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Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- 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
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: Xbox One
Microsoft unveils first gameplay trailer of Scalebound at Gamescom 2015
Announced during last year’s E3 Expo, Microsoft has finally pulled back a scaly curtain and gave us our first look at Scalebound during their Gamescom 2015 Briefing.
In Scalebound, your dragon is your brother and you’ll be able to customize him in a variety of different ways. Here’s what the Xbox Wire had to say about the game’s story and it’s use of Platinum Games’s trademark action style:
In Scalebound, you will experience the journey of a young loner named Drew, who is pulled into the strange, beautiful, and dangerous world of Draconis – where he is bonded to a fearsome and noble dragon, Thuban, the last of his kind. These two lone-wolf heroes, thrown together by fate, must learn to fight as one to defeat the powerful enemies that threaten Draconis, Earth, and a vast universe of parallel worlds.
You’ll explore the beautiful and dangerous world of Draconis, as you and your dragon companion work to defeat legions of enemy soldiers and epic scale beasts. Scalebound’s accessible-yet-deep (and very stylish and over-the-top!) gameplay gives you the power to fluidly chain attacks with your dragon too, creating devastating combos to unleash upon your foes.
In development under the direction of Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta), Scalebound will be released exclusively for the Xbox One in 2016.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2015, Scalebound
Quantum Break will perform its time travel magic on April 5, 2016
Remedy made their bones with Max Payne‘s “Bullet Time” mechanic, so it’s no surprise that they’re dipping back into temporal trickery with next year’s Quantum Break. During their Gamescom Briefing today, Microsoft announced that the Xbox One-exclusive will be released on April 5, 2016.
The publisher unveiled a brand new trailer for Quantum Break, which highlights a lot of the time-bending powers employed by the game’s main character, Jack Joyce. The trailer also serves as an introduction to the game’s star-studded cast, which features Shawn Ashmore (X-Men‘s Iceman) as Jack and Dominic Monaghan (Lost‘s Charlie) as his brother William. Other cast members include:
- Aidan Gillen as Paul Serene
- Lance Reddick as Martin Hatch
- Marshall Allman as Charlie Wincott
- Patrick Heusinger as Liam Burke
- Mimi Michaels as Fiona Miller
- Amelia Rose Blaire as Amy Ferraro
- Brooke Nevin as Emily Burke
- Courtney Hope as Beth Wilder
- Jacqueline Pinol as Sofia Amaral
- Jeannie Bolet as Kate Ogawa
- Sean Durrie as Nick Marsters
All of these actors will also play a role in Quantum Break’s companion live-action TV series, which will tell the game’s story from the villain’s perspective.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2015, Quantum Break
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog: Pre-Gamescom 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.
The 2015 Gamescom expo is kicking off… right about now… in Germany, but first, we’ve got a quick rundown of some of the latest release date announcements from the world’s game publishers. Most companies have been using this lazy Summer to solidify their Fall 2015 calendar, but a few 2016 games have snuck in there as well (and a few have snuck into 2016).
Some of the biggest names that we’ve tracked in this edition of the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog include Disney Infinity: Star Wars on August 30, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 on September 29, and Rise of the Tomb Raider on November 10 (also, it’ll launch for the PC and PS4 in 2016).
Also announced in the weeks since E3 is Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time. The next game in Square Enix’s long-running RPG series and the first game to officially be announced for Nintendo’s NX system doesn’t have a release date as of yet, and it may not even come to America. But it is, without a doubt, the biggest recent announcement. Unless the rest of Gamescom bowls us over, which it just might.
Even more new release dates from this edition of the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog can be found after the break. (more…)
Red Ash anime funded on Kickstarter as game falls well short
As expected, Comcept’s Kickstarter campaign for Red Ash: The Indelible Legend has failed to reach its goal. The project’s $519,999 total fell quite short of the developer’s $800,000 target. The campaign was poorly run from the start, banking on nostalgia for Mega Man Legends, Kenji Inafune’s name recognition, and the success of Mighty No. 9‘s campaign. That’s game recent which was stealth delay probably didn’t help.
However, Comcept also had a second Kickstarter campaign related to Red Ash in the works at the same time. Red Ash: Magicicada is an anime short film produced by Studio 4°C, and unlike the game’s campaign, the anime has been fully funded, surpassing its $150,000 goal. The production company is proud of Magicicada and call it “a fast-paced, entertaining film in which unique characters explore various stages.” The anime won’t be released until 2017, to coincide with the release of the Red Ash video game.
Red Ash, the game, will continue development with Chinese publisher Fuze holding the purse strings. However, coupled with the announcement of the Might No. 9 delay days before the end of Red Ash’s Kickstarter deadline, and Comcept announcing they secured a publisher well into funding, they’re going to have to do a lot to win back consumer trust.
Star Wars: Battlefront has captured the most nominations at 2015 Gamescom Awards
Germany’s Digital Gaming Culture Foundation (Stiftung Digitale Spielekultur) has announced the nominees for this year’s Gamescom Awards… and Star Wars: Battlefront has Force Pushed its way to the top of the pack. DICE’s shooter sequel was able to collection four nominations including “Best Console Game – PlayStation 4,” “Best PC Game,” “Best Action Game,” and “Best Online Multiplayer Game.”
