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
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- 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
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Review: A Solid Opener
The most jaw-dropping thing about Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is its brevity. Despite all its brilliant stealth setpieces and plotting, the Metal Gear franchise is best known for the cinematic leanings of its creator, Hideo Kojima. It came to a head during Metal Gear Solid 4, which reached amazing highs in gameplay, narrative, and fanboyish nostalgia, but was laced with overly long interstitials crammed with far too much exposition. (more…)
Microsoft still wants to add game sharing to Xbox One
Last year, most gamers were gasping at Microsoft’s insistence that the Xbox One wouldn’t support used games. The hardware manufacturer eventually relented, but after adding used game support back in, they also removed one of the system’s biggest pluses: Family Sharing. But according to Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, the Family Sharing feature may return someday.
Speaking to GameSpot during last weekend’s Game Developers Conference, Spencer reiterated that Microsoft believes that digital downloading and digital management of your games is the future of the Xbox One. And that includes loaning the rights to play a game between friends and family:
“On the digital space, and the things that we’ve talked about, what that opens up…like we understand what games you own and who you are and how you move around and who you might want to loan rights to your games or gift your games to,” Spencer said. “We totally believe in that future. And any other marketplace you play in, these kind of mechanisms are out there.”
Spencer did not reveal a timeline for the return of the Family Sharing feature, but its inclusion would certainly give it a leg up on Sony’s PlayStation 4. Valve added Family Sharing to Steam earlier this month.
Alien: Isolation release date to be announced this weekend
Creative Assembly has confirmed they will announce the official release date for Alien: Isolation this weekend, during Eurogamer’s EGX Rezzed convention. The developers plan to bring 60 demo stations for the game to the Birmingham, UK show, so if you’re in the neighborhood, and you’re confident you won’t wet yourself, you might want to check it out.
Developers from Creative Assembly will also host two separate panels on the game’s development on Saturday, March 29. Creative Lead Al Hope will lead a discussion on “Fear and Horror in Games” at 1:00 PM (Greenwich Time). At 3:00 PM, several other members of the development will host an Alien: Isolation-specific panel that will reveal more details about the game’s creation. A (hopefully) spirited Q&A session will follow.
Alien: Isolation is in development for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It should be out by the end of the year and we’ll know exactly when by Monday morning.
Ubisoft bringing Watch Dogs, The Crew, Child of Light, Trials Fusion, more to PAX East 2014
Several big name publishers won’t be in attendance at this year’s PAX East convention, but you definitely shouldn’t count Ubisoft among their number. The French publishing powerhouse will have a massive booth featuring eight different games at this year’s show:
- Watch Dogs – Con-goers will be able to view a before-seen demo of the game as well as participate in an “eye-opening Watch Dogs experience that lets fans see themselves through the lens of a hacker and get a look at how they could potentially be targeted.”
- The Crew – Ubisoft’s upcoming driving game will be playable on the show floor as “players will be able to the own the road in a massive, open-world re-creation of the United States that is brimming with exciting challenges.”
- Trials Fusion – Scheduled for release on April 16, attendees will get their first chance to play the first next-generation game in the Trials series. In addition to the hands-on demo, professional BMX riders will perform stunts in Ubisoft’s in-booth skate park.
- Child of Light – Players will be able to take control of the game’s main character, Aurora, in a new hands-on demo: “Players will use an active turn-based fight system to uncover mythical dragons and other enchanting creatures, as well as explore the gorgeous watercolor-painted 2D environments in a poetic journey inspired by fairy tales.”
Ubisoft also plans to showcase a playable demo for an unannounced downloadable title as well as a trio of free-to-play titles: online shooter Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Phantoms, hack and slash The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot, and collectible card game Might & Magic: Duel of Champions.
PAX East 2014 is less than three weeks away and it’ll be held in Boston, Massachusetts from April 11-13.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Child of Light, PAX East 2014, The Crew, Trials Fusion, Watch Dogs
Rumor: Far Cry 4 to be set in the Himalayas and release in 2015
Development of the Far Cry franchise shifted to Ubisoft Montreal (the team behind the original Assassin’s Creed) after the first installment, and if there’s one thing we know about Ubisoft, it’s that they know how to keep a franchise going. Names like Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy have become as recognizable in the gaming world as Call of Duty, and each sequel just seems to make each franchise better. So it should come as no surprise that, after the success of Far Cry 3, another installment in the series is well underway. This time, however, the tropical setting will be notably absent.
Eurogamer is reporting that Far Cry 4 will take place among the snowy mountains of the Himalayas. Players will be able to interact with the region in a number of ways, perhaps the most notable of which is the ability to ride an elephant.
Far Cry 4 is expected to be in development for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, though its possible a version for current-gen consoles is also in the works. According to Eurogamer’s source, Far Cry 4 will make its official debut at the upcoming E3 Expo in June with Ubisoft planning to release the game in early 2015.
Microsoft will announce an Xbox One exclusive from an “awesome” Japanese studio soon
Microsoft plans to add another exclusive to the Xbox One’s lineup and it looks like it’ll come from an “awesome” Japanese developer.
Famitsu (translated by Dualshockers) caught up with Phil Spencer during last week’s Game Developers Conference and he revealed that Microsoft plans to announce a new Xbox One exclusive very soon:
“I’m very excited about the announcement of the release window in Japan. An unique exclusive title for Xbox One is going to be released by an awesome Japanese studio.”
What studio is behind this game and whether or not it will even be released in North America is still unconfirmed, but Spencer did say that Microsoft had a big announcement planned for this year’s Tokyo Game Show:
“I’m looking forward to go to Tokyo Game Show this year, and I want to show everyone something never seen before. Stay tuned!”
Microsoft is no stranger to publishing Japanese-developed games as Capcom (Dead Rising 3), Groundlings (Crimson Dragon), and Access Games (D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die) have all released or will release exclusive Xbox One titles.
Diablo III is unofficially officially coming to Xbox One
Officially, Diablo III‘s exclusive next-generation home is the PS4. But unofficially, the game’s Lead Producer, Alex Mayberry, has told VideoGamer that the game is definitely coming to the Xbox One as well:
“I don’t know where we are with Microsoft right now so I can’t really comment on what that contract looks like,” Diablo 3 lead producer Alex Mayberry explained to us this morning while discussing tomorrow’s launch of Reaper of Souls. “The point is we are developing for Xbox [One] and PS4 simultaneously. We hit those major platforms and then our goal as a development team is to make them run.”
Because of the ongoing contract discussions, the only thing that Mayberry can officially say is that Diablo III might never be released on the Xbox One. That said, development on both versions of the game is being done at the same time within Blizzard, so a simultaneous launch (similar to the PS3 and Xbox 360 release of Diablo III) isn’t out of the question.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls will be released for the PC tomorrow. According to Mayberry, the PS4’s Ultimate Evil Edition “[isn’t] too far off.”
Posted in News, Xbox One
Tagged Diablo III
Ubisoft confirms Assassin’s Creed: Unity will take place during French Revolution
Kotaku recently posted a report revealing the French Revolution setting of the next Assassin’s Creed game. Believed to be codenamed “Unity,” their source stated the game was only in development for next-generation systems and that it would be released this Fall.
This morning, Ubisoft confirmed that the next game in the series will be titled Assassin’s Creed: Unity and that it will be set during the French Revolution. Unity has been in development for over three years and it is currently scheduled to be released during this year’s holiday season.
The publisher also released a short teaser trailer for the game, which you can view above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed: Unity