Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
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- Video Game Research Library
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- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
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Most Recent: News
Catch ’em all in Pokemon Go’s Halloween Event now until November 1
With Halloween right around the corner, Niantic has launched the first in-game event for Pokemon Go. From now until November 1, players will have a better chance of finding a scary-looking Pokemon with “increased global encounters” for Drowzee, Gastly, Gengar, Golbat, Haunter, Hypno, and Zubat.
And it wouldn’t be Halloween without candy, so there’ll be plenty of opportunities to receive more Pokemon Candy during the event. All Trainers will earn twice the normal amount of Pokemon Candy, six pieces, for every Pokemon caught during the event. The Professor will also give Trainers two Candies (instead of one) for every Pokemon transferred to him. Players will also receive increased Buddy Pokemon Candy rewards over the next seven days as well.
“It’s been incredible watching people explore their neighborhoods and catch wild Pokemon all summer,” said Tatsuo Nomura, the Senior Product Manager at Niantic. “We would like to Trick-Or-Treat in our own special way by giving Trainers the chance to catch more Pokemon and earn extra Candy this Halloween.”
Niantic also released a new trailer for the Halloween Event, which has been embedded above.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Pokemon Go
Titanfall 2, World of Final Fantasy, Skyrim Special Edition, more added to PS Store
The PlayStation Store is about to get a little more epic this week as a handful of big games are now available to download on the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita.
First up, the Titanfall franchise will make its PS4 debut this week with the launch of Titanfall 2. The second collaboration between EA and Respawn will add new Titans, new weapons, new multiplayer options, and an expansive new single-player campaign to the series.
Also available this week is World of Final Fantasy, Square Enix’s reimagining of the Final Fantasy franchise for younger players. Designed using the “chibi” art style, World of Final Fantasy will merge together many of the greatest heroes and villains from the franchise’s lengthy history in an RPG that’s now available to download for the PS4 and PS Vita.
And speaking of epic RPGs, Bethesda will bring The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition to the PS4 this week. In addition to the main game and all its expansion, the Skyrim Special Edition will include support for mods and additional technical wizardry that adds “remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, screen-space reflections, and more” to the game.
PS4 and PS3 owners will also be able to launch into some epic dance moves with the release of Just Dance 2017.
Finally, a pair of episodic games will receive new chapters this week on the PS4 and PS3. Batman: The Telltale Series will reach the halfway point with Episode 3: New World Order. And The Odd Gentlemen will bring the King’s Quest reboot to a close with Chapter 5: The Good Knight.
More information on all of these games (and a big batch of other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, the PlayStation Blog has a complete rundown of this week’s new add-ons and discounts. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Just Dance 2017, King's Quest, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, TitanFall 2, World of Final Fantasy
Square Enix is “committed” to bringing more Dragon Quest games to the US and UK
Dragon Quest Builders was released for the PS4 and Vita a few weeks ago, and Square Enix’s Noriyoshi Fujimoto recently sat down with MCV to discuss the game’s development.
Naturally, the conversation eventually shifted to questions about the future of the Dragon Quest franchise in Western locales like the US and UK. While Fujimoto couldn’t make any specific announcements, he did confirm that Square Enix is “committed” to launching more Dragon Quest games outside of Japan:
MCV: How do you think Dragon Quest Builders will affect the series’ Western performance going forwards?
Fujimoto: 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of Dragon Quest series. It’s not as well known in the West as we would like but it really plays an epoch making role in the console gaming history. If gamers were to “discover” Dragon Quest now, they may be surprised to the sheer breadth of the universe, in terms of variety and depth. But they would also have instant access to something that has taken us 30 years to build. Dragon Quest Builders is definitely a great way of getting the feel of Dragon Quest while having great fun right from the start.
We’re committed to bringing more Dragon Quest titles in the West as we believe it truly has potential to succeed even better. So watch this space.
Square Enix plans to make good on their promise soon, as they’ll partner with Nintendo to release Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King on the 3DS sometime next year.
The publisher will also launch Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time on the 3DS, PS4, and Switch in Japan next Spring, but it’s currently unknown if a Western translation is in the cards.
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Dragon Quest Builders
Take on Medal Challenges in this new Super Mario Maker For 3DS trailer
Nintendo is creating 100 new pre-built Courses for Super Mario Maker For Nintendo 3DS, and the consolemaker will also add a series of “Medal Challenges” to the game when it launches on December 2. If this recent trailer is any indication, the demanding new mode definitely won’t be for the faint of heart.
