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The Video Game Canon: An Introduction and The Top 100 (Version 1.0)
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…
Is it possible to rank the greatest video games of all time in a “scientific” way? Do you just throw the question to so-called experts and let them hash it out in a no-holds-barred debate? Or is there some way to create a “Video Game Canon” that the wide-ranging community of developers, critics, and players can all agree on?
Probably not. But we can try.
Since gaming’s earliest days, dozens of publications have tried to sort through the noise and compile their own list of “The Best Video Games of All Time.” By analyzing all of these attempts at ranking the greatest games and combining them into a single list, we can apply a little scientific rigor to the process and possibly create a “Best Video Games of All Time” list that everyone can agree on.
Before we go any further, let me just say… no matter how we try to justify it, it’s impossible to prove, by “science” or otherwise, that one game is definitively better than another. My attempt at adding “science” to the mix is just a way to add some zing to the numerical formula doing all the work behind the scenes.
Ideally, this project will give us the chance to look back at the history of video games reflected through some the medium’s greatest titles. The list itself will serve as something of a road map to help us learn how the best games of all time are connected to each other, to better appreciate how players interacted with video games in the past, and to explore what video games might become in the future.
Visit VideoGameCanon.com for all future updates to this project and to explore the complete Top 1000.
It Came From 19XX: Silent Hill
Horror games have changed in recent years. As “walking simulators” like Layers of Fear and hide-and-seek tributes such as Outlast have risen in popularity, old-school survival horror titles have become increasingly scarce. So join us, zombies and ghouls, as we revisit one of horror gaming’s classics in time for Halloween. (more…)
I Am Setsuna, Moon Hunters, Sword Coast Legends, more added to PS Store
Square Enix’s throwback RPG, I Am Setsuna, is now available to download for the PS4. It’s actually quite the busy week for RPGs on the PlayStation Store, so let’s dive in…
Also now available to download for the PS4 is Moon Hunters, a co-op action RPG from Kitfox Games. It’s joined by a pair of RPGs inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, the free-to-play Neverwinter, and the “shared storytelling” of Sword Coast Legends.
Finally this week, Vblank Entertainment has surprise-released Retro City Rampage DX for the PSP. Yes, you read that right. Even four years after its original release, the 8-bit visuals and GTA-like gameplay are a unique combination.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And a full rundown of this week’s new add-ons and discounts is available at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, PSP, Vita
Tagged I Am Setsuna, Retro City Rampage
Nominate your favorite game for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016
The International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) at The Strong Museum is once again seeking nominations for its World Video Game Hall of Fame. The Class of 2016 will be announced on May 5, but the museum will solicit suggestions from the general public until February 29. Anyone interested in nominating their favorite game should visit the Hall of Fame’s website, and they should also keep the selection criteria in mind:
- Icon Status: The game is widely recognized and remembered.
- Longevity: The game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time.
- Geographical Reach: The game meets the above criteria across international boundaries.
- Influence: The game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. A game may be inducted on the basis of this criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.
Six games were selected for induction in 2015 (Doom, Pac-Man, Pong, Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and World of Warcraft), and a similar number of titles will likely make the cut in May. That means nine games from last year’s shortlist failed to be inducted (Angry Birds, FIFA International Soccer, The Legend of Zelda, Minecraft, The Oregon Trail, Pokemon Red/Blue, The Sims, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Space Invaders), but they’ll likely be at the top of the suggestion pool again this year.
This year’s finalists will be chosen by an internal advisory committee from the ICHEG, and will be revealed to the public on March 29. The new class of inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame will be selected by an international selection committee made up of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.
DriveClub Bikes, WWE 2K16, Divinity: Original Sin, more added to PS Store
With Halo 5: Guardians ready to launch for the Xbox One this week and a bevy of Paris Games Week announcements to digest, Sony wisely kept this week’s PlayStation Store update to the bare minimum. However, they did surprise-release DriveClub Bikes (PS4), a standalone expansion to Evolution’s racer that features a full Tour Campaign, a Challenge Mode, multiplayer, and a ton of customization options.
If you drop all the motorcycle gear, you’re left with two men in speedos, which is a perfect segue into the news that 2K Games will bring WWE 2K16 to the PS3 and PS4 this week. Their latest wrasslin’ title includes the franchise’s biggest roster to date and an expanded Create-A-Wrestler mode.
No speedos can be found in Telltale’s Minecraft: Story Mode, which is quickly expanding this week with the release of Episode 2: Assembly Required on the PS3 and PS4.
Finally this week, a pair of re-releases will make fans of RPGs very happy. Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition makes its console debut this week as Larian Studios brings an expanded and enhanced version of their RPG to the PS4. Slightly more familiar to PS4 owners might be this Friday’s PS4 release of Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, which includes the apocalyptic action RPG sequel (originally released for the PS3 in 2012) and all its downloadable content.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) is available found after the break. And, as always, a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, PSP, Vita
Tagged Darksiders II, Divinity: Original Sin, Minecraft: Story Mode, WWE 2K16
GoW3 Remastered, Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Rory McIlroy PGA, more added to PS Store
It’s a big day for the PlayStation Store as some of this Summer’s biggest releases are now available to download on the PS3, PS4, PS Vita, and the PSP (yes, really).
Let’s start with the PS4 first as its now home to a remastered version Kratos’s final assault on the Pantheon of Gods (God of War III Remastered), the first PGA Tour game not to star Tiger Woods in more than a decade (Rory McIlroy PGA Tour), a moody first-person mystery (The Vanishing of Ethan Carter), and a surprise remake of a pair of PS3-era open world games from Activision (Prototype: Biohazard Bundle).
On the PS3, Godzilla will roar to life on the video game stage and do battle with other kaiju in Bandai Namco’s latest adaptation of the radioactive beast. The game is also available on the PS4.
Meanwhile, the Vita welcomes Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess, an updated and enhanced version of Deception IV: Blood Ties. Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess is also available for the PS4 and PS3.
Finally, the PSP comes back to life with Angus Hates Aliens, a tactical shooter starring a redneck shooting aliens. Angus Hates Aliens is also playable on the Vita.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. And as always, a complete rundown of this week’s new game add-ons and discounts can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)
Posted in News, PS3, PS4, PSP, Vita
Tagged God of War III, Prototype, Prototype 2, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour
Video Game Release Calendar Changelog: Pre-E3 2015 Edition
Don’t Forget! This is just a changelog of recently announced release dates. Warp Zoned’s complete Video Game Release Calendar includes every title we could find with a 2015, 2016, 2017, or unannounced release date.
The 2015 E3 Expo will kick off in just a few days with the first-ever E3 Press Conference from Bethesda. The publisher has promised a first look at Fallout 4, as well as Doom 4. Both games currently have “TBA” release dates, but that will likely change this Sunday. As I dive into the rest of the new release dates in this Pre-E3 2015 Edition of our Video Game Release Calendar Changelog, I can’t be sure I got them all. Dozens of games have release dates (or, at the very least, release windows) that didn’t before.
So here’s a few more games we can start looking forward to…
- Until Dawn, Sony’s “kids in the woods” horror game for the PS4, will be released on August 25.
- Skylanders SuperChargers will bring its “interactive game toys” (we need a better name for this genre) to nearly every platform on September 20.
- The Mega Man Legacy Collection will collect the first six games in the series on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this Summer.
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection will bring the three PS3 games to the PS4 on October 9.
- Square Enix will release Dragon Quest Heroes on the PS4 on October 13.
- Bandai Namco’s Tales series will expand on October 20 with Tales of Zestiria on the PC, PS3, and PS4.
- And the next Tales game after that, Tales of Berseria, has been officially announced, but it’s release date is currently “TBA.”
Even more new release dates from this edition of the Video Game Release Calendar Changelog can be found after the break. And check back with us after E3 when we’ll surely get the chance to pencil in even more release dates. (more…)
XSEED @ E3 15: Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1/2, EDF 4.1 PS4, EDF 2 Vita, more
XSEED Games has big plans for the remainder of the year. The publisher, which specializes in localizing obscure and niche titles from Japan, will release ten more games by the end of the year and they plan to bring all of them to this year’s E3 Expo.
Here’s a quick look at XSEED’s full lineup:
- Corpse Party (PC) – The first game in the survival horror series is in development for the PC. (Fall 2015)
- Corpse Party: Blood Drive (PS Vita) – The third, and final, game in the survival horror series will be released for the Vita. (Fall 2015)
- Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space (PS Vita) – The second game in the bug-bashing shooter series will shrink down onto the Vita in its first American release. (Fall 2015)
- Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair (PS4) – An enhanced version of Earth Defense Force 2025 will come to the PS4 with an expanded level count. (Fall 2015)
- Return to PoPoLoCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale (3DS) – Farm and fight in this turn-based RPG. (Fall 2015)
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter (PC, PSP) – Yes, the “Trails in the Sky” series will finally continue in America with this PC and PSP release. (Fall 2015)
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (PS Vita, PS3) – Another Legend of Heroes game, set in the same universe as “Trails in the Sky” but starring different characters, is also coming soon. (Fall 2015)
- Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (PS4) – The “bikini zombie slayers” will be back chopping heads on the PS4 soon. (Summer 2015)
- Senran Kagura: Estival Versus (PS Vita, PS4) – The wave-based fighter will offer ten-player play on the PS4 and four-player play on the Vita. (Fall 2015)
- Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson (3DS) – The anime-influenced fighting series will return for another go-round shortly. (Summer 2015)
Finally, XSEED will also release The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II for the PS3 and Vita, but it currently has no release date and likely won’t be at this year’s E3 Expo.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, PSP, Vita
Tagged E3 2015, Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space, Earth Defense Force 2025