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
Destiny’s first expansion, The Dark Below, will be released on December 9
While Destiny didn’t quite set the gaming world on fire, it did sell a lot of copies. So surely someone out there will be excited to learn that Bungie will release the game’s first expansion on December 9. Priced at $19.99 (or free as part of the Destiny Season Pass), Expansion I: The Dark Below will add new weapons and armor to the game, raise the level cap to 32, and include multiple new story quests:
After years hiding amongst the Hive shadows, a new character, Eris, has come forth bearing an ominous warning: The Hive seek to summon a god, Crota, to destroy the Earth. Find Eris in the Tower to take on special quests that include three new missions where you will increase your Light and earn new rewards.
The Dark Below will also include three new competitive multiplayer maps, a new co-operative Strike, and a new Raid:
- “The Will of Crota” (Strike), pits you and your Fireteam against Omnigul as she works to expand the Hive army at the command of her master, Crota.
- “Crota’s End” (Raid), set deep within the depths of the Hellmouth.
- “Pantheon” (Competitive Map), set deep within the Black Garden in an ancient Vex temple that features Vex-designed landscapes and tight corridors
- “Skyshock” (Competitive Map), an old interplanetary defence array that offers both vehicle and infantry engagements.
- “The Cauldron” (Competitive Map), an abandoned Hive ritual site that offers close-quarter combat.
Finally, Destiny players on the PS3 or PS4 will receive access to multiple pieces of exclusive content including another Strike (“The Undying Mind”), an Exotic weapon, and more. These gametypes and items won’t be available on the Xbox 360 or Xbox One until “at least Autumn 2015.”
CoD: Advanced Warfare’s “live-action trailer” is pretty unreal
What happens when you create a live-action that is so heavily augmented by CGI that it might as well be a cartoon? If you’re Activision, you throw in an Emily Ratajkowski (the naked woman from Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” video) cameo and you call it a day.
OK, that’s not entirely true. This brand new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare live-action trailer was directed by Peter Berg (Hancock) and stars Taylor Kitsch (John Cater and Battleship), so it’s actually pretty great on it’s own. And Jack White’s other band, The Raconteurs, supplied the soundtrack (“Salute Your Solution” from 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely).
If all of this has you super excited, then you likely already know that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on November 4.
No Kinect or Move Controller? Play Just Dance 2015 with your smartphone
Are you just dying to play Just Dance 2015 but you don’t have a Kinect sensor or a PlayStation Camera/Move Controller? Don’t worry, there’s an app for that now.
The Just Dance 2015 Motion Controller app is now available (for free) through the iOS App Store and the Google Play store. And it’s the only thing you need (besides a copy of the game, of course) if you want to play Just Dance 2015 on the PS4 or Xbox One. The game interfaces with the app through wi-fi, allowing your smartphone to track your movements and tabulate your score. Up to four players can use the Motion Controller app on the PS4 while six players can crowd around an Xbox One with it.
“We’ve always strived to make Just Dance the most accessible dance game experience on the market,” said Jason Altman, an Executive Producer at Ubisoft Paris. “With the Just Dance 2015 Motion Controller app, we’re taking that dedication to accessibility to the next level by giving our fans a way to play Just Dance 2015 on PlayStation 4 system and Xbox One by using their own smartphones to keep score.”
Head over to the UbiBlog for more details on how the Just Dance 2015 Motion Controller app works.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Just Dance 2015
Nintendo has 12 Wii U titles planned for 2015 as sales continue to rise
Nintendo announced a ton of Wii U games during this Summer’s E3 Expo. A dozen, if you’re counting along at home. And within the pages of their latest quarterly financial report, the publisher has revealed that all 12 are still on track for release next year. In case you missed it the first time around, here’s what Nintendo has planned for the Wii U in 2015:
First Half of 2015
Second Half of 2015
- Devil’s Third
- Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- The Legend of Zelda Wii U
- Mario Party 10
- Mario vs Donkey Kong
- Project Guard
- Star Fox Wii U
- Xenoblade Chronicles X
On top of this, Nintendo even has a few games currently planned for beyond 2016, such as Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem and the currently untitled Super Mario Bros. 20. It’s an ambitious scheduled, possibly the most ambitious of Nintendo’s nearly 40 years in the video game business.
