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
Follow Harmonix down to see the final batch of Rock Band 4 tracks (featuring Gin Blossoms, R.E.M., Mumford & Sons, more)
Harmonix has announced the final batch of songs for Rock Band 4, and it should make fans of 80s alternative (R.E.M.), 90s alternative (Gin Blossoms), and 2010s alternative (Mumford & Sons) very happy:
- Brad Paisley (Featuring Keith Urban) – “Start A Band”
- Brandi Carlile – “Mainstream Kid”
- Dark Wheels – “V-Bomb”
- Gary Clark Jr. – “Ain’t Messin ‘Round”
- Gin Blossoms – “Follow You Down”
- Grouplove – “Tongue Tied”
- Imagine Dragons – “I Bet My Life”
- Jeff Allen (Featuring Noelle LeBlanc and Naoko Takamoto) – “Recession”
- Johnny Blazes and the Pretty Boys – “Cold Clear Light”
- Lynyrd Skynyrd – “That Smell”
- Mumford & Sons – “The Wolf”
- R.E.M. – “The One I Love”
- The Warning – “Free Falling”
The fan-favorite music franchise will be resurrected for the PS4 and Xbox One on October 6 with 63 songs on the disc and thousands more available through the Rock Band Store. The remainder of Rock Band 4’s on-disc setlist is available after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Rock Band 4
New Releases: Destiny: The Taken King, Forza 6, Skylanders SuperChargers, More
We’ve got a lot of ground to cover in this week’s new release report, so let’s get right to it…
Destiny’s “Year One” slate of content will come to a close as Activision and Bungie will release the last major update Destiny: The Taken King for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360. The expansion will add a variety of missions and tweaks to the team-based shooter, but the biggest is likely Nolan North’s replacement of Peter Dinklage as the voice of Ghost.
Microsoft and Turn 10 will release their latest automotive simulator, Forza Motorsport 6, for the Xbox One. It astounds me that while Sony continues to struggle with DriveClub and the seemingly non-existent Gran Turismo 7, Microsoft has developed and published two critically-acclaimed Forza games.
If you’re looking for something for the kids, Activision will release Skylanders SuperChargers this week. The popular game franchise has a racing theme this time out for the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360… and dozens of new Skylanders action figures have begun appearing on store shelves. A Dark Edition will also be released and a spinoff game, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing, will be available for the 3DS and Wii U (complete with an exclusive Skylanders/Amiibo hybrid figure for each platform).
To close out the week in new games, a pair of popular sports simulations will also be available. EA Sports will bring NHL 16 to the PS4 and Xbox One (and NHL: Legacy Edition to the PS3 and Xbox 360), while Konami will publish Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Finally this week, a number of new console bundles will be released. Sony will launch a 500GB PS4 + Destiny: The Taken King Limited Edition Bundle, while Microsoft is prepping a 1TB Xbox One + Forza Motorsport 6 Limited Edition Bundle. Both feature custom case designs (the Forza Blue color scheme is particularly nifty), one controller, and bonus downloadable content for their respective games. A 1TB Xbox One + FIFA 16 Bundle will also be available, but it doesn’t feature a custom paint job.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Destiny, Forza Motorsport 6, NHL 16, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Skylanders SuperChargers, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing
Xbox Store Today: Rugby League Live 3, Draw A Stickman: Epic, Leo’s Fortune
Another trio of new games were added to the Xbox Games Store for the Xbox One today. Ready? Because here we go…
- Rugby League Live 3 is another rugby sim for the Xbox One. This one’s developed by Big Ant Studios and includes more than 100 teams from Rugby League competitions around the world .
- Draw A Stickman: Epic is a “cartoon RPG” for the Xbox One that asks players to sketch out a solution to save their stickman buddy from a villain named Zarp.
- Finally, Leo’s Fortune is a platformer “where you hunt down the cunning and mysterious thief that stole your gold.”
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Darksiders II comes to PS4 on October 6; Xbox One release date to be announced soon
Nordic Games has announced (via Twitter) that the PS4 launch of the Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition is fast approaching. According to the publisher, the end of days will officially begin on Sony’s system on October 6:
#Darksiders II #Deathinitive Edition arrives October 6th on PS4! Pre-Order on Play Station Store US http://t.co/CVpMPD875p (save 10%)
— Darksiders (@darksiders) September 11, 2015
Unfortunately for Xbox One owners, Nordic Games is currently unable to nail down a final release date for Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition on Microsoft’s new-generation console. Business & Product Development Director Reinhard Pollice confirmed (also via Twitter) that “they’re working on it” and that an announcement would be made soon.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Darksiders II
BOOM! Madden NFL 16 is the best-selling game of August 2015
Whatever your opinion of Tom Brady and Deflategate (for the record, I agree with Tony Kornheiser, the suspension was “completely unjust”), it looks like nobody can take the air out of EA’s Madden NFL franchise. And don’t just take my word for it. The latest entry in the series, Madden NFL 16, topped the NPD Group’s newest monthly report and was declared the best-selling game of August 2015.
