Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- 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
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- 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)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: PS3
The Evil Within: The Assignment is now available to download
After announcing a few details and a release date last month, Bethesda is finally ready to launch The Assignment, the first expansion for The Evil Within. The Assignment takes place alongside the narrative of the main game and follows Juli Kidman, the partner of main character Sebastian Castellanos:
In The Evil Within: The Assignment and The Evil Within: The Consequence, players take on the role of Detective Juli Kidman, Sebastian Castellanos’ mysterious partner, in a concurrent story that looks to answer some of the questions surrounding her whereabouts during The Evil Within. Along the way she will encounter disturbing new enemies, discover new mysteries, and uncover new horrors. The Assignment and The Consequence give fans of The Evil Within the perfect opportunity to discover Detective Kidman’s hidden motivations and her mysterious connection to Mobius, the shadowy group thought to be behind the gruesome events of The Evil Within.
The Assignment will be followed in the Spring by a second expansion, The Consequence. Both The Assignment and The Consequence have been priced at $9.99 apiece or $19.99 as part of The Evil Within’s Season Pass. If you’re not ready to drop a few dollars on the DLC just yet, be sure to check out Bethesda’s recent gameplay stream of The Assignment, which has been embedded above.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will get Claptastic Voyage expansion on March 24
At PAX East 2015 this past weekend, Gearbox Software announced that the fourth (and final) downloadable add-on for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be available on March 24. Claptastic Voyage will be a full expansion to the game’s campaign and include a second Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack, which raise the level cap for each character to 70.
Claptastic Voyage is a riff on the classic sci-fi book/film Fantastic Voyage and will finally reveal exactly why Claptrap is the way he is:
In Claptastic Voyage, Handsome Jack has found something ludicrously powerful within Claptrap’s mind. Never one to turn down a chance at more power, Handsome Jack digitizes the vault hunters and sends them inside! Their goal is simple: find the mysterious “H-Source” code and get out of Claptrap’s consciousness without going completely insane. These anti-heroes will have to deal with Claptrap’s personal insecurities, his malware, and digital representations of his crushing loneliness!
In a post on their official website, Gearbox has promised that players will learn “why Claptrap loves dubstep so much” and get to play with a new “glitched weapons system.” We’ll also be able to battle through a new Mutator Arena “that lets you choose your own gravity settings, enemy mixes, and more.”
Claptastic Voyage is part of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s Season Pass, but it can be purchased separately for $9.99. The expansion will also be included in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, a PS4/Xbox One upgrade of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel which will be released on… wait for it… March 24.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, PAX East 2015
New Releases: DMC Definitive Edition, Code Name: STEAM, Atelier Shallie: Dusk Sea, More
The second week of March steps up the number of new releases considerably from last week’s solitary new game. Here’s what gamers will be able to discover on store shelves this week:
- Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea (PS3), the latest Atelier RPG from Koei Tecmo and Gust.
- Code Name: STEAM (3DS), Nintendo’s portable strategy game that features a team of superheroes assembled by Abe Lincoln himself.
- DMC: Devil May Cry – Definitive Edition (PS4, Xbox One), an enhanced re-release of the rather ignored most recent entry in the Devil May Cry series.
- Sniper Elite III: Ultimate Edition (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360), an enhanced re-release of Rebellion’s sniper sequel.
A few additional new releases from this week can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea, Code Name: STEAM, DMC: Devil May Cry, Sniper Elite III
Harmonix will officially release Rock Band 4 for the PS4, Xbox One in 2015
Keep holding those lighters aloft, Harmonix has officially announced that the Rock Band franchise will play an encore on the PS4 and Xbox One sometime this year. The developer will partner with Mad Catz to produce an all-new range of plastic instruments for Rock Band 4, though Harmonix wants your old controllers to work with the new game. Not only that, but many of the downloadable tracks you’ve accumulated over the years (more than 2,000 in total) will work with Rock Band 4 as well. Harmonix is currently hard at work finalizing which tracks will be forward compatible for Rock Band 4, but rest assured, the game will have an extensive soundtrack of new songs as well.
“With Rock Band 4, we’re doubling down on the energy and excitement of playing music live with your friends,” said Harmonix CEO Steve Janiak. “Focusing on the core experience that our fans have told us they love allows us to evolve established gameplay in meaningful ways that we can’t wait to share with everyone later this year.”
To get long-time Rock Band fans ready to rock once more, Harmonix has added Frank Turner’s “I Still Believe” to the Rock Band Music Store today as a free download for Rock Band 3 and Rock Band Blitz. And if you’re attending this weekend’s PAX East expo, you can pre-order an exclusive Penny Arcade-themed guitar in person at Harmonix’s booth (#4224).
