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
Deadpool breaks the fourth wall on the PS4, Xbox One this November
Possibly in an attempt to capitalize on this Winter’s upcoming movie with Ryan Reynolds, Activision will bring Deadpool to the PS4 and Xbox One on November 17.
Announced by GameStop (via their Twitter account), the new-generation port will be developed by High Moon Studios, the same team behind the original PS3/Xbox 360 game. It’s unknown if Deadpool will look any prettier on the PS4 and Xbox One, but the developer plans to include all of the game’s downloadable content (two bonus levels and two alternate costumes) as part of the PS4/Xbox One package.
Finally, GameStop confirmed that the re-release will retail for $49.99, so be prepared to pay a premium to play as Deadpool on your new-generation console of choice.
Kickstart This! Anniversary Interview: Bendik Stang of Snowcastle Games Takes A Turn to Talk About Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Earthlock: Festival of Magic was one of those rare Kickstarter projects that immediately grabbed our attention with its strong, colourful art direction, firm sense of genre, and polished gameplay. Its ambition was only matched by the passion of small Norwegian outfit Snowcastle Games, who, with only a couple of games under its belt, sought $150,000 to make a huge RPG for both PC gamers as well as the new generation of consoles. Originally featured in March 2014’s Guinness Aftermath Edition of Kickstart This!, Earthlock: Festival of Magic is expected to be released for the PC, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox One later this year.
We caught up with Bendik Stang, Snowcastle’s Game Director, earlier this year to talk about the team’s progress from campaign to nearly-finished product, as well as their experience at the 2015 Game Developers Conference. He even shared two brand new pieces of concept art with us… (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, PS4, Top Story, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Earthlock: Festival of Magic
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will launch in four editions on March 18, 2016
It’s time! Sony has announced that Nathan Drake will return in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on March 18, 2016. Not only that, but the consolemaker has also confirmed that Drake’s PS4 debut will be available in four separate editions. Obviously, the standard edition will be available on retail store shelves and through the PlayStation Store for $59.99. It’s the three other editions where things get interesting…
The Special Edition of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will be priced at $79.99 and includes the following bonus items:
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Blu-ray Disc
- Collectible Steelbook Case designed by Alexander “That Kid Who Draws” Iaccarino
- 48-page hardcover Art Book by Dark Horse and Naughty Dog
- Naughty Dog & Pirate Sigil Sticker Sheet
- Naughty Dog Points: A pack of in-game currency to unlock various multiplayer content
However, if you’re just itching to obtain a Nathan Drake statue, the Libertalia Collector’s Edition ($119.99) is what you want. It includes everything from the Special Edition as well as the following bonus items:
- A 12″ premium Nathan Drake Statue by Gentle Giant
- Multiplayer Outfits: Drake’s Fortune, Heist Drake, and Desert Drake
- Custom Weapon Skins: Golden Weapon Skin and Desert Weapon Skin
- Other In-Game Items: Henry Avery Sigil Ball Cap and Madagascar Sidekick Outfits
Finally, the Digital Deluxe Edition will be available exclusively through the PlayStation Store for $79.99. What it lacks in physical bonus items, it makes up for with in-game content:
- A digital copy of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Uncharted 4 Triple Pack: Includes future access to the first-ever, single-player story add-on for the Uncharted series and two multiplayer packs that will unlock new, rare, and legendary multiplayer items
- Instant unlock of two multiplayer customization items
You can head over to the PlayStation Blog for a look at each edition of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, as well as details on additional pre-order bonuses through GameStop, Amazon, and the PlayStation Store.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged PAX Prime 2015, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be available on February 23, 2015… or 4 days earlier if enough people pre-order it
In some alternate universe, the “Can’t Kill Progress” pre-reveal for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided kept gamers riveted to their screens as we learned more about Adam Jensen’s next mission. Sadly, in our reality, “Can’t Kill Progress” was a sleepy bust that plodded along for three days, eventually culminating in the re-unveiling of a game that Square Enix first announced more than a year before.
But to be fair, the game’s debut trailer was pretty fantastic.
Instead of learning their lesson, Square Enix has decided to double down on this sort of ridiculousness with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s just-announced “Augment Your Pre-Order” campaign. The game will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 23, 2015, and players who decide to pre-order it will be able to customize their “Day One Edition” by choosing bonus items from a quintet of tiers. However, each tier will remain locked until a pre-determined number of players put down money to pre-order the game. But if enough players buy in to Square Enix’s scheme and unlock all five tiers, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released four days early on February 19.
The public will also have the option to bypass all this nonsense by pre-ordering the Collector’s Edition, which includes every piece of “Day One” content, a 48-page Titan Art Book, a nine-inch Adam Jensen figurine, and a limited edition Steelbook case.
If you are interested in pre-ordering Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and you want to know more about how the tiers work, we’ve got more information for you about the scheme after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, PAX Prime 2015
New Releases: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Mad Max, More
This week truly marks the end of an era as Konami plans to release Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. While neither side has officially commented on the matter, this will likely be the last Metal Gear game produced by Hideo Kojima before he leaves the company. His series of political actioners has certainly left a lasting impression with gamers, and even if the franchise continues, he will be missed.
If this news make you angry, perhaps you can turn to Mad Max for advice on how to react. Developed by Avalanche and set to be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, the open roads of the game’s open world seem perfect for Max. And if you can’t get enough of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic hero, don’t forget that Mad Max: Fury Road is available on Blu-ray this week too.
