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
Mother Russia Bleeds in this brand new gameplay trailer
Indie publisher Devolver Digital took center stage for a few minutes during Sony’s E3 2015 Press Conference, and the most-anticipated game to emerge from that partnership was most definitely Mother Russia Bleeds. Taking place in the USSR of an alternate universe, Mother Russia Bleeds is an ultra-violent beat ’em up in development at The Cartel. Earlier this week, the developer released a brand new gameplay trailer to give gamers a closer look at the game’s pixelated brutality.
Mother Russia Bleeds will include simultaneous four-player multiplayer when it launches for the PC and PS4 in 2016.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Mother Russia Bleeds
Star Wars: Battlefront, Fallout 4 lead the way in Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2015 nominees
The Force is strong with DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront as the game collected five nominations, more than any other title, from the Game Critics Awards in their annual Best of E3 competition. The Star Wars shooter is up for “Best of Show,” “Best Console Game,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” and “Best Online Multiplayer.”
Bethesda’s Fallout 4 and Guerrilla’s Horizon: Zero Dawn can also be considered contenders after collecting four nominations apiece. Both games will battle each other (and Battlefront) for “Best of Show” and “Best Console Game,” but their path will split for the remaining nominations. Fallout 4 is up for “Best PC Game” and “Best RPG,” while Horizon: Zero Dawn was nominated for “Best Original Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.”
Two other nominees will compete for this year’s “Best of Show” award including Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and the Oculus Touch motion controller.
The group behind the Game Critics Awards is comprised of representatives from 38 media publications, and they plan to announce this year’s winners on July 7. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, Fallout 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Star Wars: Battlefront, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Nintendo will add Tower Control mode to Splatoon on July 1
Splatoon will receive another option for Ranked Battles in the very near future, as Nintendo has announced the new Tower Control mode will be part of a July 1st update to the game. Tomorrow’s update will be available to download at 10:00 PM (Eastern Time), but fans can get a sneak peek at the mode today during a special Treehouse Live stream scheduled for 6:00 PM (Eastern Time).
What’s the best way to tackle Tower Control? Here’s what Nintendo had to say:
The objective of Tower Control is to ride a single floating tower into the enemy’s base. Both teams rush toward the tower, which is initially placed in the center of the map, and the tower will start moving automatically once a player climbs aboard. But beware: Riding the tower will increase the chances of being splatted, as every player has his or her target on the tower. Riding the tower alone is pretty tough, encouraging randomly selected teams of players to team up to accomplish their goal. Just like in Ranked Battle and Turf War, players will be rewarded for working together as a team. Surrounding the tower and protecting the player riding the tower, using each stage’s features to gain an advantage, and supporting each other are the keys to victory.
And don’t forget, Splatoon’s first North American Splatfest (Cats Versus Dogs) will take place this weekend on July 4th.
Splatoon Review: You’re a Squid! You’re a Kid! You’re the Best Shooter in a Long Time!
Even though it doesn’t star Mario or Link or Samus Aran, Splatoon is the quintessential Nintendo game. Starring a race of shapeshifting human/squid creatures known as Inklings, the game’s bright colors and relentlessly cheery attitude place it firmly within Nintendo’s wheelhouse. But Splatoon is also unlike your typical Nintendo game in that it’s a shooter, albeit one that uses squid ink instead of bullets and is more concerned with area control than racking up killstreaks.
It’s also the best shooter I’ve played in a very long time. (more…)
SteinsGate will be released for PS3, Vita in US on August 25
SteinsGate is one of the most famous “visual novels” ever to be released in Japan. After successfully launching the game in Europe for the PS3 and Vita earlier this month, publisher PQube has now set their sights on America. According to the publisher, the PS3 and Vita version of SteinsGate will be released in the US on August 25.
