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
Activision officially unveils Call of Duty: WWII with an hour-long livestream and the first trailer
After giving fans a quick tease of the game late last week, Activision and Sledgehammer Games have returned with their “Worldwide Reveal” for Call of Duty: WWII. According to the developer, the new Call of Duty will deliver “gritty realism, authenticity, and cinematic intensity on an epic scale” as players embark on an important mission in the European Theater:
Call of Duty: WWII takes the franchise back to its roots in a bold cinematic experience that captures the unforgettable heroism of the soldiers who fought together in a war that changed the world forever. Activision’s gripping new title is an honest portrayal of World War II from the perspective of the famed 1st Infantry Division, with an ensemble cast of global and diverse characters. Through stunning visuals and intense audio, players storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, march across France to liberate Paris and ultimately push forward into Germany in some of the most monumental battles of all-time.
Not to be outdone by its single-player campaign, Call of Duty: WWII will also include a full complement of multiplayer modes. Competitive deathmatch will be available, of course, but Sledgehammer is also adding a new cooperative narrative mode to the franchise. Known as “War,” Activision has promised to reveal more information about this facet of the game at this year’s E3 Expo. And don’t worry, the undead hordes will rise again as part of CoD: WWII’s Nazi Zombies cooperative campaign.
“The story we’re telling is unlike anything that we’ve tackled before,” said Glen Schofield, the Studio Head and Co-Founder of Sledgehammer Games. It’s such an amazing journey of common everyday people who became heroes. We want to respect this great generation of soldiers, tell a realistic story set in a true inflection point in human history, and deliver the best experience of our careers.”
Call of Duty: WWII will be released in three different configurations including a Base Edition ($59.99), a Digital Deluxe Edition ($99.99, includes Season Pass), and the Pro Edition ($99.99, includes Steelbook packaging and Season Pass). Fans who pre-order any version of the game will receive access to the pre-release Private Beta, which will be available on the PS4 first.
Call of Duty: WWII will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 3. The first trailer has been embedded above, and the full “Worldwide Reveal” livestream, hosted by developers from Sledgehammer, can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Achievements from Injustice 2 confirm The Joker will appear in the game
Injustice: Gods Among Us opened with The Joker detonating a bomb in Metropolis. Superman flew into a rage after learning that Lois Lane (and their unborn child) was killed in the blast… ultimately murdering The Joker and taking control of the world with the help of his Regime. Years later, The Joker from the original DC Universe was pulled into the Injustice universe and caused a bit of havoc, but he was sent back to where he came from at the conclusion of the story.
But you didn’t think The Joker was really dead, did you? According to Xbox Achievements, two Achievements in the upcoming Injustice 2 point to a resurrection for the Clown Prince of Crime:
I Love You, I Hate You (15)
Harley must defeat Joker with the final hit coming from Go Night NightWhy Aren’t You Laughing? (15)
Joker must defeat Batman with the final hit coming from Not So Funny Is It?
NetherRealm Studios will unveil another new character from Injustice 2’s roster this Friday, April 28, and there’s a chance it could be The Joker. But even if it’s not, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out if he’s in the game, because Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2
What Remains of Edith Finch, Dragon Quest Heroes II, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, more added to PS Store
The PlayStation Store is bursting with new releases this week, so let’s not waste any time…
We start things off with What Remains of Edith Finch, a first-person narrative adventure for the PS4 from Giant Sparrow, the development team behind The Unfinished Swan. Giant Sparrow thinks of the game as a “collection of strange tales,” and players will need to explore a colossal mansion to learn the secrets of the Finch family.
If you’d rather whack things with a giant sword, PS4 owners will also get the chance to go medieval this week with the release of Square Enix/Koei Tecmo’s Dragon Quest Heroes II and Yacht Club’s Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment. More modern weaponry is available in Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, a new combat simulation for the PS4 that offers an open world and gives players the ability to tackle missions in any way they choose.
A terrifying trio of new games will also be available to download for the PS4 this week. Deathstate is a “single-stick shooter” with retro-styled Lovecraftian monsters; Little Nightmares is a moody platformer from Bandai Namco; and Outlast II is a followup to Red Barrels’s first-person frightener. And speaking of horrors, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier – Episode 4: Thicker Than Water is also available to download for the PS4.
Finally this week, the Syberia series returns for the first time in more than a decade with a PS4 release for Syberia 3.
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition coming this Spring to PS4 and Xbox One
You might not remember, but the original developers behind Night Trap launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2014 to produce a “ReVamped” version of the pioneering FMV game for modern consoles. Unfortunately, that campaign failed, and most of us assumed the project was dead. But even if you forgot, the developers didn’t, and they’re preparing to release a remake of Night Trap for the PS4 and Xbox One later this Spring to commemorate the game’s 25th anniversary.
Night Trap was originally released in 1992 for the Sega Genesis’s Sega CD add-on. Players were given control of a futuristic security system and tasked with protecting a slumber party from a gang of vampires. The hook was that players could see the action play out in “full motion video,” and acted out by a Hollywood cast lead by Dana Plato (Kimmy from Diff’rent Strokes).
Neither the Sega CD nor Night Trap made much of an impact on audiences, but the game was rather controversial at the time because its story frequently focused on “lurid content” like teenage girls in bikinis.
