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
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: PC
See how ridiculously gory the new Doom is before its Spring 2016 release
I should probably stop calling it Doom 4… and that’s because Bethesda and id Software have finally blown the lid off their Doom reboot, which will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in Spring 2016. Doom is ridiculously fast and ridiculously gory, and you can see it for yourself in the new trailer embedded above. But this is just a small taste of what’s in store for the new Doom, as Bethesda also include about 20 minutes of gameplay during their E3 Press Conference earlier tonight.
We’ll have that for you soon, but for now, watch the trailer above and catch a glimpse of the Shotgun, the Super Shotgun, the Plasma Rifle, the Chaingun, the Chainsaw, Imps, Pinky, and gallons upon gallons of blood. If you look close, you’ll see a variety if “finishing moves” that are new to the franchise.
The new Doom will also include a game editor known as Doom SnapMap. With SnapMap, players will be able to fully customize their own maps or gameplay modes using a very extensive set of tools. Players will also be able to share these creations with the world.
Spring 2016 can’t come soon enough, but remember, if you pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order, you’ll be able to join the upcoming Doom multiplayer beta.
Insert Quarter: Are the E3 Press Conferences a Waste of Time?
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
The first E3 Press Conference for 2015 will begin in just a few minutes. Bethesda’s first-ever presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo is sure to be amazing with gameplay reveals for Doom 4, Fallout 4, Dishonored 2, and probably a bunch of other stuff. We’ve got a new player in the AAA space and that’s exciting. But will Bethesda’s Press Conference (and Microsoft’s… and Sony’s… and Nintendo’s… and Square Enix’s… and EA’s… and Ubisoft’s…) be a huge waste of time? In between all the glitz and the horrible jokes, won’t there be precious little time actually devoted to games?
At least, that’s what Vice’s Dan Maher believes. He remembers the horrible gaffes (middle-aged executives that have no idea how to talk to regular people), the horrible lies (what Sony promised the PS3 could do) and the horrible people (Jamie Kennedy, good god, Jamie Kennedy). He makes the case that all this pomp and circumstance is more at home during a graduation ceremony than the showcase event for a multi-billion dollar industry:
It shouldn’t be difficult. The last time I checked, video gaming was still a festival of colour and noise and excitement and dakkadakkadakka-pweeeeeee-kaboom. Chuck them up on a screen bigger than your house, crank up the volume to unbearable, bar the doors. Done. And yet, somehow, what we inevitably end up with leaves the audience feeling like stakeholders at the world’s most extravagant board meeting.
The full article is available for your perusal at Vice.
New Releases: Payday 2: Crimewave Edition, Xbox One 1 TB Bundle, More
The 2015 E3 Expo will unofficially open its doors in just a few hours with Bethesda’s Press Conference (their first ever), so the big publishers are mostly taking this week off. But that won’t stop 505 Games and Overkill from releasing Payday 2: Crimewave Edition on the PS4 and Xbox One. Payday 2: Crimewave Edition will come packaged with improved graphics and a wide variety of downloadable content that Overkill previously made available for the cooperative heist simulator on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
If you haven’t upgraded to an Xbox One yet, this week might be the perfect time as Microsoft will release a new Xbox One 1 TB + Halo: The Master Chief Collection Bundle. In addition to a bigger hard drive, the console comes with an improved controller that Microsoft will also sell separately as the Xbox One “Covert Forces” Controller.
In other new release news, the upcoming Tour De France has inspired Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studio to release Pro Cycling Manager 2015 for the PC (Download Only). Insert your own “performance enhancing drug” joke here.
Enjoy this week’s E3 Expo folks, it looks to be a good one!
Electronic Arts will display a dozen games during E3 2015 Press Conference
Sports! Sports! Sports!
