Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game 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: Wii U
NBA 2K16, Madden NFL 16 lead off September 2015’s top ten list of best-selling games
Sports! Sports! Sports! Sports!
Sports! Sports! Sports! Sports!
With the Fall gaming rush off to a slow start, Electronic Arts and 2K Games more-or-less split the month with four sports titles in the NPD Group’s monthly top ten. NBA 2K16 slammed it home to take the #1 spot, while EA’s Madden NFL 16 slipped to #2 in its second month on the chart. Rounding out this month’s murderer’s row was FIFA 16, which bicycled kicked its way into the #4 spot; and NHL 16, which safely skated into the #9 spot.
While most of this Fall’s biggest games are still a few weeks away, new releases did take up the majority of the remaining slots. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain sent off Hideo Kojima in style with a #3 ranking, while Bungie’s Destiny: The Taken King expansion took the #5 spot. Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker was the only platform-exclusive title to break into the top ten and it did so at #6. A pair of licensed games, Disney Infinity: Star Wars at #7 and Mad Max at #8, claimed the next two spots.
Finally, Minecraft continues to hold on by claiming the #10 slot. Expect Mojang’s creation to rise as we get closer to the holiday shopping season.
September 2015’s top ten can be viewed in handy list format after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Destiny, Disney Infinity: Star Wars, FIFA 16, Mad Max, Madden NFL 16, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Minecraft, NBA 2K16, NHL 16, NPD, Super Mario Maker
New Releases: Guitar Hero Live, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, More
Are you ready to rock? I said… are you… Ready. To. Rock? Activision is certainly ready to rock as they’ve brought back the Guitar Hero franchise this week with the release of Guitar Hero Live . Scheduled for launch on the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One in a Standard Edition and Two Guitar Bundle, Guitar Hero Live will include more than 100 songs on the disc and an ever-changing lineup of artists available through its GHTV mode.
But Guitar Hero Live isn’t the only arena act looking to put on an encore this week. New entries in four of gaming’s biggest franchises will soon be available in stores:
- Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (PS4 and Xbox One) brings the Templars-versus-Assassins saga to Victorian England. And you better believe that Jack the Ripper is involved (though not until the downloadable expansion).
- The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is yet another multiplayer Zelda game, this time for the 3DS.
- Tales of Zestiria is the latest Tales game from Bandai Namco and the first to appear simultaneously on the PC, PS3, and PS4.
- Just Dance 2016 (PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One) and Just Dance: Disney Party 2 (Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One) will have you beboppin’ and scattin’ all over your living room one more time.
Finally this week, Microsoft is releasing Halo 5: Guardians a week early if you’re willing to pay extra for it (sort of). The Limited Collector’s Edition includes a digital download of the game, but it won’t unlock until next Tuesday, October 27. You can also spring for the 1 TB Xbox One + Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition Bundle, which features a Halo-themed Xbox One system, along with a digital download of Halo 5 that won’t unlock until next Tuesday.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Guitar Hero Live, Halo 5: Guardians, Just Dance 2016, Tales of Zestiria, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
Nintendo Download: Yoshi’s Wooly World, New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U, more
Mario and friends have taken over this week’s Nintendo Download.
Yoshi is back and starring in his first original console game in a long time. Yoshi’s Wooly World, developed by Good-Feel, is a side-scroller for the Wii U that wraps Yoshi’s entire world in yarn and asks him to save the day. Is he up to the task? He’ll take a lick at it, that’s for sure.
Also available this week is New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U, a bundled edition of the Wii U’s first Mario game and its brotherly expansion. If you own a Wii U, there’s a very good chance you’ve already played one or both of these games, but if you haven’t, this bundle is a good a time as any to give them a shot.
Finally this week, Capcom will bring Final Fight One to the Wii U’s Virtual Console. Originally released for the Game Boy Advance, Final Fight One is a remake of one of the Super NES’s best beat ’em ups.
More information on all of these games, along with a few others (including a BASIC programming tutor for the 3DS), can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged New Super Luigi U, New Super Mario Bros. U, Yoshi's Woolly World
Here’s a new Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water trailer before its October 22 launch
Nintendo is all set to release Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water for the Wii U next week, but first they want to scare the pants off any prospective players with this “Extremely Spoopy” new trailer.
Maiden of the Black Water takes place on Mount Hikami, a fictional forest that’s based on Aokigahara, a Japanese region that is more popularly known as “Suicide Forest.” The creepy and terrifying woods look to be the perfect locale for the horror game, and the trailer doesn’t skimp on the scares. And things really get crazy once the heroine is given the Camera Obscura, which illuminates the spirits that haunt the mountain.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water will be available to download exclusively through the Wii U eShop on October 22. A full-featured “Free To Start” demo will also be released on the same day.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Fatal Frame 5
New Releases: Yoshi’s Woolly World, Dragon Quest Heroes, Wasteland 2, More
Wooly dinosaurs, dimension-hopping heroes, and the return of a classic strategy RPG series highlight this week in new games.
Yoshi’s Woolly World for the Wii U is Good-Feel’s second attempt at yarn-ifying a beloved Nintendo character. Expanding on many of the ideas they used in Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Yoshi’s Woolly World is a ridiculously cute side-scroller that’ll also include extensive Amiibo support.
There’s no yarn, but Square Enix and Koei Tecmo tie together the various Dragon Quest dimensions in Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below for the PS4. Much like last year’s Hyrule Warriors, Dragon Quest Heroes uses Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors franchise as a template to create a brand new hack and slash game.
If you’re looking for something a little more tactical, this week also marks the release of Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut on the PS4 and Xbox One. More than just a simple turn-based RPG, Wasteland 2 is the first direct sequel to 1988’s Wasteland, which served as the inspiration for the Fallout franchise.
Finally this week, we’ve got a pair of re-releases that might be of interest to those who missed them the first time around. In honor of the movie’s 30th anniversary, Telltale has remastered their Back to the Future game for the PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. And over on the Wii U, Nintendo has finally bundled together New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U on a single disc.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Back to the Future, Dragon Quest Heroes, New Super Luigi U, New Super Mario Bros. U, Wasteland 2, Yoshi's Woolly World
Shovel Knight disc release pushed back to November 3; Xbox One release canceled
Yacht Club Games dug themselves into a bit of a hole with the recent release of the Plague of Shadows expansion for Shovel Knight. Finishing touches for the add-on took a bit longer than expected, and a desire to include it on the game disc has forced the developer to push Shovel Knight’s planned October 13 retail release to November 3.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Xbox One edition of the game won’t be released at all. Writing on their official website, “We really gave it our best effort, but unfortunately, because of publishing policies on that platform that are totally beyond our control, we couldn’t make it happen.” The developer will continue to negotiate with Microsoft for the right to publish a retail version of Shovel Knight on the Xbox One, but as of right now, it’s in “indefinite limbo.”
Yacht Club also revealed the retail version of Shovel Knight will be priced at $24.99 (instead of the expected $19.99) when it’s released. The developer said they were forced into this pricing tier to keep the game out of the dreaded “bargain bin.” However, to make up for the $5 price increase, all copies of the game will come with a download code for the Jake Kaufman-penned soundtrack.
So, to recap… The physical version of Shovel Knight will be released for the 3DS, PS4, and Wii U on November 3, but the Xbox One launch has been indefinitely postponed. The game will also be priced at $24.99, but that cost will include a free soundtrack download.
Also, don’t forget that Shovel Knight is now available to download on the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One through each platform’s digital storefront.
New Lego Avengers trailer reveals levels based on Iron Man 3, Captain America 1+2, Thor 2
Lego Avengers got a whole lot bigger during a New York Comic-Con panel today as WB Games and TT Games revealed that the game will also include levels based on Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Playable scenes from these four movies will join the previously announced Lego-ized adaptations of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Lego Avengers will be released on January 26, 2016 for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Activision adds 12 “fan-favorite tracks” to Guitar Hero Live
I honestly thought Activision would call it a day after the Guitar Hero Live tracklist ballooned to 110 songs, but it looks like I was wrong. This morning, the publisher announced that 12 more songs would be included on the game disc, all of which have been featured in previous Guitar Hero games. There’s a lot of good stuff to be found in this latest tracklist update, especially if you’re a fan of 80s/90s rock:
- AFI – “Girl’s Not Grey”
- Audioslave – “Cochise”
- Disturbed – “Down with the Sickness”
- Faith No More – “Epic”
- Incubus – “Drive”
- Living Colour – “Cult of Personality”
- Pat Benatar – “Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Live)”
- Queen – “We Are the Champions”
- Ratt – “Round and Round”
- Slipknot – “Before I Forget”
- Survivor – “Eye of the Tiger”
- Warrant – “Cherry Pie”
Guitar Hero Live will be released in less than two weeks, on October 20, for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices. If you want to dive deep into the entire tracklist, Activision has created a Spotify playlist that’ll keep you busy for exactly seven hours and 40 minutes.