Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Meet the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025: Quake, GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi
- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
- Breakout, Ripoff, Genre: How Fiction Outgrows Originality – Uncanny Magazine (2025)
- ‘I Could Make “Fart Fart Boobie Fart: The Game” and Maybe It Would Eventually Get Taken Down’ – Devs Reveal Why the Consoles Are Drowning in ‘Eslop’ – IGN (2025)
Most Recent: 3DS
New Releases: Halo 5: Guardians, WWE 2K16, Minecraft: Story Mode, More
After last week’s soft launch, Microsoft is finally ready to unleash the highly-anticipated Halo 5: Guardians onto the Xbox One audience. Microsoft has been building towards the return of the Master Chief ever since the platform’s launch back in 2013. Will it live up to the hype? I don’t know, but it’ll certainly move a few Xbox One bundles this holiday season.
For players looking for an edge in Halo 5 (or any action-heavy Xbox One game), Microsoft will also release the Xbox One Elite Controller this week. Featuring a slew of swappable components and the powerful Xbox Accessories app to help customize the controller, Microsoft is hoping to establish the Elite Controller as the input option of choice for hardcore gamers.
If you prefer your battle royales to be a bit more Earth-based, you might be interested to know that 2K Games will release WWE 2K16 for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 this week. Starring “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the latest WWE game includes the biggest roster of wrestlers ever, as well as a redesigned Create-A-Wrestler mode.
Rounding out this week’s new releases is a trio of re-releases including the debut of Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition on the PS4 and Xbox One. It’s joined by the coming apocalypse of Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (PS4, Xbox One) and the dirt track racing of MX vs ATV: Supercross Encore (PC, PS4).
Finally this week, Telltale Games is offering a “Season Pass Disc” for Minecraft: Story Mode on the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. Players who purchase the Season Pass will receive the first episode of the game on the disc, along with downloadable access to all subsequent episodes as they’re released.
A full list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders II, Halo 5: Guardians, Minecraft: Story Mode, WWE 2K16
Nintendo Download: The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, Just Dance 2016, more
This week’s Nintendo Download features a batch of scary adventures, a pair of licensed games, and a new entry in one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises.
Available tomorrow for the 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is another multiplayer Zelda game. Taking place in the aftermath of A Link Between Worlds, players will have to guide three heroes through “inventive dungeons” as the build a “Link Totem” to solve puzzles and defeat enemies.
A pair of licensed games are also new available for the 3DS this week. Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations turns the adventurous duo into detectives, searching the Land of Ooo for strange cases to solve (sounds a bit like The X-Files with a talking dog…). 3DS players will also have the chance to download Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden this week. The anime adaptation features “bone-crushing blows” and more than 100 characters.
Over on the Wii U, players will get the chance to download three games that bring the scares just in time for Halloween. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water brings the Camera Obscura to the console for the first time, and asks players to hunts ghosts in the haunted woods atop the mysterious Mount Hikami. Slender: The Arrival also sets much of its action in a forest as players avoid the dreaded Slenderman. Finally, Super Ghouls ’N Ghosts is a Virtual Console re-released of the Game Boy Advance remake of the classic Super NES side-scroller. That’s a mouthful, so remember to keep your pants on Arthur!
Finally this week, if you’d rather dance, Ubisoft will release two new games in their long-running Just Dance series for the Wii U. Just Dance 2016 features songs from Mark Ronson, Meghan Trainor, and many others while Just Dance: Disney Party 2 lets the whole family dance along to the most popular shows and movies on the Disney Channel.
You can find more information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. (more…)
New Releases: Guitar Hero Live, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, More
Are you ready to rock? I said… are you… Ready. To. Rock? Activision is certainly ready to rock as they’ve brought back the Guitar Hero franchise this week with the release of Guitar Hero Live . Scheduled for launch on the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in a Standard Edition and Two Guitar Bundle, Guitar Hero Live will include more than 100 songs on the disc and an ever-changing lineup of artists available through its GHTV mode.
But Guitar Hero Live isn’t the only arena act looking to put on an encore this week. New entries in four of gaming’s biggest franchises will soon be available in stores:
- Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (PS4 and Xbox One) brings the Templars-versus-Assassins saga to Victorian England. And you better believe that Jack the Ripper is involved (though not until the downloadable expansion).
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is yet another multiplayer Zelda game, this time for the 3DS.
- Tales of Zestiria is the latest Tales game from Bandai Namco and the first to appear simultaneously on the PC, PS3, and PS4.
- Just Dance 2016 (PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One) and Just Dance: Disney Party 2 (Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One) will have you beboppin’ and scattin’ all over your living room one more time.
Finally this week, Microsoft is releasing Halo 5: Guardians a week early if you’re willing to pay extra for it (sort of). The Limited Collector’s Edition includes a digital download of the game, but it won’t unlock until next Tuesday, October 27. You can also spring for the 1 TB Xbox One + Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition Bundle, which features a Halo-themed Xbox One system, along with a digital download of Halo 5 that won’t unlock until next Tuesday.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Guitar Hero Live, Halo 5: Guardians, Just Dance 2016, Tales of Zestiria, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Nintendo Download: Yoshi’s Wooly World, New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U, more
Mario and friends have taken over this week’s Nintendo Download.
