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
Kickstart This! Defect, Disciples of the Storm, The Nascent: An Anecdote of Aetherholme
During E3 2015, Sony used its press conference to announce that the long-awaited sequel, Shenmue III, would be coming to the PlayStation 4. In the days since, the consolemaker has confirmed they will be helping with development costs, though the game was initially launched on Kickstarter by Ys Net, the studio responsible for the game’s development. The team, led by director and producer Yu Suzuki, could not have asked for a better setting to make the announcement. The game set a new record for reaching the $1 million mark on a crowdfunding platform, managing to hit that figure in 102 minutes, and then passing by its $2 million target in a little over nine hours. It has now gone on to become the second most-funded game ever.
Of course, this stunt has once again raised ethical questions about large corporations testing the waters with crowdfunders. Yu Suzuki was forced to clarify how the Kickstarter funds would be used once it was revealed Sony would be stumping up a sum of cash to complete the game.
Regardless of whether you believe it was morally dubious or not, let us now turn our attentions to a trio of gaming projects that cannot rely on a big E3 announcement to secure funds. We start with ship-building shooter Defect, before revisiting an old classic in Disciples of the Storm, and finishing with the cel-shaded, self-referential side-scrolling platformer The Nascent: An Anecdote of Aetherholme. (more…)
The Behemoth’s Game 4 will officially be known as Pit People
Slightly more than a year after it was first announced, The Behemoth has finally settled on an actual name for Game 4, their upcoming strategy RPG for the PC and Xbox One. Ready? Here it comes…
“Game 4 will henceforth be known as Pit People.” Confused? I’ll let the developer explain:
The Pit is the place where our story’s heroes get a fresh start in life! It’s basically what you and I know more commonly as an arena.
Pit People was the name written on the original concept sketch that started it all. Every interaction took place in an arena. Over time, adventuring became a big part of the game. However, a key moment in the story now occurs in the Pit, and so the name remained! In the end, we’re in the beginning!!!!!!!!!!
With a shiny new name all picked out, The Behemoth has also opened Pit People’s official website, which is packed with trailers, screenshots, and in-depth details on the game’s development. However, one hting you won’t find is a release date, as Pit People’s launch date is still “To Be Announced,” or more accurately, “When it’s done.”
[Source: The Behemoth Blog]
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Pit People
Collect jelly beans in The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure this November
I was never a fan of Peanuts when I was a kid, mostly because the majority of it was written well before my time, though I did enjoy the holiday specials. But I have to admit, I’m not a fan of the newfangled CGI look the film has adopted. That said, I am a fan of the companion game, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, based on the reveal trailer.
In The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure, Snoopy explores the fantastical worlds of his imagination to track down Charlie Brown and his friends in an intricate game of hide-and-seek. As he follows their trails, Snoopy will acquire new costumes (based on his many alter egos) that provide unique abilities for overcoming obstacles and reaching new levels, including flight stages that let him take off as the Flying Ace. From the jungle to Paris to the moon itself, each environment is painted gorgeously in the same visual style as The Peanuts Movie to bring to life every colorful detail of Snoopy’s wild daydreams. The game also includes voice talent from the film.
The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure reminds me of old school platformers, though maybe I’m just nostalgic to see a 2D platformer get a physical release. Since they’re directly basing it on the movie, and it’s staring everyone’s favorite cheeky fictional dog, there’s a good chance this might even be a good game. The art style has an almost clay look to it, and you’ll have plenty of abilities to unlock, along with help from a potential second player as Woodstock (he can also be computer-controlled assistant if you’re by yourself). And the whole point of the game is to collect jelly beans! How old school is something as trivial as that? Well, I’m excited at least.
The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy’s Grand Adventure will be available on November 3 for the 3DS, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. If you’re attending this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, a playable demo of the game will be available at the Peanuts booth (#1637).
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, The Peanuts Movie: Snoopy's Grand Adventure
Here’s the first trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight’s Batgirl: A Matter of Family expansion
Batman: Arkham Knight will travel back in time to explore the untold history of Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl in the Batgirl: A Matter of Family expansion. WB Games will release A Matter of Family next week, but first, they’ve decided to give gamers a sneak peek at the add-on (including Harley Quinn in her classic harlequin costume and the return of Mark Hamill as The Joker) in this brand new trailer.
However, savvy comic readers might know exactly how A Matter of Family will end. The expansion follows Batgirl (and Robin) to an abandoned amusement park, where the pair will attempt to rescue Commissioner Gordon from the clutches of The Joker. This same scenario was used in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, the famed Batman book where The Joker shot and paralyzed Batgirl. These events would eventually lead to her rebirth as the Oracle that Arkham players know and love.
But the Batman mythos is nothing if not adaptable, and its possible that Rocksteady and WB Montreal will write a different ending for the world’s most famous librarian.
Batgirl: A Matter of Family will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One on July 14 as part of the Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass. Everyone else will be able to purchase the expansion for $6.99 beginning July 21.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
The Escapists: The Walking Dead will infect PC, Xbox One later this year
Prison escape strategy game The Escapists proved to be pretty popular for Team 17, and the developers have responded by expanding the game with a series of donwloadable content. Now, the UK-based team is going back inside with a sequel/spinoff based on The Walking Dead, because by law every game franchise eventually has to add zombies.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead looks to be completely different than anything Team17 has done before. Whereas the original game required strategic planning to break out of a modern prison, this time around players will experience a more linear escape situation, along with a recurring narrative, in a hospital.
If you’re anything like me, you’re just disappointed it doesn’t have anything to do with the excellent Telltale series. An 8-bit Rick Grimes leading a group to safety will have to do.
The Escapists: The Walking Dead will arrive on PC and Xbox One later this year. But interested fans can try it out this weekend (July 10 and 11) at the Walker Stalker Fan Fest, which will take place at Petco Park in San Diego.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, The Escapists: The Walking Dead
Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con 2015
The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off tomorrow (with a Preview Night tonight), and Activision has announced the Dark Edition of Skylanders SuperChargers will make its debut during the show.
The Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition will include special variant figures with a “Dark” twist. Priced at $99.99, players who opt for the Dark Edition on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, or Xbox One will receive figures figures (Dark Spitfire, Dark Hot Streak, Dark Super Shot Stealth Elf, Dark Sea Shadow), a two-sided collector’s poster, and the Kaos Trophy (which unlocks exclusive Kaos content).
But if you’re an Amiibo hunter, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out for the Wii U’s Dark Edition. Also priced at $99.99, it’ll also include the Dark Spitfire and Dark Hot Streak figures, but the other two will be replaced by Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Barrel Blaster. And that’s not all… the Dark Edition for the Wii-exclusive Skylanders SuperChargers Racing will come packed with Dark Hammer Slam Bowser and Dark Clown Cruiser. Because of a Skylanders/Amiibo switch in the base, both Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Dark Hammer Slam Bowser are considered official Amiibo figures by Nintendo.
Gamers who will be attending this week’s San Diego Comic-Con will get a chance to test out the Dark Edition characters on a Skylanders SuperChargers demo station at Activision’s booth (#121), the Xbox Lounge at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, or at the Nintendo Game Lounge at the Marriott Marquis and Marina. Everyone else will have to make do with scoping out a few Dark Edition screenshots at the Activision Games Blog.
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2015, Skylanders SuperChargers, Skylanders SuperChargers Racing
Game Critics Awards panel declares Fallout 4 the “Best of Show” at E3 2015
The Game Critics Awards, a panel comprised of journalists from 38 different publications, have handed out their 2015 “Best of E3” honors and Bethesda’s Fallout 4 took home the big prize… which should come as a surprise to pretty much no one. In addition to being named “Best of Show,” Fallout 4 was also awarded “Best PC Game” and “Best Role Playing Game.”
However, Fallout 4 couldn’t win all the awards, and its quantity was actually matched by Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which collected three awards of its own. Among the traditional awards, Nathan Drake’s next adventure won “Best Console Game” and “Best Action/Adventure Game.” But it was also selected for a “Special Commendation For Graphics” award by the Game Critics Awards panel.
Star Wars: Battlefront was the only other multi-award winner, taking home “Best Action Game” and “Best Online Multiplayer.” More interestingly, this year’s Best of E3 awards included two repeat winners… Super Mario Maker for “Best Family/Social Game” and No Man’s Sky for “Best Independent Game.”
A full list of this year’s winners can be found after the break. (more…)
Lucid’s followup to Geometry Wars 3 is an “exciting” arcade action game
Liverpool’s Lucid Games has been very busy in the last three years. Since their founding in 2011, the studio has produced a wide variety of mobile titles (including Grand Theft Auto V‘s iFruit companion app), as well as the Xbox One/Xbox 360 port of Goat Simulator. But they’re perhaps best known as one of the many studios to emerge from the closure of Bizarre Creations. In 2014, Lucid tapped the mathematical knowledge of their founders to create Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, the third entry in the wildly beloved twin-stick shooter series.
On the eve of Geometry Wars 3’s Vita launch, I got the chance to talk with Lucid’s Creative Director, Craig Howard, about the game. In addition to discussing Dimensions, Howard was also eager to talk about the team’s next game. If you’re a fan of the “arcade action” found in Geometry Wars 3, you’ll want to pay close attention to what he said: “Our core console/PC teams are working on a very exciting action game at the moment which will really appeal to a lot of our arcade action fan base. I hope we can announce more details of that game very soon as it’s really exciting.”
Be sure to read the rest of the interview to learn more about the development of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions. And don’t forget, it’s available to download today from the PlayStation Store for the Vita. The Evolved update is also now available for iOS and Android devices.