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
Blizzard and Gearbox will talk about their future projects at PAX East 2015
Blizzard will make their presence known at this year’s PAX East expo with their “Blizzard Preview” panel. During this panel, which will be held on Friday, March 6, at 10:30 AM, the publisher plans to reveal new details about Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and Overwatch:
Bold new heroes, exciting new cards, and epic new battlegrounds… Join a trio of Blizzard Entertainment developers for a look at just some of what’s in store for 2015, including upcoming content for Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, and Overwatch.
Gearbox Software will also be in attendance at this year’s show with their regular “Inside Gearbox Software” panel. At PAX East, they will likely use their time to talk about Battleborn and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, both of which will be released this year. It’s probably too early for Gearbox to talk about Borderlands 3, but you never know. The “Inside Gearbox Software” panel will be held on Sunday, March 8, at 10:30 AM:
This is your opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at Gearbox Software and get the latest news and updates from the makers of Borderlands, Battleborn, Homeworld Remastered Collection and more! We will have never-before-seen reveals, exclusives and surprises, so don’t miss out!
Both developers usually have a big presence on the show floor, so expo attendees may get the chance to demo many of these games as well as hearing about them.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battleborn, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, PAX East 2015
Insert Quarter: Why Bethesda’s E3 Showcase Means More Than a Fallout 4 Announcement
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Bethesda will present a Press Conference during this year’s E3 Expo for the first time in the company’s history. This is a momentous occasion for many reasons, but first and foremost, because Bethesda will surely use the event to announce Fallout 4. But Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference is also much bigger than that… and not just because it’ll probably also include more substantive reveals of Doom 4, BattleCry, and possibly even Dishonored 2. Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference also signals the publisher’s entry into the upper echelon of third-party publishers.
VG247’s Matt Martin recently delved into exactly what this means for Bethesda and the wider gaming industry:
Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda announced it would be hosting its own event at E3 this year. For a brief second everyone paused… and then immediately lost their minds over a Fallout 4 announcement.
While that’s likely, there’s a lot more to Bethesda going big at E3 than a new take on 50s sci-fi. It’s worth looking at what this says about the publisher, the two main consoles and E3 itself, as much as the games we can expect to be on show.
The full article is available for your perusal at VG247.
Posted in Insert Quarter
Tagged BattleCry, Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), Fallout 4, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Xbox Store Today: The Escapists
The Escapists is now available for the Xbox One on the Xbox Games Store today. Taking a few visual cues from the NES/Super NES era, The Escapists is a top-down pixelated prison break sim from Team17 and Mouldy Toof Studios.
Does The Escapists sound like your kind of thing? Then you should check out the launch trailer and the Dashboard description right here:
The Escapists ($19.99)
The Escapists is a prison break simulation that provides players the opportunity of experiencing a light-hearted insight into everyday prison life. While the aim of the game is simply to escape, the detail is in the execution. (Don’t say the word execution too loud in a prison). Keep a low profile or go out guns blazing. As long as you escape in the end, that’s all that matters.
First Just Cause 3 trailer is on fire and the devs will answer your questions at PAX East 2015
The Just Cause series is known for its big action setpieces as Avalanche Studios has pushed protagonist Rico Rodriguez into (and out of) some of the biggest action movie-style moments ever. With Just Cause 3, the development team has made the jump to the PS4 and Xbox One for the first time and the game’s first trailer, dubbed “Firestarter,” gives you an idea of their ambition.
PAX East attendees will get an even closer look at Just Cause 3 as several members of the Avalanche team (including Chief Creative Officer Christofer Sundberg and Game Director Roland Lesterlin) will close out the first day’s festivities with a behind-the-scenes panel:
Join moderator Greg Miller (http://www.kindafunny.com/) and key members of Avalanche Studios – the makers of Just Cause – as they discuss the series’ inspiration and distinctive style and talk about the upcoming Just Cause 3. Panelists will include Christofer Sundberg (Avalanche Studios founder and Chief Creative Officer) Roland Lesterlin (Just Cause 3 Game Director) and Zach Schlappi (Art Director)
Finally, Square Enix has updated the game’s release date. Instead of “TBA 2015,” we now know that Just Cause 3 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Fall.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Just Cause 3, PAX East 2015
Happy Valentine’s Day from Until Dawn… here’s a new trailer
Every horror movie begins with the doomed group of friends gathering somewhere to have a good time… and then a guy with a machete, knives for fingers, or a hook hand jumps out of the woods and slaughters everybody. That’s the vibe Sony and Supermassive Games are going for in this new “Valentine’s Day” trailer for Until Dawn:
When you start the game you will meet the characters as they couple off around the house (by choice or circumstance) before their holiday turns into an all-out fight for survival. If you’ve watched previous trailers and demos you’re already familiar with Ashley and Chris and their ‘will-they won’t-they’ friendship. One of our favorite things about this dynamic is that their relationship is not pre-defined at the beginning of the game; your choices will decide if the relationship either blossoms or wilts before the night is out. That is, if they survive.
