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: PS3
New Releases: Tales of Graces F, Silent Hill Downpour, Yakuza Dead Souls, More
It’s “The Wait is Over Week” in this week’s edition of the new release report as a trio of games that were announced a long time ago finally make it to store shelves:
Japan has always been a game or two ahead of the US when it comes to Namco Bandai’s Tales series. So fans of the RPG franchise will be pleased to know that the PS3-exclusive Tales of Graces F is ready for release.
The US releases in Sega’s Yakuza series are typically the victim of a similar situation. And so it goes with this week’s new entry in the series, Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3), which was originally released in Japan in early 2011.
But when it comes to Silent Hill: Downpour (PS3, Xbox 360), gamers have had to wait a while for the game due to a good old-fashioned delay. Several of them, in fact. But it too will be in stores this week.
Finally, EA’s FIFA Street series has suffered any delays, territorial or otherwise. Instead, it just disappeared for a few years. But the franchise is back, in rebooted form, as FIFA Street on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Hit the jump for the complete list of this week’s new releases including a pair of plane games and the new Naruto game. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Silent Hill: Downpour, Tales of Graces F, Yakuza: Dead Souls
Quantic Dream reveals “Kara” tech demo, but it’s NOT their next game
Quantic Dream (and it’s founder, David Cage) is known for thinking outside the box. With the development of their most recent game, Heavy Rain, they created a title that was unlike almost anything else on the market at the time. It won a ton of awards and is the driving force between the fundamental different between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 as platforms.
Since then, we haven’t heard much from the company. But now they’re back and they’ve created a brand new engine and performance-capture procedure to power their next title. The video above, Kara, is the result of a test of their new engine. But it is NOT Quantic Dream’s next title. Which is too bad, because Kara’s world sounds extremely interesting.
Kara may not be a game, but it is a fine piece of short filmmaking. Just be sure and have a box of tissues ready.
[Source: PlayStation Blog]
Posted in News, PS3
Tagged Beyond: Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human, GDC 2012
Splinter Cell 6 announcement coming “soon”
Ubisoft began building their Toronto studio over two years ago. In that time, the team, which is under the command of Jade Raymond (Assassin’s Creed), has been hard at work on a new entry in the Splinter Cell series.
Now, in a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Raymond revealed that an official announcement for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 6 will be happening in the very near future:
GI.biz: So what’s your next big milestone for Toronto?
Jade Raymond: Well we’re basically going to announce our first big project, Splinter Cell, soon, so that’s going to be a big push for us.
According to Raymond, the game has been in development for 18 months and she is “impressed by what the team has been able to create.” She goes on to say “I’d say it’s better than what we could have done in most established studios.”
Of course, she probably has to say nice things about the game as you never know when Sam Fisher will leap out of the shadows and take you down.
Modern Warfare 3 fends off Final Fantasy XIII-2 in February 2012 NPD ranking
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sits atop the NPD’s monthly list of bestselling games for the fourth month in a row. The shooter sequel managed to fend off new releases Final Fantasy XIII-2, UFC Undisputed 3, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which rounded out the top four. Two other new releases managed to make it into the top ten, Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur V (at #7) and Sony’s Twisted Metal reboot (at #9).
The NPD Group didn’t list any Vita games in the top ten during its first month of availability. No 3DS games cracked the top ten either, for that matter.
You can find the complete list of February 2012 bestsellers after the break. (more…)
Skyrim takes home Game of the Year honors at 2012 GDC Awards
Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took home the coveted Game of the Year award at this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards, but Valve’s Portal 2 was the big winner of the night. The story of Chell, GLaDOS, and Wheatley won Best Audio, Best Game Design, and, of course, Best Narrative.
The other big winner of the night was Supergiant Games and Bastion. The title from the small seven-man team was awarded Best Downloadable Game as well as Best Debut.
A trio of special awards were also handhed out last night:
- Epic Mickey and Deus Ex developer Warren Spector received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Atari’s Dave Theurer received the Pioneer Award for his work on Tempest and Missile Command.
- Lawyers Ken Doroshow and Paul M. Smith were presented with the Ambassador Award for their defense of the game industry in the Supreme Court case (Brown v. EMA/ESA) that established First Amendment protection for video games.
Hit the jump for a complete list of award winners including Best Technology, Best Visual Arts, Best Handheld/Mobile Game, and more. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Bastion, Battlefield 3, GDC 2012, Portal 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Sorcery makes your Move a magic wand on May 22
Sony announced that their long-awaited game, Sorcery, will be out on May 22. This game, which showcased what the Move controller could do back at E3 2010, has been a long time coming.
Brian Upton, the game’s creative director, gave the guys over at PlayStation Blog a summary of the story:
Finn is in trouble. First, he accidentally blew up his master’s alchemy lab. Then he’s let Erline, his master’s magical cat, talk him into trespassing in the realm of the dead. Now he’s unleashed an ancient universe-destroying evil that won’t stop until everything he cares about is utterly annihilated. It has not been a good day.
Even though he’s only an apprentice, Finn must find a way to defeat the Nightmare Queen before she destroys the human world. To do this he must plunge deep into the realm of faerie — the Endless Stair, the Faerie Forest, the Slumbering Palace. With Erline travelling at his side he must master powerful and arcane magical spells, and use them to overcome the strange and twisted servants of Nightmare. He must solve challenging puzzles, and decipher the mysteries of alchemy. He must discover the secrets of the Nightmare Queen’s power and undo the damage that she has wrought.
And, above all, he must earn the right to be called… sorcerer.
Is the late release of this game working for or against Sony? On the one hand, they’ve been able to perfect the Move controls on the game and prepare it to meet with all the hype. But on the other, it would have been nice to have some more decent launch titles with the Move. Perhaps this game will be a motion controller revival of some sort.
PSN Update: Journey for PS Plus users, MotorStorm RC, lots more
Sony unleashed another packed PlayStation Store update yesterday, but the biggest prize is reserved for PlayStation Plus subscribers. If you plunked down the extra cash to become an elite PS3 owner, you’ll receive early access to thatgamecompany’s Journey. Sweet!
Us mere mortals merely have to choose between the adorable RC cars of MotorStorm RC (PSN and Vita versions); Zipper’s Vita debut, Unit 13; the baseball sim, MLB 12: The Show; and a whole lot more.
Hit the jump for a full rundown of this week’s new releases and be sure to visit the PlayStation Blog for details on this week’s game add-ons.
And don’t forget, MotorStorm RC for the Vita is a free download for a limited time. Double sweet! (more…)
Darksiders II Collector’s Edition includes Death Mask
THQ has announced that the Darksiders II pre-orders will all be upgraded to the Limited Edition, and that there will also be a Collector’s Edition of the game.
The Limited Edition will include the retail game, but will also give the player access to the first DLC, “Argul’s Tomb,” for free. All existing pre-orders will be upgraded to the Limited Edition.
In addition, there’s the Collector’s Edition of the game, for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. This includes:
- The Limited Edition version of the game
- a life-sized replica Death Mask with display stand
- a unique Shadow of Death armor and scythe set with enhanced stats
- a digital copy of the Darksiders II soundtrack
- a hard-cover Darksiders II art book
The Collector’s Edition sounds pretty sweet, and will only set you back $99.
Darksiders II will be out for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on June 26.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Darksiders II