Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: Overwatch
Overwatch is “Game of the Year” at the 2017 GDC Awards
Overwatch continues to rack up year-end awards for Blizzard Entertainment, and it picked up two more statuettes last night during the Game Developers Choice Awards. After more than a month of deliberations, the GDC committee choose to bestow “Game of the Year” status on the team-based shooter, as well as “Best Design” for its colorful world.
Two other games collected multiple awards at last night’s GDC Awards. Playdead’s platformer, Inside, earned “Best Audio” and “Best Visual Art.” And later in the night, Campo Santo’s Firewatch was selected as “Best Debut” and its story was honored with “Best Narrative.”
“This year’s amazing slate of winners is a testament to the diversity of experiences in games,” said Meggan Scavio, General Manager of the Game Developers Conference.
Scavio added: “Pokemon Go [“Best Mobile/Handheld Game”] took gaming outdoors using AR, while Job Simulator [“Best VR/AR Game”] showed how lo-fi aesthetics could meet cutting edge tech for a winning VR experience. Overwatch once again proved Blizzard’s uncanny ability to make a perfectly balanced multiplayer game, and Inside delved deep into our dark psyches to unearth our scariest nightmares. These nominees speak to the strength of games as a medium, but also show the various textures and possible creative outlets that interactive entertainment can provide. Congrats to all of the winners and nominees for following their visions and thanks to all developers who strive to make amazing games for us day in and day out.”
The full list of winners from the 2017 Game Developers Choice Awards can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Firewatch, GDC 2017, Inside, No Man's Sky, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Orisa, a robotic Tank, will be the next character added to Overwatch
Every good hero needs a name… which is why “OR-15” wasn’t a worthy moniker for the latest creation from robotics prodigy Efi Oladele. Instead, she rechristened her new companion as “Orisa,” and the robotic Tank will be the next playable character added to Overwatch.
Orisa is now available for testing in the game’s Public Test Region, and will be added to the full game at a later date. But in the meantime, you can learn more about the character at PlayOverwatch.com:
Orisa serves as the central anchor of her team, and defends her teammates from the frontline with a protective barrier. She can attack from long range, fortify her own defenses, launch graviton charges to slow and move enemies, and deploy a Supercharger to boost the damage output of multiple allies at once.
Overwatch’s Game Director, Jeff Kaplan, further delved into what makes Orisa tick in a new Developer Update video, which can be found after the break. (more…)
Overwatch wins “Game of the Year” (and three other awards) at 2017 DICE Awards
Blizzard made their mark on last night’s DICE Awards presentation when Overwatch took home the trophy in four categories, including “Game of the Year.” The shooter was also honored as “Action Game of the Year,” as well as for “Outstanding Achievement in Game Design” and “Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay.”
It was also a good night for Naughty Dog, as the developer claimed four victories for their work on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End including “Adventure Game of the Year,” “Outstanding Achievement in Story,” “Outstanding Technical Achievement,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Animation.”
The full list of winners at the 2017 DICE Awards (including Pokemon Go for “Mobile Game of the Year,” Pokemon Sun and Moon for “Handheld Game of the Year,” and three awards for Inside ) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Doom (2016), Inside, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Pokemon Sun/Moon, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard shambles to the top of January 2017’s best-selling games report
It looks like there’s still some life left in the Resident Evil franchise. The latest game in the series, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, topped the NPD Group’s report on the best-selling games in January 2017. The only other new release to crack the top ten was Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, which camein at #6.
“With only five days in the market, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was the best-selling game in January. The last time Capcom had the best-selling game of the month (in dollar sales) was in March 2009 with Resident Evil 5,” NPD Analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz.
Overall spending on game titles was up 14% last month over January 2016, thanks mostly to continued demand for 2016’s biggest releases including Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (#2), Battlfield 1 (#4), and NBA 2K17 (#5). And Grand Theft Auto V (#3) continues to burn up the charts more than four years after it was first released.
The complete list of best-selling games from January 2017 can be found after the break. (more…)
Dishonored 2, Doom, Overwatch, Titanfall 2, Uncharted 4 will compete for “Game of the Year” at 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards
The organizers of the SXSW Gaming Conference and Festival have announced the nominees for the 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards. Not surprisingly, Dishonored 2, Doom, Overwatch, Titanfall 2, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will all be competing for the coveted “Video Game of the Year” award.
