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: Call of Duty Black Ops III
There’s just one new addition to the Xbox Games Store today, but it’s a big one as Activision has released Call of Duty: Black Ops III for the Xbox One and Xbox 360.
With the latest game in the long-running military simulation series, Treyarch decided to scale the game back on the Xbox 360, ultimately cutting the Campaign Mode from the last-gen version. The noirish “Shadows of Evil” Zombies Mode and Competitive Multiplayer are included on both platforms, but only the Xbox One edition will include the near-future Campaign involving augmented soldiers (and starring Stabler from Law & Order: SVU).
If you’ve completely tuned out on Call of Duty this year, an expanded description for both versions of the game, provided by Activision, can be found right here:
Xbox One Games
Call of Duty: Black Ops III ($59.99)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III combines three unique game modes: Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies, providing fans with the deepest and most ambitious Call of Duty ever. The Campaign has been designed as a co-op game that can be played with up to four players online or as a solo cinematic thrill-ride. Multiplayer will be the franchise’s deepest, most rewarding and most engaging to date, with new ways to rank up, customize, and gear up for battle. And Zombies delivers an all-new mind-blowing experience with its own dedicated narrative. The title ushers in an unprecedented level of innovation, including jaw-dropping environments, never before experienced weaponry and abilities, and the introduction of a new, improved fluid movement system.Xbox One Games
Call of Duty: Black Ops III ($49.99)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III for Xbox 360 features two game modes only: Multiplayer and Zombies, providing fans with an expansive Multiplayer and an all-new film-noir inspired Zombies adventure. Multiplayer provides new ways to rank up, customize, and gear up for battle. Zombies delivers a full-experience experience with its own distinct storyline.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Activision will develop Call of Duty “cinematic universe” and Skylanders animated TV series
Activision is going to Hollywood! The megapublisher has announced the formation of Activision Blizzard Studios, a new film and television studio that will create content based on their most popular game franchises. Nick Van Dyk, a former executive at Disney, will co-lead the studio along another executive who will be named later.
Not surprisingly, the first project from the studio will be an animated television series based on the Skylanders range of games and toys. A premiere date wasn’t announced, but the series is alreadyy in production and Activision has lined up an impressive voice cast including Justin Long as Spyro, Ashley Tisdale as Stealth Elf, Jonathan Banks as Eruptor, and Norm MacDonald as Glumshanks. Eric Rogers, a writer best known for his work on Futurama, will serve as the showrunner.
Activision Blizzard Studios is also hard at work on laying the groundwork for a Call of Duty “cinematic universe,” which they hope to launch with “a series of Call of Duty feature films as well as the possibility of television adaptations.” It takes guts to promise multiple movies, a television series, and an interconnected cinematic universe.
Bobby Kotick, Activision’s CEO, is confident that his new division can make it work: “Activision Blizzard is home to some of the most successful entertainment franchises in history, across any medium [and we] intend to approach film and television development with the same unwavering commitment to excellence we are known for in game development.”
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Skylanders SuperChargers
Metroid: The Sky Calls is a fan film that calls back to 60s/70s sci-fi like Alien and 2001
A good fan film will often result in a lot of nodding as you think to yourself, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Someone gets it!” While it’s definitely not how a major Hollywood studio would adapt Metroid today, I think Metroid: The Sky Calls might produce a few approving nods.
Produced by Rainfall Films, and starring Jessica Chobot as Samus Aran, Metroid: The Sky Calls harkens back to the science fiction from the 60s and 70s that inspired the creation of the franchise in the first place. Combining the psychedelic visuals of 2001: A Space Odyssey with the loneliness and isolation of Alien and Solaris, the short film is both very familiar and like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
Nintendo partnered with John Woo to develop a movie based on the Metroid series back in 2004. Sometime in the years that followed, the deal fell through and no movie was produced. But if they ever try again, I’d like to think that Nintendo would find some inspiration in Metroid: The Sky Calls.
Fallout 4 launch trailer is here and it features plenty of gameplay footage
I know that some other heavily hyped game is now available in stores as of today, but Fallout fans are also in a tizzy over the pending launch of Fallout 4. So now is the perfect time for Bethesda to deliver the game’s epic launch trailer.
