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
- 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: Xbox 360
NBA 2K15 smashes to the top of Oct 2014 best-seller list (yes, even over Smash Bros 3DS)
Even though the month of October saw the release of a new Borderlands game and the first Smash Bros. title for a handheld, NBA 2K15 emerged victorious in The NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games of October 2014.
The basketball sim managed to hold off a pair of new releases as well as the continued sales success of Super Smash Bros. For 3DS (which landed at #2). A trio of new releases, The Evil Within (#3), Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (#4), Skylanders: Trap Team (#6), were close behind.
And believe it or not, but Minecraft continues to hold a spot in the top ten as the retail release of the PlayStation 4 Edition propelled it into #10 on the list. Sunset Overdrive, Microsoft’s big Xbox One exclusive for the Fall, did not make the top ten though Joystiq is reporting that it was the ninth best-selling game among individual titles.
This month’s top ten can be found in a handy list format after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Destiny, FIFA 15, Madden NFL 15, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, Minecraft, NBA 2K15, NPD, Skylanders: Trap Team, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, The Evil Within
New Tales From the Borderlands trailer promises that the series will debut “soon”
Just two days after giving gamers their first taste of Game of Thrones: Iron From Ice, Telltale Games has now gone and announced that Tales From the Borderlands will be available to download in the very near future. A final launch date is still up in the air, but we now know that the first episode of Telltale’s collaboration with Gearbox, “Zer0 Sum,” will be released “soon” for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. An Android and iOS release for Tales From the Borderlands is also planned before the end of the year.
Taking place after Borderlands 2, Tales From the Borderlands will be a new way to experience the planet of Pandora:
You’ll play as Rhys, a Hyperion “suit” with dreams of being the next Handsome Jack, and Fiona, a Pandoran con artist looking to score her biggest ever swindle. Thrown together as unwilling partners in an adventure to recover cash they both think is theirs, their journey will take you on a wild ride where gangsters, bandit lords, and Vault Hunters are just some of the obstacles you’ll encounter, in this new take on the award-winning universe created by Gearbox Software.
Tales From the Borderlands will feature an impressive voice cast that includes Troy Baker as Rhys, Laura Bailey as Fiona, Chris “The Nerdist” Hardwick as Vaughn, Erin Yvette as Sasha, Patrick Warburton as Vasquez, and Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack. You can hear (and see) all of them give it their all in the gameplay trailer above.
Nintendo Download: Lego Batman 3, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Sonic Boom, more
It’s Thursday and that means Nintendo is ready to drop another eShop update on a waiting populace. This week, Nintendo fans can look forward to…
- Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U) – A Sonic game based on the upcoming animated series that focuses on exploration and teamwork.
- Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (Wii U, 3DS) – The latest game in TT Games’ Lego series takes Batman and the rest of the DCU (and Conan O’Brien and Kevin Smith, for some reason) into outer space.
- Mario Kart: Super Circuit (Wii U) – The Game Boy Advance classic is now available through the Virtual Console. Seems fitting that Super Circuit is available on the same day as Mario Kart 8‘s Legend of Zelda DLC Pack.
- A World of Keflings (Wii U) – NinjaBee’s kingdom builder finally makes its way to the Wii U.
- Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) – A side-scrolling Sonic game based on the upcoming animated series.
- Tetris Ultimate (3DS) – The latest rendition of Tetris, this time courtesy of Ubisoft.
- Picross E5 – Nintendo’s latest game in their portable “Picture Crossword” series.
More details about all of these games (as well as a few others releasing this week) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Xbox 360
Tagged Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, Sonic Boom, Tetris Ultimate
Xbox Store Today: AC: Unity, AC: Rogue, Halo Master Chief Collection, Lego Batman 3, more
After the delay of Halo 5: Guardians earlier this year, Microsoft didn’t have any kind of big shooter on their Fall 2014 schedule. Thankfully, Microsoft put out something else today that will surely make all the little Halo fans out there squeal with delight… an Xbox One-exclusive compilation of the first four games in the series known as Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Improved visuals and a complete “Anniversary” makeover for Halo 2 make this the biggest re-release the series has ever seen.
Elsewhere on the Xbox Games Store today is a pair of new Assassin’s Creed games (the Paris-set Assassin’s Creed: Unity on the Xbox One and the Revolutionary Assassin’s Creed: Rogue on the Xbox 360), Konami’s latest soccer sim (Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One), and WB’s latest whimsical Lego adventure (Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One)
More information about all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Telltale’s Game of Thrones will span six episodes and begin with “Iron From Ice”
After announcing it almost a year ago, Telltale Games is finally ready to talk about their Game of Thrones adaptation on their official blog. The first episode, “Iron From Ice,” will debut on the PC (Win/Mac), PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and iOS App Store “soon.” Telltale said that it will also appear on “additional platforms,” but that’s most likely just confirmation that the episodic series will eventually appear on the many, many Android devices out there.
