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
New Releases: Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, MGS5: Ground Zeroes PC, Divinity: Original Sin
The video game industry continues its slow march towards the end of the year with three new releases this week…
- The latest Guilty Gear game from Arc System Works, Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, will be released for the PS3 and PS4.
- Konami will bring Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain‘s prologue, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, to the PC.
- And Larian Studios will released a boxed version of Divinity: Original Sin, their very successful turn-based RPG, for the PC.
That’s it for this week and that’s likely it for all of 2014 as no games are currently scheduled to receive a retail release during the remainder of the year.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4
Tagged Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
Insert Quarter: The Rise and Fall of THQ’s Empire
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
Gamers often didn’t know what to make of THQ. The publisher built its empire on the backs of tie-in games based on Nickelodeon and Pixar properties such as SpongeBob SquarePants and The Incredibles. But they also produced intriguing original games such as Saints Row: The Third and Darksiders. They were even the initial driving force behind Evolve, one of 2015’s most anticipated games. But that all changed when the company went bankrupt early last year.
So what happened? Tracey Lien, writing for Polygon, set out to discover the answer by talking to as many former THQ employees as she could including the charismatic (but possibly crazy) Danny Bilson. Her portrait of a publisher in free fall makes you wonder, could anything have been done?
Many blame the company’s fall on the licensed games well drying up. Some pin it on the commercial failure of the company’s uDraw tablet for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Others point to poor management and too many risky bets.
“There isn’t any one, isolated event that killed the company,” says a former THQ executive who asked to not be named. “This was one of the most successful video game businesses in America. We were a billion dollar company. It was complicated.”
THQ suffered a “death by a million spider bites,” the executive says.
The full article is available for your perusal at Polygon.
Posted in 3DS, DS, Insert Quarter, Mobile, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Retro, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Darksiders, Evolve, Saints Row: The Third
The greatest trick CoD: Advanced Warfare ever pulled was being Nov 2014’s best-selling game
Activision’s Call of Duty franchise continues its reign atop the video game world by capturing the top spot in The NPD Group’s survey of November 2014’s best-selling games. It managed to hold off a strong challenge from Grand Theft Auto V, which received a huge boost from its new-generation re-release.
Nintendo had a very good month as Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and Super Smash Bros. For 3DS managed to sneak into the top three thanks to their combined might (The NPD Group considers them one game for the purposes of the monthly list). Further down the list, Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire shot to #5 while Pokemon: Omega Ruby owned the #7 spot (for some reason, the latest Pokemon release is considered two separate games by The NPD Group).
Ubisoft also had multiple games in the top ten, including Far Cry 4 at #6. Assassin’s Creed: Unity entered the list at #9, and while that’s an impressive achievement, it’s well below the top-three ranking attained by both Assassin’s Creed III and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag during their respective debut months.
Finally, Microsoft has plenty to crow about tonight as they’ve revealed to IGN that that the Xbox One outsold the PS4 for the first time.
The full top ten for November 2014 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Unity, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Far Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Madden NFL 15, NBA 2K15, NPD, Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Sega adds Nightmare and Novice difficulty levels to Alien: Isolation
Creative Assembly has said time and again that the guiding design principle behind Alien: Isolation is that the Xenomorph should be thought of as an unstoppable force of nature that cannot be killed. Instead, the developer went back to the roots of the film franchise and encouraged players to evade the star beast and pray they remain undetected.
But things are about to get much easier for all the Alien: Isolation players out there as Sega and Creative Assembly have made a new “Novice” difficulty level available as part of the game’s latest update. But what if you’re part of the vocal contingent that wants the Xenomorph to be more diabolical and even harder to hide from? You might be interested in the brand new “Nightmare” difficulty level that makes things considerably tougher:
One of the most requested features from fans, Nightmare Mode ramps up the difficulty to a frightening level. Gamers with a strong disposition are challenged to venture into Sevastopol Station with a broken motion tracker featuring a distorted display and unreliable information. Resources are limited, androids and survivors are more deadly and the map systems have gone offline. The Alien AI has been upgraded, ramping up its aggression to punishing levels. It’s more adaptive, learning players’ tactics faster, has heightened senses and will give players no ‘second chance’ encounters. Nightmare Mode is the ultimate Alien experience.
The “Novice” and “Nightmare” difficulty levels are part of a free update that is available today for Alien: Isolation on every platform (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One).
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Review: Literally Borderlands 1.5 in Every Way
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Borderlands franchise. I’ve played the first two games for hundreds of hours, and I briefly considered getting Borderlands 2 for the Vita. I was thrilled to find out that Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel would fill the gaps between the two games, allowing you to play as Handsome Jack’s cronies and detailing how he came to power. 2K Australia took over on development, working with Gearbox to create the game, and it shows.The Pre-Sequel was rife with glitches, had a weak storyline, and was generally not as fun as the second game. Quality-wise, it felt more like the first, and, at best, could be considered a giant DLC pack. And it’s definitely not worth 2K’s $60 asking price. (more…)
First gameplay trailer officially reveals Street Fighter V as PC, PS4 exclusive
The leaked teaser trailer for Street Fighter V may have knocked the wind out of Capcom’s PlayStation Experience announcement, but confirmation that the fighting game franchise will be exclusive to Sony’s system is still a huge get for the consolemaker.
However, we also got a look at the game in action and seeing Ryu spar with Chun Li was pretty impressive. The game appears to use an enhanced version of the art style found in Street Fighter IV, but the fighting is still incredibly fast and fluid. And according to the Capcom-Unity blog, PS4 and PC players will be able to compete against each other in the game’s online mode.
As of right now, Street Fighter V doesn’t have a official date (or even a vague release window). But Capcom has promised that we’ll get our first look at a live Street Fighter V match during the Capcom Cup on December 13.
You can also find the leaked “Rise Up” teaser trailer after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2014, Street Fighter V
CD Projekt moves The Witcher 3’s release to May 19, 2015
According to CD Projekt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the “most important” game they’ve ever created. Naturally, such a complicated endeavor can quickly spin out of control, requiring additional effort to get all the pieces in place. And it looks like that’s exactly what happened to Geralt’s latest adventure.
After previously pushing the game’s release from “Late 2014” to February 24, 2015, the developer has announced plans to delay The Witcher 3 yet again. The game will now be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 19, 2015.
In a statement to fans, CD Pojekt’s board offered an apology for the delay and said, “We set the release date too hastily.” You can find the full statement after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
New Releases: Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PC
Yup, the 2014 video game release calendar is definitely winding down. We got our first look at some of 2015’s most anticipated games during this weekend’s PlayStation Experience and the 2014 Game Awards, but only two games will see a retail release this week. And realistically, both of them skate by on a technicality.
First up, isometric multiplayer puzzler Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris will receive a boxed version this week for the PC and PS4. However, the box won’t contain a game disc. Instead, Square Enix has packed in a download code for the full game and access to the game’s Season Pass. Xbox One owners will be able to download Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris through the Xbox Games Store on Tuesday.
Also available this week is the PC launch of Final Fantasy XIII-2. But again, don’t expect to find a retail disc as the game will only be available through digital storefronts.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris