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
This is what Doom 4 used to look like
Yesterday, Bethesda confirmed we’ll get our first look at Doom 4 during their E3 Press Conference next month. But it won’t be the same version of Doom 4 that id Software originally began development on in 2008.
A short video clip from that version made its way onto Doomworld yesterday and it’s startling to say the least. Instead of the “back-to-basics” version that Bethesda showed off at QuakeCon 2014, this version of Doom 4 would have taken a few cues from Call of Duty and infused its “military shooter” mileau into Doom’s “humans versus demons” DNA. In the 30-second video, we see a whole platoon of soldiers gear up to square off against the invading denizens of Hell. It doesn’t look much like the franchise we all know and love, but it actually fits with the modern retelling of Doom II: Hell on Earth that id was supposedly working on at the time. The idea was to create a remake/reboot that could be paired with Doom 3‘s modern resurrection of the original Doom storyline.
Kotaku has confirmed the clip’s authenticity, saying it came from a trailer that was being cut together by Blur Studio. While I’m a little disappointed we’ll never get to play this version of Doom 4 (it looks completely bonkers), the throwback version of the game that’s coming has me truly excited.
Perhaps it’s for the best, as id’s Tim Willits said “it did not have the soul [of Doom]” and “it didn’t have a personality” in 2013.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016)
Take-Two CEO doesn’t know anything about GTA5 story expansion
Way back in December 2013, Rockstar Games announced that at least one “Story Mode Update” would be released for Grand Theft Auto V. The developer said they had “big plans” on how to expand the story, with the first expansion scheduled to launch in 2014.
Unless your name is Rip Van Winkle, you’re probably quite aware that we’re now in 2015 and no story expansions to Grand Theft Auto V have ever materialized. Instead, Rockstar has focused on the PS4/Xbox One port of Grand Theft Auto V, as well as GTA Online enhancements like Heists Mode. To further rub salt into the wound, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said he didn’t know anything about the expansion during yesterday’s investor Q&A:
Doug Creutz: When you had originally launched GTA5, I believe that you had said that there was going to be some story-based DLC content shipping eventually and obviously where your past game launch. Is that still something that you have planned? And I’m sure you’re not going to talk about timing but is there still something that’s in the pipeline for you guys, eventually? Thank you.
Strauss Zelnick: No, we haven’t discussed any story-based downloadable content. We did talk about the Heists and they’ve been released.
Doug Creutz: But I am correct in remembering that you had talked about that around the launch of the game?
Strauss Zelnick: We have different recollections.
Sadly for Zelnick, Take-Two executives also mentioned the work being done on GTA5’s story expansion so he owes Mr. Creutz an apology this morning. So what happened between then and now? Speaking to GameSpot, a Take-Two spokesman said that Zelnick “misspoke” and that “we leave it to Rockstar Games to share information about their games when they’re ready.”
While Take-Two has always deferred to Rockstar to make announcements on their own time, it’s troubling that the CEO of the company doesn’t remember a fairly major announcement concerning his most important product. It’s possible the Grand Theft Auto V story expansion is dead, but it’s just as possible Rockstar is working on it in secret. However, after the success of GTA Online, I think the latter scenario is unlikely.
2K has NBA 2K16, WWE 2K16, Battleborn, and a “new triple-A title” on tap for 2015
Take-Two Intereactive CEO Strauss Zelnick announced a trio of new titles during the company’s quarterly financial report yesterday. But two we already knew about and the third will remain under wraps until this year’s E3 Expo.
First, Zelnick confirmed that both of 2K’s annual franchises would receive new entries in 2015. WWE 2K16 will be released for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 27 while NBA 2K16 will be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile platforms sometime in the Fall, though NBA 2K titles typically launch in early October.
The CEO also revealed the company will release a “new triple-A title” during their current fiscal year:
Throughout the coming year, we will continue to execute our proven strategy of launching a select array of the highest-quality titles, led by new annual releases of NBA 2K and WWE 2K; Battleborn, a groundbreaking new intellectual property from Gearbox Software; and a soon-to-be announced new triple-A title from 2K.
This unannounced game is likely in development at Hangar 13, Take-Two’s newest internal studio. Rumor has it that Hangar 13 is working on Mafia III, but we won’t find out for sure until next month. And we may not get to play it until early next year as Take-Two’s fiscal year officially ends on March 31, 2016.
Finally, Zelnick confirmed that Gearbox’s latest, Battleborn, will also be released during the current fiscal year. More details on the colorful (and character-ful) shooter will be revealed ahead of the E3 Expo and during the show itself.