Finally this week, a pair of games are being re-released in new retail editions for the PS4 and Xbox One. Ubisoft’s Far Cry 4: Complete Edition includes the original game and all of its Season Pass content, while Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons brings Starbreeze’s small adventure to retails shelves for the first time.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Pulling Back the Curtain: The Importance of the Double Fine Adventure Documentary
Recently, 2 Player Productions wrapped production on Double Fine Adventure, a documentary series that followed the development of Broken Age. It was revolutionary in the gaming scene, being the only documentary to ever follow a studio developing a game from its conceptualization through its release and aftermath. Before it, the average game player had only ever seen brief snippets of development from single-person games or small indie teams. Double Fine was the first developer to pull back that curtain on game development, a feat arguably more important than its rocketing of Kickstarter into the mainstream, and unquestionably having a bigger impact on the industry and the community than Broken Age itself. If we’re being honest, Double Fine completely mismanaged their Kickstarter funds, and Broken Age isn’t great. But by “showing how the sausage gets made,” as studio founder Tim Schafer put it, Double Fine made their campaign more than worth it, and left a long-lasting contribution to the industry.
Until DFA came out, game development was a mystical secret that no one outside the industry could begin to comprehend. So much of it was mysterious that many who wanted to be in the industry viewed it with rose-tinted glasses: a dream job where they could play all day. All we knew about game development beforehand were the two extremes. There were the developers that talked in interviews about how great it was, coming to work and hanging out with cool people, getting to create great games that everybody loves. We also read the headlines about developers losing their jobs, and studios being shut down. That or it was about developers going mad in “crunch time” having to work 80 hour weeks. In fact, Double Fine gives us a good example with the Tim Schafter episode of G4’s Icons, when he took us briefly behind the scenes of production on Psychonauts.
We never knew what it was really like, not until Double Fine showed us. (more…)
Minecraft: Story Mode will be playable at PAX Prime 2015
The 2015 PAX Prime expo begins in just a few hours, and if you’re in Seattle waiting to get in, you might be pleased to learn that Telltale Games will have a playable demo of Minecraft: Story Mode at their booth (#3117) this year. According to the developer, this is the first time the game will be playable by anyone outside their office, so this is quite the opportunity for PAX Prime attendees.
A lucky few will also have the chance to acquire an expo-exclusive Minecraft: Story Mode t-shirt. And actually, there will be four different shirt designs, one for each day. Telltale has also said there’s a chance some could collect all four:
[F]rom Saturday onward we’ll have a limited number of the day’s t-shirts reserved each morning for people who visit us wearing one of the previous day’s designs. No need to play the beta again, just wear the shirt! So if you play on the first day and are quick getting to our booth each morning thereafter, you might just manage to collect all four designs.
Minecraft: Story Mode will follow Jesse (Patton Oswalt) and his friends as they attempt to revive the Order of the Stone and save the world from an Ender Dragon. The first episode (of five) is expected to premiere this Fall on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices (iOS and Android).
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Minecraft: Story Mode, PAX Prime 2015
Rainbow Mika joins Street Fighter V and will be playable at PAX Prime this weekend
Capcom has announced that Rainbow Mika, or R. Mika as she’s more commonly known, is the latest character to be added to Street Fighter V. Not only that, but the wrestler will be included in Street Fighter V’s playable PAX Prime demo, which will available in Capcom’s booth (#3103) this weekend in Seattle. If you’re unfamiliar with R. Mika (her only previous appearance is in Street Fighter Alpha 3), here’s what Capcom had to say about her on the Capcom-Unity blog:
As an aspiring young wrestler, Mika dreamed of one day becoming a star in the ring, much like her idol Zangief. Training under the strict tutelage of her coach, she traveled the world engaging in random matches with street fighters in order to spread her name and popularity. R. Mika’s wrestling prowess will be on full display in Street Fighter V, as she dazzles opponents with a wide variety of high-flying moves. This time around, her wrestling tag-team partner Nadeshiko assists in the fight! By calling Nadeshiko at the right time using R. Mika’s V-Trigger ability, players will be able to set up sneaky attacks and punishing command grab mix-ups that are sure to deliver devastating amounts of damage. Players who enjoy putting on a stunning display of fear-inducing close-combat guessing games will find R. Mika a colorful and rewarding way to play.
V-Skill: Mic Performance
R. Mika pulls out her trusty microphone and gives a heart-pumping monologue to the crowd. The longer the buttons are held down, the more powerful her normal and special throws become! During her monologue state, she is able to absorb one hit from the opponent and can also cancel the speech at any time by letting go of the buttons, causing her to fling the mic at the opponent.V-Trigger: Nadeshiko (3 Variations)
Now this is wrestling! Depending on the direction held during the V-Trigger activation, R. Mika’s faithful tag-team partner will deliver a surprising, high flying attack at the opponent from different angles: neutral (body splash from above), hold back (dropkick from the front), hold forward (dropkick from behind). The different variations keep opponents guessing and afraid to hit buttons, perfectly setting up R. Mika’s damaging command throws.
Street Fighter V will be released for the PC and PS4 in Spring 2016.
Posted in News, PC, PS4
Tagged PAX Prime 2015, Street Fighter V