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
Xbox Store Today: Starwahl, Baseball Riot
Xbox One owners will have two new choices on the Xbox Games Store today… one where aquatic mammals battle it out in space and a baseball-themed puzzle platformer.
Breakfall’s Starwahl is a multiplayer battler about a group of narwhals, those scientifically-unbelievable horned whales that live in the Arctic, fighting each other in space. Meanwhile, Baseball Riot is a puzzle platformer that puts players in the spikes of retired ballplayer Gabe Carpaccio as he goes on a quest to rescue his former teammates using only a bat, a ball, and an Einstein-like understanding of physics.
More information on both of these rather unbelievable games can be found after the break. (more…)
Bethesda opens studio in Montreal to work on “bleeding-edge of RPG development”
Hot off the monumental success of Fallout 4, Bethesda has founded a new settlement in the wilds of Canada with the opening of a brand new studio in Montreal. Bethesda Game Studios Montreal will be lead by Yves Lachance (Fallout Shelter) and currently has a core team of 40 people. However, Bethesda has announced plans to expand the studio, and is currently recruiting developers to work on “the bleeding-edge of RPG development for the PC and consoles.”
“We’ve worked with some very talented developers in Montreal for a long time, and decided it was time to open a studio there,” said Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios. “It’s exciting to think about the new games we’ll be building together.”
Bethesda’s many successes definitely give the team a few options for their first project. They could be spearheading one of Fallout 4’s upcoming expansions, working on a New Vegas-style spinoff, or maybe even doing pre-production work on the all-but-confirmed Elder Scrolls VI. Let us know what you think Bethesda Game Studios Montreal is working on in the comments below.
Yakuza 5, Earth Defense Force 4.1, Earth Defense Force 2, more added to PS Store
Yakuza 5 was originally released in Japan in 2012, and three years later it has finally made its way to North America courtesy of the PlayStation Store. Faster than you can say, “just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in,” Kazuma Kiryu has been pulled away from his quiet life as a taxi driver and back into the Japanese underworld in the PS3 game.
Also available to download this week is a pair of bug-hunting games in the Earth Defense Force franchise. Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair brings the series to the PS4 for the first time in an enhanced and expanded remake of Earth Defense Force 2025. Meanwhile, Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders From Planet Space for the Vita brings the second game in the series to North America for the first time. EDF! EDF! EDF!
You won’t find any giant bugs in Among the Sleep for the PS4, but the psychological horror game does feature frightening images from a two year old child’s vivid imagination. And finally this week, there’s nothing imaginary about the zombie outbreak occurring in Guns, Gore, & Cannoli, a cartoony side-scroller set in the gangster’s paradise of the 1930s.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Russia have been delayed into 2016
Ubisoft’s side-scrolling Assassin’s Creed Chronicles series has suffered another setback as the release dates of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia have been pushed back into 2016. Originally scheduled to launch before the end of the year, Ubisoft will now release Chronicles: India on January 12 and Chronicles: Russia on February 9.
Both games, along with Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, will also be packaged together in a special “Trilogy” bundle on February 9. A digital download will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, while a retail disc will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One. Ubisoft also plans to release the “Trilogy” bundle for the Vita on April 5.
If you’re not familiar with the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles series, Ubisoft had this to say about both titles:
The second episode, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, throws players into the tension between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company in 1841. When a Master Templar arrives with a mysterious item that used to belong to the Assassin Order, Arbaaz Mir must discover why the Templar has come, steal back the item and protect his friends and his lover.
The final episode, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia, takes place in 1918 when Assassin Nikolai Orelov must complete one last mission for the Assassin Order before he can leave with his family. His mission: infiltrate the house where the Tsar’s family is being held by the Bolsheviks and steal an artifact that has been fought over by Assassins and Templars for centuries. While too late to save the Tsar’s entire family, he manages to save the princess, Anastasia, whom he must protect as he escapes the Templars with her and the artifact in tow.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia will both be priced at $9.99 apiece. Unsurprisingly, the “Trilogy” bundle will be priced at $29.99.
Otherside Entertainment is working on System Shock 3… but technically it’s a secret
Otherside Entertainment is a small team founded by Paul Neurath, one of the lead developers at Looking Glass Studios. You might remember Looking Glass as the former home of famed developers Warren Spector and Ken Levine, as well as the creator of System Shock. Oh, and speaking of System Shock, Otherside is apparently hard at work on System Shock 3 for rightsholder Night Dive Studios.