For example, in Course 1-3, players will have to defeat only Piranha Plants to win the Medal. That doesn’t sound so hard, but then Nintendo ramps up the difficulty considerably in Course 3-1 (“Reach the goal without releasing Right on the Control Pad”) and Course 5-2 (“Reach the goal without pressing the jump button”). But even those like a piece of cake when compared to the Medal requirement for Course 9-2… “Lure all flying Boos to the goal.”
Hopefully Nintendo will also bring these new courses (and the Medal Challenges mode) to the Wii U version of Super Mario Maker, but no official announcement has been made as of yet.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Meet the Children of Arkham in a trailer for Episode 3 of Batman: The Telltale Series
Batman: The Telltale Series continues to roll on with today’s release of the next episode in the series, New World Order. In a new trailer for Episode 3, we’ve learned that the aftermath of the attack by the Children of Arkham has left Gotham City, and The Batman, shaken to the core. Meanwhile, Harvey Dent is going through his own identity crisis:
In Episode 3, Penguin’s brutal attack broadcast on live TV has left Gotham City reeling. As Bruce and Batman, you’ll dig deeper into the web of intrigue surrounding the newly revealed Children of Arkham. Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the mysterious Selina Kyle reveals more of herself to Bruce. And in the aftermath of the attack, Bruce’s friend and Gotham’s new mayor, Harvey Dent, is a deeply changed man. Who can be trusted when the future of Bruce Wayne – and the Batman – could be determined by the flip of a coin?
Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 3: New World Order is now available to download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It’ll also be released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and mobile devices at a later date.
Monster Boy announced for Nintendo Switch; Oceanhorn likely in development as well
Monster Boy, a spiritual successor to the 80s-era platformer Wonder Boy, is currently in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One at FDG Entertainment. Today, the developer tweeted that the game will also be available for the Nintendo Switch.
This is likely the second game that FDG has in development for the Switch, as they previously confirmed in a press release that Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas will soon launch for “a Nintendo console.” That’s a curiously vague way to put it if you’re talking about the Wii U, but it’s appropriately secretive if they were referring to Nintendo’s (then unannounced) Switch console.
We’ve learned a lot about the Nintendo Switch’s potential games lineup since its reveal last week, and it’s nice to have two new titles to add to the next update to The Big List of Nintendo Switch Games.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas
Nintendo Switch won’t offer “second screen” option, but will support Amiibos
A Nintendo spokesman recently told The Wall Street Journal that we’ll learn more about the Switch in 2017, he also confirmed that the consolemaker still has a few more tricks up their sleeve. “We haven’t shown everything,” the spokesman said, and other media relations folks from Nintendo shared a few of those details this weekend.
First, the company told IGN that Amiibo figures will be supported by the Switch. Nintendo’s “toys-to-life” line has been incredibly successful, and it makes sense they’d want to continue it on the Switch:
“If a Nintendo Switch game supports amiibo then the Nintendo Switch home gaming system will as well,” a Nintendo representative told IGN.
Later in the same statement, Nintendo also confirmed that the Switch Dock won’t provide any additional processing power for the console:
Nintendo continued: “The dock is not the main console unit of Nintendo Switch. The main unit of Nintendo Switch is the unit that has the LCD screen, which the two Joy-Con controllers can be attached to and detached from. The main function of the Nintendo Switch Dock is to provide an output to the TV, as well as charging and providing power to the system.”
That’s a bit disappointing, as is the news that the Switch will drop the “second screen” options for displaying maps or menu screens included in many Wii U games. Speaking to Polygon, a Nintendo spokesman had this to say:
“Nintendo Switch is dedicated to deliver a single-screen experience, on whatever screen you might choose,” Nintendo officials told Polygon when asked if the popular Wii U feature would be included in the Switch.
There’s still so much we don’t know about the Switch (like whether or not it’ll include a touchscreen), but Nintendo did answer three big questions about the console this weekend, and after almost two years of silence, that’s gotta count for something.
Weekly Warp-Up: Nintendo Switch, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last Guardian… It Begins…
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…
The Chicago Cub and Cleveland Indians will be squaring off in the World Series next week, but the video game industry might have topped that unlikely matchup with a series of blockbuster announcements this week.
First, Nintendo unveiled their NX console! Officially known as the Switch, the rumors of a console/handheld hybrid with detachable controllers proved to be right on the money. Later that same day, Rockstar unveiled the first trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2, which will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One in Fall 2017.
Not to be outdone, Sony revealed that development on The Last Guardian is complete, confirming that it will indeed launch on December 6 as planned.
Elsewhere on Warp Zoned this week, we visited the Resident Evil 20th Anniversary Tour and tried out Resident Evil 7: Biohazard with PlayStation VR. We also sat down to review the excellent Pac-Man Championship Edition 2. And we updated our Big List of Nintendo Switch Games after Nintendo’s revealing trailer.
More news from this week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News