When you think of sports video games, you think of Electronic Arts (or, more specifically, EA Sports). The powerhouse publisher loves sports so much that they plan to feature five athletic adaptations (FIFA 16, Madden NFL 16, NBA Live 16, NHL 16, and Rory Mcllroy PGA Tour) at the 2015 E3 Expo. However, the company’s E3 Press Conference will have plenty of other non-sports games on display, including Star Wars: Battlefront, Need For Speed, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the world premiere of Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst. But wait… there’s still more. The publisher plans to showcase “a dozen” games during their Press Conference, which means an additional three games will be have to be announced on stage. That said, we have a pretty good idea what EA’s internal studios are working on…
- Visceral is developing another Star Wars game, possibly starring Han Solo.
- Criterion is experimenting with some kind of wild transportation game.
- PopCap is making a “bigger and bolder” Plants vs Zombies game for consoles.
- BioWare is developing a Mass Effect game with a “MASSIVE” single-player campaign.
- And DICE is hard at work on Battlefield 5, which will launch in Fall 2016.
It’s likely that all of these titles will get at least a cursory mention during EA’s E3 Press Conference. And you can watch the presentation in the comfort of your own home as EA plans to broadcast the Press Conference live at LiveToPlay.EA.com on Monday, June 15 at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time). More details about all of this year’s previously-announced titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, FIFA 16, Madden NFL 16, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, NBA Live 16, Need For Speed, NHL 16, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour, Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: The Old Republic
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog: Pre-E3 2015 Edition
Don’t Forget! This is just a changelog of recently announced release dates. Warp Zoned’s complete Video Game Release Calendar includes every title we could find with a 2015, 2016, 2017, or unannounced release date.
The 2015 E3 Expo will kick off in just a few days with the first-ever E3 Press Conference from Bethesda. The publisher has promised a first look at Fallout 4, as well as Doom 4. Both games currently have “TBA” release dates, but that will likely change this Sunday. As I dive into the rest of the new release dates in this Pre-E3 2015 Edition of our Video Game Release Calendar Changelog, I can’t be sure I got them all. Dozens of games have release dates (or, at the very least, release windows) that didn’t before.
So here’s a few more games we can start looking forward to…
- Until Dawn, Sony’s “kids in the woods” horror game for the PS4, will be released on August 25.
- Skylanders SuperChargers will bring its “interactive game toys” (we need a better name for this genre) to nearly every platform on September 20.
- The Mega Man Legacy Collection will collect the first six games in the series on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Summer.
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection will bring the three PS3 games to the PS4 on October 9.
- Square Enix will release Dragon Quest Heroes on the PS4 on October 13.
- Bandai Namco’s Tales series will expand on October 20 with Tales of Zestiria on the PC, PS3, and PS4.
- And the next Tales game after that, Tales of Berseria, has been officially announced, but it’s release date is currently “TBA.”
Even more new release dates from this edition of the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog can be found after the break. And check back with us after E3 when we’ll surely get the chance to pencil in even more release dates. (more…)
Tales of Zestiria will launch on PS3, PS4, and PC on October 20
Bandai Namco has also announced that the next Tales game, Tales of Zestiria, will be released for the PS3 and PS4 on October 20. But they weren’t done. The publisher revealed the game will also be released for the PC (through Steam) on the same day.
So what can fans expect from the next Tales game? Believe it or not, it’s about a “chosen one” that has to save the world:
An unseen evil force known as Malevolence is spreading across the land, corrupting the world and causing humanity to falter. Players will embark on an epic journey as Sorey, a young pure-hearted adventurer whose destiny is to become The Shepherd, an individual of great power that can banish Malevolence. Does Sorey have the courage and heart to wield this extraordinary responsibility for good, or will he fall prey to the evils of its power?
Like most games in the Tales series, Tales of Zestiria is an action RPG, but players should expect “faster combat” in this newest entry:
Tales of Zestiria introduces a new version of its celebrated real-time battle system, allowing for faster combat with side dashes and new combo opportunities with the fusion techniques. Throughout his quest, Sorey will befriend humans and spirits known as Seraphim, unseen to most humans, to aide him on his journey. Because of Sorey’s unique ability to communicate with the Seraphim he is able to fuse with their essence to create new elemental artes for strategic attacks to decimate foes.
