Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: PC
Microsoft is bringing Halo: Master Chief Collection to PC and will add Halo: Reach to compilation as DLC
The first four games in the Halo saga, as well as spinoff Halo 3: ODST, are currently available for the Xbox One through Halo: The Master Chief Collection. But Microsoft is planning to “Finish the Fight” with the addition of Halo: Reach to the compilation. Master Chief Collection owners will be receive Reach’s multiplayer content (including The Forge and The Theater) for free, with the game’s Campaign and Firefight Mode available as paid expansions.
But wait, there’s more.
Microsoft also confirmed that The Master Chief Collection is also in development for the PC and will be released through the Windows Store and Steam. Because development is just starting, and Microsoft doesn’t want fans to wait any longer than they have to, the publisher will give purchasers the option to download each game as it’s ready, starting with Halo: Reach. The entire plan was explained in more detail over at Xbox Wire:
The Master Chief’s arrival on PC will happen in stages with each title releasing one by one over time -– giving the development teams the ability to ensure each one is right, while giving players a chance to jump in right away, rather than having to wait for the entire suite of games to be completed. Our current plan is for this journey to begin with the launch of Halo: Reach – the fictional beginnings of Master Chief’s saga – with the rest of the titles following in chronological order thereafter. Halo: Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST (Campaign), and Halo 4 will each be available for individual purchase within MCC as they become available. And each game will evolve and grow over time with community input.
It’s currently unknown when Halo: Reach will be available for the Xbox One or the PC. But in the meantime, the Announcement Trailer embedded above will have to do.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Halo: Reach, Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Here’s the first Teaser Trailer for the Doom movie reboot Doom: Annihilation
Universal Studios has been promising/threatening to release a new film based on id Software’s Doom for years. But even though original stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Karl Urban, and Rosamund Pike all became massive stars in the intervening years since 2005’s Doom, the studio decided to go the reboot route when they officially announced the new adaptation last April.
Now we know that it’ll be titled Doom: Annihilation and that it looks to be a slightly more faithful adaptation of the game franchise. A newly released Teaser Trailer gives us a glimpse at a platoon of space marines (though no clearcut shot of the Doomguy), a roving band of demonic imps, goretastic special effects, and the promise that unethical scientific shenanigans opened a “Portal to Hell.”
However, the film also looks to have a much lower budget than 2005’s Doom, and that’s because Doom: Annihilation will be released direct to DVD/Blu-ray and streaming services sometime this Fall.
And just in case you were wondering what the developers at id Software think of the new film, they rather bluntly informed a fan that “We’re not involved with the movie” on Twitter.
Epic adds a human-sized hamster ball to Fortnite in Season 8
Epic Games is constantly updating Fortnite, but the game’s newest update might just be its best yet. As part of today’s kickoff to Season 8, the developer has added a new vehicle to Fortnite known as The Baller… a human-sized hamster ball with a grappling hook.
I’m not sure the world of FOrtnite is ready for a giant hamster ball of doom, but you learn more about it at the game’s official website:
Keep the good times rolling! Combine your boost and grapple to perform unbelievable feats with the newest vehicle addition to Battle Royale!
This single seat vehicle is found at Expedition Outposts and around pirate camp loot stashes. Use the attached Grappler and Boost functionality to pull yourself up cliffs or swing through the trees. The driver is protected from damage, but The Baller is vulnerable to enemy weapon fire.
A new trailer for Fortnite: Season 8, which has been subtitled Pirates and Treasure, can be found after the break. (more…)
Cassie Cage makes her proper debut in a new Mortal Kombat 11 trailer
Fresh off the heels of a Story Trailer that reintroduced Erron Black, Jacqui Briggs, and Cassie Cage to the Mortal Kombat mythos, NetherRealm Studios has uploaded a new Reveal Trailer for Mortal Kombat 11 focusing solely on Johnny and Sonya’s daughter.
Accompanied by a Battle Drone (and a pair of fully-loaded pistols), Cassie delivers a beating to Kano that includes a Shadow Kick, a Split Punch, and an absolutely insane new Fatality.
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.
Mortal Kombat 11’s newest Story Trailer reintroduces Erron Black, Cassie Cage, and Jacqui Briggs
“I’ve been in the future for a whole hour and I haven’t seen one jetpack. Not one.”
