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 One
Xbox Store Today: Song of the Deep, Ghostbusters, The Solus Project, more
The Juno space probe parked itself over Jupiter last week, and the first pictures from the mission were sent back today. So now seems like a good time for The Solus Project to exit Microsoft’s Game Preview and become a full-fledged Xbox One game. Developed by Teotl Studios, The Solus Project is an interstellar exploration game where humanity’s last hope has to find a suitable location for a colony… “You must survive.”
Also available this week is Insomniac’s Song of the Deep, which takes players deep into the briny depths of the ocean for a different kind of adventure into the unknown. Described by Insomniac as a “MetroidVania,” Xbox One owners will guide a young girl named Merryn under the sea in Song of the Deep to search for her missing father.
Hopefully Merryn doesn’t find a Cthulhu-like elder god under the ocean, but if she does, we know who she’ll call… Ghostbusters. Rather than adapt the upcoming movie starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, Activision has released an overhead shooter for the Xbox One that pits four rookies against all the Class Five Full-Roaming Vapors of the world.
And finally this week, Iron Galaxy (the developers of Killer Instinct) are back with Videoball, an Xbox One sports game that mashes together “basketball, football, soccer, first-person shooters, and real-time strategy games.” Sure, why not?
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Ghostbusters (2016), Song of the Deep
Blizzard unveils Overwatch’s first post-launch Hero… “Support Sniper” Ana Amari
Blizzard plans to expand Overwatch in the coming months with a number of new Heroes, and the publisher revealed the first this afternoon.
Ana Amari is a “Support Sniper” who’ll be able to revitalize her allies (damage opponents) with darts fired from her Biotic Rifle. The character’s stash of Biotic Grenades will feature similar healing properties when engaged in close-quarters combat.
Overwatch players who want to get a sneak peek at how Ana will operate should check out the gameplay trailer embedded above. And everyone who’s curious about her place in the game’s lore should watch the “Origins” trailer after the break. Apparently, Ana worked closely with the first generation of Overwatch Heroes (including Reaper and Soldier 76), and she’s also known as mom to the offensively-minded Pharah. More details about Ana can be found at the official Play Overwatch site.
Ana Amari, and all of Overwatch’s downloadable Heroes, will be available for free on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime in the near future. (more…)
Here’s a new CoD: Black Ops III Descent DLC Pack trailer ahead of tomorrow’s launch
Call of Duty: Black Ops III players on the PS4 will be able to download the Descent DLC Pack beginning tomorrow… which makes it the perfect time for Activision to release a trailer focusing on the four new multiplayer maps.
With the Descent DLC Pack, players will be able to battle it out in “Empire” (“an authentic Roman villa”), “Cryogen” (a futuristic prison heavily inspired by Demolition Man), “Rumble” (a stadium built for fights between giant robots), and “Berserk” (“a Viking village frozen in time”).
If you’re more interested in the new Zombies map, you might want to know that Sid Shuman of the PlayStation Blog will invite Treyarch’s Director of Zombies, Jason Blundell, to his studio for a special livestream tomorrow at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time).
The Descent DLC Pack will also be available for download on the PC and Xbox One sometime in August.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
NetherRealm will reveal two new Injustice 2 characters at Comic-Con 2016
NetherRealm Studios is bringing Injustice 2 to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and Creative Director Ed Boon wants everyone (on Twitter) to know that two more playable characters from the game will be revealed during an “Injustice 2 Sneak Peek” panel.
In addition to new characters, Boon and his fellow panelists will talk about the Injustice comic and show off a brand new gameplay trailer on Friday, July 22:
Join panelists Ed Boon (creative director, NetherRealm Studios, and co-creator of Mortal Kombat), New York Times best-selling author Tom Taylor (Injustice: Gods Among Us) and a stellar group of actors – George Newbern (Scandal) as Superman, Phil LaMarr (MadTV, Futurama) as Aquaman, Laura Bailey (Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Lego Dimensions) as Supergirl – and possibly some surprise guests as they reveal exciting new gameplay and discuss new features and breakthrough customization aspects that expands on the previous title’s larger-than-life showdowns of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains.
