Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get 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
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
Turtle Rock announces “vigorous overhaul” for Evolve as it goes free-to-play on PC
Even though it sold several million copies, Evolve more or less disappeared from the public eye after its release in early 2015. A confusing (and pricey) DLC structure seems to have pushed away almost everyone that was enamored by the game after its 2014 debut at PAX East, or its subsequent pre-release showings at E3 or Gamescom.
But Turtle Rock wants to revitalize their 4v1 shooter, and they’re going to start by making Evolve a free-to-play game on the PC beginning tomorrow, July 7. In addition to rebalancing the Hunter classes and making improvements to the maps, Turtle Rock wrote on their Community Forum that they plan to use this “Beta” relaunch as a testing ground for weekly updates to Evolve:
Here’s how it’s going to work: We’re going to make Evolve free on PC as a Beta starting on July 7. This is going to allow us to hit our new server infrastructure really hard and we need your help testing. Stuff could break, and that’s our hope, because that will give us time to improve things as we go. We’ll parse out major Beta revisions, updates and features over a period of weeks and months — a plan we’re going to continually communicate here. This allows us to test new features and major changes to make our game more accessible and ever closer to the joy we saw when we first showed our baby to the world. Just as importantly, this Beta plan gives us the flexibility and time we need to keep fixing bugs and making Evolve more stable.
Players who purchased Evolve before it went free-to-play will be given “Founder” status and periodically receive “gifts, rewards, and special access” from Turtle Rock. And according to another post by Turtle Rock, the free-to-play “Beta” will start on the PC, but the goal is to bring to the PS4 and Xbox One as well.
Turtle Rock will host a huge livestream detailing the changes coming to Evolve on Twitch tomorrow at noon (Eastern Time).
Splatoon’s Callie and Marie will join Super Mario Maker on July 8
Callie and Marie, Splatoon‘s Squid Sisters, have one other stop before that game’s final Splatfest on July 22. This Friday, July 8, players will be able to unlock Costumes for Callie and Marie by playing through a new Event Course in Super Mario Maker.
A trailer starring the Sisters has been embedded above.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Atlus will release Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse on September 20
Atlus has announced that Shin Megam Tensei IV: Apocalypse will be released for the 3DS on September 20. The publisher also released a brand new trailer focusing on the cast, and it’s been embedded above…
With Tokyo being ground zero for scheming gods and monstrous demons, only the strongest and craftiest can survive in the former metropolis turned literal hell on earth. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse has a varied cast of characters that players need to utilize properly in order to endure the harsh realities — mostly the very high possibility of death around every corner — of post-apocalyptic life.
Shin Megam Tensei IV: Apocalypse will overlap with the storyline from Shin Megam Tensei IV, and players will meet many of the same characters. But it’s also a unique adventure all its own, and includes many new features for players to discover…
- Divine Intrigue – Choose between peace or anarchy while being a pawn in the gods’ chess game.
- Combat Partners – Hunting demons is dangerous, so count on some backup! Alongside the standard three demons, players will be able to rely on one of seven partners to help win battles.
- Oodles of Demons – Be on your guard because Tokyo is infested with a series record 450+ demons to fight, fuse, or recruit.
- Revamped Demon Fusion – Demons will have affinities for certain skills, so players can better plan the outcome of fusions.
- Classic SMT Combat – Prospective Hunters will exploit weaknesses, boost attributes, and unlock skill bonuses with the returning Press Turn and Smirking systems.
Atlus will also release Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse in Europe, but a final release date will be announced at a later time.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 will be released on September 13
In a short press release, Konami has announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 will be released on September 13. The game will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One ($59.99), as well as the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 ($39.99).
Konami has mostly retreated from PC and console development in recent years, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is currently the only game they have scheduled for release in 2016.
