Time Magazine names their top ten video games of 2015

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It looks like Time Magazine will get the first word in the annual discussion about the best games of the past 12 months as the publication recently published their look at the “Top 10 Video Games of 2015.” As usual, Time’s honorees are a mix of blockbusters and games with a lower profile. That includes this year’s #1, which is Prune, a “minimalist” puzzler for the iOS. I’d never heard of Prune before today (and I’m sure I’m not alone), but it certainly looks interesting.

Among this year’s blockbusters, Nintendo has two titles in Time’s Top Ten: Super Mario Maker at #6 and Splatoon at #10. Both certainly made the Wii U stand out against the PS4 and Xbox One. But speaking of the PS4 and Xbox One, several multiplatform games rose to the occasion in the eyes of Time’s editors including Rise of the Tomb Raider (#2), Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (#3), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (#5), and Batman: Arkham Knight (#8).

The rest of Time’s Top Ten can be found right here:

Time Magazine’s Top Ten Video Games of 2015
1. Prune (Mobile)
2. Rise of the Tomb Raider (Xbox One, Xbox 360)
3. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
4. Her Story (PC, Mobile)
5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
6. Super Mario Maker (Wii U)
7. Ryan North’s To Be or Not to Be (PC, Mobile)
8. Batman: Arkham Knight (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
9. Undertale (PC)
10. Splatoon (Wii U)

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New tracks from Van Halen melt your face off in today’s Rock Band 4 DLC Update

Harmonix wants to take us back to school with today’s Rock Band 4 DLC Update. Van Halen’s eternally popular “Hot For Teacher” headlines the Van Halen Hits Pack 01, which will include five additional songs from the band’s David Lee Roth era. If you’ve got it bad… got it bad… got it bad… you’ll also be able to play along with “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “And the Cradle Will Rock…,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Runnin’ With the Devil,” and “Unchained.”

The Van Halen Hits Pack 01 is available to download now on the PS4 and Xbox One for $9.99. Individual songs can also be purchased for $1.99 apiece.

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Capcom will also release a GameStop-exclusive Street Fighter V Collector’s Edition in February

streetfighterv-gamestopFans of the Street Fighter franchise are a special breed. Capcom and GameStop are hoping to tap into that strain of fanaticism with an absolutely massive Street Fighter V Collector’s Edition, which will be available in February.

Retailing for $347.97 (though currently discounted to $329.98), the Collector’s Edition will include a Street Fighter V game disc, a 48-page Art Book, a Soundtrack Sampler, a Chun-Li Arcade FightStick, and a 10-inch statue of Ryu. I’m not usually one to go gaga over statues, but I have to admit, this one looks pretty sharp. The package will also include a three-month subscription to PlayStation Plus, a one-month subscription to the Capcom Fighter Twitch channel, and a downloadable sample of Udon’s Street Fighter comic.

The Street Fighter V Collector’s Edition will be available exclusively for the PS4 through GameStop.com on February 16, 2016. The game will also be released for the PC in a standard edition on the same day.

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Bombshell will be released for the PC on January 29; “Retro FPS Prequel” announced

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3D Realms and Interceptor Entertainment have announced that Bombshell, an isometric action RPG that began life as Duke Nukem: Mass Destruction, will be released for the PC on January 29, 2016.

Bombshell stars Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a one-armed mercenary who has been enlisted to fly across the galaxy and save the President. And in Duke-like fashion, she’ll do it with a scowl and plenty of sarcasm.

Players interested in joining her on this adventure will be able to purchase Bombshell through Steam or GOG.com in a standard edition ($34.99) or a Digital Deluxe Edition ($39.99). The Digital Deluxe Edition will include the game, as well as a Digital Soundtrack, Digital Art Book, Digital World Maps, and beta access to Bombshell: The Washington Project, a “retro FPS prequel” built from the ground up with the Build Engine. The Build Engine was used to create Duke Nukem 3D, so you know Bombshell: The Washington Project will be authentically retro.

Bombshell is also in development for the PS4 and Xbox One and it’ll launch sometime in 2016.

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Capcom plans to support Street Fighter V for five years

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Capcom supported Street Fighter IV for roughly six years when the final bell rang. Three major updates (and several smaller ones) were released for the fighting game, including Super Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, and last year’s Ultra Street Fighter IV.