The System Shock franchise had been stuck in a state of legal limbo for more than a decade after the release of System Shock 2 in 1999, but Night Dive was able to obtain the rights to the series earlier this year. Night Dive and Otherside even launched a Countdown Page to celebrate their System Shock 3 announcement, but someone discovered the grand finale announcement and a mailing list signup form a tad early.
So that’s about all we know right now. Hopefully, more details about System Shock 3 will be revealed when the countdown ends in five days.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged System Shock 3
Harmonix adds three “intense” metal tunes to Rock Band 4 Music Store in today’s DLC Update; Brutal Mode added in a free update
Harmonix is getting loud in this week’s Rock Band 4 DLC Update as they’ve added new music from a trio of progressive metal bands to the Music Store. Priced at $1.99 apiece, Between the Buried and Me’s “The Coma Machine,” Opeth’s “Heir Apparent,” and Symphony X’s “Nevermore” can be downloaded now.
The hits keep on coming as the developer also added a brand new gameplay mode to Rock Band 4 today in a special free update. Brutal Mode will “put even the most hardcore players’ skills to the test” as it modifies the note highway to react to how well you’re playing. As your playing improves, Brutal Mode will push the target line further up the note highway until most of it is hidden. Players who complete this ridiculous challenge, which you can see in the trailer embedded above, will earn the coveted Crimson Star.
A preview trailer for this week’s new tracks can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
New Hot Shots Golf officially announced for PS4
Like the gallery at Augusta National, Sony was super quiet about New Hot Shots Golf during this weekend’s PlayStation Experience. But the cartoony golf franchise is most definitely in development for the PS4, and it was even playable on the show floor for fans looking to tee it up.
New Hot Shots Golf doesn’t have a release date yet, but we know that it’ll feature a “deep set” of character customization options (a first for the franchise), as well as local multiplayer, online multiplayer, and a Mission Mode. In development at Clap Hanz and Sony Japan Studio, SCEA’s Tomoyo Kimura recently talked a bit about the character customization options on the PlayStation Blog:
In past Hot Shots Golf games, unlocking new golfer characters and building a lineup of athletes with various strengths and weaknesses was key. However in New Hot Shots Golf, players start by creating and dressing their very own golfer, utilizing a deep set of customization tools. By playing and completing specific tasks, players can level up their personalized golfer and build strength for long drives, precise control for putting on the green, and more.
New Hot Shots Golf will also offer fully explorable courses for the first time. Players will be able to walk from hole-to-hole or hop in a golf cart and tear things up Caddyshack-style. There will be water hazards stocked with fish… turning your golf game into a fishing game!
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged New Hot Shots Golf, PlayStation Experience 2015
Shovel Knight Amiibo will be available in US on January 8 (but EU gets it on December 11)
I’m sure everyone that fell hard for Shovel Knight on the Wii U and 3DS last year was hoping to find a little shoveler of their own under the Christmas tree this year. Alas, it’s not to be… unless you live in Europe, that is. Yacht Club Games has announced that the Shovel Knight Amiibo figure will be available across Europe on December 11, but we in North America will have to wait until January 8. The developers apologized for this slight delay in a post on their official website, but they also want their fans to know that “it will not be a limited run, so please don’t feel pressured into importing or buying from scalpers.”
But once you get your hands on the Shovel Knight Amiibo figure, you’ll be able to unlock a full Co-Op Campaign (Wii U Only), five new Co-Op Challenges (Wii U Only), five new single-player Challenges, and the Custom Knight Creator:
Deep Customization with Custom Knight!
- Level up to a max level of 50 by finding treasure!
- Earn relics in an all new way while uncovering all-new relics, abilities, and powers you never thought possible!
- Customize the look of your Shovel Knight with cool and crazy cosmetic options!
- Use your Custom Knight seamlessly between Nintendo 3DS and Wii U!
Much like the platform-exclusive content available for Shovel Knight on the PS4 and Xbox One, the Co-Op Campaign, Custom Knight Creator, and new Challenges will only be available on Nintendo platforms.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Shovel Knight