Warp Zoned Presents
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)
Warp Zoned Archives
Most Recent: Xbox One
Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune teams up with Armature to bring ReCore to Xbox One
Keiji Inafune really loves robots. After leading the Mega Man franchise for more than 20 years, Inafune left Capcom to pursue his own games. That path eventually lead to Mighty No. 9, a side-scrolling spiritual successor to Mega Man that will be released this September.
During Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, the legendary developer announced ReCore, a shooter that takes place in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. Players will “forge friendships with an eclectic cast of robots” as they “lead them on an epic adventure across a mysterious, ever-changing world.”
For this project, Inafune will partner with Armature, a studio that was formed by several former members of Retro Studios. Earning their stripes on Metroid Prime, these developers definitely have plenty of experience with futuristic shooters. And with Inafune, for that matter. Armature previously worked with Capcom in 2010 in an attempt to transform Mega Man X into a first person shooter. That game, Maverick Hunter, was canceled less than six months after development began.
Looking at both games side-by-side, the “energy core” mechanic from ReCore seems to have originated with Maverick Hunter. Who knows what other pieces of the canceled game were repurposed by Armature for ReCore? We’ll find out together when ReCore is released exclusively for the Xbox One in Spring 2016.
Dontnod’s Vampyr will be released for PC, PS4, Xbox One in 2016
Publisher Focus Home Interactive and developer Dontnod Entertainment began teasing their moody RPG, Vampyr, back in January. Today, the two companies officially confirmed their partnership, and revealed that Vampyr will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One sometime in 2017.
Taking place more than 100 years ago, Vampyr already has a gorgeous concept trailer (embedded above) to its name and a extensive backstory:
Vampyr is set in early 20th century Britain as the country is gripped by the lethal Spanish flu and the streets of London are crippled by disease, violence and fear. In a disorganized and ghostly city, those foolish, desperate, or unlucky enough to walk the streets lay prey to Britain’s most elusive predators: the vampires. Emerging from the chaos, a tormented figure awakens. You are Jonathan E. Reid, a high-ranking military surgeon transformed into a vampire upon his return home from the frontline.
Explore the darkly atmospheric streets of early 20th century London, and interact with a multitude of characters with their own identities and importance. Accept and fulfill the missions they give you, but don’t forget: sooner or later, you will have to feed, and make a difficult choice… who will be your prey? Absolutely all characters in the game are potential victims of your vampiric lust. Carefully study the habits of your next victim, his or her relationships with other characters, and set up your strategy to feed, unnoticed: seduce them, change their daily habits, or make sure they end up alone in a dark street…
Like with their episodic tale of apocalyptic teenage visions, Life Is Strange, Vampyr will rely heavily on player choice and how those choices affect the game world:
Be careful who you choose to hunt, as they will be gone forever, and their death will impact in a meaningful way the world that surrounds you. Feeding on human blood will not just keep you “alive”; it will also unlock new vampiric powers to use.
There will be times when exploration and seduction will only get you so far, and you’ll need to resort to engaging in Vampyr’s dynamic real-time combat. It blends hard-hitting melee combat with ranged shooting mechanics and the supernatural vampire powers. You’ll face many types of enemies: different species of vampires and creatures, as well as vampire hunters who want to hunt you down with their weapons, tools and traps. In Vampyr, your health and the “energy” that drives your supernatural powers are one and same! Using powers will drain your own blood, giving you an edge in battle but also leaving you weaker. You will have to find a way to feed during combat to replenish your strength.
In addition to the well-received Life Is Strange, Dontnod is also responsible for 2013’s Remember Me, a futuristic beat ’em up that garnered some interesting reviews. In a short time, the developer has quickly established themselves as one to watch.
Rare returns with the pirate adventure Sea of Thieves for PC and Xbox One
Rare isn’t just going back to the past, they’re also looking to the future with Sea of Thieves, their first non-Kinect game in seven years. Arrrr you ready to learn more?
Sea of Thieves is a multiplayer pirate adventure in development for Windows 10 PCs and the Xbox One. The E3 trailer embedded above gives us a small taste of what the game world has to offer, depicting players finding buried treasure, fighting living skeletons, walking the plank, and engaging in ship-to-ship battles on the high seas.
During Micrsoft’s E3 Press Conference on Moday, Rare’s Studio Head, Craig Duncan, told attendees that Sea of Thieves is “by far, the most ambitious game Rare has ever created.” He also touted the game’s “limitless possibilities,” so would-be buccaneers will likely be able to engage in even more pirate shenanigans.
Sea of Thieves will be released in Fall 2016.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, Sea of Thieves
20 more tracks from Guitar Hero Live were revealed at E3 2015

Shortly after confirming an October 20 release date for Guitar Hero Live, Activision revealed another 20 songs that will be available on the game disc. This batch of songs returns to the wider variety of music found in earlier tracklist updates with songs from Bob Dylan, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, Green Day, Kongos, and many others. There’s also several Guitar Hero alums returning for an encore which were previously featured in the original Guitar Hero (White Zombie’s “Thunder Kiss ’65”), Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade”), Guitar Hero: World Tour (Korn’s “Freak on a Leash”) and Guitar Hero 5 (Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life”).
Here’s all the new songs Activision included in their E3 2015 announcement:
- American Authors – “Best Day of My Life”
- The Avett Brothers – “Another is Waiting”
- Band of Skulls – “Asleep at the Wheel”
- Biffy Clyro – “Sounds Like Balloons”
- Bob Dylan – “Thunder on the Mountain”
- Bruno Mars – “The Lazy Song”
- Calvin Harris – “Feels So Close”
- Carrie Underwood – “Before He Cheats”
- Courtney Barnett – “Pedestrian at Best”
- Dum Dum Girls – “Rimbaud Eyes”
- Green Day – “American Idiot”
- Iggy Pop – “Lust for Life”
- Jake Bugg – “What Doesn’t Kill You”
- Jet – “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?”
- Kongos – “Come With Me Now”
- Korn – “Freak on a Leash”
- Rage Against the Machine – “Bulls on Parade”
- The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”
- White Zombie – “Thunder Kiss ‘65”
- ZZ Top – “I Gotsta Get Paid”
This update pushes the total number of songs in Guitar Hero Live to 74 (previous tracklist updates can be found here, here, here, and here). Activision hasn’t said how many songs will ship on the Guitar Hero Live game disc, but they plan to continue announcing new songs as it gets closer to release.
Microsoft will release Killer Instinct for Windows 10 PCs

Microsoft has confirmed that Killer Instinct, their free-to-play fighter that is currently wrapping up its second season on the Xbox One, will be released for Windows 10 PCs at some point in the future:
We’re so excited to share that KI is coming to Win 10 at E3 – but we don’t have any more to share at this time. pic.twitter.com/parhAY0uSd
— Killer Instinct (@KillerInstinct) June 17, 2015
That tweet is pretty much the final word on everything we know about Killer Instinct’s PC release. Though Microsoft’s Phil Spencer did tell the audience at the PC Gaming Show that cross-platform play between Windows 10 and Xbox One owners will be possible.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged E3 2015, Killer Instinct
“Have yourself a time” with South Park: The Fractured But Whole announcement trailer
One of the biggest surprises out of this year’s E3 came from Ubisoft. South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the sequel to the award-winning RPG title South Park: The Stick of Truth was announced during Ubisoft’s press conference.
Instead of donning their Game of Thrones-inspired garb, the boys of South Park will take on their superhero alter-egos, as seen in the “Coon and Friends” trilogy of episodes from 2010. The game will retain the turn-based RPG elements, and is once again being written by series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. However, Stick of Truth developer Obsidian Entertainment has handed the development reins over to Ubisoft San Francisco.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole will be available for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. No release date was given, but let’s hope that that game doesn’t experience the same turbulent development history that the first one did.
Castle Crashers Remastered will be released for the Xbox One this Summer
While The Behemoth continues to toil away at Game 4, the developer found the time to announce they’re going back to the past with the release of Castle Crashers Remastered for the Xbox One this Summer.
Castle Crashers Remastered will bring the highly-acclaimed game to the Xbox One for the first time with an improved framerate (60FPS), more detailed textures, improved matchmaking, and a few engine tweaks for better performance. The Remastered version will also come packed with a brand new minigame, Back Off Barbarian:
Back Off Barbarian
Jump. Dart. Move and groove to the music. Whatever you do, just stay away from the enemies!Back Off Barbarian is a simple but addicting mini-game where players move quickly using the D-Pad to avoid the enemies. As time passes, more enemies are added into the level and the players will find it harder to get around in the environment. Up to four players can be supported online or offline.
Castle Crashers Remastered will also be available for the PC, but according to The Behemoth Blog, development on the Steam update won’t begin until “later this year,” likely sometime after the remake’s Xbox One release. For now, the E3 trailer embedded above will have to satisfy our Castle Crashers hunger.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Castle Crashers, E3 2015
Xbox Store Today: Payday 2 Crimewave Edition, Elite Dangerous, The Long Dark
This week’s Xbox Games Store update is a big one for Microsoft as the consolemaker has begun offering “Xbox Game Preview” titles for download on the Xbox One. This Steam-like service gives Xbox One owners the chance to support developers by purchasing in-development games. In return, gamers get to play these games before anyone else. Two Xbox Game Preview titles were added to the Xbox storefront earlier this week… Elite: Dangerous and The Long Dark.
Elite: Dangerous, the fourth game in the very influential Elite franchise, is in the works at Frontier Developments. After acquiring a small starship, players will make their way across a “futuristic cutthroat galaxy” in a deep spacefaring simulation. Meanwhile, The Long Dark is bit more earthbound as players will attempt to survive in the frozen wilderness.
Outside of the Xbox Game Preview program, Overkill released Payday 2: Crimewave Edition for the Xbox One this week. Overkill’s cooperative heist simulation was originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2013, but the Crimewave Edition comes bundled with all previously-released downloadable content and an enhanced graphics engine.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Elite: Dangerous, Payday 2, The Long Dark