Though Street Fighter V is still a few months out, the publisher has already confirmed that its update schedule will look a little different. Rather than launch a major “Super” or “Ultra” update every year or two, Capcom will instead offer a single new character for the game roughly every two months, with six planned for release next year. And if all goes according to plan, this schedule will be in place for five years, ultimately allowing the game’s roster to grow from 16 to nearly 50.

Franchise Producer Yoshinori Ono recently sat down with Eurogamer and laid it all out:

Eurogamer: Street Fighter IV ended up with 44 characters, you’ve got 16 in V with six coming in the first year. My maths is terrible so I can’t figure out how long it’d take you to get to 44…. How long will you support it for?

Ono: A lot of it will depend on once the game’s out in the wild, and if the model we make comes to fruition and I can be proven right about it being the right choice. Simple maths suggests it’d take five years to get to the roster of Street Fighter 4, and we want to keep the game going for that amount of time. We want to support it as long as we can, we honestly will have to see – we don’t know anymore than anyone else does how it’s going to turn out next February, once we do this completely new way of doing things.

Street Fighter V will be released for the PC and PS4 on February 16, 2016.

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Black Friday 2015 Video Game Deals: Xbox Games Store

Black Friday is coming, is your wish list (and your wallet) ready? Here’s what you can expect to find at one retailer on November 27th…

It’s no secret that Black Friday is an absolutely terrible time to cross the threshold of a retail establishment. It’s crowded, everyone’s on edge, and a stomachful of Thanksgiving Dinner is just begging you to hibernate. Microsoft understands your frustration and is once again having a massive sale on Xbox One and Xbox 360 games and add-ons through the Xbox Games Store this Black Friday.

Now’s the time to download games like Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Madden NFL 16, Mortal Kombat X, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved, Tales From the Borderlands, Grand Theft Auto V, and many more at a huge discount.

Best of all, Xbox Live Gold subscribers have access to most of these deals now. The rest will become available on November 24, which is also when regular Xbox Live users will get their first crack at the big sale. Microsoft also plans to launch a number of special “Weekend Deals” on November 27.

Microsoft’s complete list of Black Friday deals through the Xbox Games Store can be found after the break. And remember, you don’t even need to be wearing pants to get these prices.

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Telltale confirms that Game of Thrones: Season 2 is in development

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Telltale’s Game of Thrones adaptation came to a bloody end earlier this week with the release of The Ice Dragon, the sixth, and final, episode of the series. But there is hope for the future as players will get to continue the story of House Forrester sometime soon as the developer recently confirmed they’re currently working on Game of Thrones Season 2.

Telltale’s CEO, Kevin Bruner, recently broke the good news during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

The Hollywood Reporter: “The Ice Dragon” ends with bloodshed and heartbreak for House Forrester, and also ends without resolution to many major stories. Is it safe to assume that these cliffhangers will be resolved in a second season?

Telltale’s Kevin Bruner: When we initially announced the series in 2013, we let everyone know this would be a multi-title, multiyear partnership with HBO. After this week’s finale, I’m pleased to officially confirm that there will be a second season of Telltale’s Game of Thrones series and that it’s currently in development.

The questions left on the table at the conclusion of season one — who survived and who didn’t — as well as all the other choices you made play a huge role in the second season. We’ve been planning the second season all along, but I really shouldn’t be revealing more than that.

Game of Thrones fans would be well served by clicking through to the full interview as Bruner has a lot to say about Season One. The executive provides a lot of juicy details about the creative process behind Telltale’s Game of Thrones game, and if you were a fan of the episodic series, it’s well worth a read.

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Weekly Warp-Up: It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Black Friday 2015

No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…

The Black Friday countdown has begun and I hope you have your wish list ready. If not, don’t forget to check out what GameStop will have on sale on the big day… you just might snag a few deals on this Fall’s biggest games.

And speaking of this Fall’s biggest games, EA is apparently already working on a sequel to Star Wars: Battlefront. The company’s CFO spoke at a technology conference earlier this week and confirmed that Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is officially in the works.

Also officially in the works this week is a biographical film about the life of Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov. And if we believe Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (he’s Shang Tsung to everyone over the age of 30), filming on Mortal Kombat: Legacy 3 has already finished.

Finally, I suggest you read our review of Knight Squad, because it is one of the best party games on the Xbox One.

More news from the week that was can be found after the break.

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