Appearing over and over again throughout SXSW 2017’s 23 categories, the nominating committee was very impressed with these five titles. However, Overwatch definitely lead the way with nine total nominations including “Esports Game of the Year,” “Trending Game of the Year,” “Excellence in Design,” “Most Promising New Intellectual Property,” “Most Memorable Character” (for Tracer), “Excellence in Multiplayer,” “Excellence in Art,” and “Excellence in Animation.”
The 2017 SXSW Gaming Awards will be held on Saturday, March 18, and fans are invited to vote for their favorites from now until February 10 at IGN.com. The winners in each category will ultimately be decided by a 50/50 vote between the public and the SXSW Gaming Advisory Board.
The full list of nominees in all categories can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), Overwatch, TitanFall 2, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Compete in Overwatch’s Year of the Rooster event now until February 13
Blizzard has launched the latest seasonal event for Overwatch, and players can now obtain “Lunar” Loot Boxes containing special “Year of the Rooster” items such as Character Skins, Player Icons, Sprays, Victory Poses, Emotes, Highlight Intros, and more. According to Blizzard, dedicated players will be able to discover more than 100 new cosmetic items during the “Year of the Rooster” event.
In addition to outfitting your favorite characters in new gear, from now until February 13, Overwatch players will also be able to compete in a brand new game mode… Capture the Rooster.
In Capture the Rooster, teams will face off on Lijiang Tower, attempting to secure the enemy flag while the opposing team does the same. In this fast-paced brawl, players will need to get creative with their team compositions as they attempt to construct a lineup that’s built for offensive speed and defensive stability.
More information about the “Year of the Rooster” event can be uncovered at Overwatch’s official website or by watching the trailer above. You can also hear Game Director Jeff Kaplan’s thoughts on Capture the Rooster in the latest Overwatch Developer Update, which is available after the break. (more…)
CoD: Infinite Warfare, Battlefield 1, The Division are the best-selling games of 2016
The video game industry should definitely be celebrating right now, as The NPD Group has announced that consumers spent $30.4 billion on hardware, software, peripherals, and in-game purchases in 2016. This is a slight increase over 2015 revenues, which totaled a measly $30.2 billion.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella attributed some of this growth to the emergence of virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. He also cited the “cultural phenomenon” that was Pokemon Go and the subsequent release of Pokemon Sun and Moon on the 3DS.
“Growth in entertainment software consumer spend was seen across the mobile, PC, virtual reality, subscription, portable, and digital console segments,” Piscatella said. “Consumers have more options to purchase and enjoy entertainment software than ever before, while developers have more and easier ways of delivering that content. No matter the delivery platform, entertainment software has never been more engaging, diverse or accessible.”
However, none of those games managed to crack the top ten for 2016, which was once again dominated by Activision’s Call of Duty franchise. Even though it launched to less-than-stellar reviews and a negative fan reaction, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was still the best-selling game in 2016. Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops III was also represented in the top ten, at #8.
Tom Clancy’s The Division (#3) and Overwatch (#7) proved that new franchises can still make some noise in the NPD’s annual ranking, but perennial best-sellers like NBA 2K17 (#4), Madden NFL 17 (#5), and FIFA 17 (#9) also sold well in 2016, as did strong sequels such as Battlefield 1 (#2) and Final Fantasy XV (#10).
You can find the NPD’s list of best-selling games throughout all of 2016 after the break. (more…)
2017 DICE Awards nominations announced and Uncharted 4 leads the way with ten
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences has announced their nominees for the 2017 DICE Awards.
A Naughty Dog leads this year’s pack, as Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End scored ten nominations including one for “Game of the Year.” The developer’s swan song for Nathan Drake will be competing against Battlefield 1, Inside, Overwatch, and Pokemon Go for the coveted honor. We’ll hear from all of this year’s “Game of the Year” contenders throughout the ceremony as each earned multiple nominations including Inside with nine, Battlefield 1 with eight, Overwatch with six, and Pokemon Go with two.
The AIAS will hand out two new DICE Awards this year for “Immersive Reality Game of the Year” and “Immersive Reality Technical Achievement.” The nominees for both will be announced at a later date.
A total of 56 games received at least one nomination, and hosts Greg Miller and Jessica Chobot will announce the winners on Thursday, February 23, at 10:30 PM (Eastern Time). Viewers at home will be able to livestream the entire ceremony through the AIAS’s official website.
A complete list of this year’s nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Battlefield 1, Inside, Overwatch, Pokemon Go, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End