Battlefront was able to move slightly ahead of the pack, as a small handful of games received three nominations apiece. Final Fantasy XV, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Super Mario Maker, Skylanders SuperChargers, and Guitar Hero Live are all up for three awards.
Even if you’re not one of the jury members for the Gamescom Awards, you can have an influence on the results. The general public can vote for any game on display at the expo for a Most Wanted Consumer Award using the Gamescom app.
The winners of this year’s Gamescom Awards will be announced on August 7. The full list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Dark Souls III, Final Fantasy XV, Forza Motorsport 6, Gamescom 2015, Guitar Hero Live, Lego Dimensions, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Pro Evolution Soccer 2016, Skylanders SuperChargers, Star Wars: Battlefront, Super Mario Maker, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Unravel
Behind-the-scenes article paints Konami executives as Orwellian dictators
UPDATE: Nikkei has released an official English translation of the article.
Nikkei, a Japanese financial newspaper, recently published an article that delves into the struggles and horrible working conditions of employees at Konami. Basically, it is not pretty, and if anything, Hideo Kojima’s rumored departure can only be seen as a good thing.
The article is entirely in Japanese, and the website requires a subscription to fully access it, but volunteer translators have been working on the article and released some highlights this morning through NeoGAF. Additional translations are available at GamesIndustry.biz and Kotaku.
A number of anonymous employees spoke to Nikkei about life at Konami, describing a prison-like environment. Employees who are deemed “useless” are either sent to the assembly line to work on pachinko machines, or are reassigned to become security officers. Some are even forced to clean up the gym located in Konami’s headquarters. And this punishment isn’t just limited to low-level workers, producers and other prominent creators have also had this type of grunt work hoisted on them.
Lunch breaks are said to be regulated via time cards, and any employee who runs late is “outed” from the company. Konami’s employees are also said to be under heavy surveillance at all times. Even Solid Snake himself couldn’t dodge all the security cameras and punch clocks that line the company’s halls.
All these measures allegedly stem from the success Konami had with a mobile game known as Dragon Collection, which has made far more money and was much cheaper to develop than any console game the company produced in years. This news is certainly in line with Konami’s recent attitude, which has led to the cancellation of the majority of their console projects, including Silent Hills.
Nikkei’s report also states that, as of April 2015, Konami had spent $80 million on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Coupled with the publisher’s desire to move towards mobile games, this astronomical budget likely had something to do with Konami’s rift with Kojima.
Konami has already stated they plan on continuing with the Metal Gear series, as well as Pro Evolution Soccer, but beyond that, much of the company’s plans remain a mystery.
The Long Dark’s “Deep Forest” update changes everything
The Long Dark, Hinterland’s open world survival game (you know, the one without zombies), has received a lot of updates since it’s successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Along the way, it’s become a great example of Early Access done right. The developer is at it again with the newest update, “Deep Forest,” which provides a lot of changes to the game on the PC and Xbox One. Though these changes are designed to make the game easier, which could make hardcore survivalists unhappy.
The changes are designed to make the game easier to understand, and make it easier to survive it’s harsh world by making it more realistic. For example, there’s now a wind shield icon to indicate when you’re shielded from the wind, and there are new modes that allow you to instantly counteract freezing via campfires. You can now break down furniture and even curtains to use as fuel for a fire. The developer also made a few little tweaks to the game such as an updated sprinting animation and enhanced graphical settings.
You can check out the full changelist at Hinterland’s official website. It’s mostly small changes that fans have been complaining about, small changes that usually add up over time that make a game much better.
Now if only Hinterland would give us an update on the highly touted story mode that hasn’t been mentioned since 2013…
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged The Long Dark
If you buy Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, you’ll get Gears 1-3 + Judgment on Xbox 360 for free
Before Microsoft officially revealed Gears of War: Ultimate Edition at this year’s E3 Expo, there was a rumor floating around that the publisher was actually working on a multi-game Marcus Fenix Collection. That rumor was quickly shot down by The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson, but today’s announcement might be the next best thing.
Writing on the Xbox Wire, Microsoft has announced that everyone who purchases Gears of War: Ultimate Edition before December 31, 2015 will receive Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3, and Gears of War: Judgment for the Xbox 360 for free. And with the Xbox One’s upcoming backwards compatibility update, all four games will be playable on the publisher’s newest console this Fall:
All Gears of War titles will be supported on Backward Compatibility when it launches publicly this fall. This means if you own Gears of War, Gears of War 2, Gears of War 3 or Gears of War: Judgment on Xbox 360, you’ll be able to play them on your Xbox One and utilize some of your favorite next-gen features like Game DVR, Snap, screenshots and more. You can even keep all your previously-saved files, game add-ons, Achievements and play with friends on Xbox Live no matter which Xbox console they’re on. For those of you in the Xbox One preview program who just can’t wait, the original Gears of War is available today in Backward Compatibility.
This is just the first of many Gamescom announcements Microsoft has on tap for this week, so stay tuned for more.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2015, Gears of War, Gears of War 3, Gears of War: Judgment