Unlike previous episodic games from Telltale, Game of Thrones will take place over six episodes and will initially take place towards the end of the third season of the show. Future episodes will push the narrative through to the beginning of the fifth season (which will begin airing on HBO in Spring 2015). However, the members of House Forrester that Telltale will spotlight in the game have yet to appear on the popular show:
House Forrester is a noble house from the Wolfswood in the north of Westeros. Bannermen to House Glover, they have always offered unswerving loyalty to the ruling great house of the North – the Starks. The Forresters are seated at Ironrath, an imposing stronghold surrounded by towering ironwood trees. Built over fifteen hundred years ago by Cedric Forrester and his triplet sons, Ironrath is a testament to the strength and endurance of Ironwood. The Forrester house words are “Iron from Ice,” which echoes their belief that – like the ironwood itself – the adverse conditions and unforgiving landscape of the North only makes them stronger.
Ironrath sits on the edge of the largest ironwood forest in Westeros, which has proven to be a strategic advantage for the House. The trees are a valuable commodity; many of the best weapons, ships, and defensive structures include the use of ironwood. House Forrester controls the majority of the ironwood forests in the Wolfswood, much to the chagrin of their bitter rivals, House Whitehill.
All told, players will control five different characters throughout the series, which Telltale promises will up the complexity considerably: “Playing as five characters not only reflects the epic scope of Game of Thrones, but is also something that the player needs to be mindful of. This is because the actions of one character can ripple out to affect the rest of House Forrester. Multiply the actions of one character by five, and you’re truly playing the Game of Thrones… where you win, or you die.”
Game of Thrones: Iron From Ice is expected to be available before the end of the year, but only Telltale knows how soon is “soon.”
Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Valve, others teaming up for The Game Awards 2014
Geoff Keighley is leaving the familiar confines of the Spike TV-sponsored VGX Awards to launch a brand new game industry event: The Game Awards. The VGX Awards polled a wide range of game journalists to select the best games of the year, but The Game Awards will take a different tack. Their advisory board will instead be made up of some of the industry’s biggest executives and developers:
- Reggie Fils-Aime (Nintendo of America)
- Yves Guillemot (Ubisoft)
- Hideo Kojima (Kojima Productions)
- Shawn Layden (Sony Computer Entertainment America)
- Peter Moore (Electronic Arts)
- Phil Spencer (Microsoft)
- Martin Tremblay (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
- An unnamed representative from Rockstar Games
- An unnamed representative from Valve
The nominations for this year’s Game Awards haven’t been announced yet, but we do know that the ceremony will take place on December 5 at the AXIS Theater in Las Vegas. Tickets will go on sale tomorrow and those of us that aren’t planning to attend the live show will be able to watch an online stream of the events through the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Nintendo Network, Steam, and “many other sites and platforms.”
And you’ll probably want to pay close attention as, just like the VGX Awards, the show will feature a series of trailers promoting a variety of upcoming games. Musical performances and appearances by “game developers, eSports players and online content creators” will round out the 2014 Game Awards agenda.
Spike TV has yet to announce whether the VGX Awards will be held this year.
Microsoft has filed a trademark application for Battletoads
Battletoads. Just it’s name should conjure up images of broken controllers and tears of frustration for any kid who lived through the NES era. It is fondly remembered today as one of the most difficult video games of all time and the launching pad for a franchise that would eventually span four more titles.
And yet, the last Battletoads game, an arcade rendition known as Super Battletoads, was released in 1994. The series has laid dormant for 20 years… until now.
Last week, Microsoft filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to revive the Battletoads name. Because this is only a trademark application, it doesn’t mean that a new Battletoads game is necessarily in the works. But it is a very good sign. Especially after the announcement earlier this year that Rare would be changing their “development methodology” and possibly leaving their series of Kinect-based games behind.
New Releases: Halo Master Chief Collection, AC: Unity/AC: Rogue, Lego Batman 3, More
With Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s launch behind us, game publishers have moved forward with a massive amount of mid-November releases. Chief among them (that’s right, I went there) is Microsoft’s Halo: The Master Chief Collection, an Xbox One repackaging of Halo: Combated Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4. More Achievements than you could ever ask for and four of the best shooters to ever grace a gaming system. Not a bad deal. Also available this week is a double shot of Assassin’s Creed from Ubisoft. Assassin’s Creed: Rogue (PS3, Xbox 360) closes the book on the franchise’s “Americas” saga while Assassin’s Creed: Unity (PC, PS4, Xbox One) shifts the series to the French Revolution.
The remaining new releases can also be slotted into several long-running franchises including WB’s Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One), Sega’s Sonic Boom two-fer (Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric on the Wii U and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal on the 3DS), Bandai Namco’s Tales of Hearts R (Vita), and Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One).
Finally this week, Blizzard is back with another World of Warcraft expansion… World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)