The first trailer for the Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition, which will also receive a physical PS4 release thanks to Limited Run Games, has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Night Trap
Story Mode, 8 new characters, Collector’s Edition revealed for Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite, which is launching on September 19
“Worlds Collide” in the latest trailer for Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite. To celebrate the announcement of the game’s Cinematic Story Mode, Capcom has revealed the circumstances behind the fourth crossover between Marvel’s stable of characters, and their own. It seems that Ultron and Sigma have realized they share the same murderous philosophy, and their mutual dislike for mankind has lead them to form a deadly new alliance:
For the first time in franchise history, the Marvel and Capcom universes collide in a visually stunning and immersive cinematic Story Mode, as heroes and villains battle together to save their merged worlds from a sinister new threat, Ultron Sigma. A combination of the robotic foes known as Ultron from the Marvel Universe and Sigma from the Capcom Universe, this psychotic villain is obsessed with infecting all organic life with a cybernetic virus. History’s greatest gathering of warriors must now unite to fight back against Ultron Sigma and save their newly formed world.
Capcom and Marvel had quite a bit more to announce today, including eight additional playable characters (Ultron, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, Rocket Raccoon, Chun-Li, Strider Hiryu, and Chris Redfield) and a 2017 Character Pass that’ll include access to six post-launch characters, starting with Mega Man X‘s Sigma. The 2017 Character Pass will be available as a standalone download (for $30), but it’ll also be bundled with the PS4/Xbox One-exclusive Deluxe Edition (for $89.99) if you want to purchase everything up front.
The publisher plans to sweeten the pot with two bonus costumes (Warrior Thor and Evil Ryu) for anyone who pre-orders the Standard Edition. Two more costumes (Gladiator Hulk and Command Mission Mega Man X) will be added to the package if you pre-order the Deluxe Edition.
But wait, they’re not done. A Collector’s Edition, produced by TriForce, will also be released this Fall for the PS4 and Xbox One. Priced at $199.99, it’ll include four “Premium Character Dioramas” of Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Mega Man X, and Chun-Li, a Display Box filled with six Infinity Stone Replicas, and a copy of the Deluxe Edition in SteelBook packaging.
Finally, Capcom confirmed that Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 19.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite
The story behind Splatoon 2 begins with a falling out between Callie and Marie
Splatoon‘s final Splatfest event featured a showdown between the game’s beloved hosts, Callie and Marie. Players were reluctant to choose one Squid Sister over the other, but after a weekend of hard-fought Turf War battles, Marie’s fans emerged victorious over Callie’s supporters.
But according to the latest update to the game’s official website, that’s where the story of Splatoon 2 begins. A new section labeled “Squid Sisters Stories” has revealed that the results of the Splatfest have caused some bad blood between Callie and Marie:
About nine months have passed since the final Splatfest.
Twilight lowers its curtain on Inkopolis. Neon signs paint the dusk in brilliant shades of green and pink. The Squid Sisters dance on, as though driven by the Inkling love of battling for turf. Memories such as these linger, vividly etched in my mind, but feel too like remnants of a long-forgotten past. It happened the night the final Splatfest came to an end.
The showdown of Callie versus Marie ended in victory for Marie, but there was no ill will between the two. The girls left the studio arm in arm, smiling and laughing as they always had. The bond between them would continue, unbroken, for years to come.
Or so it seemed at the time…
We’ll likely receive more reports from the “Squid Sisters Stories” series soon. And hopefully, we’ll learn what happened to Callie and Marie before Splatoon 2 launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on July 21.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Splatoon 2
Square Enix is telling investors that Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake might not be released until 2018
Back in March, Square Enix held a “Roadshow” presentation for their UK investors, and the slides from that presentation are now available online. While they paint a rosy financial picture for the company, the slides also hint at further delays to a pair of upcoming RPGs.
In a section highlighting recent and upcoming releases, Square Enix listed six games under the heading, “Fiscal Year 2018 and Beyond” (Square Enix’s fiscal year runs from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018). Three of the games… Dragon Quest XI, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, and Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy… received an additional notation that they’re scheduled to launch in Japan in 2017.
Unfortunately, that left the other three games… Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the Avengers Project partnership with Marvel… to fill out the “Beyond” half of the section.
While this news is disappointing, it shouldn’t be too surprising. The publisher has never announced an official release date for Kingdom Hears III, and in January, Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura said both games “still [had] a ways to go.” The developer also strongly implied that a showcase at an industry event was the most that either game would receive in 2017.
Still, there’s 11 months remaining in Square Enix’s current fiscal year. You never know, they could have a few surprises in store for their fans.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts III
Brainiac does his best Doctor Octopus impression in this new Injustice 2 trailer
After appearing in comic books for more than 50 years, and with a headlining role in 2004’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel’s Doctor Octopus and his metal tentacles are inseparable in the minds of most comics fans. But DC’s Brainiac will borrow the handy appendages for his appearance in Injustice 2:
Brainiac is a megalomaniacal genius who roams the universe, collecting knowledge to increase his intellectual and scientific prowess. Obsessed with establishing his superiority, Brainiac captured Krypton’s greatest cities, then eradicated what remained…or so he thought. Tales of the “Last Son of Krypton” have reached far into the stars. Now, the Collector of Worlds comes to Earth to finish his accumulation of Krypton — and discovers a new world worthy of his collection.
Set to serve as the final boss in Injustice 2, Brainiac was first spotted laying waste to Earth in last week’s “Shattered Alliances Part 5” trailer. His new “Introducing Brainiac” trailer, which includes almost two minutes of gameplay, has been embedded above.
NetherRealm Studios plans to reveal 11 more characters for Injustice 2, but they better hurry, the game will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on May 16.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Injustice 2