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: PS4
Turtle Rock announces “vigorous overhaul” for Evolve as it goes free-to-play on PC
Even though it sold several million copies, Evolve more or less disappeared from the public eye after its release in early 2015. A confusing (and pricey) DLC structure seems to have pushed away almost everyone that was enamored by the game after its 2014 debut at PAX East, or its subsequent pre-release showings at E3 or Gamescom.
But Turtle Rock wants to revitalize their 4v1 shooter, and they’re going to start by making Evolve a free-to-play game on the PC beginning tomorrow, July 7. In addition to rebalancing the Hunter classes and making improvements to the maps, Turtle Rock wrote on their Community Forum that they plan to use this “Beta” relaunch as a testing ground for weekly updates to Evolve:
Here’s how it’s going to work: We’re going to make Evolve free on PC as a Beta starting on July 7. This is going to allow us to hit our new server infrastructure really hard and we need your help testing. Stuff could break, and that’s our hope, because that will give us time to improve things as we go. We’ll parse out major Beta revisions, updates and features over a period of weeks and months — a plan we’re going to continually communicate here. This allows us to test new features and major changes to make our game more accessible and ever closer to the joy we saw when we first showed our baby to the world. Just as importantly, this Beta plan gives us the flexibility and time we need to keep fixing bugs and making Evolve more stable.
Players who purchased Evolve before it went free-to-play will be given “Founder” status and periodically receive “gifts, rewards, and special access” from Turtle Rock. And according to another post by Turtle Rock, the free-to-play “Beta” will start on the PC, but the goal is to bring to the PS4 and Xbox One as well.
Turtle Rock will host a huge livestream detailing the changes coming to Evolve on Twitch tomorrow at noon (Eastern Time).
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 will be released on September 13
In a short press release, Konami has announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 will be released on September 13. The game will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One ($59.99), as well as the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 ($39.99).
Konami has mostly retreated from PC and console development in recent years, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 is currently the only game they have scheduled for release in 2016.
The Banner Saga 2, The Warriors, Energy Hook, more added to PS Store
It’s another eclectic day for the PlayStation Store as Rockstar asks if The Warriors can come out to plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay on the PS4…
Originally released for the PS2 in 2005, The Warriors is a critically-acclaimed adaptation of the cult favorite film. At the time, The Warriors was praised for Rockstar’s attention to detail and how well it managed to recreate the film’s grimy 70s aesthetic. The jump to the PS4 retains everything that made everyone love the PS2 game and adds 1080p graphics, Trophies, and Remote Play support.
Also available this week is The Banner Saga 2, the second game in Stoic’s RPG retelling of an epic Norse adventure. This time, players will continue their “emotional journey” across a breaking world as they make “bold” leadership decisions to help their Viking clan survive.
Finally this week, Energy Hook swings onto the PS4 from the creator of Spider-Man 2‘s beloved webslinging engine. But instead of superheroics, Energy Hook asks players to compete in a futuristic sport where they need to chain together “sequences of tricks, wall-runs, and stylish moves for massive scores.”
You can learn more about all of these games (and a few other new releases) after the break. And, as always, you can find a complete rundown of this week’s new add-ons and discounts (including Sony’s Mid-Year Sale) at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Energy Hook, The Banner Saga 2
Zelda: Breath of the Wild named E3 2016’s “Best of Show” by Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards has handed out their annual “Best of E3” honors for this year’s show, and unsurprisingly, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was named “Best of Show.” The massive open-air game also took home awards for “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.”
Even though Battlefield 1 secured the most nominations, only one other game was able to collect more than a single award, and that was Civilization VI, which was named “Best PC Game” and “Best Strategy Game.” This year’s “Special Commendation for Graphics” went to Sony’s God of War reboot.