So your big takeaway from this announcement should be that Take-Two Intereactive is going to have a big presence at the 2015 E3 Expo.
UPDATE: 2K Games has confirmed that their “new triple-A title” is actually XCOM 2, which is currently in development at Firaxis.
Bethesda will kick off E3 2015 with a Doom 4 gameplay reveal
Bethesda first pulled back the curtain on Doom 4 (I know, I know, it’s technically just Doom) at last year’s QuakeCon expo. The publisher has famously kept the footage under wraps, but the audience in Austin went wild for what they saw.
Today, Bethesda confirmed the latest sequel in id Software’s seminal shooter series will be on display for a much wider audience at this year’s E3 Expo. The “Doom Worldwide Gameplay Reveal” will take place during Bethesda’s first-ever E3 Press Conference on Sunday June 14 at 10:00 PM (Eastern Time).
A release date for Doom has yet to be announced, though we know the game is in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Players who pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order before its launch last year will receive exclusive access to a closed beta for the game. However, the start date of the beta is also a mystery.
First Wii U trailer for The 90s Arcade Racer drifts into view
The 90s are alive on the Wii U. Developer Antonis “Pelikan13” Pelekanos and publisher Nicalis have released a new Wii U gameplay trailer for The 90s Arcade Racer, giving us a new look at the Daytona USA-inspired title. In addition to the de rigueur jungle course, the game will also include a track modeled after a slot car set. Pay attention to the background as the car whizzes around the very 90s bedroom for a host of Easter eggs including a television with an NES underneath it.
The trailer closes with a glimpse at Pop Dat!, a minigame embedded in The 90s Arcade Racer. Players will control a gun-toting mouse who has to shoot down a series of balloons. Yup, that’s pretty 90s.
The 90s Arcade Racer is also in development for mobile devices (iOS and Android) and PC platforms (Windows, Mac, and Linux), and should be available sometime this year.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, Wii U
Tagged 90s Super GP
Telltale will release Game of Thrones Episode 4: Sons of Winter “soon”
Telltale Games began teasing the fourth episode of their Game of Thrones adaptation on Twitter last night. One tweet promised the game’s next episode, Sons of Winter, would be released “soon” for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices:
.@GameOfThrones: A @TelltaleGames Series – Ep 4 of 6: Sons of Winter – Download It Soon on Consoles, PC, Mac & Mobile pic.twitter.com/jM05RI5ntC
— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) May 17, 2015
Telltale followed up the tease with a stream of new screenshots featuring Daenerys, Beskha, a meeting between House Forrester and House Whitehill, a Wildling with a spear, and Gared Tuttle talking to Frostfinger.
As is Telltale’s MO, a trailer for Game of Thrones: Sons of Winter should appear sometime this week alongside an official release date.
Harmonix has revealed the first six songs from Rock Band 4
Activision kicked off the second great rhythm game war earlier this week by unveiling two dozen songs from Guitar Hero Live. But this weekend, Harmonix responded by opening up to IGN about the first six songs that will be included in Rock Band 4:
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Hail to the King”
- Fleetwood Mac – “You Make Loving Fun”
- Jack White – “Lazaretto”
- The Killers – “Somebody Told Me”
- Spin Doctors – “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong”
- The Who – “The Seeker”
Looks like The Killers aren’t committing to either game (“When We Were Young” will appear in Guitar Hero Live), but I think I’m most surprised to see the Spin Doctors in Rock Band 4’s soundtrack. They’re a bit of a punchline now, but people forget that Pocket Full of Kryptonite sold five million copies in 1991.
What other wacky and weird forgotten bands will make the cut in Rock Band 4? Your guess is as good as mine, but we’ll get to hear the whole soundtrack when the game is released sometime this Fall for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
Weekly Warp-Up: Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is a Go
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…
After all the teasing and the rumors, it looks like Microsoft’s Gears of War remake finally got the green light this week. First, it was outed, along with a Dishonored remake by the Brazilian Advisory Rating Board. Then, a leaked video of the Gears of War remake lent further confirmation to the rumor. Though is it really fair to still call it a rumor? Microsoft responded to the leaked videos in such a harsh way, that their legitimacy has been all but confirmed. So we’re just waiting patiently for the official announcement now.
And speaking of waiting patiently, Nintendo’s Splatoon Global Testfire has us more excited for the game than ever, especially after a glowing preview from Staff Writer Mike Ryan. In case you missed it, Nintendo will host a second Global Testfire on May 23. Also this week, we review the PS3/PS4/Vita/Xbox One version of Shovel Knight and we’re still digging it.
Looking more news? Groaning at that pun? You can do both after the break. (more…)
Posted in News