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
- 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)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: Xbox One
Phantom Trigger, Samurai Shodown IV, more added to Xbox Store
It’s Friday, and Microsoft has added a handful of new games to the Xbox Games Store…
First up is Phantom Trigger, a “neon slasher” with RPG and roguelike elements from TinyBuild and Bread Team. Xbox One owners who purchase Phantom Trigger will also receive a copy for their Windows 10 PC through the Xbox Play Anywhere program. Also available to download today for the Xbox One is Samurai Shodown IV, yet another one-on-one fighting game that originally appeared on the NeoGeo.
You can learn more about all of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)
PEGI rates 20XX for Switch and Xbox One
20XX is a roguelike platformer from Batterystaple Games that was very obviously influenced by Capcom’s Mega Man X. The procedurally-generated game is currently available for the PC, but back in December, we learned that it was making the leap to the PS4 in “Early 2018.”
Since we’re now well into April, that obviously didn’t happen. But a new rating for 20XX from Europe’s PEGI organization has confirmed the game will also be coming to the Switch and Xbox One.
We still don’t know when 20XX will make its console debut, but it’s nice to know that more people will get the chance to play Batterystaple’s excellent spin on the Mega Man formula.
Casey Powell Lacrosse 18 and I, Hope added to Xbox Store
Two new Xbox One games are now available to download through the Xbox Games Store…
Casey Powell Lacrosse 18 is the latest lacrosse simulation from Big Ant Studios, and it features “a completely reworked series of faceoff, shot, stick, and dodging controls.” Also available today is I, Hope, a game where a young girl battles “a dark monster called Cancer.”
You can learn more about both of these games right here…
Now Available on Xbox Games Store – 4/18/18 [Major Nelson]
Casey Powell Lacrosse 18
Casey Powell Lacrosse 18 offers sports fans a dynamic, fast, and challenging experience, with all the excitement, speed, and scoring of real-life lacrosse, including a completely reworked series of faceoff, shot, stick, and dodging controls. It also features enhanced AI that responds to the complex 6v6 tactics of lacrosse. New motion capture animations for everything from faceoffs and shooting to post-goal celebrations add even further realism to the game.I, Hope
A young girl named Hope lives peacefully with her Grandpa upon an island floating in the clouds. That is, until one day, a dark monster called Cancer attacks and destroys her village, ensnaring the surrounding islands with its evil tentacles. Hope must travel to these islands to free their creatures and acquire the weapons she will need to defeat her ultimate enemy.Developed in partnership with hospitals and child researchers to have a poignant impact on the lives of children fighting cancer, I, Hope is also donating fully 100% of all sales to GameChanger Charity, an organization that supports children and families fighting cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
Super Mega Baseball 2 slides into home on the PC, PS4, Xbox One on May 1
Metalhead Software has announced that Super Mega Baseball 2 is getting “The Call” in just a few weeks, and it’ll be available to download for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on May 1. A trio of DLC Packs featuring “additional cosmetic customization content” will also be available on the same day.
Super Mega Baseball 2 will add the much-requested new feature of competitive and cooperative online play, as well as a revamped graphical presentation and expanded customization options:
Super Mega Baseball 2 Features
- Overhauled Presentation including eight stadiums built from the ground up, more realistically scaled character models, and new, more athletic player animations
- Comprehensive Customization of leagues, team logos and uniforms, and player gear
- New Competitive and Co-Operative Online Modes, utilizing dedicated servers
- Cross-Platform Play between PC and Xbox One, and between PC and PS4
- Refined Baseball Simulation with visceral physics and realistic play outcomes
- Enhanced Image Quality on Xbox One X and PS4 Pro
“With Super Mega Baseball 2 we’ve put together a more sophisticated baseball simulation for the baseball purists, but we’ve also been careful to maintain the pick-up-and-play nature that made the original as accessible as it was,” said Scott Drader, Metalhead’s Co-Founder. “Community feedback massively influenced our design choices for the sequel and we’ll be listening carefully to the community again this time when we’re considering further changes and additional content.”
