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
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: News
Yakuza 5 will be released on December 8; Yakuza Zero NA/EU release officially confirmed
After promising that it would be released in 2015, Sega snuck in just under the wire by announcing that Yakuza 5 will be available to download from the PlayStation Store on December 8 during today’s 2015 PlayStation Experience keynote. More than a simple crime story, Sega’s John Hardin tried to explain the appeal of the Yakuza series to those who’ve never played it (and his aunts) at the PlayStation Blog:
Taking place across five different cities in Japan, Yakuza 5 follows five protagonists who have been involved with various yakuza syndicates in the past. Through a series of events, the protagonists are forcibly dragged back into the seedy underworld of Japan and will need to rely on their fighting, driving, shooting, and dancing skills to survive. Moreover, we like to call the game “The Japan Simulator” because the game’s numerous side-missions and mini-games genuinely make the game feel like being in Japan.
Hardin also revealed that a 1980s-set prequel, Yakuza Zero, will also finally make its way to North America (and Europe too). In development exclusively for the PS4, players will “witness the rise” of Kazuma Kiryu in Yakuza Zero:
Not yet the Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu tries to regain his honor after a botched debt collection that ended in murder. Additionally, for the first time in a numbered game, gamers will be able to play as Goro Majima, the Mad Dog of Shimano, as he tries to rejoin his clan. You don’t get nicknames like “Dragon of Dojima” or “Mad Dog of Shimano” for being soft, so expect each character to have his own unique fighting style and abilities that can be unleashed on poor rival gangsters. The game is set in Tokyo, December 1988, and players will experience the cold weather and cold hard cash that is flooding the city. Cash is king and everyone, especially the yakuza, needs to have more of it. Thankfully, Kiryu and Majima are the “entrepreneurial” type and will have plenty of ways to make, spend, and take money. From telephone clubs to disco halls, there will be ample opportunities for Kiryu and Majima to flex their colorful suits, gold watches, and fat stacks.
We don’t know when Yakuza Zero will be released, but unlike Yakuza 5 and its digital-only launch on the PlayStation Store, Yakuza Zero will be available as a downloadable title and on a Blu-ray disc.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2015, Yakuza 5, Yakuza Zero
First Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC Pack will be known as Awakening
Activision and Treyarch have announced that the first Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC Pack will be known as Awakening. As expected, the pack will include four new multiplayer maps (“Skyjacked,” “Rise,” “Splash,” and “Gauntlet”) and the next chapter for Zombies Mode, “Der Eisendrachen.” The Awakening DLC Pack will launch for the PS4 first, before arriving on the PC and Xbox One a month later.
We don’t know when the Awakening Map Pack will be released (other than sometime in 2016), but you can get a glimpse at a brand new teaser image right here…
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, PlayStation Experience 2015
F.A.N.G. is the final Street Fighter V character; Capcom also announces 2016 Season Pass
Capcom had one last Street Fighter V character to announce before the game’s February 16 launch, and they did it today at the 2015 PlayStation Experience. F.A.N.G. is a gangly behatted weirdo that’s the new second-in-command of Shadaloo. He’s also got a way with toxins and flings poisonous gas around the arena like your old college roommate:
About F.A.N.G.
F.A.N.G. is an assassin whose unique poison attacks leave him second only to M. Bison himself! Besides overseeing Shadaloo’s operations, his true passion comes from the evil experiments conducted within Shadaloo’s research facilities. F.A.N.G. introduces a series first mechanic; poison. Whenever his poison attacks connect, they continuously deal damage to the opponent’s life bar until he gets hit or the poison runs its course. F.A.N.G.’s sinister long range attacks and slippery movements, paired with his ability to poison, will leave his opponents feeling ill.V-Skill: Nishodoku
F.A.N.G. sends out a slow moving poison-filled projectile. If it makes contact with the opponent, it will begin to slowly deal damage.V-Trigger: Dokunomu
The ultimate defense, F.A.N.G. emits a poisonous cloud around his body that constantly deals damage to the opponent as long as they’re near him.