Until Dawn will be released for the PS4 sometime this year.
[Source: PlayStation Blog]
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Until Dawn
Boss Key Productions will bring BlueStreak to PAX East 2015
The PAX East 2015 schedule is live and in addition to all the tournaments and concerts, we’ve learned that Cliff Bleszinski will host a panel dedicated to his upcoming game, BlueStreak. Bleszinski will be joined by other developers from his new studio, Boss Key Productions, as they delve into what it takes to open a new studio in this day and age. Boss Key has previously described BlueStreak as a free-to-play arena shooter and Bleszinski and his team will disclose a few more details at PAX East:
Turning the Key: What It Takes To Create A New FPS Franchise
Saturday (3/7): 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Go behind-the-scenes with Cliff Bleszinski and the team at Boss Key Productions to discover what it takes to create a brand new studio and game from scratch. Why did Cliff move on from a huge franchise to start something new? What are Boss Key’s development philosophies? Is there an office beer of choice? All that and more, plus an opportunity to ask questions to the team and get exclusive swag! Trust us, you don’t want to miss it.
It’s currently unknown if BlueStreak will be playable on the show floor, but you never know when it comes to Cliff Bleszinski. As always, PAX East 2015 will be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and this year’s expo will run from March 6 through March 8.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged LawBreakers, PAX East 2015
Dying Light parkours to the top of the best-sellers list for January 2015
Question… if only one major new title made its way to stores in January, should we be surprised when that game takes the top spot in the monthly sales rankings from the NPD Group? We probably shouldn’t be, and yet, I was still mildly surprised that Techland’s Dying Light was the best-selling game during 2015’s first four-week frame. It was followed by the two biggest titles from 2014… Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #2 and Grand Theft Auto V at #3.
Minecraft, coming in at #4, continues to rise even without the holiday shopping season to bolster its sales rank.
Every other title in the top ten seemed to land in roughly the same position it held in December. NBA 2K15 held onto the #5 spot while Super Smash Bros. For Wii U / Super Smash Bros. For 3DS dropped two places to #6. Far Cry 4 was lucky number seven once more while the #8 spot was taken by Madden NFL 15 (which dropped five spots from #3). The final two spots were once again held by Destiny (#9) and FIFA 15 (#10).
While the best-selling software list was relatively stable (and saw a 5% year-over-year increase in sales), the PS4 reigned supreme on the console charts after a one-month hiatus. This turn of events was most likely due to Microsoft’s temporary suspension of the Xbox One’s $50 discount (it was reinstated on January 18).
If you’re looking for the full top ten from January 2015 in list form, you can find it after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, Dying Light, Far Cry 4, FIFA 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 15, Minecraft, NBA 2K15, NPD, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 3 will be available for PS Vita this Summer
Idea Factory and Compile Heart continue to crank out their portable HyperDimension Neptunia remakes as the publisher and developer have confirmed that HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 3: V Generation will be released for the Vita this Summer. HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 3 is a portable remake of HyperDimension Neptunia Victory, a JPG that was originally released for the PS3 in 2013. According to Idea Factory, the remake includes “more story, more scenarios, and extra heapings of fourth-wall-breaking comedy!” A Japanese audio track will also be included for a more authentic experience.
So what are you getting yourself into with HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 3? Here’s what the publisher had to say about their third RPG parody of the video game industry:
It’s time to Nep-Nep like it’s 1989. Neptune’s been sucked into an alternate dimension of Gamindustri! In order for her to escape from this late ‘80s world, Neptune will have to collect enough shares to open up the path to her own dimension. Sounds easy enough – except a nefarious alliance called the Seven Sages wants to rid Gamindustri of all CPUs, including Neptune!
Forging cross-dimensional friendships, will Neptune be able to defeat the Seven Sages, save this alternate dimension and get back to her own, or will she be stuck in the 80s forever?
It’s pretty sparse at the moment, but you can head over to the game’s official website to have a gander at the first screenshots from HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 3: V Generation.
Posted in News, Vita
Tagged HyperDimension Neptunia ReBirth 3: V Generation