The Banner Saga 2, The Warriors, Energy Hook, more added to PS Store
It’s another eclectic day for the PlayStation Store as Rockstar asks if The Warriors can come out to plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay on the PS4…
Originally released for the PS2 in 2005, The Warriors is a critically-acclaimed adaptation of the cult favorite film. At the time, The Warriors was praised for Rockstar’s attention to detail and how well it managed to recreate the film’s grimy 70s aesthetic. The jump to the PS4 retains everything that made everyone love the PS2 game and adds 1080p graphics, Trophies, and Remote Play support.
Also available this week is The Banner Saga 2, the second game in Stoic’s RPG retelling of an epic Norse adventure. This time, players will continue their “emotional journey” across a breaking world as they make “bold” leadership decisions to help their Viking clan survive.
Finally this week, Energy Hook swings onto the PS4 from the creator of Spider-Man 2‘s beloved webslinging engine. But instead of superheroics, Energy Hook asks players to compete in a futuristic sport where they need to chain together “sequences of tricks, wall-runs, and stylish moves for massive scores.”
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. And, as always, you can find a complete rundown of this week’s new add-ons and discounts (including Sony’s Mid-Year Sale) at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Energy Hook, The Banner Saga 2
Zelda: Breath of the Wild named E3 2016’s “Best of Show” by Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards has handed out their annual “Best of E3” honors for this year’s show, and unsurprisingly, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was named “Best of Show.” The massive open-air game also took home awards for “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.”
Even though Battlefield 1 secured the most nominations, only one other game was able to collect more than a single award, and that was Civilization VI, which was named “Best PC Game” and “Best Strategy Game.” This year’s “Special Commendation for Graphics” went to Sony’s God of War reboot.
All told, 13 games (and the PlayStation VR headset, which won for “Best Hardware”) were honored this year by the Game Critics Awards. The full list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham VR, Battlefield 1, Civilization VI, E3 2016, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 3, God of War 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Injustice 2, Inside, Skylanders Imaginators, Steep, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, TitanFall 2
Every game published by Microsoft will be released with an Xbox Play Anywhere option
Way back in 2003, Microsoft released Halo: Combat Evolved for the PC, and followed it up with a PC port for Halo 2 in 2007. Not counting the Spartan spinoff games, these are the only two titles in the Halo franchise to ever be released for the PC. But it looks like PC players might get to revisit the franchise again in the not-too-distant future.
Yusuf Mehdi, the Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, knows that fans want the franchise to continue on the PC, and he might just grant them their wish. In a new post on the Windows Blog, Mehdi has confirmed that all future Microsoft-published games will be released as part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program, meaning that purchasers will receive a copy of the game for the Xbox One and Windows 10.
With the Xbox Play Anywhere program, you can buy a game once and play on your Windows 10 PC and Xbox One with shared progress, shared game saves and shared achievements. Every new title published from Microsoft Studios will support Xbox Play Anywhere and will be easily accessible in the Windows Store.
Halo 6, the next mainline entry in the franchise, was announced in 2011 as part of a “new trilogy” alongside Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. It’s unknown when it’ll be released (or even re-announced), but unless Microsoft exempts it from the Xbox Play Anywhere program, we now know it’ll be available for the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.
In the more immediate future, Microsoft has a number of Xbox Play Anywhere titles planned for the Fall including Gears of War 4, Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3, and ReCore.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Dead Rising 4, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4, ReCore
Aksys has plans to port Virtue’s Last Reward and Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors to new platforms
Fresh off the successful launch of Zero Time Dilemma, Aksys Games has announced that the first two games in the series (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward) will be ported to “other platforms” soon. The news was revealed during the Aksys Games panel at this weekend’s Anime Expo (via Destructoid).
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors was originally released for the DS in 2009, and it was followed by the 2012 launch of Virtue’s Last Reward on the 3DS and Vita. It’s unknown which platforms the titles will be coming to, but a 3DS and Vita release for 999 seems like a safe bet, as does a PC port for both.
But I guess we’ll find out for sure soon.