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
Star Wars Skins are now available in Minecraft on Xbox One, Xbox 360
“Strike me down and…”
“Sand People always ride…”
“No! I am your…”
I’m trying to think of an appropriate Star Wars quote to pair with this news and I’m coming up dry. So instead, I’ll just point out that Microsoft and Lucasfilm have teamed up to release the Star Wars Classic Skin Pack for Minecraft: Xbox One Edition and Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. Available through the Xbox Games Store as of yesterday, the Skin Pack is priced at $2.99 and includes 55 characters from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. A complete list of all the characters available in the Star Wars Classic Skin Pack can be found after the break.
Microsoft has also revealed that more Star Wars content will be available for Minecraft soon… and I’m guessing we should prepare ourselves for a Prequel Skin Pack. And who knows, a sequel trilogy Skin Pack might be in the works too, especially after the release of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer this weekend. (more…)
PS Store Today: Geometry Wars 3, Tales From the Borderlands, Speakeasy, more
Most of this Fall’s biggest games have been released over the last few weeks, so today’s PlayStation Store update is home to just a handful of new games. But a few of them are definitely big in their own right.
For example, Sierra and Lucid Games have joined forces to bring Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions to the PS3 and PS4. The twin-stick shooter sequel adds three-dimensional levels, drones partners, and several new game modes. Also available this week for the PS3 and PS4 is Zer0 Sum, the first episode of Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands episodic series.
A complete look at all of this week’s new releases (including the 1920s-styled fighter Speakeasy and the PS4 launch of Thomas Was Alone) can be found after the break. And a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, Tales From the Borderlands
Dark Souls II plus all DLC will be released for PS4, Xbox One in 2015
When Bandai Namco and From Software released Dark Souls II last year, some fans were disappointed that the game wasn’t also released for the PS4 and Xbox One. But good things come to those who wait as the publisher has announced that a special edition of the game, known as Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, will be released for new-gen consoles and DirectX 11 PCs on April 7, 2015.
Bandai Namco will pack every piece of Dark Souls II content into the Scholar of the First Sin edition including the original game and all three DLC expansions (Crown of the Sunken King, Crown of the Old Iron King, and Crown of the Ivory King). An array of new content will also be produced for Scholar of the First Sin including “an expanded story featuring additional in-game events and NPC character along with new deadlier enemies and gameplay improvements.” Naturally, Bandai Namco plans to improve the graphics in Scholar of the First Sin.
Finally, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin will also be released on the PS3, Xbox 360, and DirectX 9 PCs with a slew of improvements. These improvements (which will also be available to current owners of the game as an update) will include “an additional NPC to seek out along the treacherous quest through Drangleic as well as expanded story, in-game events, improved balance, and online matchmaking functionality.”
Microsoft adds murderous mummy Kan-Ra to Killer Instinct
Do you remember when you were a kid and you used a bunch of mismatched action figures to stage some kind of ultimate battle royale? It just dawned on me, but that is exactly what Microsoft and Iron Galaxy are doing with Killer Instinct. Long overshadowed by Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, the Killer Instinct reboot has taken the blender approach to new heights with the latest batch of characters.
Joining a roster of fighters that already includes a ninja, a werewolf, an ice monster, a Native American, a skeleton, a robot, and a boxer is a mummy known as Kan-Ra. Kan-Ra is available to download today for owners of Killer Instinct’s “Ultra Edition.” “Combo Breaker” edition owners and those who plan to purchase him as an individual download will have to wait until November 30.
As any good mummy would, Kan-Ra uses his bandages to attack his opponents as well as pummeling them with the mystical jars that hold his organs. You can see his full range of combat tricks in the trailer above… and keep your eyes peeled for a quick glimpse at December’s downloadable character: Riptor the dinosaur.
And don’t forget, Microsoft will make Cinder the fire monster a playable character in 2015.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Killer Instinct
Turtle Rock: Evolve’s DLC maps will be free
Turtle Rock’s Creative Director, Phil Robb, recently sat down with IGN and confirmed that all post-release maps for Evolve will be free. The consumer-friendly move is an attempt by Turtle Rock to keep the Evolve community from splitting into multiple different factions:
“First thing we [Evolve’s creative leads] said was we can’t break the community up, so all of our maps will be free. We never want anyone to get booted off of a server because they haven’t bought something.”
Robb also revealed that Evolve will receive paid DLC in the forms of additional Hunters and Monsters. However, players will still be able to join games featuring downloadable Hunters or Monsters regardless of whether or not they’ve purchased them:
“We’ll have characters and monsters, and even if you don’t buy them, if your buddy wants to buy the DLC, that’s cool, and your game will be enhanced through his purchase,” Robb said. “So, you won’t be able to play as those characters, but you will certainly be able to play with those characters.”
Evolve will likely be one of 2015’s earliest hits when it’s released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 10.
Batman infiltrates Ace Chemicals in latest Arkham Knight trailer
Batman has a bad history with Ace Chemicals. It was there that an unnamed criminal known as The Red Hook fell into a vat of chemicals and emerged as The Dark Knight’s nemesis, The Joker. Harvey Dent suffered a similar disfiguring accident in Batman: The Animated Series, permanently damaging his psyche and transforming him into Two-Face.
With such a haunted history, you’d think supervillains would stop attempting to rob and/or take over the plant. But you’d be wrong as Scarecrow and the mysterious Arkham Knight make the factory a target in the latest trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight. The trailer includes a look at the Batmobile in action and new takedown maneuver, the “Fear Takedown.” WB Games also plans to release an extended version of the trailer (three-and-a-half minutes is clearly not enough) on December 1 through the game’s official website.
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
Ori and the Blind Forest has been pushed back to early 2015
Moon Studios, the developers behind Ori and the Blind Forest, has announced that their side-scrolling Metroidvania-style game will not make its planned late 2014 release. Instead, the title, which made a big splash at Microsoft’s E3 presentation this past June, will be released for the PC and Xbox One in early 2015.
According to the developer, they need “just a little more time in order to add a final layer of polish” to Ori and the Blind Forest. We’ll probably never know what they mean by that exactly, but it does seem to be the go-to reason for delaying a game nowadays.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Ori and the Blind Forest
Check out the prologue from Destiny’s “The Dark Below” expansion
Bungie plans to release Destiny‘s first expansion, The Dark Below, on December 9. But if you want a sneak peek at the shooter’s first major addition, you should check out the Prologue video above. In The Dark Below, you’ll Crota and the Hive army in a variety of missions on the moon. The expansion will also include new gear and a level cap increase:
Expand your Destiny adventure with a wealth of weapons, armor, and gear earned in new story quests and missions, three new competitive multiplayer arenas, and a new Strike and Raid. Beneath the surface of the Moon, a long-forgotten enemy stirs. Survive the true depths of the Hellmouth, and stop its dark army from invading Earth.
The Dark Below will be available as part of Destiny’s Season Pass or as an individual download.