Also to be discussed: the bestselling Digital First Comic – Injustice: Gods Among Us.
Injustice 2 will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One sometime next year.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2016, Injustice 2
New Retail Releases: Ghostbusters, Song of the Deep, Monster Hunter Generations, More
I ain’t afraid of no monsters! And it’s a good thing too, because Capcom will launch the latest game in the Monster Hunter series, Monster Hunter Generations, for the 3DS this week. Players will be able to go on hundreds of quests as they hunt a new crop of monstrous bosses by themselves or in a group with up to three friends in co-op multiplayer mode.
Monsters of the ocean haunt Insomniac’s side-scrolling Song of the Deep, a new “MetroidVania” available this week for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. As the first game published by GameStop’s GameTrust label, Song of the Deep will introduce players to Merryn, a young girl who goes under the sea to rescue her missing father.
Ghosts and zombies are monsters too, and I’m not afraid of them either… Activision will release Ghostbusters, a tie-in to the upcoming movie starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, for the PS4 and Xbox One. And Capcom will re-release Resident Evil 5 for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Finally this week, Sega will launch 7th Dragon III: Code VFD, the first game in the RPG franchise to be released outside of Japan, for the 3DS.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Ghostbusters (2016), Monster Hunter Generations, Resident Evil 5, Song of the Deep
Carmageddon: Max Damage, Dex added to Xbox Store; Red Dead Redemption joins Xbox One Backwards Compatibility List
Two new Xbox One games are now available to download through the Xbox Games Store, but it’s the addition of a much-requested Xbox 360 game to the Backwards Compatibility list that’ll get everyone talking this week.
But let’s start with the new releases, including Carmageddon: Max Damage for the Xbox One, the first new entry in the franchise in almost two decades. But in all that time, the vehicular violence is still the same as players will be asked to wreck their opponents in a destruction derby, chase down pedestrians, and cause maximum chaos. Also available for the Xbox One this week is Dex, a futuristic RPG that pays homage to the genre’s 1990s heyday.
While those titles will surely be interesting to many gamers out there, Red Dead Redemption‘s addition to the Xbox One Backwards Compatibility list is the big story this week. Rockstar’s epic western was an award-winning juggernaut back in 2010, and it’s just as well-loved today. To celebrate the game’s Xbox One debut, Rockstar has also decided to give away most of the game’s DLC expansions (including the Legends and Killers Pack, Liars and Cheats Pack, Myths and Mavericks Pack, Hunting and Trading Pack, and Outlaws to the End) for free. And while the Undead Nightmare expansion isn’t free, it’s price has been slashed to $9.99. Yee-haw!
More information on today’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Red Dead Redemption
Resident Evil 4 will shamble onto the PS4 and Xbox One on August 30
Previously scheduled to launch this Fall, Capcom has revealed that their Resident Evil 4 re-release for the PS4 and Xbox One will be available to download much earlier than expected. According to the Capcom-Unity blog, the zombie shooter will be added to the PlayStation Store and Xbox Games Store later this Summer, on August 30.
In addition to delivering a new release date, the Capcom-Unity blog also detailed some of the bonus features that’ll be included in Resident Evil 4 for the PS4 and Xbox One:
This current release of Resident Evil 4 on PS4 and Xbox One includes all the bonus content from the original game, as well as additional features that were added in later versions. The mysterious and elusive Ada Wong stars in her own side story, which fills in intriguing story gaps from Leon’s mission. Mercenaries Mode – the addicting evolution of RE3’s bonus mode – is awarded to players who complete the campaign, providing hours of replayability and lets fans play as Wesker, Hunk, and more iconic characters.
RE4 also boasts some of the most satisfying New Game Plus action ever, allowing players to bring their powerful arsenal, unlocked costumes, and other secret weapons into a fresh playthrough. Want to focus on yourself instead of protecting Ashley? Equip her with the knight armor costume and laugh as enemy’s attempt to attack her or carry her off with futility. Leon’s Chicago Typewriter – an insanely powerful Tommy Gun – also provides a fun power trip if you have enough cash to give the infamous Merchant.
A PS4/Xbox One retail release for Resident Evil 4 will be announced at a later date.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Resident Evil 4
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).