To get a closer look at all the changes Metalhead made to the sequel, a massively in-depth Gameplay Trailer has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Super Mega Baseball 2
Rumor: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 won’t include a single-player campaign
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 might look a little different when it launches this Fall… if you believe a recent rumor reported by Polygon. According to several unnamed sources “with knowledge of the project’s status,” the next entry in the shooter series will ship without a single-player campaign for the first time in its history.
Instead, Activision and Treyarch will release a Call of Duty game that focuses solely on competitive multiplayer maps and the cooperative Zombies Mode:
The sources, who asked for anonymity, said that as Black Ops 4’s release date approached, it became evident that development on the single-player campaign wouldn’t be completed. One source said Treyarch has since focused Black Ops 4’s development on expanding multiplayer and the series’ popular Zombies mode. The source described an emphasis on cooperative modes as a potential stand-in for the typical single-player campaign experience.
Representatives from Activision refused to comment on the rumor, instead asking fans to stay tuned for the game’s “Community Reveal Event” on Thursday, May 17. Further details about Black Ops 4 are expected to be unveiled at this year’s E3 Expo. If the game is missing a single-player campaign, we’ll likely know by then.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on October 12.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
DC Comics will publish an Injustice Vs He-Man crossover in July
With an Evil Superman and a Heroic Harley Quinn, the Injustice universe has already traveled pretty far off the beaten path for readers used to the mainstream DC Universe. But the comics publisher wants to make it even nuttier this Summer, as they’ve announced plans to publish an Injustice Vs He-Man and the Masters of the Universe miniseries.
YOU… HAVE… THE… POWER… to read a plot description of Injustice Vs He-Man and the Masters of the Universe right here:
Believing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe defeated, a robotic impostor has seized control of Eternia… but not for long! After freeing his kingdom from this strongman’s rule, Prince Adam learns not everyone is pleased to see the pretender deposed… but Adam knows the value of freedom. So when heroes from another dimension ask his aid in deposing a super-hero turned dictator, he agrees. Teaming up with Batman against the Superman of the Injustice Universe, He-Man and his new allies face dangerous and familiar enemies in a battle where no world is safe!
Injustice Vs He-Man and the Masters of the Universe will be written by Tim Seeley, with art by Freddie E. Williams II. Hopefully the two of them will be able to explain why Prince Adam’s heroic alter ego looks so mopey on the cover.
The first issue of Injustice Vs He-Man and the Masters of the Universe will go on sale on July 18, and you can learn more about it at DCComics.com.
NBA Playgrounds 2 will be released sometime this year for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch
Saber Interactive has announced that the arcade-y action of the NBA Playgrounds franchise will return later this year on the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch in NBA Playgrounds 2.
According to the developer, NBA Playgrounds 2 will feature “new moves and power-ups, improved AI, and new player models and animations.” Players can also expect to find a new “worldwide ranked league system,” as well as a new single-player Season Mode, and four-player online matches:
Playgrounds Championship mode introduces a new worldwide ranked league system, featuring multiple competitive solo and co-op division ladders for players to climb. Season Mode is a new single-player experience that recreates the feeling of leading a team through the regular season, playoffs, and, ultimately, the NBA Championship itself. There’s also improved matchmaking with dedicated servers, the arrival of four-player online matches, the return of Three-Point Contests, Custom Matches, and more – pick your team and play without limits!
Like last time, NBA Playgrounds 2 will include more than 200 current and retired NBA players, including Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson, “Dr. J.” Julius Erving, Allen Iverson, and Larry Bird.
The first trailer for NBA Playgrounds 2 has been embedded above.
New Kingdom Hearts III trailer shows off LCD-inspired “Classic Kingdom”
Before the Switch’s combination of a portable and handheld… before the DS’s tounchscreen… even before the pea-green screen of a Game Boy… there were LCD handheld games. Popularized in the 70s and 80s, these early handheld devices offered crude graphics and even cruder gameplay mechanics.
And they’re coming back in Kingdom Hearts III… sort of. A new trailer for the upcoming action RPG introduces players to the “Classic Kingdom,” a series of minigames within Kingdom Hearts III inspired by the LCD handhelds of old.
Kingdom Hearts III is expected to be released for the PS4 and Xbox One sometime this year.
Posted in News, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Kingdom Hearts III