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
New trailer, PS4-exclusive Collector’s Edition revealed for Tales of Zestiria
During this weekend’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Bandai Namco released a brand new trailer for Tales of Zestiria, which has been embedded above. The publisher also announced that players who opt to purchase the RPG on the PS4 will be able to acquire it as a fully-loaded Collector’s Edition.
Priced at $129.99, the Collector’s Edition will include the following bonus items:
- Tales of Zestiria Game Disc
- Serial-Numbered Premium Box Packaging
- Exclusive SteelBook Game Case
- Chibi Kyun Chara Figure Set
- Downloadable Content: Mystic Arte
- Downloadable Content: Alisha’s Story
- Hardcover Art Book
- Three Pixel-Style Character Keychains
- 40-Minute OVA Anime: “Dawn of the Shepherd” on Blu-ray
The Collector’s Edition of Tales of Zestiria will be available exclusively for the PS4 on October 20. The standard edition will launch on the same day for the PS4, PS3, and PC (Via Steam).
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4
Tagged Tales of Zestiria
WWE 2K16 will feature Stone Cold Steve Austin on the cover
One of professional wrestling’s most famous names, Stone Cold Steve Austin, will step back into the squared circle this Fall as the cover athlete for WWE 2K16. In addition to serving as the game’s spokesman, Austin will also lend his wrestling expertise to the game’s campaign mode.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with 2K to support the WWE 2K franchise, and now I’m absolutely honored to serve as the WWE 2K16 cover superstar,” said Stone Cold Steve Austin. “No disrespect to the previous and extremely deserving WWE 2K cover Superstars – Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Cena – but it’s about time the franchise raised some hell with yours truly on the cover. I look forward to injecting a dose of ‘Texas Rattlesnake’ into this year’s game and overall campaign.”
“Stone Cold Steve Austin’s iconic style, unmistakable personality, and worldwide reverence from the WWE Universe make him the ideal fit for WWE 2K16,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “Not only will Austin grace the video game’s cover, but he’s involved in shaping its creative direction. Through his numerous contributions, inclusion on the largest roster in franchise history and the game’s to-be-announced features, WWE 2K16 is certain to put everyone on notice.”
In development at Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, WWE 2K16 will be released on October 27 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. You can watch Austin stare menacingly at the camera in 2K’s “Cover Superstar Announcement” video after the break. (more…)
Mortal Kombat X: I ain’t got time to watch this Predator trailer… but you should
Get your stogie ready, NetherRealm Studios has released the first trailer for The Predator a day ahead of his Mortal Kombat X debut.
The galaxy’s most efficient hunter has all his toys available at his disposal in the game including an invisibility suit, wrist claws, shoulder cannon, and throwing discs of all sizes. A wise man once said, “If it bleeds… we can kill it,” but this trailer makes me think the kombatants will be the ones doing the bleeding.
If you own the Mortal Kombat X Kombat Pass, The Predator will be available to download on Tuesday, July 7. In addition to the new character, Kombat Pass owners will also gain access to the Predator/Prey Pack, which includes new costumes for Jax (Carl Weathers as Dillon), Johnny Cage (Commando), and Scorpion (Infrared).
Mortal Kombat X players who wish to purchase The Predator or the Predator/Prey Pack on their own will have to wait until July 14. The Predator will be priced at $4.99, while the Predator/Prey Pack will be priced at $3.99. Both DLC items will be available together in a bundle for $7.99.
Zero Escape Volume 3 announced for Summer 2016 release on 3DS and Vita
Chunsoft’s Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward are cult favorites among the handheld gaming crowd, but they never really caught on among the general public. However, that hasn’t stopped publisher Aksys Games from giving the green light to Zero Escape Volume 3, which was announced during this weekend’s Anime Expo in Los Angeles.
In development for the 3DS and Vita, Zero Escape Volume 3 will include multiple endings to a story that will be told through Japanese and English audio. This story will conclude the trilogy that began with Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue’s Last Reward, so expect to see many familiar faces and many deadly puzzles:
Many government organizations have dismissed our urgent warnings regarding the upcoming game event called Zero Time Dilemma. Recent intelligence has escalated our plans and we have come to the decision to contact gamers about the dangers directly. Our ultimate goal has always been to protect the public from the horrific consequences we have foreseen, but it appears our mission to prevent it from occurring may have failed. It is imperative that you make every effort to prepare yourselves for the oncoming deadly game, so that you may survive the coming apocalypse.
We at Crash Keys beg for your assistance in notifying everyone you can so that no one is left in the dark about this dangerous game. The world will end up in a tumultuous uproar, and ultimate consequences will be unavoidable unless word gets out. Use all the time available to you before the summer of next year to contact your loved ones and prepare; our intelligence hasn’t been able to focus in on an exact date at this time. Do not fear – we are here to protect you and prepare you to our utmost ability so that you may survive. You will survive. We will use all channels available to contact you with updates as soon as we uncover them. You must be ready.
Zero Escape Volume 3 is scheduled for a Summer 2016 release with direction by Kotaro Uchikoshi.
