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
Weekly Warp-Up: Paris Games Week 2015
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
Sony took over the recent Paris Games Week and delivered a ton of announcements that will likely be of interest to gamers everywhere. Perhaps most importantly, the consolemaker confirmed that space exploration game No Man’s Sky will be released for the PS4 and PC in June 2016. They followed that up with an official announcement of Tekken 7‘s “home console” debut on the PS4. Finally, Polyphony Digital revealed that Gran Turismo Sport will race onto the PS4 in 2016, while Quantic Dream announced their famed Kara tech demo would be expanded into a full-fledged game known as Detroit.
Even if you don’t own a PS4, that’s some exciting stuff. More news from this past week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Call of Duty Black Ops III, Need For Speed, Yo-Kai Watch, More
Are you ready to answer the call of duty? Right on schedule, Activision and Treyarch will release Call of Duty: Black Ops III for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this week. Taking place in a near future where technologically-augmented soldiers form the backbone of modern war, the game will also be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360, though it won’t include the single-player Campaign Mode. Players in the market for a PS4 will also be able to pick up a 1 TB PS4 + Call of Duty: Black Ops III Bundle this week.
This week’s other major new release is Need For Speed, the latest entry in the long-running racing franchise. Developer Ghost Games considers the PS4 and Xbox One game a complete reboot of the series and has packed Need For Speed with five overlapping storylines and dozens of cars.
The kids will get their chance to play as well as Nintendo and Level-5 will release the Pokemon-like Yo-Kai Watch for the 3DS, while Little Orbit will launch Snoopy’s Grand Adventure for the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Finally, a number of games are getting special edition re-releases including Evolve: Ultimate Edition (PS4, Xbox One), Lords of the Fallen: Complete Edition (PS4, Xbox One), and Shovel Knight (3DS, PS4, Wii U).
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Evolve, Lords of the Fallen, Need For Speed, Shovel Knight, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure, Yo-Kai Watch
Xbox Store Today: Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition
Just one new entry to the Xbox Games Store today, but it’s one that fans of action RPGs and post-apocalyptic settings should be excited for… and no, I’m not talking about a surprise early release for Fallout 4.
Instead, I’m referring to Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, an updated and enhanced Xbox One re-release of a game originally available for the Xbox 360 in 2012. The definitive Deathinitive Edition includes all the previously-released downloadable content and was even developed by Gunfire Games, a company founded by several members of the now-defunct original developer, Vigil Games.
Are you ready for the End of Days? Here’s more information on Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition from publisher Nordic Games:
Xbox One Games
Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition ($29.99)
Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition features Darksiders II with all DLC included and integrated into the game which offers a total playtime of more than 30 hours. Become the terrifying force which everything fears but nothing can escape. Awakened by the End of Days, Death, the most feared of the legendary Four Horsemen embarks on a quest to redeem his brother’s name. Along the way, the Horseman discovers that an ancient grudge may threaten all of Creation. Death lives!
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders II
Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst delayed as DICE pushes the release date back to May 24, 2016
Bad news for all the Runners in the audience… Electronic Arts and DICE have delayed Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst. The first-person free-running game, which was previously scheduled to launch on February 23, will now be released on May 24. Writing on the game’s official website, Producer Sara Jansson blamed DICE’s “ambitious vision” for the delay:
Years ago, we set out an ambitious vision for Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst. Achieving that vision and delivering the best possible experience is equally inspiring and challenging. And it takes time. We set out to create a vast city to explore, full of stunning vistas, majestic skyscrapers, and mysterious tunnels. We’re building the most immersive action-adventure game with fluid movement and combat in first person. Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst will be an all-new playground with a deeper and more engaging story – and we want to accomplish all these goals to the highest quality possible.
So we’ve made the decision to bring Mirror’s Edge to the world starting May 24, 2016. We will use these few extra months to make sure that when you step into the massive City of Glass and experience the rise of Faith, it’s as entertaining, impressive, and memorable as it can be.
Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is currently in the works for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
Nintendo Download: Human Resource Machine, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, PictoParty, more
Nintendo is keeping things simple for today’s Nintendo Download. The consolemaker approved just five new games for their digital storefront this week. Wii U and 3DS owners are usually able to browse through more than a dozen new games per week.
