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
Prepare yourself for Destiny: The Taken King with this Cinematic Trailer
The launch of Bungie’s Destiny: The Taken King is exactly one week away, so Activision has released a new Cinematic Trailer to get players up to speed on the expansion’s story. The Taken King, Destiny’s third major expansion after The Dark Below and House of Wolves, serves as the finale to “Year One” of Destiny. Hoping to rule the galaxy as father and son, Oryx is none too happy about the death of Crota, the main baddie from Destiny:
Oryx is here. He’s hellbent on revenge, and he’s brought an army of Taken with him. Infiltrate his fortress, fight through his army, and Face The Taken King.
I’m not too well-versed in Destiny’s lore, but it all looks very Star Wars-y to me. Destiny: The Taken King will be available for the PS4, Xbox One, PS3, and Xbox 360 on September 15.
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog: September 2015 Update
Don’t Forget! This is just a changelog of recently announced release dates. Warp Zoned’s complete Video Game Release Calendar includes every title we could find that’s scheduled for release in 2015, 2016, 2017, or beyond.
We have officially turned the calendar over to September and that means the Fall gaming rush is right around the corner. Thankfully, that means a number of publishers have nailed down final release dates for many of their major releases. Nintendo has been especially busy filling in their monthly planner, announcing release dates for Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (October 22), The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (October 23), Yo-Kai Watch (November 6), Star Fox Zero (November 20), and Devil’s Third (December 11).
Looking beyond the end of the year, 2016’s Winter/Spring period is also filling up fast including a launch date for Lego Avengers in January (January 26) and a bevy of titles in February (XCOM 2 on February 5, Battleborn on February 9, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided on February 23). A few weeks later, Nathan Drake makes his PS4 debut in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End on March 18. Microsoft has also staked a Spring claim with the release of Quantum Break on April 5.
Finally, we circle back around to Nintendo with the announcement of an official launch window (“Spring 2016”) for the Wii U version of Pokken Tournament. We all knew it was happening, so I’m not sure what took them so long.
Even more new release dates from this edition of the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog can be found after the break. (more…)
Tetsuya Nomura says that development on Kingdom Hearts III’s “basic systems” is done
Kingdom Hearts III was officially announced more than two years ago and it doesn’t feel like it’s any closer to release now than it was then. However, Director Tetsuya Nomura recently sat down with Games Radar and revealed that the “basic systems” of the game are complete:
“For the most part we’ve established the ground foundations, like the basic systems and mechanics of what’s going to go in the game. Development of that is pretty much close to complete.
But don’t rush out to your favorite game store just yet, Nomura also said that creating the fine details of the game (environments, minigames, and other smaller items) will still take a considerable amount of time:
“But of course, since this is an HD title, it’s now building the resources, and development of the ‘mass’ elements of it, like mass production of the areas and the actual things that are going into the game. Other elements, including the mini-games and other various smaller items; their progress is very varied… some of them are polished and very close to final state, but at the same time some elements are still in the planning phases and I haven’t laid out the groundwork yet. But the basic structure of what’s going to go in the game is set, it’s now a matter of mass production of the different elements.”
Kingdom Hearts III is in development for the PS4 and Xbox One… and it’ll likely be a very long time before we get to play it.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Kingdom Hearts III
Xbox Store Today: Evolve Free Weekend, Rugby World Cup 2015, Super Toy Cars, more
Evolve didn’t quite land with the blockbuster boom that Turtle Rock had hoped for, but it has sold almost three million copies and a lot of people seem to enjoy it. Publisher 2K Games is hoping to increase that number this weekend with a special “Free Weekend” promotion for the game, which kicks off today at 3:00 PM (Eastern Time), on the Xbox One and PC. Best of all, players will get the chance to battle alien monsters for an extra day as the promotion doesn’t end until Tuesday, September 8 at 3:00 AM.
If you enjoy your time with Evolve, you might also like to know that it’ll receive a temporary price drop next week as part of Microsoft’s Deals With Gold.
Elsewhere on the Xbox Games Store today, owners of Microsoft’s consoles will get the chance to dive into a scrum in Rugby World Cup 2015 on the Xbox One or Xbox 360. Also available on the Xbox 360 is an overhead shooter from Moss known as strong>Caladrius.
And if you’re looking for Xbox One exclusives, today marks the release of Super Toy Cars, a “tabletop arcade combat racing game” featuring penny racers; Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse, a murder mystery set within a Paris gallery; Quest of Dungeons, a procedurally-generated turn-based roguelike; and Nightmares From the Deep: The Cursed Heart, a “classic adventure game” about undying love.
