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
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- 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)
Most Recent: Articles
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void will launch on Nov. 10… watch the opening cinematic now
Blizzard has announced that StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, the standalone final chapter in the StarCraft II “trilogy,” will be released exclusively for the PC on November 10:
In the expansive new Protoss-focused campaign, players will take command of the mighty Spear of Adun — a magnificent Protoss arkship capable of altering the course of battle from above. Players will guide Protoss legends Artanis and Zeratul as they fight to unite the Protoss race, take back their homeworld, and vanquish the ancient evil that threatens the universe. In addition to determining the Protoss’s destiny, players will also bear witness to the ultimate fates of Terran hero Jim Raynor, the former marshal turned rebel leader, and Kerrigan, the Zerg Queen of Blades.
“Legacy of the Void provides an epic conclusion to a story more than 17 years in the making,” said Mike Morhaime, Blizzard’s CEO. “It also brings tremendous enhancements to StarCraft II’s definitive real-time strategy gameplay, with new units, automated tournaments, collaborative game modes, and more. We can’t wait for players to experience it all this November.”
Players interested in pre-ordering StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void will have plenty of options. More details on the add-ons and bonuses found in the game’s three pre-order packages can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC
Tagged StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
The wind-controlling Rashid is the second new character to be added to Street Fighter V
After revealing Necalli, Street Fighter V‘s first original fighter, Capcom promised that three additional new characters would be part of the game’s final roster. Yesterday, the second original character, Rashid, made his debut at the Games 15 event in Dubai.
Introduced by Street Fighter Series Producer Yoshinori Ono, Rashid is a Middle Eastern character who can control punishing gusts of wind. He is also said to have “an affinity for technology” and a “casual” fighting style. You can take a look at Rashid’s parkour-inspired moves in the trailer embedded, while the Capcom-Unity blog has revealed a bit more about the character, including his V-Skills and V-Triggers:
About Rashid
Joining the series from the Middle East, Rashid is an easy going and laid back character that has a very keen interest in technology and the latest gadgets on the market. His fighting style takes cues from parkour and he mixes it up with his unique ability to harness the power of wind. Always first in line to buy new tech, he uses these devices to research and create his fast-paced acrobatic moves, leaving his opponents in the dust and wondering what’s coming next.V-Skill 1 (MP+MK): Front Flip
Rashid performs a high flying flip over the opponent. Pressing kick during the Front Flip results in Rashid performing a divekick.V-Skill 2 (Down+MP+MK): Rolling Assault
Rashid closes the gap between himself and the opponent with a quick front roll. Pressing kick during Rolling Assault results in Rashid kicking upward at the opponent.V-Trigger (HP+HK): Ysaar
Rashid throws out a slow moving whirlwind that closes in on the opponent and causes damage to them if they touch it. While the whirlwind is out, Rashid can use it to increase his movement on any attack that propels him forward.
Capcom previously announced plans to include 16 characters in Street Fighter V when its released for the PC and PS4 in Spring 2016. Rashid is the 12th character announced so far, after Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Cammy, Vega, M. Bison, Birdie, Charlie Nash, Necalli, R. Mika, and Blanka (who remains officially unannounced, though he was all but confirmed two months ago). So that means there’s still four more character reveals to come, including two more brand new fighters.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Street Fighter V
Weekly Warp-Up: Under the Weather Edition
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…
I could make some grand statement about the changing weather of the season and correlate it with the general under-the-weatherness that the Warp Zoned staff has been going through for the past few days, but I just don’t have the energy. Instead, I’m just going to say I’m sorry that we haven’t written more recently. But some pretty neat things have been happening this week, so let’s talk about them.
Apple finally did what everyone expected them to do a long time ago and revealed the gaming-capable All New Apple TV this week. It’ll be out in late October and support console-style controllers like the SteelSeries Nimbus.
Also, Shigeru Miyamoto surprised everybody by saying that Pikmin 4 is “very close to completion.” The game was first discussed by Nintendo executives last year, but we hadn’t heard anything else about it since then. So to find out that it’s almost done is pretty exciting.
However, one game that’s not close to being completed is Kingdom Hearts III. Director Tetsuya Nomura said this week that development on the “basic systems” is done, but the rest game is very far from finished.
More news from this past week (again, a lot of which is very neat) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
New Releases: Destiny: The Taken King, Forza 6, Skylanders SuperChargers, More
We’ve got a lot of ground to cover in this week’s new release report, so let’s get right to it…
Destiny’s “Year One” slate of content will come to a close as Activision and Bungie will release the last major update Destiny: The Taken King for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. The expansion will add a variety of missions and tweaks to the team-based shooter, but the biggest is likely Nolan North’s replacement of Peter Dinklage as the voice of Ghost.
Microsoft and Turn 10 will release their latest automotive simulator, Forza Motorsport 6, for the Xbox One. It astounds me that while Sony continues to struggle with DriveClub and the seemingly non-existent Gran Turismo 7, Microsoft has developed and published two critically-acclaimed Forza games.
If you’re looking for something for the kids, Activision will release Skylanders SuperChargers this week. The popular game franchise has a racing theme this time out for the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360… and dozens of new Skylanders action figures have begun appearing on store shelves. A Dark Edition will also be released and a spinoff game, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing, will be available for the 3DS and Wii U (complete with an exclusive Skylanders/Amiibo hybrid figure for each platform).
To close out the week in new games, a pair of popular sports simulations will also be available. EA Sports will bring NHL 16 to the PS4 and Xbox One (and NHL: Legacy Edition to the PS3 and Xbox 360), while Konami will publish Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Finally this week, a number of new console bundles will be released. Sony will launch a 500GB PS4 + Destiny: The Taken King Limited Edition Bundle, while Microsoft is prepping a 1TB Xbox One + Forza Motorsport 6 Limited Edition Bundle. Both feature custom case designs (the Forza Blue color scheme is particularly nifty), one controller, and bonus downloadable content for their respective games. A 1TB Xbox One + FIFA 16 Bundle will also be available, but it doesn’t feature a custom paint job.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Destiny, Forza Motorsport 6, NHL 16, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Skylanders SuperChargers, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing
Xbox Store Today: Rugby League Live 3, Draw A Stickman: Epic, Leo’s Fortune
Another trio of new games were added to the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One today. Ready? Because here we go…
- Rugby League Live 3 is another rugby sim for the Xbox One. This one’s developed by Big Ant Studios and includes more than 100 teams from Rugby League competitions around the world .
- Draw A Stickman: Epic is a “cartoon RPG” for the Xbox One that asks players to sketch out a solution to save their stickman buddy from a villain named Zarp.
- Finally, Leo’s Fortune is a platformer “where you hunt down the cunning and mysterious thief that stole your gold.”
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Darksiders II comes to PS4 on October 6; Xbox One release date to be announced soon
Nordic Games has announced (via Twitter) that the PS4 launch of the Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition is fast approaching. According to the publisher, the end of days will officially begin on Sony’s system on October 6:
#Darksiders II #Deathinitive Edition arrives October 6th on PS4! Pre-Order on Play Station Store US http://t.co/CVpMPD875p (save 10%)
— Darksiders (@darksiders) September 11, 2015
Unfortunately for Xbox One owners, Nordic Games is currently unable to nail down a final release date for Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition on Microsoft’s new-generation console. Business & Product Development Director Reinhard Pollice confirmed (also via Twitter) that “they’re working on it” and that an announcement would be made soon.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders II
BOOM! Madden NFL 16 is the best-selling game of August 2015
Whatever your opinion of Tom Brady and Deflategate (for the record, I agree with Tony Kornheiser, the suspension was “completely unjust”), it looks like nobody can take the air out of EA’s Madden NFL franchise. And don’t just take my word for it. The latest entry in the series, Madden NFL 16, topped the NPD Group’s newest monthly report and was declared the best-selling game of August 2015.
Madden NFL 16’s ascendance to the top of the list was a foregone conclusion, but August was an unusually quiet month for new releases. Just look at the three remakes/re-releases that broke into the top ten. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition chainsawed its way into the #3 spot, while the 30 games in the Rare Replay compilation collectively landed at #6. Finally, a Combo Pack containing Call of Duty: Black Ops + Call of Duty: Black Ops II claimed the #8 position (two spots ahead of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #10, I might add). The only other new release to crack the top ten was Sony’s Until Dawn at #7.
But the real story of the month might be that Minecraft continues to sell. Even though its been available on the PS4 and Xbox One since last year (and another year on the PS3 and Xbox 360), the game continues to sell month after month. Only Madden NFL 16 was able to outpace Mojang’s creation in August as Minecraft is sitting at #2 on the best-sellers list.
A complete look at August 2015’s top ten is available after the break. (more…)
SteelSeries Nimbus adds a console-style controller to All-New Apple TV this October
The voice-controlled Siri Remote was the centerpiece of Apple’s “All-New Apple TV” unveiling on Wednesday, and the hardware giant neglected to mention anything about MFi Controller support even though the microconsole is certainly capable of handling console-style games. Thankfully, we now know the box will include MFi Controller support as a proper controller designed specifically for the All-New Apple TV is on the way from SteelSeries.
Looking very similar to a melding of the Xbox One Controller and the Wii U Pro Controller, the SteelSeries Nimbus includes four face buttons, two shoulder buttons, two trigger buttons, two analog sticks, a D-Pad, and a centralized Menu Button. The Nimbus is powered by a rechargeable battery (with a Lightning connector) that’ll offer more than 40 hours of playing time.
“Nimbus is the result of a lengthy and rigorous R&D effort,” said Craig Olson, President of SteelSeries Worldwide Mobile. “Our engineers and designers have worked tirelessly to create a wireless gaming controller worthy of the new Apple TV. Nimbus will allow consumers around the world to play amazing games on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and Mac with an unprecedented level of performance.”
The SteelSeries Nimbus has been priced at $49.99 and will be available across the globe beginning in late October.