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
MS @ E3 14: Crackdown 3, Phantom Dust 2, Scalebound announced
Microsoft got busy closing our their 2014 E3 Press Conference by announcing an absolute ton of indie games and a few bigger titles that will surely attract those who gravitate towards the quirkier side of gaming.
Crackdown 3 (referred to as just “Crackdown” on stage) will bring its open-world/co-op gameplay to the Xbox One with David Jones, creator of the original Crackdown, overseeing development.
Phantom Dust 2 (again, just referred to as “Phantom Dust”) is an Xbox One follow-up to a cult favorite Xbox game from 2004. Multiplayer card-based battling and an insane sci-fi story will do that.
Finally, Platinum Games will bring Scalebound to the Xbox One. Giant dragons, big action, and it’s the first non-Nintendo Platinum Games game in a long time. Nintendo fans might be bummed, but those who bypassed the Wii U (and love Platinum) are surely thrilled.
All three titles will likely be released for the Xbox One in 2015.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Crackdown 3, E3 2014, Phantom Dust 2, Scalebound
MS @ E3 14: Rise of the Tomb Raider brings back Lara Croft next year
I’m sorry, but we have to retire any variation of the word “Rise” when titling a sequel. Because then things like Rise of the Tomb Raider would be stopped.
We didn’t learn much, but we did find out that Crystal Dynamics will bring Lara Croft back in 2015 and that the intrepid adventurer is seeing a therapist after the events of the first game. But no matter how traumatic they were, she ventures back into the tombs because that’s who she is. Rise of the Tomb Raider will be available for the Xbox One (and presumably the PS4 and PC as well).
Oh, and while we’re at it, can we ban “Begins” from being used in prequel titles too?
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2014, Rise of the Tomb Raider
MS @ E3 14: Microsoft confirms Halo: The Master Chief Collection coming this Fall
Do you remember that Halo: The Master Chief Collection rumor that cropped up a few weeks ago? It’s real and it’s more than we could have ever hoped for.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection will include remastered and remade versions of Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. The Collection will include every multiplayer map ever to grace a Master Chief Halo game, more than 100 in all, along with six maps from Halo 2 that will be recreated exactly as they existed in 2004. For those who are interested in the campaigns, every level from every game will be unlocked right from the start. And Microsoft has said that players will be able to create a unified playlist of their favorite levels across all four games. So if you’re one of those vocal folks who hates “The Library,” now you can skip it. And as with Forza Horizon 2, all four games will run in crisp 1080p.
The compilation will also include access to the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta and the Halo: Nightfall live-action series (it has a name!).
Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be available this Fall.
Posted in Etcetera, News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2014, Halo 5: Guardians, Halo: The Master Chief Collection
MS @ E3 14: Dance Central Spotlight and (deep breath) Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha announced
What? Capcom just took the stage at Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference and revealed… wait for it… Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha. That ridiculously long title should be your clue that the latest downloadable add-on for Dead Rising 3 is a Street Fighter crossover that features four-player co-op and wild Street Fighter-style special moves. Frank West, Chuck Greene, Nick Ramos, and Annie will be to cosplay as your favorite Street Fighter characters and they’ll also be able to borrow their signature moves. So if you’ve ever wanted to blast a zombie with a hadoken, now’s your chance. Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha is available to download now.
One more quick announcement, Dance Central Spotlight will be available to download exclusively for the Xbox One this Fall.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Dance Central Spotlight, Dead Rising 3, E3 2014
MS @ E3 14: Sunset Overdrive gets the apocalyptic party started on October 28
With no Halo and no Gears of War, Insomniac’s Sunset Overdrive is being positioned as the big Xbox One exclusive of the Fall. And Insomniac’s Ted Price just stopped by Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference to show the world the latest technicolor trailer for the game. If you like your apocalypses bright and sunny and full of self-referential humor, then Sunset Overdrive might just be for you.
Sunset Overdrive will be released on October 28.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2014, Sunset Overdrive
MS @ E3 14: Assassin’s Creed: Unity will have four-player co-op
The headline says it all. During Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, developers from Ubisoft have confirmed that Assassin’s Creed: Unity will include four-player cooperative play when it launches this Fall.
Assassin’s Creed: Unity will also be available for the PC and PS4. I have no idea why that went unmentioned at Microsoft’s Press Conference.
MS @ E3 14: Forza Horizon 2 out on September 30
Microsoft has plenty of Forza news for fans of the franchise at their 2014 E3 Press Conference. First, the Forza Motorsport 5 team has announced that the world-famous Nurburgring track will be available as a free download starting today.
After that, the Forza Horizon 2 team revealed that the game will run at a blistering 1080p when its released for the Xbox One on September 30. The Xbox 360 edition, which is being developed by Sumo Digital, will also be available on that date.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2014, Forza Horizon 2, Forza Motorsport 5
MS @ E3 14: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare DLC will come to Xbox consoles first
Microsoft kicked off their 2014 E3 Press Conference with Call of Duty… again. I’d have to check the archives, but I’m pretty sure I’ve written that sentence at least once before (replacing the “2014” with “2013” or “2012,” obviously). As usual, the consolemaker has announced that every downloadable map pack for the upcoming Call of Duty: Advanced Warface will be available for the Xbox One (and probably the Xbox 360, as well) first.
Activision then gave the crowd a nearly ten-minute look at one of the game’s action-packed levels. Be on the lookout for that later today or sometime this week.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will be released on November 4.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, E3 2014