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged PAX East 2015, Rock Band 3, Rock Band 4, Rock Band Blitz
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor wins “Game of the Year” at 2015 GDC Awards
Monolith’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor won “Game of the Year” at this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards, but it looks like Monument Valley took home the most hardware. The mobile game, which recently had a memorable cameo in the third season of House of Cards, won all three awards it was nominated for including “Best Handheld/Mobile Game,” “Best Visual Art,” and the “Innovation Award.”
Other winners at night’s ceremony include The Banner Saga (a “Best Debut” award for Stoic Studio), Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (“Best Design”), Kentucky Route Zero: Episode 3 (“Best Narrative”), Alien: Isolation (“Best Audio”), and Destiny (“Best Technology”). The “Audience Award” was given to Elite: Dangerous.
The full list of winners can be found in handy list format after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Alien: Isolation, Destiny, GDC 2015, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Monument Valley, The Banner Saga
PS Store Today: Helldivers, RE Revelations 2: Episode 2, Zombie Army Trilogy, more
Sony kicks off their eight-week Spring Fever promotion with Helldivers, a top-down shooter set in a dystopian future where players are tasked with defending mankind from a horde of alien invaders. It sounds like a good time will be had by all. And I do mean all, Helldivers is a Cross-Buy title compatible with the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita.
Also available this week is the PS3 and PS4 launch of “Contemplation,” the second episode from Resident Evil Revelations 2. Capcom has plans to complete this chapter of the Resident Evil saga in a timely manner as the remaining two episodes should launch next week and the week after, respectively. If Resident Evil doesn’t have enough zombie Nazis for your taste, then prepare to square off against undead Hitler in Rebellion’s Zombie Army Trilogy, which will also be released for the PS4 this week. Even more horror can be found in the noirish White Night, which is a survival horror game that’s rendered completely in black and white.
Something slightly less horrifying will be available for PS4 and Vita owners as OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood will take the side-scrolling skater off the streets and onto the set of a blockbuster film. Can you skate on top of the Olliwood sign? Yes, yes you can. Finally this week, La-Mulana EX will make Vita owners very happy as the cave exploration title will appear on Sony’s handheld in its most complete edition yet.
More details about these games (and a few more new releases) can be found after the break. A full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Vita
Tagged Helldivers, OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood, Resident Evil Revelations 2, White Night, Zombie Army Trilogy
September 1 release date for MGS5: Phantom Pain leaked ahead of big announcement
It’s hard to believe that news this big would just sneak out of Konami, but it looks like Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be released on September 1. The news comes courtesy of a a behind-the-scenes interview with Hideo Kojima that IGN accidentally published a day earlier than planned. Several sites (including Game Informer) peeked at the video before it was pulled and shared the good news with the world.
Kojima had a few other interesting tidbits to share in the video including the fact that Snake will be more of a “silent protagonist” in The Phantom Pain. If that’s true, then why hire Kiefer Sutherland? Rather than expound on that puzzling question, Kojima reiterated (again) that The Phantom Pain will be his last time directing a Metal Gear Solid game:
“I always say this will be my last Metal Gear, but the games in the series I’ve personally designed and produced: Metal Gear on MSX, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, 3, 4, and Peace Walker, and now Metal Gear Solid V are what constitute a single Metal Gear saga,” he says. “With Metal Gear Solid V, I’m finally closing the loop on that saga. In that sense, this will be the final Metal Gear Solid. Even if the Metal Gear franchise continues, to me, this is the last Metal Gear.”
Konami acknowledged the leak on Twitter, but they also promised players that more Metal Gear-related announcements will be made tomorrow (at 12:00 PM Eastern Time) when their countdown expires.
Mad Max will go beyond release on September 1
Two generations enter, one generation leaves…
WB Games and Avalanche Studios have announced that Mad Max will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on September 1. If you remember, the game was also in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360 but, according to Game Informer, those versions of the game have been “left by the wayside.” Avalanche made the decision to cancel the previous-gen versions of Mad Max so they could focus on creating the best game possible without also trying to make it work on lower-powered hardware. This new focus will allow the team to deliver “stunning vistas and effects that will challenge your expectations of what the Wasteland might look like.”
But anyone who wants to travel through the Wasteland will need transportation and Avalanche is providing just such a vehicle for Mad Max. “The Ripper,” a fully upgradeable car body with “a powerful V8 engine, upgraded exhaust with custom off-road tires, a ramming grill and a tuned suspension,” will be available as a pre-order bonus to all players who pre-order the game.