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
Minecraft: Story Mode’s fourth episode will be released on December 22
Get ready to put some cookies and milk, Telltale Games has announced they’ll be dropping down your chimney to deliver the fourth episode of Minecraft: Story Mode for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices on December 22 (Vita and Wii U versions are also in the works). If you’ve been playing along with the first three episodes, here’s what shenanigans you can expect to get up to in A Block and a Hard Place:
In Episode Four, with the fearsome Wither Storm more dangerous than ever, Jesse, Reuben, and the crew discover there is one thing that can destroy the command block at the heart of the monster – but they’ll need to brave the perils of the Farlands to find it. As uneasy allies and ailing friends threaten to tear the group apart, can they defeat the Wither Storm in their final battle? And what sacrifices must be made to succeed? Find out in Episode Four’s epic “Wither Storm Finale” that will turn the page on one chapter, before adventures may begin anew…
According to Telltale, Minecraft: Story Mode’s fifth episode will be released sometime in early 2016.
CoD: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, SW: Battlefront lead November 2015’s best-selling games
Not surprisingly, a trio of shooters took the top three spots in the NPD Group’s recounting of November 2015’s best-selling games.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III scored another big win for Activision (and the Black Ops sub-series) with its claim on the top spot. It was followed by Fallout 4 at #2 and Star Wars: Battlefront at #3. With shooters holding on to the top of the list, sports games looked in for the next four places… Madden NFL 16 (#4), NBA 2K16 (#5), FIFA 16 (#6), and Need For Speed (#7). What? I’m sure someone, somewhere, thinks of illegal street racing as a sport.
The final three spots in the NPD’s November 2015 list include repeat appearances from Halo 5: Guardians (#8) and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (#9), along with a strong Black Firday-assisted performance from Just Dance 2016 (#10).
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD’s Liam Callahan confirmed that the PS4 and Xbox One are having a monster Fall: “After 25 months, the combined sales for the PS4 and the Xbox One are 47% higher than the combined sales for 25 months of PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware sales.”
You can find the NPD’s November 2015 top ten in handy list format after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, FIFA 16, Halo 5: Guardians, Just Dance 2016, Madden NFL 16, NBA 2K16, Need For Speed, NPD, Star Wars: Battlefront
Lichdom: Battlemage will be released for PS4, Xbox One on March 22
Maximum Games and Xaviant have announced their magic-based first person shooter, Lichdom: Battlemage, will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One on March 22, 2016. Now available for the PC through Steam, Lichdom drops the cool downs and mana bars to foster a more action-packed atmosphere:
Lichdom: Battlemage centers on the concept of unbridled power and magic with absolutely no mana bars and zero cool downs. When the wicked overlord known as Shax rips your closest loved one from the world, you set out on a journey to hunt him down. Before you embark on your quest for vengeance, a wizard grants you unlimited magical powers and designates you “Dragon,” the most powerful battlemage on earth.
“The game is classic in its storytelling, yet completely unique in its gameplay,” said Christina Seelye, CEO of Maximum Games. “Like most magic games, there are definite RPG elements, but the game is pure action – through and through.”
The publisher and developer have also released a new trailer for Lichdom: Battlemage to accompany their announcement. You can find it embedded above.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Lichdom: Battlemage
Xbox Store Today: Starwahl, Baseball Riot
Xbox One owners will have two new choices on the Xbox Games Store today… one where aquatic mammals battle it out in space and a baseball-themed puzzle platformer.
Breakfall’s Starwahl is a multiplayer battler about a group of narwhals, those scientifically-unbelievable horned whales that live in the Arctic, fighting each other in space. Meanwhile, Baseball Riot is a puzzle platformer that puts players in the spikes of retired ballplayer Gabe Carpaccio as he goes on a quest to rescue his former teammates using only a bat, a ball, and an Einstein-like understanding of physics.
More information on both of these rather unbelievable games can be found after the break. (more…)
Bethesda opens studio in Montreal to work on “bleeding-edge of RPG development”
Hot off the monumental success of Fallout 4, Bethesda has founded a new settlement in the wilds of Canada with the opening of a brand new studio in Montreal. Bethesda Game Studios Montreal will be lead by Yves Lachance (Fallout Shelter) and currently has a core team of 40 people. However, Bethesda has announced plans to expand the studio, and is currently recruiting developers to work on “the bleeding-edge of RPG development for the PC and consoles.”