It’s official… Johnny Cage is a national treasure. A younger version of the movie star takes center stage in the latest Story Trailer for Mortal Kombat 11, while also reintroducing fans to a trio of returning fighters (Erron Black, Cassie Cage, and Jacqui Briggs) from Mortal Kombat X.
Beyond the new characters, the trailer features an epic scope and an all-out war between Earthrealm’s mightiest heroes, Kronika’s time-displaced warriors, Liu Kang’s army of revenants, and Raiden’s evil alter-ego. Can it be April already?
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.
The Video Game Canon: Tetris Remains the Best Game of All Time in Version 3.0 Update
The Video Game Canon is a statistical meta-ranking of dozens of “Best Video Games of All Time” lists that began in 2017 with Version 1.0, and the ranking has been updated several times since then. Which game is #1? There’s only one way to find out…
Once again, Alexey Pajitnov’s puzzle masterpiece, Tetris, stands atop the Video Game Canon.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Video Game Canon, it’s a statistical meta-analysis of 53 “Best Video Games of All Time” lists that were published between 1995 and 2018. To qualify for inclusion, each list had to include at least 50 games, as well as some form of editorial oversight in the process (lists made up solely of reader polls or fan voting were excluded), and no restrictions on release dates or platforms.
After feeding each “Best Games” list into the Video Game Canon machine, the games were ranked against each other using the C-Score, a formula that adds together a game’s “Average Ranking” across all lists with the complementary percentage of its “Appearance Frequency.” Combining these two factors allows us to create a list of games that have universal appeal across a long period of time without punishing any game for being too old or too new.
Five new lists were added to the Video Game Canon in the Version 3.0 update, bringing the total number of games to be selected by at least one list up to 1,182. The most expansive new list came from Game Informer, which published The Top 300 Games of All Time in April of last year. Hyper (The 200 Games You Must Play), IGN (Top 100 Video Games of All Time), and Slant Magazine (The 100 Greatest Video Games of All Time) also published new lists in 2018.
I was also able to reach back into the history books a little bit after stumbling upon a list from 2009 by Benchmark.pl, one of Poland’s largest technology blogs. Aside from a handful of titles (most notably, 2015’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt), most of the games created in Eastern Europe or played by Eastern European players aren’t on the radar of your average gamer, so digging through The Top 100 Best Games of the Twentieth Century gave me an interesting window into a population of gamers that I probably don’t think about as often as I should.
Even with these new additions to the dataset, Version 3.0 didn’t signal any huge changes to the Video Game Canon over last year’s Version 2.0 update, but the movement amongst the games in the top ten does bring to mind a round of musical chairs. And after the music stopped, nearly all the titles scrambled to find a new place to sit.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com for all future updates to this project and to explore the complete Top 1000.
Capcom reminds fans of “The Story So Far” in a new video ahead of Devil May Cry 5’s launch
The original Devil May Cry franchise went on a bit of a hiatus after the release of Devil May Cry 4 in 2008, as Capcom turned to Ninja Theory to create the alternate universe seen in 2013’s DMC: Devil May Cry. So it’s understandable that some fans might need a refresher course on all the events that happened in the series so far before the original Dante (along with Nero and newcomer Nico) returns next week in Devil May Cry 5.
Thankfully, Capcom has provided us with “The Story So Far,” a short video recap of Dante’s greatest hits:
Been a long time since your last demon hunt? Forgotten about Mundus, Lady, and Nero? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this smokin’ sexy short recap on the DMC story so far…
“The Story So Far” has been embedded above, and Devil May Cry 5 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on March 8.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Devil May Cry 5
Dark Horse will publish The Art of Cuphead this October
Cuphead‘s unique blend of vintage-style animation and ultra-hard platform shooting helped make it a huge hit back in 2017. An expansion, The Delicious Last Course, is slated to launch later this year, and fans will also get to page through the game’s gorgeous art thanks to The Art of Cuphead.
Published by Dark Horse, the 160-page hardcover will feature a “curated collection of artwork designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the Thirties”:
Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead’s characters, bosses, stages and more. Relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure to reclaim their souls from The Devil, all in a way you’ve never seen before! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a one-of-a-kind trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover an all-new appreciation for Cuphead’s animation style and challenging retro gameplay.
The Art of Cuphead will be available in bookstores on October 22.