I know what you want to ask… what if I don’t know anything about SteinsGate? And I’m glad you did, because here’s what PQube had to say about the game:
SteinsGate follows a rag-tag band of tech-savvy young students who realize they can alter the past by using a microwave coupled with a mobile phone. Their experiments into how far they can go with their discovery begin to spiral out of control as they become entangled in a conspiracy surrounding SERN, the organisation behind the Large Hadron Collider, and John Titor, a mysterious forums poster who claims to be from a dystopian future ruled by that very same organization.
Players interested in SteinsGate will be able to choose between the standard edition and the limited El Psy Kongroo Edition, which includes a 126-page art book, a two-pin badge set, an exclusive Metal Upa Replica, and a special presentation box.
If you want to get your hands on SteinsGate before anyone else, PQube will bring a playable demo of the game to the Anime Expo, which will be held this weekend, July 2 through July 5, in Los Angeles.
Posted in News, PS3, Vita
Tagged SteinsGate
Visceral’s Star Wars game is “along the same lines” as Star Wars 1313
Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilms cruelly cut down Star Wars 1313, a mature-themed action-adventure game slated to star Boba Fett, before it had a chance to shine. But its possible the spirit of that game will live on in Visceral’s upcoming Star Wars game.
The man of many voices, Nolan North, attended MetroCon in Tampa, Floria two weeks ago and spilled a few details about the game. One of his panels (which was recorded and uploaded to YouTube) quickly veered into questions about Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and any story changes that may have occurred after Creative Director Amy Hennig left to join Visceral. North couldn’t go into details about that, but he did talk up Hennig’s contribution to her new home:
“If you’re a big fan of Amy Hennig and her style of story, she’s gone to EA and is going to reboot a brand new Star Wars franchise in the style of Uncharted. I happen to know a lot about it and it’s going to be awesome.”
Star Wars 1313 was famously reminiscent of the Uncharted franchise and an audience member even asked, “Is it Star Wars 1313?” North chuckled and replied, “it’s different,” but added, “it’s along the same lines.”
Visceral has yet to officially discuss their Star Wars game, but we know it’ll be an open-world title and will likely star Han Solo. Han Solo may not be a ruthless bounty hunter, but he was a scoundrel and a smuggler in his younger days, and a game starring the character could definitely be considered “along the same lines” as Star Wars 1313.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Star Wars: Visceral
Ubisoft CEO says its “too early” to talk about Beyond Good & Evil 2
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is one of the more outspoken executives in the entire video game industry, which is why The Guardian tracked him down at the 2015 E3 Expo to ask about Beyond Good & Evil 2.
Beyond Good & Evil was released in 2003 to widespread critical acclaim and the support of a fervent fan following. In 2008, a sequel was revealed during Ubisoft’s then-annual Ubidays show, but development updates have been slow to materialize since then. Fans got their hopes up in 2011 when Ubisoft released Beyond Good & Evil HD for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but four long years passed before they got their next glimpse at the game, when developer Michel Ancel showed a piece of concept art featuring series protagonist Jade.
Upholding this tradition, Guillemot was enigmatic with The Guardian, but also encouraging. According to the CEO, the game (which he never refers to by name) is still in development, but it’s too early to talk about:
However, the Guardian met Yves Guillemot, who co-founded Ubisoft in 1986, at the E3 expo in Los Angeles, and asked directly whether Beyond Good and Evil 2 was still in development. He replied: “I can’t say the name, but there is a team working with Michel Ancel on a project that is… very interesting.”
When pressed on the connection between this new project and Beyond Good and Evil, Guillemot said: “It’s a game I’m sure you will like very much, and we can’t say more.”
Ancel previously told reporters that development began on Beyond Good & Evil 2 in 2007, so if Guillemot is telling the truth, our decade-long wait may be just the beginning.
Come to the Dark Side… and sign up for a Star Wars: Battlefront alpha test on the PC
Electronic Arts has announced they will host a closed alpha test for the PC version of Star Wars: Battlefront beginning on July 2. Applications are currently being accepted at the game’s official website through tomorrow, June 30. The publisher plans to randomly select a group of testers from the applicant pool. Maybe you can use The Force to improve your odds.
Star Wars: Battlefront will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 17.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Star Wars: Battlefront