“We’ve worked with some very talented developers in Montreal for a long time, and decided it was time to open a studio there,” said Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios. “It’s exciting to think about the new games we’ll be building together.”
Bethesda’s many successes definitely give the team a few options for their first project. They could be spearheading one of Fallout 4’s upcoming expansions, working on a New Vegas-style spinoff, or maybe even doing pre-production work on the all-but-confirmed Elder Scrolls VI. Let us know what you think Bethesda Game Studios Montreal is working on in the comments below.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Russia have been delayed into 2016
Ubisoft’s side-scrolling Assassin’s Creed Chronicles series has suffered another setback as the release dates of Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia have been pushed back into 2016. Originally scheduled to launch before the end of the year, Ubisoft will now release Chronicles: India on January 12 and Chronicles: Russia on February 9.
Both games, along with Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China, will also be packaged together in a special “Trilogy” bundle on February 9. A digital download will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, while a retail disc will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One. Ubisoft also plans to release the “Trilogy” bundle for the Vita on April 5.
If you’re not familiar with the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles series, Ubisoft had this to say about both titles:
The second episode, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, throws players into the tension between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company in 1841. When a Master Templar arrives with a mysterious item that used to belong to the Assassin Order, Arbaaz Mir must discover why the Templar has come, steal back the item and protect his friends and his lover.
The final episode, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia, takes place in 1918 when Assassin Nikolai Orelov must complete one last mission for the Assassin Order before he can leave with his family. His mission: infiltrate the house where the Tsar’s family is being held by the Bolsheviks and steal an artifact that has been fought over by Assassins and Templars for centuries. While too late to save the Tsar’s entire family, he manages to save the princess, Anastasia, whom he must protect as he escapes the Templars with her and the artifact in tow.
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India and Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia will both be priced at $9.99 apiece. Unsurprisingly, the “Trilogy” bundle will be priced at $29.99.
Harmonix adds three “intense” metal tunes to Rock Band 4 Music Store in today’s DLC Update; Brutal Mode added in a free update
Harmonix is getting loud in this week’s Rock Band 4 DLC Update as they’ve added new music from a trio of progressive metal bands to the Music Store. Priced at $1.99 apiece, Between the Buried and Me’s “The Coma Machine,” Opeth’s “Heir Apparent,” and Symphony X’s “Nevermore” can be downloaded now.
The hits keep on coming as the developer also added a brand new gameplay mode to Rock Band 4 today in a special free update. Brutal Mode will “put even the most hardcore players’ skills to the test” as it modifies the note highway to react to how well you’re playing. As your playing improves, Brutal Mode will push the target line further up the note highway until most of it is hidden. Players who complete this ridiculous challenge, which you can see in the trailer embedded above, will earn the coveted Crimson Star.
A preview trailer for this week’s new tracks can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
Gone Home coming to PS4 and Xbox One on January 12, 2016
After an aborted attempt to bring the game to the Wii U in 2014, The Fullbright Company has announced that Gone Home will finally be released for consoles in 2016. However, Wii U owners appear to be out of luck as the game is only scheduled to arrive on the PS4 and Xbox One next year.
Steve Gaynor, Gone Home’s writer and designer, recorded a special message for fans about the news, and its been embedded above. Gaynor also added a bit more to his statement in a post on Fullbright’s official website:
I think the above video pretty much says it all– but let me just say how excited we are to put the game in front of a whole new audience of players. Ever since Gone Home came out we’ve wanted to be able to bring it to people who maybe aren’t PC gamers, or don’t have a good enough computer, or who just want to play in their living room, maybe to share the experience with a friend or loved one from the comfort of their couch. Our goal wasn’t to add or change things, but just to bring the game that players know and love onto consoles in the best possible form we could. We’re really excited for you all to get your hands on it!
Gone Home won “Best PC Game” and “Best Independent Game” at the 2013 VGX Awards, along with “Best Debut” at both the 2014 BAFTA Awards and the 2014 GDC Awards.