Clocking in at almost three minutes, the Fallout 4 launch trailer features a ton of gameplay footage and one very loyal dog.
Fallout 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 10. To further prepare yourself, I recommend watching Bethesda’s S.P.E.C.I.A.L. video series (Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, Luck) one more time.
Battleborn’s release has been pushed back to May 3, 2016
Gearbox Software and Take-Two Interactive have announced that Battleborn will miss its previously announced February 9, 2016 release date. The “hero shooter” will now launch for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 3, 2016.
During today’s quarterly financial report, Take-Two Interactive President Karl Slatoff said, “We believe that extending development by a few months will allow the team enough time to fully realize the creative vision for Battleborn and enable them to deliver the best entertainment experience possible.”
“Creating new IP is hard, and we can’t help but be Gearbox,” added representatives from Gearbox via the developer’s Twitter account.
In case you missed it, the developer released a “Multiplayer Reveal Trailer” for Battleborn a few days ago, and it’s been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn
Nintendo Download: Yo-Kai Watch, Rodea: The Sky Soldier, Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, more
Are you ready to “catch ’em all” with the next big Japanese export? I hope so, because Nintendo and Level-5 will add Yo-Kai Watch to the 3DS eShop tomorrow. In Yo-Kai Watch, players will hunt down hundreds of “sometimes cute and usually mischievous” Yo-Kai that inhabit our world. These troublesome spirits can be recruited to battle other Yo-Kai, which will probably come in handy when your team takes on a three-headed boss.
Also available this week is Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, a new side-scroller for the 3DS and Wii U starring everyone’s favorite beagle and his avian companion Woodstock. They’ll jump, dance, and saunter through Snoopy’s imagination in search of lovable old Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang.
Finally, Rodea: The Sky Soldier will be available for the 3DS and Wii U beginning on Tuesday, November 10. Rodea: The Sky Soldier has a strong pedigree behind it as the game will be published by NIS America and was developed by Yuji Naka, the man behind Nights Into Dreams. Like Nights, Rodea is a skybound adventure where the player has to save the “Sky Kingdom” from the “mechanized forces of the Naga Empire.”
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Rodea: The Sky Soldier, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure, Yo-Kai Watch
EA pushes up Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 and will release it on February 23
Spring planting season will come early next year as Electronic Arts has announced that the “Spring 2016” release of Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 has been pushed up to February 23. Whether Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, that date firmly falls within the Winter, so good job EA.
The publisher also revealed the “Grass Effect Z7-Mech,” an in-game bonus vehicle that players will receive if they pre-order Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. Created in conjunction with BioWare, you can go up close and personal with the “Grass Effect Z7-Mech” in the trailer embedded above.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will expand upon its predecessor with a number of new modes, maps, and character classes. PopCap and EA Canada have even added a few “fan-requested” features into the game:
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 goes above and beyond to deliver the funniest, craziest most over-the-top shooter yet. Players can go on the offensive as the plants in all-new modes including the 24-player Herbal Assault mode, or rally the zombies together and defend against the plants in the four-player co-op mode, Graveyard Ops. From the Great White North to Moon Base Z, all the hilarious action takes place across 12 fresh maps that are bursting with life and humor. Join the fight for Suburbia with six new character classes and over one hundred unique characters to collect. Experience even more ways to play, including the Backyard Battleground; players will have the freedom to explore this interactive environment by themselves or with friends. The Backyard Battleground is a wild playground with dynamic events and tons to discover, and is unlike anything that has been in a Plants vs Zombies game before.
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
Xbox Store Today: Need For Speed, Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, Barbie: Puppy Rescue
Three new games are now available through the Xbox Games Store…
- Need For Speed (Xbox One) is EA’s latest reboot of the long-running racing series. “Become the ultimate icon of today’s urban car culture” as you drive fast and look good doing it.
- Snoopy’s Grand Adventure (Xbox One, Xbox 360) is a side-scrolling game based on the beloved Peanuts character. Players will go on a journey in search of Charlie Brown and all his friends… and the Flying Ace just might make an appearance.
- Barbie and Her Sisters: Puppy Rescue (Xbox 360) is a game starring Barbie and all her sisters as they help a pound full of puppies find their “fur-ever” homes. I’m sure little girls everywhere will love it.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Need For Speed, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure