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: Xbox 360
Bethesda reveals Dishonored, a new FPS from Arkane Studios
Bethesda announced that they had acquired Arkane Studios at last year’s QuakeCon. Today, they’re finally ready to talk about the developer’s next project. Arkane Studios, with Raphael Colantonio (Arx Fatalis and Harvey Smith (Deus Ex) at the helm, will be bringing Dishonored to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012.
Publisher and developer had very little to say about Dishonored after that, but thankfully, they talked to Game Informer and the magazine plans to put the game on the cover of its August 2011 issue. Along with that cover story comes the first real description of the game:
Dishonored is the antithesis of a edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride. It’s a game about assassination where you don’t have to kill anyone. It’s a game about infiltration where you can set up traps and slaughter the entire garrison of an aristocrat’s mansion rather than sneak in. It’s a game about brutal violence where you can slip in and out of a fortified barracks with nobody ever knowing you were there. It’s a game about morality and player choice where the world you create is based on your actions, not navigating conversation trees.
Sounds intense. We’ll learn more when the August 2011 issue of Game Informer hits newsstands, which should be happening any day now.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Dishonored
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to match original score
Halo fans worrying about the handling of the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary remake can rest a bit easier. Microsoft and 343 Industries are teaming with Pyramind Studios to recreate the original score, note for note. The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and Chanticleer vocal ensemble will also collaborate to recreate the orchestral pieces and famed Halo monk-like singing.
“It was a huge undertaking to transcribe, orchestrate, and produce every note from the original game soundtrack files” said Paul Lipson, Pyramind Studios COO/Audio Director. “Our team approached every aspect of the music with an immense amount of skill and care, keeping the core Halo sound while updating the production to today’s highest standards.”
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary releases for Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Halo: Combat Evolved
XBLA Today: Dead Block, Deadliest Warrior 2, MLB Bobblehead Pros
As the 2011 Summer of Arcade approaches, Microsoft has opened the Xbox Live Arcade floodgates and added three titles to the service today.
Dead Block goes all Night of the Living Dead on us as three survivors are trapped in a house with the zombie horde banging on the door. But instead of shooting their way out, this trio must barricade themselves inside and set traps for the unstoppable undead.
Deadliest Warrior: Legends is the sequel to last year’s XBLA fighting game and features a new assortment of historical personages battling it out for historical bragging rights. Dracula versus Braveheart, why didn’t I think of that?
Finally, Konami brings their cartoony take on the national pasttime, MLB Bobblehead Pros, to the XBLA just in time for next week’s All-Star Game.
All three games have been priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and more information on each title can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Deadliest Warrior: Legends
Michael Pachter predicts Duke Nukem Forever sales to disappoint
Industry analyst Michael Pachter is shoring up his sales prediction for the highly anticipated Duke Nukem Forever, and it’s not good. Originally expected to sell roughly three million copies in its first quarter, The Pach is now tempering that expectation to 1.5 million. While that would be a respectable number for most games, it’s seen as quite underwhelming for a series with such a legendary place in gaming, not to mention over a decade of hype. The lukewarm critical reception seems to be responsible for a lot of the game’s troubles.
“We had previously expected Duke to be one of the year’s top sellers due to a high degree of hype and a dedicated fan base, and expected solid profit contribution as the bulk of development had been previously expensed,” said Pachter in a note to investors. “However, the game’s poor reviews (average Metacritic score of 49) likely had a negative impact on sales, causing us to lower our [first quarter] sell-in estimate to 1.5 million units from 3 million units.”
It isn’t all bad for Take Two, who bet on Duke, as L.A. Noire‘s success at retail has been well documented.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Duke Nukem Forever
New Catherine trailer is a real nightmare; demo announced
Poor Vincent. Everything in his life seemed normal – he had his friends, his hang-out spot, and a girlfriend named Katherine. But as soon as Katherine starts pressuring him for marriage, strange things start to happen. This trailer shows one of Vincent’s sheep-filled nightmares, and also reminds us of the strange deaths of young men as reported on the news. The waitress confides to Vincent that she heard all the men who died are cheaters.
In addition to the above trailer, Atlus has announced that gamers who want a taste of Vincent’s trippy breakdown adventure before Catherine‘s release date will be able to download a demo from the PlayStation Store or Xbox Live Marketplace starting next week.
I don’t know about you guys, but when Catherine launches on July 26, I plan to be wearing Vincent’s t-shirt and boxers while I play this game. I’ll scream into the pillow when I get too scared. Be sure to pre-order the deluxe edition for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
Rockstar may dissolve relationship with Team Bondi
Things are not looking good for Team Bondi, the studio behind L.A. Noire, after allegations of cruel management and an investigation into such by the IGDA. Now, the Sydney, Australia-based company may need to look for a new publisher.
“Rockstar used to be very keen on making Team Bondi something like ‘Rockstar Sydney’ – the more they worked with Team Bondi management, the more they came to understand that this was a terrible idea,” an anonymous source told Industry Gamers. “I’ve heard a lot about Rockstar’s disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi’s next game.”
Of course, it’s hard to question the management of a game that turned out so good, but the source claims, “Rockstar also pitched in with programmers, animators, artists, QA, etc. Part of the conflict between Team Bondi and Rockstar was due to Rockstar’s frustration with Team Bondi’s direction, and eventually Team Bondi’s management in turn resented Rockstar for taking lots of creative control.”
I seriously doubt Team Bondi will have a hard time searching for a new publisher given how well the game has sold. But hopefully the studio can adequately deal with a lot of the negative press it has received.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged L.A. Noire
Second Chances: 5 Games That Deserve Another Look
Gaming is a time-consuming hobby. Unlike music or movies, which require a minimal investment, video games can be lengthy and involved affairs. As such, it’s much easier to miss out on really good games that come and go without much notice. Perhaps it’s because of a bad release date, or maybe it just didn’t get heavy distribution or advertising. Hell, maybe it doesn’t have a good Metacritic score, or it was completely ignored on gaming message boards. Regardless of the reason why, some games just don’t make it, and that’s a shame. That’s why we’re here, though – to pick out some unheralded gems and give them the attention they so richly deserve. They might not be able to compete with the heaviest of hitters, the so-called “AAA” games that sell millions, but they present entertaining gaming experiences all the same. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS3, Top Story, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Singularity, The Saboteur
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Collector’s Edition: longbow not included
The Lord of the Rings is a huge franchise, and as such, WB Games is preparing a $130 collector’s edition for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
The awesome quiver to your left contains the game, an art book, three songs from the soundtrack, and a behind-the-scenes DVD about the making of the game. The Xbox 360 version also comes with a Ranger XBL Avatar, while the PlayStation 3 version includes a Theme Pack. I got to check out War in the North at the last two PAXes, and I have to say, it does look pretty good. If you’re a Rings fan, this is one collector’s edition you may not become ashamed of.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North releases on August 24 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged The Lord of the Rings: War in the North