Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets 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
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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
Batman: Arkham Knight is rated M For Mature because of blood and torture
People were reasonably curious after the ESRB awarded an Mature rating to Batman: Arkham Knight last month. With yesterday’s publication of the game’s Rating Summary, now we know why.
Arkham Knight is said to include fight scenes reminiscent of previous Arkham games as well as the colorful characters that are typically found on the streets of Gotham. But the game also includes several scenes of torture and a lot of blood. One section of the game even combines the two as a character is tortured on a bloody operating table. Also, someone says the word “gobsh*te” (please be Batman, please be Batman, please be Batman).
The full Rating Summary from the ESRB can be viewed right here:
This is an action-adventure game in which players primarily assume the role of Batman as he battles several villains spreading chaos across Gotham City. Players traverse a variety of locations around Gotham while battling thugs, examining crime scenes, and occasionally rescuing hostages. Players engage in melee-style combat using punches, kicks, and gadgets (e.g., batarangs, explosives). Enemies cry out in pain when struck, and some takedowns are highlighted by brief slow-motion effects and loud impact sounds.
Some sequences allow players to use tank-like vehicles with machine gun turrets and rockets to shoot enemies; a vehicle’s wheels are also used to torture an enemy in one sequence. Cutscenes depict characters getting shot (on and off camera) while restrained or unarmed.
Large bloodstains/pools of blood appear in crime scenes and in the aftermath of violent acts; one room depicts a person torturing a character on a bloody operating table. During the course of the game, players can shoot unarmed characters and a hostage. Neon signs in a red-light district read “live nude girls” and “XXX.”
The words “b*tch,” “gobsh*te,” and “a*s” appear in the dialogue.
Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 2.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
The Sonic-like Freedom Planet will be available on the Wii U this year
“It’s what you’d get if Treasure made a Sonic game.”
That’s how creator Stephen DiDuro described Freedom Planet to me as I was playing it this past weekend at the PAX East expo. And it’s obvious that he’s not just blowing smoke. The game’s art style is very reminiscent of Sega’s red-sneakered mascot and the sense of speed will feel very familiar to gamers who grew up with the Genesis. But there is also a heavy focus on platforming and exploration, with a little shooting thrown in for good measure. It’s like Sonic, but it is also it’s own thing.
DiDuro also wanted everyone to know that the game will be out for the Wii U by the end of the year. And in case you couldn’t make it to Boston this year, he shared the good news with the world through Twitter on Sunday:
Thanks #PAXEast2015 for sharing great things with us! Now it's time for us to share something great! #Nintendo #WiiU pic.twitter.com/zGKcWuW58J
— Stephen DiDuro (@galaxytrail) March 8, 2015
Freedom Planet was originally released for the PC last year, and currently available through Steam.
Posted in News, PC, Wii U
Tagged Freedom Planet, PAX East 2015
Killer Instinct’s “ghost girl” makes her debut at PAX East 2015
Representatives from Iron Galaxy attended this weekend’s PAX East expo to unveil the next downloadable character from Killer Instinct. Hisako is a Japanese “ghost girl” who will surely invite comparisons to The Ring‘s Samara. But there’s much more to her than that. Creative Director Kraig Kujawa, Director of Production Derek Neal, and QA Lead Isaac Torres joined forces with Microsoft’s James Goddard and Adam Isgreen to discuss the character at a panel dedicated to Killer Instinct. The quintet also screened an extensive gameplay walkthrough showcasing the character and posted 20 minutes of unused footage on the Killer Instinct YouTube Channel afterwards.
Owners of the Xbox One fighting game will be able to download Hisako sometime this month.
The panelists also discussed their future plans for Killer Instinct and confirmed that “Shadows,” a CPU-controlled sparring partner that learns your fighting technique and uses it against you, will be available in April alongside the “Story Mode” update. Season 2 will come to a close over the next few months with the addition of two other playable characters: Cinder, the living flame, and Aria, the villainous head of Ultratech.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Killer Instinct, PAX East 2015
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will get Claptastic Voyage expansion on March 24
At PAX East 2015 this past weekend, Gearbox Software announced that the fourth (and final) downloadable add-on for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be available on March 24. Claptastic Voyage will be a full expansion to the game’s campaign and include a second Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack, which raise the level cap for each character to 70.