Madden NFL 16’s ascendance to the top of the list was a foregone conclusion, but August was an unusually quiet month for new releases. Just look at the three remakes/re-releases that broke into the top ten. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition chainsawed its way into the #3 spot, while the 30 games in the Rare Replay compilation collectively landed at #6. Finally, a Combo Pack containing Call of Duty: Black Ops + Call of Duty: Black Ops II claimed the #8 position (two spots ahead of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #10, I might add). The only other new release to crack the top ten was Sony’s Until Dawn at #7.
But the real story of the month might be that Minecraft continues to sell. Even though its been available on the PS4 and Xbox One since last year (and another year on the PS3 and Xbox 360), the game continues to sell month after month. Only Madden NFL 16 was able to outpace Mojang’s creation in August as Minecraft is sitting at #2 on the best-sellers list.
A complete look at August 2015’s top ten is available after the break. (more…)
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows will infect all platforms on September 17
Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight‘s Plague of Shadows expansion will be available to download on all platforms and in all regions on September 17. The free update will completely transform the game, allowing players to take control of the villainous Plague Knight as he does battle with his fellow knights of The Order of No Quarter.
However, this challenge is only for expert players as the Plague of Shadows campaign will remain locked unless you’ve beaten the game as Shovel Knight.
Unlike some cinematic knights, prospective Plague of Shadows players won’t need to choose wisely as Shovel Knight is currently available for the PC, 3DS, Wii U, PS3, PS4, Vita, and Xbox One. Yacht Club will continue to expand the world of Shovel Knight in the future as campaigns centered around King Knight and Specter Knight are in the works. In the nearer future, a Shovel Knight Amiibo figure, which will unlock a Co-Op Campaign on the 3DS and Wii U, will be released sometime this Fall.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows
Guitar Hero Live goes to 110 as Activision adds ten more songs to the game
After a few weeks of radio silence, Activision announced today that ten more songs will be added to Guitar Hero Live‘s gargantuan setlist. Once again, the selections run the gamut from radio friendly pop (Passenger’s “Let Her Go”) to indie favorites (Haim, Wavves) to the hard stuff (Lamb of God’s “Ghost Walking”). If you’re looking for all ten new tracks, they can be found right here:
- 36 Crazyfists – “Also Am I”
- Gerard Way – “No Shows”
- Haim – “The Wire”
- Lamb of God – “Ghost Walking”
- Orianthi – “According to You”
- Passenger – “Let Her Go”
- Pearl Jam – “Sirens”
- Surfer Blood – “Demon Dance”
- Tonight Alive – “The Ocean”
- Wavves – “Demon to Lean On”
Guitar Hero Live will be released for the PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile platforms on October 20.
Xbox Store Today: Castle Crashers Remastered, Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime, ClusterPuck 99, more
Prepare to dive deep into a trio of new side-scrollers in this week’s Xbox Games Store update. Though one of the games should be very familiar to Xbox 360 owners.
This week, Castle Crashers jumps to the Xbox One in an enhanced Remastered edition. The Behemoth’s widely acclaimed hack and slash now features “hi-res visuals like nothing you’ve ever seen before” running at 60 frames per second. A number of other tweaks have also been made to the game and a new minigame (“Back Off Barbarian”) has been added. But thankfully, the Remastered edition includes all the same co-op opportunities (for up to four players) and its even available for free (until September 20) to owners of the Xbox 360 edition.
Also available for the Xbox One this week is Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime, a two-player “couch co-op action space shooter.” A single-player option is available, but developer Asteroid Base designed the game with co-op in mind, saying, “Only through teamwork can you triumph over the evil forces of Anti-Love, rescue kidnapped space-bunnies, and avoid a vacuumy demise.”
This week’s third side-scroller is Aritana and the Harpy’s Feather, a colorful puzzle platformer for the Xbox One based on “the switching of postures.” According to the developer, “You must choose between these postures to overcome obstacles and fight the Spirits of the Forest in a fast, intuitive, and fun gameplay.”
Finally this week, ClusterPuck 99 is a wild hockey-like game for the Xbox One designed for eight players. Developer PHL Collective says that its “intense local multiplayer” is “built for parties.”
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Castle Crashers, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime