Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Meet the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025: Quake, GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi
- The BAFTA Games Awards Polled the Public and Shenmue is “The Most Influential Video Game of All Time”
- 2024 GOTY Scoreboard: Astro Bot, Balatro, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, More
- The Strong Museum of Play Acquires Prototypes and Development Documents from Volition’s 30-Year History
- Minecraft’s Volume Alpha Soundtrack Has Been Added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- Inside the ‘Dragon Age’ Debacle That Gutted EA’s BioWare Studio – Bloomberg (2025)
- Fight Club, The Game David Fincher Didn’t Want You To Play – Time Extension (2025)
- It’s beginning to feel like gaming isn’t for everyone – Digital Trends (2025)
- 22 years later, modders are keeping SimCity 4 alive – The Verge (2025)
- The B-movies of Paul W.S. Anderson double as acts of devotion to his muse, Milla Jovovich – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: Articles
XBL Store Today: Risen 3: Titan Lords
Risen 3: Titan Lords is today’s lone addition to the Xbox Live Games Store. Developed by Piranha Bytes and published by Deep Silver, the game is a traditional RPG in the medieval mold that is sure is sure to make some gamers out there happy.
It has been priced at $49.99 and is available to download now. And in case Risen 3: Titan Lords is brand new to you, here’s a description of the game straight from the Xbox Live Dashboard:
The world has been abandoned by its gods and is scarred from the rampage of the Titans. Humanity is struggling to regain strength and rally its forces. You, however, have more pressing concerns: your own life has been shattered and you must set off to reclaim what is lost amidst the darkness that is spreading throughout the world. Step into a classic hand-crafted role-playing world – full of rugged charm, colorful characters and demonic dangers. From quaint medieval-style towns to delving deep into the dank dark of mines, to the supernatural shadow world, there is a wealth of possibilities waiting to be explored.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Risen 3: Titan Lords
Geometry Wars 3 coming to PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One; first screenshots inside
I think it’s safe to say that if you’ve played Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 for any length of time, finding out that Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is in the works is like Christmas, Hanukkah, and Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day all rolled into one. But what do Sierra and Lucid Games have planned for the threequel? Thankfully, IGN is on the ground in Cologne, Germany with the first preview.
According to the report, Geometry Wars 3 will expand the horizons of the series in new ways. Instead of a flat plane, Dimensions will warp the playing field into 3D shapes such as spheres, cubes, and cylinders. Players will be able to completely circumnavigate the shape and fire bullets all the way around:
Right from the very first stage, Dimensions was as hectic and maddening as the Geometry Wars I fell in love with back on the 360. Additions such as a customizable drone ally, landscapes that morph throughout the round, and bullets that fire all the way around the circumference of a level make each round even more chaotic, but the smart design, easily-digestible color pallette, and UI make sure that the action never becomes truly disorientating.
Wow. Each level in Dimensions will also include its very own leaderboard and a variety of special objectives that players will have to complete to earn Stars. Like many games nowadays, Stars are the currency required to open up new levels and modes in Dimensions. Finally, IGN was able to confirm that the game will appear on the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One before the end of the year.
If you’d prefer to see it for yourself, you can find Geometry Wars 3’s first screenshots after the break. And by the way, Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day is January 27. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2014, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
Overkill will release Overkill’s The Walking Dead in 2016
OK, try not to get confused… Starbreeze and Overkill have announced that they have partnered with Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Interactive to create a new co-op shooter based on Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic. Rather than mess around with a subtitle, the three teams have decided to use Overkill’s The Walking Dead as the title.
Overkill’s The Walking Dead is a co-op first person shooter with elements of action, role-playing, survival horror and stealth, that invites players to explore the hugely popular The Walking Dead universe, where they will play the role of survivors fending for themselves in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating walkers. In 2016 Washington will fall – what will you do?
To celebrate their new partnership, Overkill has also announced that “Lucille,” the barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat beloved by The Walking Dead‘s Negan, will be added to Payday 2 as a new melee weapon.
Overkill’s The Walking Dead will be released sometime in 2016. You can check out the teaser trailer after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged Overkill's The Walking Dead, Payday 2
Rise of the Tomb Raider also coming to Xbox 360; exclusivity deal “has a duration”
After a stealth Silent Hill announcement and Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s Xbox exclusivity, yesterday was a big day for Gamescom surprises. But, as we all expected, that exclusivity won’t be permanent and Rise of the Tomb Raider will be free to appear on other platforms someday.
The news was confirmed by Eurogamer, who tracked down Microsoft’s Phil Spencer and got him to admit that their deal with Square Enix “has a duration.” He couldn’t say what Square Enix plans to do with the game after this deal expires, but he could confirm that the game will also launch on the Xbox 360 next year:
Spencer: “I have Tomb Raider shipping next holiday exclusively on Xbox. It is Xbox 360 and Xbox One. I’m not trying to fake anybody out in terms of where this thing is. What they do with the franchise in the long run is not mine. I don’t control it. So all I can talk about is the deal I have. I don’t know where else Tomb Raider goes.”
Eurogamer: “Is there a time limit on the exclusivity period?”
Spencer: “Yes, the deal has a duration. I didn’t buy it. I don’t own the franchise.”
If history is any guide, Square Enix will likely announce Rise of the Tomb Raider’s future destinations (cough PC, PS3, PS4 cough) sometime after the game’s 2015 release.
Posted in News, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Gamescom 2014, Rise of the Tomb Raider
BioWare reveals the game “You’ve Been Chosen” for is called Shadow Realms
BioWare has been teasing out new trailers for their “You’ve Been Chosen” project for a few weeks now. We knew that the game was set in the modern day and centered on superpowers in some way, but the developer was saving the full reveal for Germany’s Gamescom event. Today, BioWare’s Austin team unveiled Shadow Realms, their new 4v1 RPG.
With its 4v1 structure, BioWare wants to make Shadow Realms resemble the pen-and-paper RPGs that many gamers grew up on. Four players will battle hordes of monsters as Hero characters while the fifth will control the Shadowlord, a evil mastermind who can set traps, possess monsters, and cast spells in opposition to the Heroes:
In Shadow Realms, Modern Heroes on Earth are being awakened and recruited, because of magical powers they never knew they had, to fight in a new and dangerous war against the Shadow Legions of Embra. The Shadow Legions, who have been battling on Embra for years against the members of the Radiant Empires, have gained new strength with the coming of a powerful, unknown force that we call the Shadowlords. And, they have just figured out how to leave Embra and invade Earth.
BioWare will release Shadow Realms episodically through EA’s Origin service, though a release date for the first episode wasn’t announced. Prospective players are encouraged to visit the game’s official website to sign up for a closed alpha test. Once you’re there, you can also read up on some behind-the-scenes secrets courtesy of the BioWare team.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Gamescom 2014, Shadow Realms
Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro team up for Silent Hill reboot
If Hideo Kojima wasn’t already considered the Clown Prince of Game Development, he’s certainly earned that title now. Yesterday, Sony uploaded P.T., an “interactive teaser” for a horror game from unknown developer 7780s Studio, to the PlayStation Store. But once players reached the end of the demo, they were in for a massive surprise… P.T. is actually a teaser for Silent Hills, a reboot of the long-running horror franchise produced by Hideo Kojima at his Kojima Productions studio with director Guillermo Del Toro serving as a consultant.
Whoa!
Silent Hills will star Norman Reedus (Daryl from The Walking Dead) and it’s in development for the PS4 (and possibly other platforms). That’s about all we know at this point, but hopefully an official announcement from Sony or Konami will clear things up a little more.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged Gamescom 2014, Silent Hills
Akiba’s Trip, Hohokum, Risen 3, more added to PS Store
The real highlight of yesterday’s PlayStation Store update was the “interactive teaser” for PT, but a few interesting games are now available as well…
- Hohokum (PS3/PS4/Vita Cross-Buy) is this week’s PS Store Play selection and it asks players to guide a “curious kite” through a colorful world.
- Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed (PS3 and Vita) puts players in the middle of Tokyo’s “Electric Town” to battle semi-naked vampires.
- Surgeon Simulator: A&E Anniversary Edition (PS4) is a surgery simulation. Yay for accurate titles.
- Risen 3: Titan Lords (PS3) brings the popular RPG series back to its medieval roots.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And, as always, a rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
KillAllZombies makes zombie hunting a spectator sport on PS4
Ukrainian studio Beatshapers is bringing zombie mayhem to the PS4 with its twin-stick slaughter title KillAllZombies (officially stylized as #killallzombies, but come on). Akin to Smash TV, the game sees players thrust into a televised arena swarming with zombies. Viewers at home determine when the hordes are released, and how many are in each batch [Ed. Note: a group of zombies is better described as a “murder”].
The arena itself is made up of hundreds of hexagonal tiles, upon which items and objects can appear to help the player survive. The tiles can also disintegrate, revealing deadly traps or blocking players/zombies in their path. The hapless contestant will have a large selection of weaponry and ammo, from standard guns such as revolvers and sawed-off shotguns to futuristic X-Bows and Plasma Guns. As well as typical bullets and arrows, players will be able to win armour-piercing rounds to help stave off the zombies quicker, and freezing bullets to stop them in their tracks.
The game is being designed for the world of social media, with spectators being able to interact with the game as well as watching streams via PS4 and Twitch channels. In a move not unfamiliar to fans of The Hunger Games, viewers can vote every 80 seconds between two types of encounter options – will they unleash more zombies, or offer a timed bonus or permanent perk to aid the player? Players will also be rewarded for trusting the audience, and if they wait for decisions about which perk they are to be gifted, they will also gain additional health and XP.
For the voyeurs in the audience, they will be able to alter the camera angle to disadvantage the player. The truly evil spectators will also be able to interfere with the control scheme, all of which can be done over chat commands in realtime. Beatshapers has also promised that there will be plenty of hidden commands to discover.
The frantic KillAllZombies is expected to be available next month and more information is available at the PlayStation Blog.
Posted in News, PS4
Tagged KillAllZombies