Claptastic Voyage is a riff on the classic sci-fi book/film Fantastic Voyage and will finally reveal exactly why Claptrap is the way he is:
In Claptastic Voyage, Handsome Jack has found something ludicrously powerful within Claptrap’s mind. Never one to turn down a chance at more power, Handsome Jack digitizes the vault hunters and sends them inside! Their goal is simple: find the mysterious “H-Source” code and get out of Claptrap’s consciousness without going completely insane. These anti-heroes will have to deal with Claptrap’s personal insecurities, his malware, and digital representations of his crushing loneliness!
In a post on their official website, Gearbox has promised that players will learn “why Claptrap loves dubstep so much” and get to play with a new “glitched weapons system.” We’ll also be able to battle through a new Mutator Arena “that lets you choose your own gravity settings, enemy mixes, and more.”
Claptastic Voyage is part of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s Season Pass, but it can be purchased separately for $9.99. The expansion will also be included in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, a PS4/Xbox One upgrade of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel which will be released on… wait for it… March 24.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, PAX East 2015
Xbox One + Halo: The Master Chief Collection System Bundle is now available
After working out the majority of Halo: The Master Chief Collection‘s technical problems, Microsoft quietly released a special Xbox One system bundle over the weekend that comes packaged with a digital download of the game.
Priced at $349, the bundle will also include a standard 500GB Xbox One console, a wireless controller, a headset, and a voucher for two free weeks of Xbox Live Gold. In case you’re unfamiliar with The Master Chief Collection, it’s the perfect primer for this Fall’s Halo 5: Guardians. The compilation includes all four “main” games from the franchise (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3 and Halo 4) and Microsoft plans to make the Halo 3: ODST spinoff available as downloadable content in the near future.
The bundle is now available through the Microsoft Store and will slowly trickle out to other stores throughout the month.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Street Fighter V is “tentatively” scheduled for a Spring 2016 release on the PC and PS4
Were you at PAX East this weekend? If so, I hope you had a great time and that you’re using your immediate post-PAX hours to recover. If you were there, you might have seen Capcom’s booth at the show, which was selling a wide variety of merchandise in addition to hosting demos of several of the company’s newest games. The Capcom-Unity blog cataloged all the sale items, including a Street Fighter V shirt that was tagged with a description that read “Everyone is fired up for Street Fighter V coming to the PS4 and PC next Spring.” The offending text was quickly edited out of the blog post.
So did Capcom just accidentally announce Street Fighter V’s launch windows? Well, not exactly…
According to IGN, a response from Capcom stated that Spring 2016 is the “tentative release time” for the game. The publisher also stressed they have yet to make an official announcement for Street Fighter V’s release.
While we might have to wait a little longer for confirmation from Capcom, Spring 2016 sounds like a reasonable release date for Street Fighter V to me.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged PAX East 2015, Street Fighter V
Weekly Warp-Up: We’re At PAX East 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…
Most of Warp Zoned’s staff is currently wandering up and down the aisles of the 2015 PAX East expo. We’ll have plenty to report after the show is over, but for now, you can keep tabs on all our coverage at the PAX East 2015 Hub.
So what else was going on in the game industry this week? Well, Valve opened GDC (yes, GDC also happened this week) by revealing their virtual reality headset, the Vive. Sony countered with a new look at their updated and improved Project Morpheus headset. In other GDC news, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor took home Game of the Year at the GDC Awards and Outer Wilds won the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at this year’s Independent Games Festival.
Outside of GDC, the biggest news has to be that Avalanche’s Mad Max and Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will share September 1 as a release date. It’s rare to see two huge games launching on the same day like this and its even rarer for the announcements to share the same day.
Finally, before leaving on a jet plane for Boston, the Warp Zoned staff sat down and discussed What We Played in February and The Games of March. Also, Andrew Rainnie has filed his Kickstart This! report from across the Atlantic.
You can find the rest of this week’s news after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: DMC Definitive Edition, Code Name: STEAM, Atelier Shallie: Dusk Sea, More
The second week of March steps up the number of new releases considerably from last week’s solitary new game. Here’s what gamers will be able to discover on store shelves this week:
- Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea (PS3), the latest Atelier RPG from Koei Tecmo and Gust.
- Code Name: STEAM (3DS), Nintendo’s portable strategy game that features a team of superheroes assembled by Abe Lincoln himself.
- DMC: Devil May Cry – Definitive Edition (PS4, Xbox One), an enhanced re-release of the rather ignored most recent entry in the Devil May Cry series.
- Sniper Elite III: Ultimate Edition (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360), an enhanced re-release of Rebellion’s sniper sequel.
A few additional new releases from this week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea, Code Name: STEAM, DMC: Devil May Cry, Sniper Elite III