The Capcom-Unity blog also confirmed that six characters will be added to Street Fighter V over the course of 2016: Alex, Guile, Balrog, Ibuki, Juri, and Urien. A Season Pass (priced at $29.99 and available now) will include access to all six characters, as well as a premium costume for each. Players can also opt to purchase “Zenny” or earn “Fight Money” by completing challenges to gain access to the new characters. It’s currently unknown exactly how players will earn “Fight Money” and how much they’ll need to unlock these characters for free.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2015, Street Fighter V
PS4 owners can now download PS2 games from the PlayStation Store
Sony is getting back into the backwards compatibility game with the announcement that PS4 owners will now be able to download PS2 games from the PlayStation Store. Eight titles, most priced at $14.99 apiece, will be included in the first wave of releases, which features the famed Grand Theft Auto III Trilogy, Twisted Metal Black, Dark Cloud, and several others:
- Dark Cloud
- Grand Theft Auto III
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- The Mark of Kri
- Rogue Galaxy
- Twisted Metal Black
- War of the Monsters
So what do you get for your $14.99? Sony has confirmed, in a post on the PlayStation Blog, that all PS2-On-PS4 games will be uprendered to 1080p and include support for Trophies, Remote Play, Live Broadcast, Share Play, and Activity Feeds. For the Trophies, Sony consulted with the original development teams to ensure that they “capture the spirit and feeling” of each game.
Sony plans to add new PS2-On-PS4 games to the PlayStation Store “on a regular basis,” and will be showcasing many of them during this weekend’s PlayStation Experience. So if you’re in San Francisco for the big show, you’ll be able to play most of the games listed above (minus GTA3 and Twisted Metal Black) on the show floor, along with future releases PaRappa the Rapper 2 and The King of Fighters 2000.
In case your memory of these games has been lost to the mists of time, more information on all of them can be found after the break. (more…)
Xbox Store Today: Rock Zombie, Super Party Sports Football
The Xbox Games Store closes out this Friday afternoon with the release of two new games that are now available to download. Rock Zombie is a beat ’em up starring three punk rock women who’ve found themselves at the center of a zombie apocalypse. And Super Party Sports: Football is a physics puzzler that asks players to use all their soccer skills to knock down their opponents.
More details on both games can be found right here:
Xbox One Games
Rock Zombie ($7.99)
What would happen if a concert of a female rock band was invaded by a horde of zombies? The answer to that question can be found in this videogame which combines both, classic gameplay from the Arcade Golden Age with modern 3D graphics. Features: 20 action-packed levels in which you will fight against all kinds of enemies, ride a motorbike, drive cars, and much more. An amazing story told through 300 comic strips between the action scenes. Three characters to choose from: Zoe, Sasha, and Crystal. A variety of weapons, outfits, concept arts and collectable material to unlock in the zombie museum.Super Party Sports: Football ($4.99)
Charge up your soccer ball, calculate power and shoot down every rival in your way! Featuring smashing physics puzzle action and 100 levels of tactical fun. Pass, shoot and destroy your opponents in brilliant battles on the field. Plan effective passes, take down heavy rowdies and smash the goalkeeper to win the match. Super Party Sports: Football is a physics puzzle game full of action and fun. Solve tricky riddles, fight against different types of enemies and score a goal. Take the challenge with players from different leagues and FCs. Choose your favorite 11 to play your own cup finals 2014.
Dark Souls III will be released on April 12; Collector’s Edition announced
Bandai Namco and From Software have unveiled a brand new trailer for Dark Souls III, but this one has a surprise at the end… a release date! The publisher and developer have also announced details about Dark Souls III’s Collector’s Edition, which has been priced at $129.99 and will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One. It’ll include a Dark Souls III Game Disc, Collector’s Box, Prima Starter Guide, Official Soundtrack, Official Art Book, Cloth Game Map, and a 10” Red Knight Statue.
Players who pre-order the standard version of Dark Souls III on the PS4 or Xbox One will be upgraded to the special Day One Edition, which will include the Prima Starter Guide, Official Soundtrack, and “Exclusive O-Sleeve Packaging.”
Dark Souls III will also be released for the PC (via Steam) on April 12.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Dark Souls III
Rock Band VR announced for Oculus Rift/PC
Harmonix and Oculus announced they’re making Rock Band VR, and they did it in the most adorable way possible with this video. Watch it to see DragonForce attempt to make rock stars out of the staff. They showed some footage of the game as well, where you play guitar from first-person view, and can look around to see the audience cheering for you and watch your virtual band rock out. Some folks will surely say that it looks very similar to Guitar Hero Live.
Rock Band VR is due out for the PC sometime in 2016 after the launch of the Oculus Rift.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Game Awards 2015, Rock Band VR
Telltale will release a new Batman game in 2016
Telltale released a trailer at last night’s Game Awards announcing a new Batman game set for release in 2016. This comes just a few months after they announced they’ll be also releasing a Marvel game in 2017. I can’t believe they’re able to keep such a tight lid on these! Also, they are so busy.
There’s no formal date other than “2016,” and not much other information other than that it’ll be “A Telltale Game Series.” Here’s hoping Kevin Conroy will be voicing Batman!
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Game Awards 2015