Yoshi is back and starring in his first original console game in a long time. Yoshi’s Wooly World, developed by Good-Feel, is a side-scroller for the Wii U that wraps Yoshi’s entire world in yarn and asks him to save the day. Is he up to the task? He’ll take a lick at it, that’s for sure.
Also available this week is New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U, a bundled edition of the Wii U’s first Mario game and its brotherly expansion. If you own a Wii U, there’s a very good chance you’ve already played one or both of these games, but if you haven’t, this bundle is a good a time as any to give them a shot.
Finally this week, Capcom will bring Final Fight One to the Wii U’s Virtual Console. Originally released for the Game Boy Advance, Final Fight One is a remake of one of the Super NES’s best beat ’em ups.
More information on all of these games, along with a few others (including a BASIC programming tutor for the 3DS), can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged New Super Luigi U, New Super Mario Bros. U, Yoshi's Woolly World
Watch the Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses performance from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert right here
Nintendo’s promotional push for The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes began last night with an appearance by the Symphony of the Goddesses orchestra on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. In addition to performing music from the upcoming 3DS title, the orchestra ripped through a medley of music from the entire series including The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword.
The producers even transformed Colbert’s famous “stained glass” ceiling into a fresco depicting Link and Zelda over the years. “Rejoice, nerds! This is the music that awaits you in heaven,” Colbert added when a video of the performance was uploaded to YouTube.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes will be released for the 3DS on October 23.
Posted in 3DS, Etcetera, News, Retro
Tagged The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
New Releases: Yoshi’s Woolly World, Dragon Quest Heroes, Wasteland 2, More
Wooly dinosaurs, dimension-hopping heroes, and the return of a classic strategy RPG series highlight this week in new games.
Yoshi’s Woolly World for the Wii U is Good-Feel’s second attempt at yarn-ifying a beloved Nintendo character. Expanding on many of the ideas they used in Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Yoshi’s Woolly World is a ridiculously cute side-scroller that’ll also include extensive Amiibo support.
There’s no yarn, but Square Enix and Koei Tecmo tie together the various Dragon Quest dimensions in Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below for the PS4. Much like last year’s Hyrule Warriors, Dragon Quest Heroes uses Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors franchise as a template to create a brand new hack and slash game.
If you’re looking for something a little more tactical, this week also marks the release of Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut on the PS4 and Xbox One. More than just a simple turn-based RPG, Wasteland 2 is the first direct sequel to 1988’s Wasteland, which served as the inspiration for the Fallout franchise.
Finally this week, we’ve got a pair of re-releases that might be of interest to those who missed them the first time around. In honor of the movie’s 30th anniversary, Telltale has remastered their Back to the Future game for the PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. And over on the Wii U, Nintendo has finally bundled together New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U on a single disc.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Back to the Future, Dragon Quest Heroes, New Super Luigi U, New Super Mario Bros. U, Wasteland 2, Yoshi's Woolly World
Shovel Knight disc release pushed back to November 3; Xbox One release canceled
Yacht Club Games dug themselves into a bit of a hole with the recent release of the Plague of Shadows expansion for Shovel Knight. Finishing touches for the add-on took a bit longer than expected, and a desire to include it on the game disc has forced the developer to push Shovel Knight’s planned October 13 retail release to November 3.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Xbox One edition of the game won’t be released at all. Writing on their official website, “We really gave it our best effort, but unfortunately, because of publishing policies on that platform that are totally beyond our control, we couldn’t make it happen.” The developer will continue to negotiate with Microsoft for the right to publish a retail version of Shovel Knight on the Xbox One, but as of right now, it’s in “indefinite limbo.”
Yacht Club also revealed the retail version of Shovel Knight will be priced at $24.99 (instead of the expected $19.99) when it’s released. The developer said they were forced into this pricing tier to keep the game out of the dreaded “bargain bin.” However, to make up for the $5 price increase, all copies of the game will come with a download code for the Jake Kaufman-penned soundtrack.
So, to recap… The physical version of Shovel Knight will be released for the 3DS, PS4, and Wii U on November 3, but the Xbox One launch has been indefinitely postponed. The game will also be priced at $24.99, but that cost will include a free soundtrack download.
Also, don’t forget that Shovel Knight is now available to download on the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One through each platform’s digital storefront.
New Lego Avengers trailer reveals levels based on Iron Man 3, Captain America 1+2, Thor 2
Lego Avengers got a whole lot bigger during a New York Comic-Con panel today as WB Games and TT Games revealed that the game will also include levels based on Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Playable scenes from these four movies will join the previously announced Lego-ized adaptations of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Lego Avengers will be released on January 26, 2016 for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.