Tales of Zestiria isn’t the only Tales title in development at Bandai Namco. The publisher announced the 16th game in the franchise, Tales of Berseria, during the Tales of Festival last week in Japan.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4
Tagged Tales of Zestiria
Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 will be released on September 15
As promised, Konami officially announced Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 today and revealed a ton of new details about the soccer simulation. First things first, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 will be released on September 15 for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Developed using Konami’s proprietary Fox Engine, PES 2016 will make a variety of major changes to the series:
- New Master League – The famous and hugely popular Master League enjoys a total revamp, allowing users to immerse themselves in the managerial world of soccer. Every element has been redesigned or reworked, from the vibrant and involving menus to the new and exciting player transfer system, PES 2016 see one of the series most integral modes redefine the single-player experience.
- New Visuals – Incorporating the many advancements of the Fox Engine, the visuals have seen a huge upgrade. See the rain splash as players slide in to win possession, or the turf kick up as you strike the ball into the top corner. New night-time lighting and real turf textures are among some of the many improvements.
- Dynamic Weather – For the first time in the PES series, dynamic weather has been introduced, with the chance of rain starting during the game. Combined with the ever more realistic ball physics, the rain changes how the game can be played with passes speeding up, and less skilled players likely to struggle with trapping. The defender taken by the 1-on-1 will also be more likely to slip and fall due to incorrect studs or blades. This feature is applied to all offline modes including the Master League, and is an important element to decide the outcome of the match.
- Human Motion – Seeking to humanize player movement, 3x new animations have been added to bring the in-game superstars to life. Goalkeepers have seen an abundance of save animations added, while outfield players shoot, pass, dribble and tackle with incredible variety depending on the situation. Players complain when a foul isn’t given, or lament a teammate when a pass isn’t made when in open space. The new 1v1 control also benefits from this, with players being able to fool their opponents with shimmies and feints that can result in causing the opposing player to lose his balance and fall in the wrong direction!
- New Ball Physics – The past few years has seen the series make huge advancements in ball physics, and for PES 2016 new levels of realism have been reached. Each spin, bobble and ricochet has been calculated using real ball physic data, helping keep every moment in every game unique and unpredictable.
These additions and enhancements are only the beginning of Konami’s plan to rework PES 2016. The developer will also include a significantly improved collision system, a “aerial battle” experience, improved 1v1 player control, more intelligent player AI, individuality in performance for goalkeepers, and “Celebration Control” prompts. That’s right, PES 2016 gives players the chance to input a series of button presses to create their own unique celebration.
Konami will reveal even more information about Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, along with the first screenshots, during next week’s E3 Expo.
Lords of the Fallen developer is working on an untitled sci-fi action RPG
Publisher CI Games recently told the world that Lords of the Fallen 2 would not be developed by original developer Deck 13 Interactive. Rather than resting on their laurels, the German developer sought out a new partner and teamed up with another small publisher, Focus Home Interactive, for their next game. Currently untitled, Deck 13 plans to release an action RPG set in a “dystopian sci-fi future” in 2017.
Aside from a teaser image depicting a man augmented with cybernetic implants, we don’t have much to go on just yet. We know the game will be an “original property” with a PC, PS4, and Xbox One release planned. Focus Home went on to add the action RPG will feature “innovative combat mechanics and an original character progression system based on modular upgrades gained through tight, visceral combat.”
Focus Home Interactive’s Managing Partner, Cedric Lagarrigue, also said: “We are ecstatic to announce this new partnership with one of the very best independent European development studios. We’ve been excited by Deck 13’s new project since our first exchange with them, and as we’ve just got through the pre-production phase, we’re fully convinced by their capacities to deliver one of the most exciting RPGs to come in the future.”
We’ll learn more about Deck 13’s action RPG, including its title, at a later date.