More information about all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
NetherRealm will add four new characters to Mortal Kombat X in 2016
Creative Director Ed Boon, and the rest of NetherRealm Studios, have been teasing a second Kombat Pack of downloadable characters for a while now. And after filling our Summer with Jason Voorhees, Tanya, The Predator, and Tremor, they’re finally making good on their promise.
Officially announced today, though still shrouded in shadow, the second Kombat Pack will include four new characters, a number of new costumes for existing characters, and a new Arena. The content will be released in the first half of 2016, though publisher WB Games didn’t say if it would appear all at once or over the course of a few months. We’ve got plenty of time to play “Guess the Silhouette” thanks to the teaser image above, but the one on the left is clearly a ninja (Rain? Smoke?) and I’d wager my soul that the one on the right is Baraka.
Mortal Kombat X was released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One back in April. Believe it or not, it’s currently the best-selling game of the year, and I’m pretty sure that WB Games is assuming some new blood will keep it selling right into 2016.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Mortal Kombat X
Transformers: Devastation gets pre-order bonuses, new trailer, Peter Cullen BTS video
As Summer transforms into Fall, Activision has released a ton of new information and gameplay footage about Transformers: Devastation, the Platinum-developed brawler that’ll be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 6.
Let’s start with a pair of pre-order bonus packs, which the publisher announced recently. All players who pre-order the game will receive a trio of Character Skins (Nemesis Prime, Red Alert, and Goldfire) alongside several side several powerful weapons:
- Dark Star Sabre: A fearsome sword which radiates waves of dark energy with every swing.
- Photon Disruptor: A cannon for huge damage at short range.
- Golden Hunter: Twin blaster pistols, which causes enemies to drop credits when attacked.
I have no idea if these weapons are on display in Devastation’s latest gameplay trailer, but it has been embedded above for your viewing pleasure… especially if you’re interested in the combo-heavy combat that Platinum is preparing for the game. Finally, a behind-the-scenes interview with Peter Cullen (the one-and-only voice of Optimus Prime) is available after the break. Only an unfeeling Decepticon can ignore the pride he feels for the character, even after portraying him for three decades. (more…)
Xbox One Elite Bundle with 1TB Hybrid Drive, Elite Controller coming this November
Microsoft will add another option to their growing number of Xbox One bundles this November with the Xbox One Elite Bundle. The Elite Bundle will include several upgrades over a standard Xbox One package including a 1TB Solid State Hybrid Hard Drive and and an Elite Controller.
According to Major Nelson, the Solid State Hybrid Hard Drive “stores frequently-accessed files on a solid state partition and optimizes system performance,” so players will be able to get to their games quicker. The Elite Controller is Microsoft’s latest redesign of the stock Xbox One controller, offering “interchangeable paddles, Hair Trigger Locks, and high-performance construction.”
As you might have guessed, including these items will slightly inflate the price of the Xbox One Elite Bundle. The package will retail for $499 (a $100 premium over a standard Xbox One bundle) and it’ll be available exclusively through the Microsoft Store and GameStop on November 3.
In the more immediate future, Major Nelson also revealed the Lunar White Wireless Controller this week. With a white body and gold-colored D-Pad and Triggers, the controller has a swanky style fit for a supervillain. You can pick it up exclusively at GameStop in “late September” for $64.99.
Xbox Store Today: MGS5: The Phantom Pain, Mad, Max, Disney Infinity Star Wars, more
If you’ve already perused this week’s PlayStation Store offerings, the Xbox Games Store update is going to sound very familiar to you…
The biggest name this week is most definitely Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, (presumably) the final game in the franchise developed by Hideo Kojima. Kojima and Konami still have yet to make an official announcement concerning his future with the company, but it looks like Kojima got to go out on his terms with another epic military stealth shooter for the Xbox One and Xbox 360.
Speaking of the word “epic,” also available this week is Mad Max (Xbox One), Avalanche’s open world adaptation of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic hero. Players will be able to find gas, explore the Wastleand, and stare down War Boys as they attempt to rebuild Max’s beloved car. It’ll probably be less exciting than Mad Max: Fury Road, but nearly everything else you can think of is less exciting than Mad Max: Fury Road.
But for the kids out there, the idea of adding Star Wars characters to the Disney Infinity formula surely ranks pretty high on the “epic” scale. So I guess it’s a good thing that Disney Interactive released Disney Infinity: Star Wars for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 earlier this week. Obviously, Disney Infinity figures are sold separately.
If you’re looking for something that you can only find on a Microsoft machine, there’s The Deer God, “a breathtaking 3D pixel art adventure that will challenge your religion and your platforming skills.” That’s sounds pretty heady for a platformer, but the artwork does look fantastic. And its available as a free download for Games With Gold subscribers.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Disney Infinity: Star Wars, Mad Max, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain