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
Xbox Store Today: Ori and the Blind Forest, DMC Definitive Edition, RE Revelations 2 Ep3
Three new games have been added to the Xbox Games Store today including a hand-painted new “Metroidvania,” an enhanced re-release of a decisive Xbox 360 favorite, and the third episode of Capcom’s first episodic project (I think it’s their first, please correct me if I’m wrong).
Ori and the Blind Forest, “a visually stunning action-platformer,” is the debut title from Moon Studios. The game tells the story of a creature that has been tasked with saving the very forest itself by the missing Spirit Tree. The game is completely hand-painted and is now available on the Xbox One.
Less serene are this week’s offerings from Capcom. The publisher has added two new games to the Xbox Games Store including DMC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition, an Xbox One remake of the Ninja Theory-developed reimagining of the franchise; and Resident Evil Revelations 2: Judgment (Xbox 360, Xbox One), the third episode of the second entry in the Resident Evil Revelations sub-series.
More details about all three games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged DMC: Devil May Cry, Ori and the Blind Forest, Resident Evil Revelations 2
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog #2: Post GDC/PAX East Edition
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 with a 2015, 2016, or unannounced release date.
Even though there’s still a lot of snow on the ground in most places, both of video gaming’s Spring showcases came and went last week. New release dates aplenty were announced at the Game Developers Conference and PAX East, along with a few dozen more since our last Video Game Release Calendar Changelog. Players with a love for AAA blockbuster will want to pay close attention to September 1, as WB Games staked out that spot on the calendar for Mad Max on the same day that Konami attempted to reserve it for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
If you’re looking for games about to be released in the more immediate timeframe, Sony’s Spring Fever promotion has locked in eight of indie gaming’s most interesting titles over the next two months culminating with Shovel Knight‘s April 21 launch on the PS3, PS4, and Vita (it’ll also be available for the Xbox One). Working backwards, April 14’s Titan Souls, April 7’s Bastion, and March 31’s Axiom Verge should also be on your radar if you enjoy retro-styled games.
Moving forward, other big games with confirmed release dates include the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V (now scheduled to launch on April 14), Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (May 5), and the PS4 version of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (May 12). Microsoft and Square Enix also confirmed that, respectively, Forza Motorsport 6 and Just Cause 3 will be out by the end of the year.
Finally, a few games slid into “TBA” slots after not being announced at all. Harmonix announced that Rock Band 4 will be released sometime this year while Square Enix did the same for the North American launch of Dragon Quest Heroes. Capcom strongly hinted that Street Fighter V will be in Spring 2016, but wouldn’t officially commit to any specific date. It’ll be joined in 2016 by Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch, which will definitely cross the Pacific next year.
The full list of games from the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog Update #2 can be found after the break. (more…)
Creative Assembly’s console team is hiring for “another multi-platform AAA blockbuster”
Creative Assembly has released five downloadable add-ons for Alien: Isolation since it launched in October, but it looks like the developer might be moving on. A large number of listings were recently added to Creative Assembly’s Jobs page for their console team. There’s currently no indication what the team is working on, but many of the posts state the developer is looking to create “another multi-platform AAA blockbuster.”
Late last year, the Lead Designer at Creative Assembly, Gary Napper, said that the team was considering a sequel to Alien: Isolation as their next project. An announcement on exactly what Creative Assembly is working on likely won’t be announced for a while, but if it is a sequel to Isolation, it might look a bit different from the first game. Interestingly, one of the job listings is for an Online/Multiplayer Programmer, even though Alien: Isolation was, as its title implies, a single-player affair.
20th Century Fox currently has several other Alien projects in development including a sequel to Aliens directed by Neil Blomkamp and a sequel to Prometheus directed by Ridley Scott.
Giant monsters battle it out in Gigantic’s PAX East 2015 trailer
Motiga erected a massive installation to promote Gigantic at this past weekend’s PAX East expo and it paid off. The 5v5 third-person MOBA was the hit of the show, especially after the developer partnered with Microsoft an Xbox One edition of the game earlier in the week at the Game Developers Conference. For those who weren’t able to attend the show, Motiga has released a brand new trailer highlighting the player-versus-player combat as well as the monster-versus-monster carnage that these too factions are trying to trigger.
A closed alpha of Gigantic is currently underway and a beta test of the free-to-play game will take place sometime in the near future. The final version of Gigantic should be released for the PC and Xbox One by the end of the year.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Gigantic, PAX East 2015
The Evil Within: The Assignment is now available to download
After announcing a few details and a release date last month, Bethesda is finally ready to launch The Assignment, the first expansion for The Evil Within. The Assignment takes place alongside the narrative of the main game and follows Juli Kidman, the partner of main character Sebastian Castellanos:
In The Evil Within: The Assignment and The Evil Within: The Consequence, players take on the role of Detective Juli Kidman, Sebastian Castellanos’ mysterious partner, in a concurrent story that looks to answer some of the questions surrounding her whereabouts during The Evil Within. Along the way she will encounter disturbing new enemies, discover new mysteries, and uncover new horrors. The Assignment and The Consequence give fans of The Evil Within the perfect opportunity to discover Detective Kidman’s hidden motivations and her mysterious connection to Mobius, the shadowy group thought to be behind the gruesome events of The Evil Within.
The Assignment will be followed in the Spring by a second expansion, The Consequence. Both The Assignment and The Consequence have been priced at $9.99 apiece or $19.99 as part of The Evil Within’s Season Pass. If you’re not ready to drop a few dollars on the DLC just yet, be sure to check out Bethesda’s recent gameplay stream of The Assignment, which has been embedded above.
Batman: Arkham Knight is rated M For Mature because of blood and torture
People were reasonably curious after the ESRB awarded an Mature rating to Batman: Arkham Knight last month. With yesterday’s publication of the game’s Rating Summary, now we know why.
Arkham Knight is said to include fight scenes reminiscent of previous Arkham games as well as the colorful characters that are typically found on the streets of Gotham. But the game also includes several scenes of torture and a lot of blood. One section of the game even combines the two as a character is tortured on a bloody operating table. Also, someone says the word “gobsh*te” (please be Batman, please be Batman, please be Batman).
The full Rating Summary from the ESRB can be viewed right here:
This is an action-adventure game in which players primarily assume the role of Batman as he battles several villains spreading chaos across Gotham City. Players traverse a variety of locations around Gotham while battling thugs, examining crime scenes, and occasionally rescuing hostages. Players engage in melee-style combat using punches, kicks, and gadgets (e.g., batarangs, explosives). Enemies cry out in pain when struck, and some takedowns are highlighted by brief slow-motion effects and loud impact sounds.
Some sequences allow players to use tank-like vehicles with machine gun turrets and rockets to shoot enemies; a vehicle’s wheels are also used to torture an enemy in one sequence. Cutscenes depict characters getting shot (on and off camera) while restrained or unarmed.
Large bloodstains/pools of blood appear in crime scenes and in the aftermath of violent acts; one room depicts a person torturing a character on a bloody operating table. During the course of the game, players can shoot unarmed characters and a hostage. Neon signs in a red-light district read “live nude girls” and “XXX.”
The words “b*tch,” “gobsh*te,” and “a*s” appear in the dialogue.
Batman: Arkham Knight will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on June 2.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: Arkham Knight
Killer Instinct’s “ghost girl” makes her debut at PAX East 2015
Representatives from Iron Galaxy attended this weekend’s PAX East expo to unveil the next downloadable character from Killer Instinct. Hisako is a Japanese “ghost girl” who will surely invite comparisons to The Ring‘s Samara. But there’s much more to her than that. Creative Director Kraig Kujawa, Director of Production Derek Neal, and QA Lead Isaac Torres joined forces with Microsoft’s James Goddard and Adam Isgreen to discuss the character at a panel dedicated to Killer Instinct. The quintet also screened an extensive gameplay walkthrough showcasing the character and posted 20 minutes of unused footage on the Killer Instinct YouTube Channel afterwards.
Owners of the Xbox One fighting game will be able to download Hisako sometime this month.
The panelists also discussed their future plans for Killer Instinct and confirmed that “Shadows,” a CPU-controlled sparring partner that learns your fighting technique and uses it against you, will be available in April alongside the “Story Mode” update. Season 2 will come to a close over the next few months with the addition of two other playable characters: Cinder, the living flame, and Aria, the villainous head of Ultratech.
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Killer Instinct, PAX East 2015
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will get Claptastic Voyage expansion on March 24
At PAX East 2015 this past weekend, Gearbox Software announced that the fourth (and final) downloadable add-on for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be available on March 24. Claptastic Voyage will be a full expansion to the game’s campaign and include a second Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack, which raise the level cap for each character to 70.
Claptastic Voyage is a riff on the classic sci-fi book/film Fantastic Voyage and will finally reveal exactly why Claptrap is the way he is:
In Claptastic Voyage, Handsome Jack has found something ludicrously powerful within Claptrap’s mind. Never one to turn down a chance at more power, Handsome Jack digitizes the vault hunters and sends them inside! Their goal is simple: find the mysterious “H-Source” code and get out of Claptrap’s consciousness without going completely insane. These anti-heroes will have to deal with Claptrap’s personal insecurities, his malware, and digital representations of his crushing loneliness!
In a post on their official website, Gearbox has promised that players will learn “why Claptrap loves dubstep so much” and get to play with a new “glitched weapons system.” We’ll also be able to battle through a new Mutator Arena “that lets you choose your own gravity settings, enemy mixes, and more.”
Claptastic Voyage is part of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel’s Season Pass, but it can be purchased separately for $9.99. The expansion will also be included in Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, a PS4/Xbox One upgrade of Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel which will be released on… wait for it… March 24.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, PAX East 2015