Posted in 3DS, News, Vita
Tagged Zero Escape Volume 3
Weekly Warp-Up: Happy 4th of July, 2015 Edition
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…
Did everybody out there have a good 4th of July? I hope you got to take part in plenty of picnicking and BBQ and Splatoon Splatfest time. But if you’re looking for fireworks, there were plenty to be found in the second week of post-E3 aftermath…
- The Game Critics Awards group announced their nominees for the Best of E3 2015 Awards.
- Ubisoft’s CEO said it was “too early” to talk about Beyond Good & Evil 2.
- And Warp Zoned’s Andrew Rainnie looked at The Changing Face of Bethesda’s Heroes.
And speaking of Splatoon, if you’re still on the fence, you’ll definitely want to read our review. Especially because the game is prominently featured in our What We Played in June 2015 round-up. And since The Games of July 2015 is so sparse, most of us will probably still be playing Splatoon.
More news from last week (and almost none of it is Splatoon-related) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
Guerrilla’s Mark Norris breaks down Horizon: Zero Dawn’s E3 2015 trailer
Guerrilla Games came back in a big way at this year’s E3 Expo with the announcement of Horizon: Zero Dawn, a post-apocalyptic third-person game where a hunter named Aloy goes head-to-head with the robotic “animals” that now control the landscape. Mark Norris, a Senior Producer at Guerrilla, recently added a developer commentary to the game’s trailer to further flesh out its world.
In the video embedded above, Norris revealed that the team wanted to get away from the grays and tight corridors of the Killzone franchise. For Horizon: Zero Dawn, they instead wanted to focus on a wide and open world bathed in “beautiful” colors. Norris also talked a bit about the combat and showed that players will have to be strategic in how they hunt as Aloy will only be able to hold four weapons, though each weapon can be further customized with three different types of ammo.
Finally, Norris stated that Horizon: Zero Dawn is a “fully fledged RPG” and players will be able to build up Aloy with experience points earned through a variety of quests and robotic kills.
Horizon: Zero Dawn will be released exclusively for the PS4 sometime in 2016.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged E3 2015, Horizon: Zero Dawn
Comcept officially announces Mega Man Legends successor Red Ash (and an anime too)
After teasing it a few days ago, Keiji Inafune and his team at Comcept officially announced a spiritual successor to Mega Man Legends at the Anime Expo today.
Unlike a traditional Mega Man game, Mega Man Legends melded third-person shooting with RPG conventions while still referencing Mega Man’s rich history. The third-person shooter/RPG hybrid Red Ash: The Indelible Legend will do something similar by serving as a spiritual cousin to Inafune’s upcoming Mighty No. 9. Like Mighty No. 9, Red Ash will also star two teenagers named Beck and Call with a penchant for robotics and adventure. But that’s where the similarities end…
Danger looms over hundreds of thousands who make the city of Great Slope their home. The Mobile Citadel “KalKanon” is currently on a crash course with this city. At this rate, a major disaster is all but unavoidable.
Gecko Company, one of the organizations central to Great Slope, has prepared a massive electromagnetic cannon christened “The Peacemaker” to combat this catastrophe. They announced their plan to destroy the massive Fortress-City before it reaches the settlement. Great Slope quickly switches from a city enveloped in panic, to one ready to sit back and enjoy the fireworks of the special, once-in-a-lifetime Burning Cannon Festival. However, not everyone welcomes this announcement; particularly the young owner of the Bones Company, Call C. Bones. All Delvers have heard the famous folktale… that inside the belly of KalKanon rests the Legendary Legacy…
Of course, she sends the request for this crazy job to her favorite stooges: partners Beck and Tyger.
Comcept also launched a Kickstarter campaign today to help fund the development of Red Ash. The developer is seeking $800,000 and hopes to have the completed game ready for release on the PC by July 2017. However, a series of stretch goals would expand the size and scope of the game considerably (the first, at $1.3 million, will nearly double it). There’s no gameplay footage yet, but a wide variety of great-looking concept art is available on the campaign page.
A separate Kickstarter campaign has also been launched for a companion anime film, Red Ash: Magicicada, to be produced by Studio 4°C. This campaign is seeking a more modest $150,000, of which $13,000 has already been pledged. The anime won’t be a direct adaptation of the game and will instead explore “unique worlds and stories” with the same characters.
A console release for Red Ash: The Indelible Legend is a possibility, but it may not happen for a while. Writing in the campaign’s FAQ, Inafune and Comcept wrote they “want to first focus on making as good of [a] game as we can.”
Posted in Etcetera, News, PC
Tagged Red Ash: The Indelible Legend
Shenmue III Kickstarter campaign adds Physical Copy tier for PS4 version
Yu Suzuki and the team behind the Shenmue III Kickstarter campaign have announced that backers interested in a physical copy of the game for the PS4 can now obtain one if they pledge $60 or more. The news came down thanks to yesterday’s campaign update:
This is one of the most requested items on the list, and we are very happy to be able to include the Shenmue 3 PS4 Kickstarter Backer’s Edition as a Reward. If you are a Shenmue fan and PS4 gamer, this is the reward to have to commemorate the occasion!
Shenmue III’s Kickstarter campaign has been a huge success so far. As of this writing, the PC and PS4 game is 210% funded for a total of $4.2 million. Nearly two weeks remain on the campaign clock, so there’s a very real chance that Bloodstained‘s recent record-setting performance won’t stand for very long.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Shenmue III