Thankfully, their financials are starting to turn around. Elsewhere in their latest quarterly financial report, the publisher revealed they sold 3.22 million copies of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS in September and 3.49 million copies of Mario Kart 8 since its launch in May. These two strong software launches were complemented by sales of 1.12 million Wii U consoles, pushing its life-to-date sales total past the Xbox One to 7.29 million.
Last year might have been “The Year of Luigi,” but 2015 might be “The Year of Nintendo.”
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS
PS3, Xbox 360 versions of Dying Light canceled by Techland
Dying Light, Techland’s parkour-infused zombie game, was originally in development for new-gen consoles (PS4 and Xbox One), previous-gen consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360), and the PC. However, now the developer is saying that the PS3 and Xbox 360 won’t be able to handle their full vision for the game. In an open letter to fans, Techland revealed the thought process behind the cancellation of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Dying Light:
Therefore, after thorough internal testing, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to leave past-gen systems behind and release Dying Light exclusively on the next-gen consoles and PC. Put simply, older consoles just couldn’t run the game and stay true to the core vision of Dying Light at the same time.
To ensure you enjoy Dying Light as much as we would like you to, we chose to release it without any compromises on the three strongest systems available. Thanks to this, you’ll get the full and best experience regardless of the platform you play on.
The PC, PS4, and Xbox One editions of Dying Light are still on track for a January 27, 2015 release. You can read the full letter from Techland after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Sunset Overdrive, Lords of the Fallen, NBA Live 15, more
Microsoft has their hopes pinned on Sunset Ovedrive, this Fall’s biggest Xbox One exclusive. It’s now available to download through the Xbox Games Store along with plenty of other big releases, such as…
- Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One) is Insomniac’s colorful new shooter that pits hipster weirdos against energy drink executives, killer robots, and mutants.
- Lords of the Fallen (Xbox One) is a medieval hack and slash from Bandai Namco and City Interactive.
- Costume Quest 2 (Xbox 360, Xbox One) is a sequel to Double Fine’s Halloween-y RPG.
- NBA Live 15 (Xbox One) is the latest game in EA’s basketball simulation series.
- WWE 2K15 (Xbox 360) is the first WWE wrestling game from 2K after THQ’s demise.
More information on all these games (and a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Costume Quest 2, Lords of the Fallen, NBA Live 15, Sunset Overdrive, WWE 2K15
EA says Star Wars: Battlefront to be released in Fall 2015; New Battlefield to follow in Fall 2016
During yesterday’s quarterly conference call, Electronic Arts announced that Star Wars: Battlefront is a first-person shooter (not much of a surprise) that will be released in October, November, or December of next year (also not much of a surprise). This move is surely meant to capitalize on the theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode VII, which will open on December 18, 2015.
Executives from the company also confirmed that the next Battlefield game (which they’re calling “our next Battlefield experience” for now) will be released in Fall 2016. According to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, the game won’t launch in 2015 because, “We want to give Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline players more time to enjoy these games and immerse themselves in a game, the live service, and the community.”
EA’s CFO, Blake Jorgensen, announced that more information about both titles will be revealed during the company’s next quarterly conference call, which will take place sometime in February.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Star Wars: Battlefront
Lords of the Fallen, NBA Live 15, WWE 2K15 for PS3, more added to PS Store
It’s another embarrassment of riches for the PlayStation Store this week as more than a dozen new games are now available to download across the PS3, PS4, and Vita. Let’s take a closer look…
- Lords of the Fallen (PS4) is a medieval hack and slash from Bandai Namco and City Interactive.
- KillAllZombies (PS4) is a twin-stick zombie shooter that can be affected by other players watching through Twitch.
- Costume Quest 2 (PS3, PS4) is a sequel to Double Fine’s Halloween-y RPG.
- NBA Live 15 (PS4) is the latest game in EA’s basketball simulation series.
- WWE 2K15 (PS3) is the first WWE wrestling game from 2K after THQ’s demise.
- The Unfinished Swan (PS4/Vita Cross-Buy) is Sony’s artistic paintbrush game, now available on the PS4 and Vita for the first time.
More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. And, as always, a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Costume Quest 2, KillAllZombies, Lords of the Fallen, NBA Live 15, The Unfinished Swan, WWE 2K15