused the Marvel and Capcom universes. Jedah has conspired with other villains to create a ravenous Symbiote beast. Can our heroes trust Thanos to lead them to the remaining Infinity Stones and beat back these threats? The clock is ticking, and all reality is at stake.
Capcom is taking Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite on a whirlwind tour before its launch, and the fighter will be playable at Gamescom (August 22-26), GameStop Expo (August 27), Toronto Fan Expo (August 31-September 3), PAX West (September 1-4), and upcoming PlayStation Road to Greatness events.
Everyone else will get the chance to try out Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite when it comes home for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 19.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2017, Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite, PAX West 2017
Microsoft delays launch of Crackdown 3 to Spring 2018
Earlier this week, Volition released their futuristic story of high-flying secret agents, Agents of Mayhem, for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Since its announcement during E3 2014, Microsoft has been hard at work on a similar take on the genre, Crackdown 3. Sadly, it looks like Crackdown 3 won’t join Agents of Mayhem on store shelves this Fall as originally planned.
In a statement to Polygon, the consolemaker has confirmed that Crackdown 3 will now be released in Spring 2018:
“We’re very excited about Crackdown 3, and so are many fans, and so it’s a difficult call to move the release date,” [Shannon Loftis, the General Manager of Microsoft Studios Publishing] said in an email interview with Polygon. “However, we want to make sure to deliver the right game, with the right quality, and at the right time. Crackdown 3 is a hugely ambitious game and we want to ensure we deliver the right experiences all the way through every part of the game, whether that’s campaign, co-op multiplayer or our competitive multiplayer mode, Wrecking Zone. Getting the balance right between the three modes is important, and we are going to take the extra development time to ensure that. Gamers can expect Crackdown 3 in Spring of 2018.”
In addition to a desire to deliver the best game possible, Loftis specifically said that Crackdown 3’s visuals needed further work, so players could “feel completely immersed” in the game’s world:
“What we showed at E3 was a preview of the game, and is a great indicator of the level of mayhem and vertical platforming action you can expect from Crackdown 3,” Loftis said. “Among other items, we are taking the extra time to focus on the visual polish so gamers can feel completely immersed in a living world. We want them to really feel the larger-than life enemies as they’re exploring the expansive open world, combatting crime and collecting orbs.”
Crackdown 3 is currently in development for the PC and Xbox One, and we’ll keep you posted on its progress as we move throughout the year and into 2018.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Crackdown 3
NetherRealm will unveil Injustice 2’s Fighter Pack 2 at Gamescom 2017
NetherRealm Studios launched Injustice 2 for the PS4 and Xbox One a few months ago, and the developer has already added three new characters to the game’s roster as part of the Fighter Pack 1 add-on.
Six more characters will be added to Injustice 2 through future downloadable add-ons, and fans will get their first look at the next three during this month’s Gamescom expo. The characters planned for Fighter Pack 2 (which will be released roughly one-per-month this Fall) will be unveiled during a special “Celebrity Charity Competition” on August 23 at 5:00 PM (Eastern Time).
DJs Steve Aoki and Don Diablo will battle it out in the fighting game in a best-of-five series, and fans in attendance at Gamescom will be able to grab a ringside seat in Hall 9. If you can’t make it to Cologne, Germany, the matchup will also be livestreamed on NetherRealm’s Twitch channel.
The “Celebrity Charity Competition” will support the Aoki Foundation, a charitable group founded by Steve Aoki that supports advances in brain science, as well as disaster relief, developmental disabilities, and animal rights.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2017, Injustice 2
Xbox Store Today: Agents of Mayhem, Conan Exiles, Sonic Mania, more
The future and the past collide in today’s Xbox Games Store update with three new games for the Xbox One…
First up is Volition’s Agents of Mayhem, an open world parody of the superhero boom. Players will protect the city of Seoul and do battle with the evil LEGION. Along the way they’ll crack jokes in Volition’s signature style and playfully mock Saturday morning cartoons as well.
Looking back to the past, yet another developer has taken a crack at a video game based on Conan the Barbarian this week. Funcom’s Conan Exiles is now available through the Xbox Game Preview program, and players will be able to fight for survival in an open world based on Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age.
Also available to download today is Sonic Mania, the character’s first 2D side-scroller in over five years. Developed by an outside group of indie developers, Sega’s latest Sonic game includes remixed classic levels and new locales for fans to speed through.
You can learn more about all of these games (and the rest of today’s new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Agents of Mayhem, Sonic Mania
Rabbid Luigi jumps into view in the latest Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle trailer
Ubisoft is back with another Character Trailer for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and this time they’re spotlighting Rabbid Luigi. Apparently, the green-clad character is full of surprises and will play a very important role in the strategy game:
Rabbid Luigi is the most ingenuous of the Rabbid heroes. Easily scared, he would always avoid conflict given the choice. Despite this, he has very strong powers, even if he doesn’t really understand how to use them! He might not even seem very menacing at first, but his great defensive and elemental skills make him the wizard every team needs.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle will be available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on August 29.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Meet the “Twisted, Deadly Photographer” in the latest trailer for The Evil Within 2
Bethesda unveiled a new trailer for The Evil Within 2 today that introduces fans to another character that populates game’s monstrous underbelly. This time, the publisher has put the spotlight on “The Twisted, Deadly Photographer,” a serial killer who uses his victims to create sickening “art”:
Not only will Sebastian have to contend with the myriad horrific creatures waiting for him in The Evil Within 2, he’ll also have to deal with the human “monsters” who have made their way into the new STEM world.
Wretched creatures like Stefano Valentini, an artist with dark proclivities and unbounded imagination. You’ll see examples of his work scattered throughout Union – from grisly photographs of his victims, to the “moment of death” tableaus he creates, capturing the last seconds of a person’s life in a tangible, looping scene.
The Evil Within 2 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this October… on Friday the 13th.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged The Evil Within 2
PS Store This Week: Agents of Mayhem, Sonic Mania, Undertale, more
It may be Summertime outside, but you wouldn’t know it after this week’s PlayStation Store update.
Today’s biggest new release is Agents of Mayhem, a new open world game for the PS4 from Volition. Set within the same universe as the Saints Row series, Agents of Mayhem will attempt to parody the current crop of superhero films as well as Saturday morning cartoons from the 80s. If you’d prefer to build big, Paradox Interactive will bring Cities: Skylines to the PS4 this week. The city-building sim will allow players to “manage the city of [their] dreams” as they design and build their own metropolis.
Aksys Games will embiggen one of their games this week with a PS4 re-release for Zero Time Dilemma on Friday. Originally released for the Vita last year, this console-ready version of the game will include high definition graphics.
Sega is also going big this week… but they’re doing it by shrinking down. The publisher has enlisted a team of indie developers to create Sonic Mania, a new side-scroller for the PS4 that pays homage to Sonic’s past.
Speaking of indie developers, a slew of teams got the chance to make the PlayStation Store a cozier place this week. PS4 owners can look forward to finding Undertale (also on the Vita), Tokyo 42, Matterfall, Nidhogg 2, and Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition on the digital storefront.
Finally this week, Telltale will check in with Jesse and friends in Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2 – Episode 2: Giant Consequences.
You can learn more about all of these titles (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Agents of Mayhem, Cities: Skylines, Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2, Night Trap, Sonic Mania, Zero Escape Volume 3