However, fans of Little Inferno and World of Goo should be very excited today as the creators of those games are teaming up to Human Resource Machine, a puzzle game starring an office drone built entirely around the ability to program. But don’t worry if you’ve never programmed before, the game will teach you the ropes.
GOTO more_games. If you don’t speak programming nerd, pretend I said, “Also available this week…”
- PictoParty (Wii U), a Pictionary-like family party game.
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Wii U), a game where an octopus pretends to be a person.
- Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town (Wii U), a Virtual Console re-release of the farming simulation, which was originally released for the Game Boy in 2003.
- Barbie and her Sisters Puppy Rescue (3DS and Wii U), a game where Barbie and her sisters rescue puppies.
More information on all of these games is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Octodad: Dadliest Catch, PictoParty
Gran Turismo Sport races onto the PS4 in 2016
We don’t know if its the long-rumored Gran Turismo 7, but Sony has officially announced that Gran Turismo Sport will be coming to the PS4 sometime next year. Unveiled during this week’s Paris Games Week, Gran Turismo Sport will be an MMO racer of sorts where players pledge allegiance to their home country and their favorite car manufacturer:
In Gran Turismo Sport, there will be two FIA [International Automobile Federation] online championships running simultaneously. In the Nations Cup, players will be able represent their home country. Whilst in the Manufacturers Cup, players will be driving on behalf of their favorite car manufacturer. Players will not only be able to race as drivers themselves, they’ll also be able to root for their home country or their favorite manufacturers teams.
The winner of the championship will be awarded at the FIA prize giving ceremony, alongside real life motorsports champions. This will be a historic moment, the first time a video game will officially be recognized as part of the real motoring world.
Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamauchi told the PlayStation Blog that his team continues to improve the franchise’s graphics, physics, and sound, and he hopes to deliver “the most realistic driving simulator to date.” I’m sure most of the world would expect nothing less from the famed developer.
A beta test for Gran Turismo Sport will be held this Spring.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Gran Turismo Sport
Nintendo’s first mobile “game” is a communication app known as Miitomo
Nintendo recently revealed their first mobile game as part of their quarterly financial report. Rather than producing a Mario platformer or a Zelda-style adventure game, Nintendo has partnered with DeNA to create Miitomo, a “conversation starter” communication app.
Miitomo will let players create a Mii, which will then ask you questions about hobbies, thoughts, and experiences. These answers will then be shared with your friends (through your Mii) to get everyone talking. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima talked a bit more about how Miitomo works during his presentation:
These “friendly communication starters” have an advantage that even the people who are less willing to send messages can easily participate. Another unique characteristic of Miitomo is that you may be able to find out unknown aspects about your friends or unexpected commonalities you share with your friend because Miitomo may pick up the topics that you usually do not discuss but would be willing to answer if asked.
What we would like to realize is, through such communication, you will be able to deepen friendly relationships and have more people with whom you can play games.
Miitomo will be released for mobile devices in March 2016. Nintendo and DeNA will follow it up with the release of four more titles by March 2017.
Tekken 7 officially announced for PS4 and other home consoles
After being available in arcades since early this year, Bandai Namco has finally announced that Tekken 7 will soon be available for “home consoles.” Sony later followed up their announcement with confirmation (via the PlayStation Blog) that the game’s first destination will be the PS4.
Tekken 7 will use Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 and it’ll include “numerous modes and enhancements beyond its arcade counterpart.” The 1v1 fighting game also promises to reveal the fate of the Mishima clan and serve as a conclusion to the franchise’s sprawling storyline:
Tekken 7 is currently in development at Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.’s Tokyo, Japan studio under the leadership of franchise director, Katsuhiro Harada. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Tekken 7 sets a new standard in graphics quality for the series, featuring highly detailed characters and dynamic environments. In its first appearance on home systems, Tekken 7 will feature numerous modes and enhancements beyond its arcade counterpart, including an in-depth story mode that lets players fully experience the canon storyline. Players will also be able to check out new fighters Kazumi Mishima, Claudio, Josie, Shaheen, Katarina, Lucky Chloe, Gigas, and more for the first time outside of the arcade.
As exciting as this news is for PS4 fans, we don’t yet know what other “home consoles” Tekken 7 is in development for. The Xbox One is always a possibility in situations like this, as is Nintendo’s NX, which could be released as early as next Summer. Bandai Namco didn’t announce a release date for Tekken 7’s PS4 debut, but hopefully we’ll learn more about it soon.