All told, 13 games (and the PlayStation VR headset, which won for “Best Hardware”) were honored this year by the Game Critics Awards. The full list of winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham VR, Battlefield 1, Civilization VI, E3 2016, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Horizon 3, God of War 4, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Injustice 2, Inside, Skylanders Imaginators, Steep, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, TitanFall 2
New Retail Releases: Rocket League, Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII, Carmageddon: Max Damage
Just three new releases will be available on store shelves this week, so let’s get right to it…
First up is Rocket League: Collector’s Edition, a special retail edition of the popular “soccer with cars” simulation for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Collector’s Edition will include a variety of bonus content (Chaos Run DLC Pack, Supersonic DLC Pack, Revenge of the Battle-Cars DLC Pack, and four new Vehicles), as well as an all-new Season Mode. And if you’re looking for a new multiplayer game, don’t forget, Rocket League offers local splitscreen play for up to four players and online play for up to eight.
Also available this week is Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII for the PS4. The long-running strategy series has enthralled fans since 1985 and the latest entry will include a Campaign Mode where players follow the events of the novel, and a Hero Mode where players will be able to create their own destiny with more than 700 historical characters.
Finally this week, Carmageddon: Max Damage is a new entry in the car combat franchise for the PS4 and Xbox One, but it’ll update the extreme vehicular violence of the 1997 original (and its 1998 sequel) for the 21st century.
We’ll be back later this week with a look at the latest digital releases for the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rocket League
Shenmue III is “coming together” on the first anniversary of its Kickstarter campaign
The Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue III was one of a kind. And I mean that literally, as it eventually became the most-funded video game project of all time after 69,320 backers pledged $6,333,295 towards the development of the sequel.
That was a year ago, and now Yu Suzuki has offered an update on Shenmue III in a new video he recently posted to Kickstarter.
According to the developer, Ys Net started building a prototype of the game in January, and “battles and facial expressions are coming together.” Suzuki also confirmed that backer surveys are “still a ways off.” It’s not much, but it’s good to know that progress is being made.
Shenmue III is expected to be released for the PC and PS4 in December 2017.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Shenmue III
Thumper, a “rhythm violence game” for PlayStation VR, will be released on October 13
Thumper, a “rhythm violence game” from Drool, has quickly become one of the most anticipated titles in development for Sony’s PlayStation VR headset. And it looks like fans won’t have to wait very long to try it out. According to a new post on the PlayStation Blog, Thumper will be available for the PlayStation VR (and PS4) on October 13:
Thumper contains nine epic levels playable in both ultra-glossy 2D and fully immersive VR. Over the past few months, we’ve made many enhancements to take full advantage of PS VR. We’ve fine-tuned movement speed, the scale of the game world, and our visual effects to create an overwhelming sense of speed and monumental dread. It’s hard to describe if you’ve never been a space beetle on a screaming hell ride before. But no matter which way you play, we think you’ll feel the violence!
Thumper will also be released in a special Collector’s Edition that includes a code for the game and a vinyl soundtrack with cover artwork designed by Robert Beatty.
Energy Hook will swing onto the PC and PS4 next week
Jamie Fristrom, the “Chief Scientist” at Happion Laboratories, has announced that Energy Hook will be released for the PC and PS4 on July 5.
Fristrom was responsible for the swinging mechanic from 2004’s Spider-Man 2, and he’s expanded on that mode of transportation for his latest project. Writing on the PlayStation Blog yesterday, the developer described Energy Hook as “the extreme sport of the future” and compares its trick system to Tony Hawk Pro Skater:
Energy Hook is the extreme sport of the future. You swing from a grapple beam, run on walls, jump and boost with your jetpack, and do flips and poses midair, all to earn style points. Chain your tricks to get multipliers for massive scores.
There are also race challenges where you’ll swing through the levels as quickly as possible. Doing tricks earns you boost and keeps you in the air longer; use this to your advantage and get the best time possible!
Like the early Tony Hawk games there’s no story — it’s all about the gameplay!
If you don’t want to wait, Energy Hook is also now available on Steam through their Early Access program.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Energy Hook